Just Sharing My Progress

[smithb]

Hi, all. I just wanted to share my progress with the community and possibly get some feedback. I've studied the Wiki and Cliff Notes and tried to follow them as closely as possible. I'm a mechanic by nature, so the networking and software configuration aspects are definitely the hardest concepts for me to grasp. Feel free to critique my setup and provide some constructive criticism.

It took me a week of fiddling around but I'm finally making good RJ45 terminations. All of my cable runs are complete up to my POE switch, my new PC is up and running, and I have two IPC-HDW5231R-ZE turrets that I'm getting ready to start playing with.

Here's my network diagram and Phase 1 camera placement. The focal geometry probably isn't completely accurate, but you get the idea.

Phase 2 will add a camera to the front door and 3 to the back of the house:

Questions:

1. I plan to set up a VPN with my router. Should I rearrange things so that the router is plugged directly into the modem or is it good "as is"?
2. When it comes time to expand, should I simply run another 4-port POE switch from an open spot on the primary router or should I upgrade my non-POE switch to an 8-port and run from there?
3. I have a spacious ductwork plenum in my basement with an access panel. I'm thinking about installing a POE switch and 120V receptacle inside plenum near the access panel in an effort to shorten the distances between the switch and the cameras on the back of the house. Does anyone see a problem with that? I view it similar to how I'd approach an installation inside a network enclosure.

Thanks for your input!

 

[smithb]

I also want to add that whatever extra money I spent for a HP PC that is still under warranty has already paid for itself. The bootleg copy of Windows 10 Pro that was on the unit was not compatible with the onboard hardware and the power supply was showing signs of failure. The nice folks at HP fixed it all under warranty. It would have been a royal pain to deal with the return process.

 

[SouthernYankee]

1) Set the arris modem in pass thru mode,
2) connect the Asus primary router to the modem.
3) connect the 4 port switch to the asus primary, try not to connect anything else to the primary ASUS
4) the hard drive connected to the primary ASUS router is OK, that is what I do.

I am not sure how your system is currently working, unless you are using the ARRIS as the primary router.

Also it is great that you provided a drawing, it makes it so easy to understand you network lay out.

 

[smithb]

Thanks for the input. I was getting internet access with that setup but I couldn't see my cameras. I'll bet it works once I make these changes.

I'm a visual thinker and the drawings help me understand the system a little better. I'm only one step ahead of plugging wires into little magic boxes and crossing my fingers. Back in my navy days the electricians had to translate everything into fluid flow terms so that it would make sense to me. I'll make these changes and report back.

 

[catcamstar]

My remarks based on your drawings:
- driveway: it's good to have "double" coverage (eg overlap between green & pink) - however if somebody sneaks in at your bottom right perimeter frontier, are there bushes? Some kind of fence? Burglars not often use driveways but are little bit more sneaky sneaky
- garden: same remark here: you have (almost) FOV of 90°, which will render in very "bad" DORI distances: to recognize a face, one has to stand in front of the cam at 1 meter. So if these cams are just to "detect" movement, you're good, otherwise I would suggest you either cover the garden from the most left corner (overwatching your northbound wall to the right), one from the most right corner (same overlap but looking to the left), so both cam's "protect" each other.
- your left wall does not have any windows/doors to "control"?

 

[cuz]

I like the way your using two 90 degree cameras to cover the back. I may have to look into that for the front of my house. How far is the front of your house to the street?

 

[smithb]

I like the way your using two 90 degree cameras to cover the back. I may have to look into that for the front of my house. How far is the front of your house to the street?

It's about 25 - 30 ft from the front to the street. My backyard abuts a state park so I'm tempted to put a third camera facing straight back to capture wildlife... maybe in Phase 3. The main reason for positioning them at 90 degrees back-to-back is because I have a straight shot to run cable concealed within the wall to that location and the corners of the house would probably require running some external wiring, which I'd like to avoid.

 

[Fastb]

Something to consider: putting cables in a plenum.
If by "plenum" you mean "duct", that's generally not permitted by code.
And non-plenum rated cables would be a definite no-no.
plenum rated cat cable is much more expensive than regular cable.
Just something to think about....

 

[smithb]

My remarks based on your drawings:
- driveway: it's good to have "double" coverage (eg overlap between green & pink) - however if somebody sneaks in at your bottom right perimeter frontier, are there bushes? Some kind of fence? Burglars not often use driveways but are little bit more sneaky sneaky
- garden: same remark here: you have (almost) FOV of 90°, which will render in very "bad" DORI distances: to recognize a face, one has to stand in front of the cam at 1 meter. So if these cams are just to "detect" movement, you're good, otherwise I would suggest you either cover the garden from the most left corner (overwatching your northbound wall to the right), one from the most right corner (same overlap but looking to the left), so both cam's "protect" each other.
- your left wall does not have any windows/doors to "control"?

