Simply Safe for security system...? (glass, lights, codes, electrical)
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That's a good point, but I would leave the key in while at home and only remove it and hide it while gone.
which a lot of people do.
Id love to know where people get a reliable DIY type camera. We had some joe come up on our porch and steal our kids bikes... Also lately weirdos have been knocking on doors panhandling!
Id love to know where people get a reliable DIY type camera. We had some joe come up on our porch and steal our kids bikes... Also lately weirdos have been knocking on doors panhandling!
I bought myself one of those too. I'm not thrilled with it, but for about $70 it's fine. I use my PC to record on it, sometimes watching live it cuts out a few frames but I think the recording is smooth. You have to drill a hole in the wall to get the power cable from outside to inside, but the rest is wireless. It has a built in memory but there were no instructions on how to access it, just how to download a program for the pc or smartphone. And my smartphone app doesn't work, but it could be because of the pc app running. Also I'm not thrilled about where I placed it. Once in place it was hard to move the lens, and I placed it high so it captures the walkway to the front door, the side of my car in the parking lot and my mailbox and front yard and street. It has night vision too, but it's not great, it seems to want to focus on some leaves on a tree nearby and the rest is blurry.
I would prefer a 4 camera one with a DVR, but you would have to run wires and drill thru the walls in several places on the home and run the lines from front to back and side to side.
reliable DIY outdoor surveillance camera for a front porch
I do not believe in cameras as a substitute for real alarm systems or even for PIR motion sensors. They are great for having a record after the fact, but the motion detection in the camera or in the NVR/DVR isn't going to address your need to know when somebody is in frame -- if you set it to be sensitive enough to catch every person, it'll also trigger on slow bugs flying past the lens. There are a few cameras with a PIR included, but at that point you might as well just get a separate PIR tied to an alarm and integrate the two.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohky0815
Id love to know where people get a reliable DIY type camera. We had some joe come up on our porch and steal our kids bikes... Also lately weirdos have been knocking on doors panhandling!
There's always the Skybell HD or Ring -- WiFi enabled doorbell cameras.
In my experience (I've tested around a half dozen brands) the best outdoor WiFi surveillance cameras are Y-Cam & Sharx. They aren't the smallest or cheapest, but their products come with a user manual in English, have phone apps that actually work, and on-shore technical support is great. Both provide a real 1-year warranty.
We have an alarm system AND we use outdoor cameras (2 in front, 2 in back) that record to DVR. We're in a safe area, but you never know, and while you can take the family out of NYC, you can't take NYC out of the family - we always keep our doors locked, our lights on, and security system active. Oh, and an impressive looking guard dog who does NOT like strangers. *lol*
You should consider abode. I have been using it for about 3 months now and have been very pleased. There is no contract to be signed for monitoring and they even allow you self-monitoring thru their own app. You also have an option of buying a short term monitoring plan when you are going on a vacation. Their equipment is of very good quality and the company has been constantly making their product better based on feedback from actual users on their Reddit forum. Last but not the least, the customer service is phenomenal. Overall, abode is a much better system than Simpli Safe. You can look at it here - www.goabode.com
I almost went with SimpliSafe, but to be blunt didn't want to pay the monthly fee (especially since I would have had to pay more to receive text messages if something went off, which I really wanted). I ended up going with the Samsung Smarthings Hub with 'generic' sensors (Samsung does offer a security kit version, but at the time they had no deals on them, so it worked out cheaper to buy the hub and sensors separate). The nice thing with the Samsung setup is you can use non-Samsung devices as long as they are compatible "z-wave" devices (there's a lot of info about this online). I got sensors from gocontrol on amazon, but there are a number of brands out there you can buy. I did make sure to buy the Version 2 hub, based on recommendations online that it works better.
So far haven't really had any issues, just once early on my app wasn't updating the device status, so I had to delete the app on my phone and re-download, and haven't had a problem since. A little confusing at first learning how all this worked (being new to smart home stuff) but it was pretty easy to set up; main recommendation is to pair your sensor in the same room as the hub, then go stick the sensor where you want it afterwards. Note that if you loose wi-fi in your house the system will not work as that is how it communicates, that is the major downside imo. But for what I want I'm fine with that for now. Oh and if you decide you want monitoring after all, Scout security works with Smartthings.
I'm planning to add an indoor and outdoor camera, that way if I do get an unexpected notification that a door/window has been opened, I can pull up the camera feed to check what's going on and decide if it's a false alarm or if I need to call the police. Currently considering Blink cameras since their outdoor one will be out in early 2017, and their indoor cameras have good reviews. Cameras combined with the Smartthings, good outdoor lighting and signage (I do believe in security yard signs/window stickers being a deterrent), is good enough for me. HTH
I almost went with SimpliSafe, but to be blunt didn't want to pay the monthly fee (especially since I would have had to pay more to receive text messages if something went off, which I really wanted). I ended up going with the Samsung Smarthings Hub with 'generic' sensors (Samsung does offer a security kit version, but at the time they had no deals on them, so it worked out cheaper to buy the hub and sensors separate). The nice thing with the Samsung setup is you can use non-Samsung devices as long as they are compatible "z-wave" devices (there's a lot of info about this online). I got sensors from gocontrol on amazon, but there are a number of brands out there you can buy. I did make sure to buy the Version 2 hub, based on recommendations online that it works better.
So far haven't really had any issues, just once early on my app wasn't updating the device status, so I had to delete the app on my phone and re-download, and haven't had a problem since. A little confusing at first learning how all this worked (being new to smart home stuff) but it was pretty easy to set up; main recommendation is to pair your sensor in the same room as the hub, then go stick the sensor where you want it afterwards. Note that if you loose wi-fi in your house the system will not work as that is how it communicates, that is the major downside imo. But for what I want I'm fine with that for now. Oh and if you decide you want monitoring after all, Scout security works with Smartthings.
