Wireless trail camera to catch thieves/trespassers?

[crowbar032]

I had a goat disappear out of my back pasture. Originally I thought it was coyotes so I put up a trail camera. Then the camera disappeared. So now I think I have not only trespassers but thieves too. Since I don't have a fortune to throw away putting up trail cameras only to have them stolen, I thought I'd try one of those wireless ones that send text messages or e-mails. Does anyone have one? Any recommendations? Best place to buy? Other alternatives to get a picture in the way back 40? Just looking for something to get a pic to send to the police. I'm just bummed out, you can't patrol your property constantly....unlike thieves I have to work.

Looking at something similar to below:

Amazon.com: Sports man Supply GSM Wireless Scouting Camera,USM652, Camouflage: Sports & Outdoors

 

[DennisArrow]

I really do not know what to tell you........Just totally shocked about the low-life way this place is becoming. Dakota Alert has a wireless alarm that for sure goes 1/2 mile and is really pretty easy to camoflage or hide on a trail. A camera taking a pic of the thieves taking an el cheapo trail cam would work. A really good handy dandy booby trap on a nothing camera would leave a trail of blood for the police to track. Get mad and get even Bud...........Freaking goat thieves......you have a dog in that pasture????...........God bless........Dennis

 

[Egbert]

Just did a quick search for long range farm wireless ...

This looks really cool. You could hang cameras, a dvr and/or alarms.

How it works | Ayrstone

 

[rmorey]

I had a goat disappear out of my back pasture. Originally I thought it was coyotes so I put up a trail camera. Then the camera disappeared. So now I think I have not only trespassers but thieves too. Since I don't have a fortune to throw away putting up trail cameras only to have them stolen, I thought I'd try one of those wireless ones that send text messages or e-mails. Does anyone have one? Any recommendations? Best place to buy? Other alternatives to get a picture in the way back 40? Just looking for something to get a pic to send to the police. I'm just bummed out, you can't patrol your property constantly....unlike thieves I have to work.

Looking at something similar to below:

Amazon.com: Sports man Supply GSM Wireless Scouting Camera,USM652, Camouflage: Sports & Outdoors

If you cant find one to suit, Bushnell makes a "black led" flash camera that shows no light to the naked eye. May make it easier to hide it.

 

[whistlepig]

If you cant find one to suit, Bushnell makes a "black led" flash camera that shows no light to the naked eye. May make it easier to hide it.

I have one of these Bushnell black flash cameras. It's a very good camera:

Bushnellｮ 8MP Trophy Cam HD Max '13 Brown : Cabela's

 

[Sysop]

A really good handy dandy booby trap on a nothing camera would leave a trail of blood for the police to track. Get mad and get even Bud...........

+1 I'll invite anyone in, but those that invite themselves can expect to lose a few digits or perhaps worse. The only rules I play by are right and wrong, anything else is fair...

If you have someplace where they MUST travel through in a vehicle to make these thefts, a dedicated license plate capture device is the best way to catch a night-time thief. They are not cheap, but they are the best night-time identification devices made. Even a good camera must be much closer to the thief to make a positive night-time identification than a license plate capture cam needs to be to accurately identify a plate number. I have seen cases of low light CCTV shots that were extremely clear (by low light CCTV standards) be thrown out because the guy's buddy testified they were together drinking elsewhere all night. License plate paints are specially made for easy night-time identification, these devices take advantage of that and there is no mistaking who a plate belongs to. Everyone has someone that looks similar to them.

 

[WayneB]

You might check around here and there are many of us that have broken game cameras that might be willing to send them to you to use as decoys and then set up one to take pics of the SOB’s taking the broken camera. I am pretty sure they are not checking out the camera until they are long gone from your property.
Just a thought.

Wayne

 

[forgeblast]

Just wondering if they have, say some type of nigh vision, even the cheap nightowl,they will see the ir flash of the camera. Getting the camera high might be a good idea.

 

[daveshoot]

I have this IP CCTV system: Swann 8 Channel 3MP NVR Security System with 2TB HDD and 4 1080p Cameras

It's really very good for the money. On sale, it's even better. It is actually Hikvision product, bundled by Swann, and one of their best DIY offerings to date.

Couple things you might find:
Wireless systems are pretty unreliable over the long run- cabled (CAT5e in this case) is always better, if it's physically feasible. They are also usually true line of sight, meaning foliage will greatly reduce range.
Video motion detection is fairly good in the day, but very prone to falsing during the night. Bugs are drawn to the IR lights, and quickly behind are the spiders. You must constantly brush the lens cover to get rid of the webs, and clouds of bugs mean it is almost constantly in alarm.
It's much more positive to supplement the cameras with a passive IR or other form of motion sensor, which can also be connected to the NVR to trigger emails, external alarms, etc.

Goat thieves should be hung.

I was just looking at the specs for the model you linked in the OP. That requires a SIM card and cell account to alert you, so you're going to have a monthly bill in addition to the initial investment (and of course, you'll need good cell coverage at the location). The sensor is very nice resolution, and the ability to store full res pics on board on the SD card is nice. However, if this cam is stolen, you are out a fair amount of money AND your captured pics. The MMS text resolution is very poor (otherwise it would cost a lot of data) but that's all you'd have to go by, if the camera was missing.

If you mount them very high to prevent access, you also get poor ID, as it tends to get the tops of heads, rather than faces.

 

[crowbar032]

As a general rule, I agree with sentiment of violence and booby traps. The unfortunate reality is that I would probably end up in jail for defending my property. But Heaven help me I have thought about it extensively. I do not have a dog, I thought donkey's would be easier to take care of (and I like to hear them bray). I can't prove someone stole the goat, but I know the day it disappeared the one neighbor to the east had his annual Labor Day BBQ/party. We've had issues in the past over fencing and hunting so it wouldn't suprise me. The camera being stolen just sealed it, I'm pretty sure it's them just can't prove it....which prompted my post on security cameras.

My problem is that the location I want to hang camera's are all about a 1/4 mile from the house in the woods and some down in hollars and I also have one big open field that will be difficult to hide anything. Signal transmission is a concern as is power. I'm hesitant to hang another trail camera even well hid. I would have to hide it in a tree and the wind blowing triggers a pic, and of course getting another one stolen. I had thought about the security cameras as some have posted, but I just wasn't familiar enough with them to logically speak to them and I thought they required hard lines and electric. That's why I thought about the camera that would send the pic to e-mail. They may steal the camera, but I would still have the e-mailed pic of the camera being stolen to turn over to police. Maybe I just need to get better at hiding cameras. The only access to the property would be by off road vehicle or on foot. I realy believe the most likely would be by foot as I have 47" woven wire around the whole perimeter of my property. There are no gates on the perimeter so they would have to cut the fence to get anything through.

I'm just frustrated/disappointed. Thanks for the links. I've got a starting point now, and I'm open to all suggestions to get a picture of a tresspasser.