There is a window on the east garage wall, so that is definitely somewhat of a vulnerability. One of my future improvements will be to put one or two cameras inside the garage. The west side has a few windows but the house is covered by a monitored security system, so I'm not overly concerned about complete visual coverage. My primary concerns are door checkers, vandals, car accidents, crazy neighbors, package thieves, and abductions. Phase 3 will likely include enhanced coverage of the garden and the west side similar to the way you describe, though. I need to pace myself to placate the wife... The DORI distances are definitely a concern of mine because I really don't have any idea what to expect, yet. I should have it figured out once I play around with my bucket setup later this week.

 

[smithb]

Something to consider: putting cables in a plenum.
If by "plenum" you mean "duct", that's generally not permitted by code.
And non-plenum rated cables would be a definite no-no.
plenum rated cat cable is much more expensive than regular cable.
Just something to think about....

I apologize if my terminology is a bit off. The plenum I mentioned is simply a soffit that houses the ductwork. It's equivalent to running the cable within a wall cavity, and I believe that I can install a 120V receptacle in there because of the access panel. I need to research that a bit more, though.

 

[cuz]

It's about 25 - 30 ft from the front to the street.

Ok, my house is about 80 ft from the street so I would probably need to use 3 cameras for complete coverage and any kind of decent quality video. Not sure the wife will go for that...

 

[smithb]

1) Set the arris modem in pass thru mode,
2) connect the Asus primary router to the modem.
3) connect the 4 port switch to the asus primary, try not to connect anything else to the primary ASUS
4) the hard drive connected to the primary ASUS router is OK, that is what I do.

I am not sure how your system is currently working, unless you are using the ARRIS as the primary router.

Also it is great that you provided a drawing, it makes it so easy to understand you network lay out.

I got everything rearranged and can now configure my cameras, so thank you! Here's the new network diagram. The error seems so obvious, now.

 

[smithb]

Here are my first shots at night on either side of the driveway. The light is pretty much on all the time. I've already determined that I need at least one more... maybe two... on the driveway, alone. I'm just getting started on the picture and lighting settings. Does anyone have any pointers or advice?

Cam1

Cam2

 

[smithb]

Also, please feel free to critique camera angle, placement, or zoom. I'm sure things will change once I get some people and face pics.

 

[catcamstar]

My advice:
- "play" to be a cardoorchecker, put a hoodie on, or one of these ugly hats. And see for yourself who could recognize you. Remember: it takes only 2 seconds to run by a car and check the doors. And off they go. There won't be "time" to call the police, so your images have to "evidence proof".
- If I was burglar, I would pass through these two cars, is it an option to install (hidden in the middle of your garagedoor?) an additional cam, halfway the height of your car - that would give great footage.
- lightning: indeed, that can be improved, at least with the huge floodlight (under your datestamp) from your neighbors on the other side ;-) Kill that light ;-)

Good luck!
CC

 

[smithb]

That’s exactly what I was thinking. My garage has a divider between the second and third bay that would be a good place to mount another camera. I was hoping not to need to do that because I don’t want my house to look like a prison. I’m probably going to paint them the same color as my light fixtures... or possibly the siding... to help them blend in.

That light is actually a pole light near my front walkway. It’s mostly decorative, so I can put it on a timer that will turn it off after visiting hours.

 

[catcamstar]

That’s exactly what I was thinking. My garage has a divider between the second and third bay that would be a good place to mount another camera. I was hoping not to need to do that because I don’t want my house to look like a prison. I’m probably going to paint them the same color as my light fixtures... or possibly the siding... to help them blend in.

That light is actually a pole light near my front walkway. It’s mostly decorative, so I can put it on a timer that will turn it off after visiting hours.

To my experience, a good Ir light is often better than working with "human light". As your picture already shows: light coming from the back will NOT render a visual lighted face, it's like looking into carlights an not being able to read the plate numbers. One ir floodlight on top of your garage doors might be more than enough.

Regarding your garage doors: I was more thinking on placing a cam on the INSIDE of a garage door, and let it slide open. Then you just see a "lens" opening

 

[smithb]

Regarding your garage doors: I was more thinking on placing a cam on the INSIDE of a garage door, and let it slide open. Then you just see a "lens" opening

I’m gonna hold off on getting this fancy until the technology catches up to where a 1”x1”x1” micro camera can match the image quality of a 5231.

I’ll be sure to work a few IR floods into Phase 2. It would be cool if I could get a dual element setup to switch from visible light to IR on a timer. It should be quite doable with current LED technology.

 

[smithb]

Here's the latest orientation. I decided that the center column between Bays 2 and 3 provided a better vantage for the driveway. I'll probably put a third camera in more of an "overwatch" role at the original spot facing our half cul de sac where all of the neighborhood kids play. I'll experiment with the lighting tonight. I was able to at least keep my lamp post out of the picture, so that should help some.

 

[smithb]

FYI, the Infiniti is parked about 4 feet shy of where it normally is. I'm also in the process of relocating the truck and parking all cars in the garage.