surveillance cameras

[Mosey]

I'm looking into getting a camera to mount outside. Part of the reason is to tell in advance when the school bus is coming so when it gets cold out the kids won't have to stand outside and freeze (like I did as a kid). As usual, being the tightwad I am, I don't want to spend much money on this. I was looking at the <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.x10.com/home/offer.cgi?LND169,../yahoosupban9c.htm?|yahoosupban9>X10</A>. Does anybody have any experience with this? For a total of $80 it looks like it might work. I need to be able to see about a half mile down the road from the peak of the house.

 

[RanchMan]

X10 certainly works, but their cameras are really designed for seeing stuff up close. You *might* be able to see a tiny yellow spot moving across the screen with an x10 camera @ 1/2 mile, but I wouldn't count on it - the resolution just isn't there. If you were considering mounting the camera @ the stop, it wouldn't have the range to broadcast. x10 does what it says it does, but don't expect much more on the camera side - 1/2 mile is too far. Add to all of this the timing involved (you'd pretty much have to be watching the TV/cam continuously during arrival time since it only takes a few minutes to walk 1/2 mile), I'm not sure you'd get much utility out of the setup. Just my $.02....

 

[gerard]

I use one in the barn for when our horse foals and have been very happy with the quality. It was a higher cost than the one you're looking at but that's because of the 220 foot transmission distance between the camera and receiver. If you only have to transmit from one side of the house to the next you should be fine. I was also very impressed with the low light capability - you don't need much.

 

[Von]

I use them in my antique shop to watch for shoplifters. I can watch 8 rooms and not leave the front counter! They work good in small rooms and are in color and have sound with them. But I don't know how they would be outside and at long distances.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

<font color=blue>"need to be able to see about a half mile down the road from the peak of the house."</font color=blue>

Certainly not if that half mile is upwind and it's snowing. It'll work great on days the kids don't mind waiting outside, though. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Mosey]

Gary - We don't get near as much snow as you folks up north! Believe it or not, there's a big difference in the weather for such a short distance. Indy seems to be the cutoff point. I can recall a couple of times we've traveled back from a visit in MI in snow and ice all the way to Indy, then drove out of it and it was just raining at our place. Winters here are pretty mild, but it does get cold sometimes.

The bus stops about 1/2 mile from us and it's up on a hill, so we can pretty much see it from the house. I figure the kids can start walking to the end of the driveway, which about 175 feet, as soon as they see the bus stop to pick up the kids on the hill. By the time the bus gets to us they should be at the end of the driveway. We haven't actually tested that yet because the kids are so excited to be starting school they want to get right out there right away.

The main reason I want the camera is because I'm planning to build a pole barn/garage that's going to be in the way. So, I'll need a way to see over it. I'm sure there will be times it's too foggy, rainy, snowy, or dark (in mid winter) for it to work, but I figure it'll work 95% of the time.

It looks like the X10 is not the one I need though, since it doesn't seem to be designed to see very far.

 

[GarageSmoker]

Buy a set of FRS radios and give the driver one and a desk charger. Agree on the frequency and ask him/her to give a shout when they are close. If it is 1/2 mile line of sight it should work. Pretty cheap too.

GS

 

[DAP]

Danny, while this is just an opinion of mine, 1. it IS from experience and 2. I DID stay at a Holiday Inn last nite.

Save your money regarding X10 equipment. I purchased $500 bucks worth of their infared camera technology and it ... well, in a word, sucked.

Reasons:

1. Infared technology is iffy ... for example if the receiver is located in a building that has any metal or steel in it (beams, sideing, framing, etc.), your reception will be suspect.

2. The software (although not required) they bundle or sell for interfacing with PC's or the Net, is poor.

3. Assuming #1 and #2 above are surmounted, their receiver ranges for the equipment I purchased were only good for 100ft (this assumes that condition #1 is not a factor).

On a more positive note, they DID give me pretty much a full refund.

 

[MossRoad]

<font color=blue>Infared technology is iffy ... for example if the receiver is located in a building that has any metal or steel in it (beams, sideing, framing, etc.), your reception will be suspect.
</font color=blue>

I think you are refering to IF, not IR. IR is light waves and will not pass through walls at all. IF is radio waves, which the X10 cameras use to transmit video and sound to the reciever. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MossRoad]

I have some X10 cameras for fun and they work fine.

However, they are relatively wide angle lenses and a bus at a 1/2 mile will probably not be recognizable until it gets very close. There are other cameras available that would do a better job, but they will be several hundred dollars after you get the proper lens.

One thing that I have noticed about the X10 cameras is that they do not like sunlight pointed at them, so if the view is to the east in the morning, that is something that you would want to consider.

They are good for some things. I use one to watch my pool. It is the wide angle version, and even though it is only three feet from the edge of the pool, it can see the entire 24' pool in most light conditions. We leave the kitchen TV on channel 3 during parties so while we step in to get a snack, we can keep an eye on the pool (of course we never leave the kids without an adult, even with the camera). The sound is amazingly clear.

One project I would like to do with one when we build is have a picture window at the back of the house and some bird feeders. The camera can pick up the bird calls very well and we can keep a video and audio record of some of the feathered visitors.