New member, trying to sort this out.

[fenderman]

Speaking of alarm systems, @fenderman says the Ring alarm systems are good and they have relatively cheap monitoring service. Just avoid Ring cameras because those are wifi trash.

FYI, there is now a gen2 ring alarm with a modified keypad, newer contact sensors and a new PIR sensor. Base station looks the same.
EDIT: your link is to the gen 2 system.

 

[bp2008]

Lastly, network cables should be pure copper (not CCA) if possible, and you'll need at least one PoE switch such as this:

http://amzn.com/B075G2PM17

or this

http://amzn.com/B075G2PM17

but be aware the latter has a relatively small total power budget for having 8 PoE+ ports.

If you have a reliable Windows desktop PC you can leave on at home that is relatively fast (Intel from 2013 or newer, or AMD Ryzen) and has a lot of disk space, then you can use it for Blue Iris. Maybe just temporarily until you have more time to buy a dedicated machine from ebay or wherever.

Blue Iris you can buy from this forum's store for a good price.

 

[sebastiantombs]

@Holbs I just added some Bosch PIRs to my security system and am impressed by them. Excellent detection and range. I'm very surprised at their performance, especially compared to what I used to install way back when PIR first came into the security world. I'll be adding another five, they're kind of like cameras in that respect.

 

[samplenhold]

but here's a small one I've used in a few places and it is pretty nice and works on standard PoE

I have two of these that I use indoors. Great cam.

I have them in dark wood built in bookcase shelves. I covered the white case with black electrical tape. With the black dome, it is almost impossible to see them under the shelf.

 

[Holbs]

@Holbs I just added some Bosch PIRs to my security system and am impressed by them. Excellent detection and range. I'm very surprised at their performance, especially compared to what I used to install way back when PIR first came into the security world. I'll be adding another five, they're kind of like cameras in that respect.

I have #4 PIR going in my garage once I have other projects squared away. #5 is a $90 Bosch PIR outdoor. Didn't pay full price as I snagged at local auction for $10. Worth a shot. Will not replace any camera, but will add to the security EOS of my home.

 

[Travis798]

Thank you all very much. I had decided to just go to Nelly's today, but I had a fishing tournament this weekend and in a sleep deprived state on Saturday morning I ordered some Amcrest cameras and NVR. Ya'll feel free to shake your head at me, I know back when I used to regularly frequent forums on topics I was knowledgeable in I'd shake my head at those joined and pretty much ignored everyone and did what they wanted anyway, but this forum did convince me to cancel my Reolink order at least!

I'll keep reading here and I'll be sure to update once everything arrives and I complete installation. As I've said, I'm in a small town of about 300 people and the local trouble makers tend to shy away from cameras, and I will have a big Amcrest PTZ camera mounted right up front, along with some other turret cameras scattered around. I'm still debating on how I'm going to mount the PTZ, but I'm thinking I'll set a 6x6 wooden post in concrete at the corner of the house and mount to that. The PTZ is more to play around and look around when I want, and maybe to leave zoomed in on anything of importance when need be for monitoring.

I did give thought to everyone's suggestions, and I may incorporate them into my system as I go if I realize my needs aren't being met with the system I've purchased so far.

 

[Travis798]

Well I promised an update so here's where I'm at. I think I'm getting there really. I haven't heard anything about work so it's looking like I'll have time to tweak my setup but I'm already a lot better off than I was. Camera's are placed exactly where the old ones were (Gotta cover the holes from their installation!) and I'll end up putting up a few more. I have a 2MP starlight varifocal camera ordered from here a couple days ago that's still processing, and I have another Amcrest Varifocal on order with Amazon.

This PTZ is amazing. I'm probably going to move it from it's current location, maybe put it up high somewhere. I won't love the high angle but it's more of a play cam and check things out around the place than anything. Anyway, on to the pics! Please feel free to drop any suggestions or pointers if you see something that doesn't look quite right.

 

[samplenhold]

Wow, looks like you have plenty of good light. What model Amcrest PTZ is this one? Shots look great. Need to post some with a person walking around at night.

Also, what 2MP starlight varifocal camera did you order?

Hope the

 

[Travis798]

I've been working on trying to get some lighting upgrades done. I've been pretty much exclusively on the road for 2.5 years with never more than a few days home on holidays until now, so there's sooo much to catch up on and I get sidetracked easily.

The PTZ is the IP4M-1053EW. Depending on where I end up putting this one as it's final resting place, I'm actually considering getting the wifi 1080p version to put in another location. My understanding is you can still run ethernet and run off POE+ to it as well, and the 25x zoom just sounds like it could be fun!

I think it's the only 2MP varifocal in the store here, it's one of the featured items. I figured it would be good to put on the side of the house where there is less light.

I'm still working out how to get clips off the NVR and all that. Heck I haven't even figured out how to set up alerts yet. The Surveillance Pro software is barely, almost kinda sorta working, but I have a lot of kinks to work out. I'm playing with a demo version of Blue Iris, I finally got it to find my NVR but I can't get it to show more than Cam 1 right now.