Affordable way to set up a simple surveillance system?

iPwnz

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I'm looking for a simple surveillance system with 4-5 cams set-up. I want the system itself to be simple and easy if possible but I might need good clarity cameras. Also 2-3 night vision cameras. I will expand the system and increase the cameras once I'm done building my farm. If anyone has any experience please advice.

Story:
So me and relative we left the farmhouse two days ago for one afternoon and one night to drive the tractor back to the town for repairs and came back yesterday to find that the house was robbed. The thieves got inside the fence from the rear during a heavy rainy night and broke down the two bolts which held the door in place. If it was not raining that night the nearby villagers might have heard it but they said it was raining heavily and the thieves might have taken that chance to rob us. They forced-opened the almirah, rummaged through our belongings, stole some money and my spare phone and some other valuables. We have a proper gate and the fencing is about 5-6 ft high. But fencing is a jali one which we use it just for boundary purpose so its not difficult to climb over it. We'll get the whole placed barb-wired soon.
Because they broke opened the door we need to get that fixed asap today as the old nailed area became loose. Might add 3-4 more bolts.
I initially thought of electrically wiring the door handle and the floor outside from where they entered but we have some chicken and cats running about and I didn't want to run that risk.
The fact that they were able to forced their entry meant that they were either a group or a strong individual. Also whoever robbed us cleverly chose what needed to be taken and didn't take everything. The room window was opened which I assumed was used to check the zone for any alerted villager or for passing out items. I called some relatives who sent two guys over to stay with me the night and we armed ourselves with axes and sword and other farming tools. We had no idea the kind of people we were dealing with. The thieves didn't show up anymore. They would be stupid to try.
Anyway my aunt and cousin will come today and we'll file a case at the police station.
 
I'm looking for a simple surveillance system with 4-5 cams set-up. I want the system itself to be simple and easy if possible but I might need good clarity cameras. Also 2-3 night vision cameras. I will expand the system and increase the cameras once I'm done building my farm. If anyone has any experience please advice.

Story:
So me and relative we left the farmhouse two days ago for one afternoon and one night to drive the tractor back to the town for repairs and came back yesterday to find that the house was robbed. The thieves got inside the fence from the rear during a heavy rainy night and broke down the two bolts which held the door in place. If it was not raining that night the nearby villagers might have heard it but they said it was raining heavily and the thieves might have taken that chance to rob us. They forced-opened the almirah, rummaged through our belongings, stole some money and my spare phone and some other valuables. We have a proper gate and the fencing is about 5-6 ft high. But fencing is a jali one which we use it just for boundary purpose so its not difficult to climb over it. We'll get the whole placed barb-wired soon.
Because they broke opened the door we need to get that fixed asap today as the old nailed area became loose. Might add 3-4 more bolts.
I initially thought of electrically wiring the door handle and the floor outside from where they entered but we have some chicken and cats running about and I didn't want to run that risk.
The fact that they were able to forced their entry meant that they were either a group or a strong individual. Also whoever robbed us cleverly chose what needed to be taken and didn't take everything. The room window was opened which I assumed was used to check the zone for any alerted villager or for passing out items. I called some relatives who sent two guys over to stay with me the night and we armed ourselves with axes and sword and other farming tools. We had no idea the kind of people we were dealing with. The thieves didn't show up anymore. They would be stupid to try.
Anyway my aunt and cousin will come today and we'll file a case at the police station.

Affordable way ?​

I remember one scene from "The Big Bang Theory" where the spy cams were stored. you can also try some similar setup.
 
How far are the nearby houses?
A buzzing alarm makes sense which can be remotely controlled. As if someone tress passes the alarm will get activated and naturally alert nearby houses which will/might take actions on the trespassers or at least phone you and remotely you can disable the alarm from phone/app and if the cctvs are IP based you can even view from your phone/laptop before disabling the alarm.

You can install barb-wire mesh which can be insulated from inside using wooden plangs setup but live outside. For this you need to judge how often and how tall the cat jumps etc. factors.
 

Affordable way ?​

I remember one scene from "The Big Bang Theory" where the spy cams were stored. you can also try some similar setup.
Isn't spycam bs? Also battery problem?
It would work if I want to catch the culprit but the thing is I want the cctvs to act as a deterrent or as evidence if they are still stupid enough to go ahead.

