Camera setup for small HOA neighborhood street

jayleoness

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Our neighborhood is a small dead end side street off another residential road. We have about 12 houses and are in our own hoa. The idea came up about adding cameras to our street/neighborhood.

As I said we are just 1 small straight dead end street. What is generally the best way to use cameras in this situation. Put in poles so the cameras can sit at the top? Install an nvr and keep it at one of the residents now houses? Would these need to be wireless cameras? Just curious how a setup like this typically Goes.
 

The Automation Guy

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First off, let me say that I am not a professional installer. However our neighborhood has asked questions like this before and these are some things we came up with.

Typically you will need HOA provided power and internet (ie not piggybacking off a resident's service) at every location where you want a camera. You will need an equipment box that can house all the required equipment (cable modem, router, switch, etc, etc) and hardwire all cameras into this box. Obviously the box, cameras, and wiring needs to be vandal proof. Even if the system provides for local storage of the videos, you would certainly want the video to be uploaded to an offsite location that is also in HOA control. The good news is that with just one dead-end street, you really only need cameras at the starting end of the street. You will need multiple cameras, but probably only one equipment box.

That being said, the equipment side is probably the easiest part of this whole issue. Doing this will open pandora's box with the residents and you will have to answer a lot of questions/details. For example, who has access to the camera feeds? Is it just the HOA board, or select residents, or can any resident pull the feeds up? (I will recommend that you never limit access to just one resident. That is just asking for problems). How to your ensure privacy of your residents while still being effective? You have to nail down these details or they may come back to haunt you. Even if all the current residents want the system, imagine what can happen when a home changes ownership and new residents move in.

I'd recommend getting a professional installer involved in this project to ensure it is done properly. There will obviously be a decent upfront cost as well as the ongoing service costs for power and internet. Unless you are in a high crime area, it is probably more hassle than its worth.

I have a CCTV system at my house. But everything this comes up in my neighborhood, I'm against it for all of these reasons and more. Personally I'd rather see residents buy their own Ring Doorbells before I would have the HOA install a system - and I don't like Ring Doorbells.... lol.
 

bigredfish

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We installed cameras on poles at both the Entrance and Culdesac in 2016. Seven cameras total. Overkill to be sure, but I like overkill. You could probably easily do it with one pole location. We had to have electricity and internet run to both locations. A Dahua PoE NVR is at each location along with router and modem are all housed in a vandalproof/weatherproof box. Yes we have an Internet bill for both locations. We do not store video offsite as its not that big of a deal. Could someone break into the box and steal it along with our video footage? Sure. But we're not a bank, life would go on.

It pretty simple to set up Guest access using a Dahua NVR. By only allowing view permissions for that login. All residents can have access. There is no legal assumed privacy outside your home in FL on the public street,, every resident I have spoken with is supportive of the cameras and they have helped us help LE catch a number of bad guys over the years.

I would also recommend getting an installer or certified electrician to help you pull it all together.

entrance-poleandbox.JPG culdesacbox.JPG Culdesac-pole.JPG entrance-pole.JPG
 
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Big.. can guesstimate what the total price tag was? We are starting a HOA (it was defunct from the economic crash til now) due to some Nevada real estate dept law that says we have to. Out of the 30 houses, I guess I would be on the fore front of any camera setup researcher dude.
 

bigredfish

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We have 41, so similar size.

I think we paid $750 for both electrical connections. another $250? for the enclosures. Two NVRs, Two asus routers. Cameras you can guesstimate. I can’t recall what the cable company charged us for the two drops? Internet runs is $150 p/mo

Setting two poles and running cable and connecting things up (before I got involved) was about $5000.

Initially they used 3 very overrated and expensive Axis cameras ($850 each- ouch!) that wouldn’t hold a candle to the 5231 series, and streamed everything back to EagleEye cloud service.
 
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41 cameras ? How many individual stations that have a pole, electrical, internet? Thought only 2 stations (or maybe was just picture examples).
(oh...41 house units...duh)
 

mat200

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41 cameras ? How many individual stations that have a pole, electrical, internet? Thought only 2 stations (or maybe was just picture examples).
(oh...41 house units...duh)
" Seven cameras total."
 

bigredfish

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I have 3 cameras doing LPR duty but not with AI or storing plates. I get your plate when u enter, turn around in the culdesac and when you leave. All 3 have an Overview camera associated with them.

I just don’t have a real need to go to the added expense or hassle with a dedicated plate reader or OpenAPLR. We store about 3 weeks of video, if we have a concern, it’s pretty easy to pull the clip and find a tag and vehicle. We don’t have all that much traffic . If a homeowner has a day and approx time within 12 hours I can usually get it in 5 minutes are so. There is only one small blind spot in the street due to a dogleg turn, and it’s only 1400 ft from one end to the other.

Coupled with my own and a number of neighbors systems, we get very good coverage.
 
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