I'm thinking of setting up a indoor home surveillance system and need some advice

[cantdrv55]

If you've done something like this, where'd you get your components? Is there such a thing as a basic set up kit? Did you have the wires in the walls or was the recorder close enough to the camera so you could tuck it in someplace?

My wife is returning to work after two-and-half years at home caring for our special needs little boy. He qualifies for in-home nursing care because of his feeding issue so we are now interviewing/training would be care-givers. These nurses are LVNs and they range in age from 22 - 50 (no, none are hot). So far the few we've interviewed might be OK.

Our concern is, they have to be super patient with my little boy. I don't feed him very often and I've lost my cool more than once. I've actually asked my wife to take over because I just could not get any food in him. I can imagine a stranger who gets paid maybe $15 per hour squeezing his face in exasperation so that he'll open his mouth and then shoveling the puree in. I have trust issues.

Anyway, if you've set up a home spy system, please give me some advice. Thanks.

[slodave]

Do you want internet viewing as well? There are wireless camera systems that can be used (multi camera). How many cameras are you looking at?

[cantdrv55]

Yes on internet viewing. Didn't know there's a thread about this already.

[NY65912]

I instaled an 8 camera system for the perimeter of my home. It has a dvr and I view it thru the internet at my office.

Very easy to install and setup.

General Security Cameras - Covert Spy Cameras

[cantdrv55]

Thanks Mike.

[PRE-H20]

cantdrive55,

i have a client that does EXACTLY what your looking for, family run business, i know the president, they have been operating for 25 years.

she has a system set up in her home, live stream via the internet cool stuff.

we are looking into a system for my girls business to monitor the cash register, trust issues as $ has disappeared for us so we need to address this covertly.

where are you located?

[masraum]

I know that Frys has a ton of stuff for this sort of thing. I think Radio Shack might too.

[charlesbahn]

I use "Q-See" at my office. Works great, easy to set up, etc. Got it from Costco.

[cantdrv55]

Originally Posted by PRE-H20

where are you located?

Northern CA.

Hmm, Fry's and Costco. Two of my favorite stores.

[slodave]

I've been thinking about this. Since you really don't want to run wires through walls (understandable), I think the choices are wireless or Power over Ethernet (PoE). For PoE, you would need PoE adapters and I.P. video cams. You would have to setup port forwarding at your DSL modem/router (not hard). With wireless, you would need a base that could handle, 4, 8, 16.... cams... Doable. There is a Motorola device that can be used..

Motorola Homesight Gateway - No PC Required Version - XG1000 - X1000 - SmartHomeUSA.com
There is also a system that allows you record the video feeds and also watch live via the Internet.
Xanboo DVR for HomeSight Gateway - XD925 - SmartHomeUSA.com
(back ordered)

BTW, these homesite systems allow you to hook up other things, such as light controllers, thermostat.... It's more of a home automation system, but would work for your needs too.

If you have a dynamic external I.P., then you would need to sign up for a free service like DynDNS.com: Free DNS Hosting, E-mail Delivery, and VPS Hosting

[cantdrv55]

Ok I am going to look into this over the weekend and report back. I did contact ADT alarm system about hooking me up. I have Brinks security at home but found out ADT is going to buy them out (not common knowledge but I hope this is not some kind of insider trading). Anyway, ADT says for $2500 they'll set it up for me so that I can have a wired system with internet viewing and multiple cameras. I 'bout fell off my chair from the sticker shock!

[slodave]

It won't be cheap. DIY and it becomes cheaper... It's your child though, so cost should not be too much of a factor.

[bell]

The guy that owns our local hobby shop has a slick little setup.....
He can view it via pc, and his i-phone, he's using a Wifi digital panasonic camera, which can be zoomed and pan around (with the i-phone controls), it'll take still shots if the alarm goes off, and record video.
He said the camera came with the software too......I didn't get the model number but I'm sure you could find it on the web......
I'll be getting the same setup when the need arises.....