How far are the nearby houses?
A buzzing alarm makes sense which can be remotely controlled. As if someone tress passes the alarm will get activated and naturally alert nearby houses which will/might take actions on the trespassers or at least phone you and remotely you can disable the alarm from phone/app and if the cctvs are IP based you can even view from your phone/laptop before disabling the alarm.

You can install barb-wire mesh which can be insulated from inside using wooden plangs setup but live outside. For this you need to judge how often and how tall the cat jumps etc. factors.
About 50-100 ft. If it's wireless then something like the alarm system of cars can work. It will have to be connected to each pole on the jali pillar. But if it uses internet connectivity then it's a no go as internet service is not good here.
 

Affordable way ?​

I remember one scene from "The Big Bang Theory" where the spy cams were stored. you can also try some similar setup.
Aquaman, protecting your home since 2012 ? I guess instead of hiding the CCTV camera in comic characters, OP might even want to do the opposite : install fake cameras as deterrent.
 
Don't know how affordable you are talking about, but most of the local guys have 1080p cam for like 2k per cam, 4k for DVR & extra for HDD (very rough price estimate). You can connect it to the internet & watch the live feed, but doubt there is support for saving cam data online anywhere. Anyways if they break in again, they can just destroy/take the DVR & be done with it. You might have to research more into it.
 
What's the power supply situation in that area? I think it is not just surveillance, you need to invest in a UPS to keep it running with little to no downtime.
 
And if no dedicated internet then a phone permanently hooked up to a charger cum ups cum inverter. And obviously you might be visiting the place at least once a month so you can during your stay give that phone some rest.
A good local sim network with ultd recharge data will be handy here.
 
I have setup the MI 360 camera for myself, parents and in-laws. No complaints. App is pretty decent. They work in a pitch dark room too.
 
Thanks guys. I got the best surveillance I could find for now.
I got a dog!

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So me and relative we left the farmhouse two days ago for one afternoon and one night to drive the tractor back to the town for repairs and came back yesterday to find that the house was robbed.
It means they were watching the place. Locals maybe or next town.

I'm surprised they knew exactly when to strike. Half a day isn't exactly that large of a window.

Why did they pick your house?

A drive-through at night might have indicated nobody was home as the lights were off and the rest of the houses it was on.

Hit and run, move on to the next village.

The simplest way to figure out which house to hit is see if the path to the house is cleared of leaves. If it isn't then nobody's home and for a long time too.
 
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I found most easy way was to get the wifi cameras from amazon (many brands sell then for about 2.5k a pop). They mostly store in cloud, which is not a problem if you have finer based internet connection. The software has options of motion tracking, alert and activation. They click a photo and send an alert along with to your phone, which is an easy way to do surveillance .
 
It means they were watching the place. Locals maybe or next town.

I'm surprised they knew exactly when to strike. Half a day isn't exactly that large of a window.
I already know that. Its not just when they striked but how they did. They knew exactly where the locks and bolts were. So I added some more and then never opened the room door in public again. I always keep the door closed. Its obvious that they are people who knows their way around the house meaning they know us very well.
Why did they pick your house?
Because I'm constructing a farmhouse and have started storing the materials in the house and also employing some local people and they think that I'm rich lol.
 
As someone who has absolutely no idea about security cameras, but was always interested in them, could you tell me how much does a 24-hour surveillance footage in 1080p (good quality) consumes like, in GB I mean?
 
As someone who has absolutely no idea about security cameras, but was always interested in them, could you tell me how much does a 24-hour surveillance footage in 1080p (good quality) consumes like, in GB I mean?
It depends on the codec used h264 or h265. It also depends on the frame rate used and whether one chooses CBR or VBR which is constant and variable bit rate respectively.

I use CBR for better clarity and also use 20fps to 25hz and for capturing vehicle number plates or looking at something moving fast, I use 60fps, very few cameras have such high refresh rate.

So for 1080p at 25hz you are looking at around 40gb per day. This is from a proper mid range Dahua or hikvision IP camera. You could get away with 20gb per day with some compromise on fine details, some people even use 15hz for indoor cameras. On the other hand crappy cameras could well do it 4gb per day.

If you use the camera makers proprietary codec like h.265+ you can half the bit rate.
 
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