Perimeter Security (Opposed To Direct Surveillance)

[JeepHammer]

I saw the thread on doorbell cameras, that's not what I'm talking about...

I don't live in town, short range IR cameras don't work very well on open ground.

One thing I do is take the typical (cheap) driveway or sidewalk solar charged light, and replace the LEDs with IR LEDs.

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More or less 'Rings' of IR LEDs out from my shooting position that indicate range, then use a light amplification optic (night vision) to spot hogs.

This also works for the homestead.
Those cheap solar units have charging, battery, automatic daylight shutoff and are so cheap no one bothers to steal them, particularly since they don't emit visible light at night.

This GREATLY extends the range of the night vision, both cameras & PNV/Optics.

The second thing I do is motion sensor units.
These are sold as driveway detectors, come on motion sensor lights, etc.
With these on common paths/driveways, stationed outside the range of the motion sensor lights on the shop, etc., I use these as alerts, with sound & light alerts in the home/shop.

This gives me time to respond before someone actually gets to the door of the house/shop.
Keep in mind that some of these are hard wired and can't be fooled since you actually have to break an IR beam to trigger, others are field motion sensors and will pick up anything moving (and can be fooled, wireless can be interrupted).

 

[JeepHammer]

Keep in mind before 'Wireless' became affordable...
(Kind of an oxymoron sentence, it still needs batteries or wired power supply)

The 'Off Grid' method for me was some of the small, cheap solar panels and weak batteries powering the driveway sensor, the wireless intercom (personal radio), and the driveway alert.

The 'Wired' version is a 3 conductor wire (normal home wire is 2 insulated conductors & bare ground), and I simply used the extra conductor as the alert.
When the motion sensor tripped the light, it also energized the 3rd conductor which rang a bell at the house.
Easy as pie and no excessive or complicated wiring.
(Keep in mind AC doesn't care where it gets it's 'Neutral' leg from, so house or gate works)

Camo for perimeter is pretty easy...
Since I have a woven wire fence around 85-90% of the property, I simply stretched electric fence wire inside the livestock fence.
I disguised the security boxes as electric fence chargers. Solar powered, battery inside with the electronics.
What animals DO NOT do is contact the electric wire inside the livestock fence, but a human climbing the fence will contact the electric fence wire about 100% of the time.
This simply grounds a low voltage current in the electric fence wire and let's me know SOMEONE has just climbed the fence.

Another way to do things is the old (very old) string & switch.
A cloths pin switch (cloths pin and two Staples or thumbtacks) separated by a non-conductive material.
When someone trips over your string or trip wire, the insulator is pulled out of the cloths pin contacts and completes the circuit to your warning device.
Old as the hills but still works VERY well...



The biggest issue I had with this was (depending on height) small game, falling limbs, dogs going potty, etc all trips the circuit and it has to be MANUALLY reset to shut it up...

Motion detector cameras will often get 'Burn In',
They stare at the same spot day in, day out, and the image (particularly lighted or reflective surfaces) will 'Burn Into' the CCD and the motion detection part (and some of the vision capability) will stop working.
(My cameras that look across the lake didnt last long)
Just keep this in mind if your camera is pointed at a bright light, stares at a bright reflection all morning or evening, directly catches the rising or setting sun, etc.

Motion sensor cameras aren't created equal.
'Moisture Resistant' is relative, most of the cheaper ones will condense moisture inside them.
If it's 'Motion Sensor', it's probably not going to detect motion very well if you put it in another more water tight housing.
It's a quirk of the motion detection system, most have a ring of IR LEDs and ONE IR detector (different color LED) in a plastic collar in that ring.
The plastic collar is butted up against the front window, so out going IR doesn't reflect off the glass and trip the sensor, I stead waiting for IR reflected off something new to trip the sensor.

See the one off color LED in the plastic collar on this camera unit? Lower right, about 5:30 o'clock position...

When you add that second window, the outgoing IR reflects off it and confuses the sensor.
Everything from extending the collar to the new housing window (soda straw painted black to moving the receiver diode (LED) outside the camera ring) solves the issue.
This will save you BIG $$$ on cameras over time allowing you to use the cheap ones over professional grade equipment.

 

[Bucky623]

I’ve been considering getting some cameras but have no idea what to look for. Thanks for the info.

 

[JeepHammer]

Depends if you are doing a home in town (direct surveillance) or area/open ground alert and maybe some recording.

I use the cheap, short range cameras since they don't live forever and are pretty much work with all the receivers.
Using the yard/driveway lights, changing to IR LEDs (soldering iron skills needed) extends the range and are inexpensive.

Small critters go through fences, deer go over fences gracefully, humans climb up one side & down the other.
An extension on the inside of a fence post with an electric fence wire strung on it alerts you to someone climbing the fence and doesn't look out of place.
It also explains the 'Fence Charger' hanging on a post somewhere, the 'fence charger' box being the alert.
It's good to know when some random idiot is climbing the fence...

Motion sensors will alert you to any random critter, the driveway alerts use a beam, and I set those about waist high, takes a deer or human to set them off. It's a light beam 'Trip Wire', but it usually takes wiring if it's covering much of a gap.
Shorter versions hit a reflector, sender & receiver built into the same unit, the beam bounces off the reflector and returns to the sender/receiver.
The longer range versions put the sender on one end, the receiver on the other, and that usually takes wiring.
It's not difficult or expensive, but it does add to the work you have to do.

As cheap as laser diodes (laser pointers) are, I've messed with the idea of using these, but every bug or weed or falling leaf that breaks the beam will set these off. It's difficult to find one that's not in the visible light spectrum, so it kind of gives itself away...
I'm still messing with it, but not real easy/cheap so far...