looking for advice on a cheap digital cctv system

[adomakin]

Im looking to cam up my place with some small bullet style cams for security and at the same time learn a little about this sort of thing so I can possibly install a similar system on my new build site. looking an ebay i can get hold of cheap ccd/night vision cams, even auxillery infra red illuminators, but what then? I have an old laptop that I thought I may be able to use but maybe its not trick enough to cope? It looks like i will need some sort of hub/video board for the cams to plug into...then i suppose i need a pc for the processing/storage duties...above all the image needs to be clear at night for a range of about 5-10m and the system needs to be cheap (to start with) I don't need a complex system either- maybe 2 to 4 cams, continuous recording is ok...
can anyone advise me a bit?

[adomakin]

...

[slodave]

You really want to use a PC. Laptop does not have enough storage unless you use external drives, but still, PC is better suited. There are inexpensive setups to be had. Drive space is your friend.

Dave

[adomakin]

thanks Dave. im thinking about these sort of cameras
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/42-LED-420LINES-NIGHT-COLOR-CCD-CCTV-SPY-CAMERA-PAL_W0QQitemZ300071787628QQihZ020QQcategoryZ66738Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

there are these sort of control boards very cheap on ebay. are they rubbish or will they still give me a decent setup when used with the cams above and perhaps some auxillery I-R?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4-CH-2-REAL-TIME-50-60-FPS-CCTV-DIGITAL-DVR-CARD-C02_W0QQitemZ140077621698QQihZ004QQcategoryZ60839Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[slodave]

It's hard to say. The camera's are probably ok, but the board seems rather cheap. With 42 LED's, I don't think you will need aux help. I use small cheap CCD camera's for my R/C hobby and I am happy with the quality.

Dave

[adomakin]

cheers dave. Just out of interest, what r/c stuff are you into? do you have any clips showing your ccd footage?

[slodave]

Hi Andy,

I fly a 3M glider


I don't think I really have any web ready video. I will take a look though. Later tonight I will take a picture of some of the new video gear I am using. It is not finished, but you can get an idea of the parts and maybe scale.

Dave

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I actually just bought a two camera setup (wireless) by Swann for keeping an eye on stuff around my place. Total cost was about $200 at Fry's.

I set it up to run into a seperate PC I built with spare parts I had lying around and a video capture card. The wireless cameras can be set up to run off a power supply or a 9V battery, and they're pretty discrete. Picture quality ain't bad (good enough to ID someone f*cking with my car).

[slodave]

Here are some pics of the first video system I used and the second (not finished). The first version used a 2.4GHz LOS freq. and caused a lot of snow when the antenna pointed away from the base. The second, unfinished system uses a 900MHz freq. that is good for 2+ miles non-LOS.

I am still digging for the video I have.

Dave







The new system needs a smaller camera. The board on the new one is way too big.
Oh yeah, first system ran off 9V, second 12V lithium polymer.