I'm planning to add an indoor and outdoor camera, that way if I do get an unexpected notification that a door/window has been opened, I can pull up the camera feed to check what's going on and decide if it's a false alarm or if I need to call the police. Currently considering Blink cameras since their outdoor one will be out in early 2017, and their indoor cameras have good reviews. Cameras combined with the Smartthings, good outdoor lighting and signage (I do believe in security yard signs/window stickers being a deterrent), is good enough for me. HTH
The reason I got Simply Safe is that it has it's own signal and doesn't need wifi and monitoring is only $15 a month winch costs less than 3 lunches a month. For less than $4 a week it's well worth it. They send the cops and they send 2 patrol cars you don't have to call 911 yourself.
The primary thing these systems do is generate fines for false alarms. This I can attest to. Pretty much guaranteed, you will get enough false alarms in the next 15 years, the police will eventually lose their patience and start fining you. Some cities have a 2 per year policy. Any more and you pay $150 to $250 each time.
Cameras? Oh look, it was a guy in a hoodie that robbed my house. Or maybe it was a woman. Not sure I can only see a humanoid figure in a hoodie. They can be used to see what is outside the house before you open the door.
Alarm system? The smash and grab guy does not care about an alarm. He will ignore it and still be gone in 3-5 minutes. the neighbors will just think it is yet another false alarm (if they care at all).
The professionals who clean out your house floor to ceiling, know how to disable alarm systems, or they just go to the house with no signs and stickers.
There are oddball circumstances where these systems will actually do something for you, but they virtually never happen. It might be a better program to buy lotto tickets with the intent to hire a personal bodyguard to watch your house when you win. Odd of either one actually doing something for you are about the same.
There's no shame in making your neighbors appear a more desirable target than you.
A good professionally monitored alarm system will try to contact you before dispatching the police, and will also monitor fire and carbon monoxide detectors and dispatch fire+ambulance.
Don't discount the safety and peace of mind provided by a good perimeter system. Nighttime "creeper' burglaries of occupied dwellings are not unheard of in my area.
A properly-trained dog of appropriate size is also valuable for defense in depth. Canine defenses do complicate alarm system installation -- You'll need to get quality "pet immune" motion sensors and train both them and the dog to ensure the dog's usually path of travel isn't in the trigger zone. A friendly dog who barks initially but ultimately loves all strangers is only going to act as a minimal deterrent to the opportunist who forgets to bring along a cheap steak.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coldjensens
The primary thing these systems do is generate fines for false alarms. This I can attest to. Pretty much guaranteed, you will get enough false alarms in the next 15 years, the police will eventually lose their patience and start fining you.
The incidence of false alarms depends greatly on the system you choose and whether you have pets or children. I initially had some false alarms related to motion sensors, but once I upgraded a couple sensors (and eliminated the last house mouse), haven't had an issue in years.
Police response to alarm calls, and how alarm permits and fines work, vary greatly depending on your town. Where I live, police are underutilized but also understaffed, so alarm dispatch response can range from 2 minutes to half an hour, and having an alarm permit exempts you from the false alarm fine.
Quote:
Alarm system? The smash and grab guy does not care about an alarm. He will ignore it and still be gone in 3-5 minutes. the neighbors will just think it is yet another false alarm (if they care at all).
The alarm siren doesn't stopthe smash-and-grab guy, however it does keep him to that 3-5 minute limit, and has him looking over his shoulder the whole time. He doesn't know whether that siren is backed up by a phone call to dudes with guns.
Your average smash-and-grab guy will often fill a pillowcase in those minutes, take it away or stash nearb. Then, if everything is still looking quiet, he'll come back for a second helping. A monitored alarm system makes this return trip less likely, and less successful.
Quote:
...they just go to the house with no signs and stickers.
There's no shame in making your place a less desirable burglary target than your neighbors. That means not just having random eBay'd alarm stickers, but the real thing to back them up.
I almost went with SimpliSafe, but to be blunt didn't want to pay the monthly fee (especially since I would have had to pay more to receive text messages if something went off, which I really wanted). I ended up going with the Samsung Smarthings Hub with 'generic' sensors (Samsung does offer a security kit version, but at the time they had no deals on them, so it worked out cheaper to buy the hub and sensors separate). The nice thing with the Samsung setup is you can use non-Samsung devices as long as they are compatible "z-wave" devices (there's a lot of info about this online). I got sensors from gocontrol on amazon, but there are a number of brands out there you can buy. I did make sure to buy the Version 2 hub, based on recommendations online that it works better.
So far haven't really had any issues, just once early on my app wasn't updating the device status, so I had to delete the app on my phone and re-download, and haven't had a problem since. A little confusing at first learning how all this worked (being new to smart home stuff) but it was pretty easy to set up; main recommendation is to pair your sensor in the same room as the hub, then go stick the sensor where you want it afterwards. Note that if you loose wi-fi in your house the system will not work as that is how it communicates, that is the major downside imo. But for what I want I'm fine with that for now. Oh and if you decide you want monitoring after all, Scout security works with Smartthings.
I'm planning to add an indoor and outdoor camera, that way if I do get an unexpected notification that a door/window has been opened, I can pull up the camera feed to check what's going on and decide if it's a false alarm or if I need to call the police. Currently considering Blink cameras since their outdoor one will be out in early 2017, and their indoor cameras have good reviews. Cameras combined with the Smartthings, good outdoor lighting and signage (I do believe in security yard signs/window stickers being a deterrent), is good enough for me. HTH
Interesting. Hadn't ever heard of abode.
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reliable DIY outdoor surveillance camera for a front porch
