CCTV Systems - covert camera selection and deployment

bl0at3r

bl0at3r

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Alan
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MODS - Not sure if this has a place anywhere on the forum, but thought I would put it here - feel free to move wherever appropriate.

I have a CCTV system at home comprising a DVR and currently have a number of external IR domes covering the front and rear of the property and an IR dome in the utility room where the cat lives (have had some interesting footage of the crazy cat!).

I have signs up and am not pointing any cameras at neighboring properties etc etc, but had an issue recently with a courier delivery driver.

I caught him on camera coming up the drive and approaching the front door but the camera does not actually cover the front door or the letterbox.

The courier swears he put a card through, but I didn't find one on the doormat so am adamant he didn't. Without clear footage of the letterbox/door area I can't prove/disprove. Anyway....

I don't have anywhere to mount a dome or bullet type camera by the front door so will need to mount something covertly - in a porch light or in the doorbell for example.

Ideally the camera needs to be at head height or lower with a wide enough view to be able to capture faces as they ring the bell or put something through the letterbox.

Anyone got any experience of mounting a camera in this way or recommend a decent quality cctv camera that is small enough?

Ta
 
Do you have a photograph of your front door area? I fitted covert cameras for several years... If I can see the area you're trying to cover - I can try and make some recommendations for you.
 


Not a lot to work with I know, I don't want dome or bullet cameras - the rest of my install is stealthy and unobtrusive but in this area it is a little more challenging.

Any suggestions would be great - thanks in advance
 
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There are a number of covert camera options, door viewers, bolt heads, thermostats, junction boxes and of course DIY into whatever you like e.g. out of the side of your lantern light.
 
Looking at what you've got there - I can think of a number of ways that you could cover it.. There are DIY ways, and out of the box ways...

Covert camera in box - wide angle

The above is a ready made solution - that you could affix to the wall just to the left of the lamp in that upper alcove on the brick wall. This would give a pretty wide angle view through the pinhole - but retails around £100.

You could make your own.. Using a box like THIS and mounting your own board camera inside. That would work out at around £50-60 including the board camera..

Another option would be to obtain a piece of trunking similar to this:

Trunking

Then affix it to run up the white drain pipe. The board camera could be mounted at about shoulder height, and would give a good view across the front door..

To fix the cameras inside the trunking or the boxes, all you'd need is a hot glue gun or something similar...

They are all 12v - so it's pretty easy to get a power supply (Maplins do them for a few pounds).. The board cameras can then have their signal wire converted to any connection, depending on your recording facility. I always used BNC as that was the CCTV standard.

If your recorder uses the BNC connection - you'll also need a Balun:

Balun

This will allow you to connect the board camera directly to your DVR.

You could as has been suggested fit something within the lamp, but don't think that's quite as practical :)

If I were doing it - I'd use the trunking option, mount the board camera inside it. It also provides an easy way to allow cables to neatly be stowed away.

You could alternatively go wireless - but I don't think the technology is as great as a wired camera for the moment, and you still have to run power cables - so you might as well run the video cable the same time :)

Hope that helps a little.
 
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