Question on LPR camera distance

[crw030]

Ok from that most recent top-down view I would definitely see there is a streetlight or something on the opposite side closer to the entrance gate. If that's owned by the HOA how about putting a camera there (you would have power I presume since its a light), and wireless link back to your place?

I know you said no power or network there, but that looks like power, and where there is power, and a pole, it feels like wireless could be an option.

 

[bigredfish]

Typically even if there’s a pole, it’s owned by a Utility company and you’ll have to get an electrician to get permission/permit from the Utility to tie in and set you a separate meter. We had to do same at our culdesac location.

The Utility wouldn’t allow us to attach anything to their pole.

 

[gamer4life]

Typically even if there’s a pole, it’s owned by a Utility company and you’ll have to get an electrician to get permission/permit from the Utility to tie in and set you a separate meter. We had to do same at our culdesac location.location.

The Utility wouldn’t allow us to attach anything to their pole.

My mother in law who is the City Office Manager basically told me the samething when I mentioned placing a camera on the utility pole. Can not attach anything to their pole..

 

[pozzello]

I would set up LPR cams in BOTH directions... one in the tree towards the gate. your existing huisun 10x should work fine there.

 

[DLONG2]

I'd try the Z12 with maybe a long-range IR source first for the gate entrance, and see if that can capture plates. Another idea would be as wthimothy said, trench in ethernet cable(s) to the street, and build some sort of decorative blind for the camera(s).

 

[crw030]

Typically even if there’s a pole, it’s owned by a Utility company and you’ll have to get an electrician to get permission/permit from the Utility to tie in and set you a separate meter. We had to do same at our culdesac location. The Utility wouldn’t allow us to attach anything to their pole.

Too bad really, that would have turned this into a quick fix, electrician wires power, bolts a wireless link and camera to the pole, power them both of POE in a weatherproof box and done.

 

[Purduephotog]

The trench might not be that difficult, depending on the soil, and how many tree roots you have to deal with.

Get some of this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E7GEZEE/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Then use a flat edge shovel to cut a 6" deep trench into the ground, push in the cable, and just spool it out as you go along. With someone to help you, you can get it done pretty quickly. There's no need to bury a conduit for the cable. The grass should recover pretty quickly, too.

I realize I'm late to the game here, but I found trenching very easy with a pressure washer and the needle sprayer. Wish I'd put the nozzle on wheels to keep the angle consistent, but that thing knifed a thin slit through the ground like butter. I went back with a shovel where roots were.

I also tried the fan where I needed a slightly bigger hole- the fan worked well for 'removal' of material.

 

[crw030]

I'm sure pressure is a factor, but how deep would you say that pressure washer trick made your trench, and how wide was the trench?

 

[Purduephotog]

I'm sure pressure is a factor, but how deep would you say that pressure washer trick made your trench, and how wide was the trench?

I got anywhere from 6" to 12" deep. My soil is compacted clay, too, so it was a PITA as you can imagine. Like I said the needle.... and then made the fan vertical (5 degree) to help eject material from the hole/slot.

The top of the hole was about as wide as my pinkie, the bottom got bigger, mostly due to erosion from the water. If you were 'smart' you'd put a curved metal hook or adapt a U-channel out of the hole to throw the water/mud elsewhere.

I ended up burying conduit in the hole easy-peasy, and glued it up as needed before pushing it in. Where I needed to surface, I just drilled around with the nozzle until it looked soupy, then dug up the resultant mud.

Note: I was covered in mud as I figured this out. The grass looked like a muddy warrior. But it all cleared up in a week or so.

 

[mech]

I get good results with a Bosch 7000 Starlight NBN-71013 box camera, an IR-corrected Tamron M13VG850IR lens, and a very powerful and directional long-range IR emitter (CMVision IR200, easy to find on Ebay or Amazon). I'll attach a couple samples at about 150ft range. Getting these lenses may be a little bit of a scavenger hunt, just watch Ebay for that exact model and be aware there are non-IR-corrected variants of it. The Bosch camera can accommodate non-IR-corrected lenses by maintaining separate motorized backfocus locations for day and night modes, if you have to settle for a non-IR version.

The Bosch is "only" a 720p cam but has good low-light performance that allows it to stay at 1/1000th shutter speed at night, plus enough granularity to dial the settings for usable plate pictures. If you did get one, you'll need to do some tuning of the ALC (exposure, basically) to get the results you need. In general, I lower ALC to almost as low as it goes, and reduce temporal noise filtering far enough to eliminate ghosting. I also have the big-brother Bosch 8000 Starlight and they are nice overall, but I still consider my 7000 the best one in my rack for day/night LPR.

Whatever you get, lock shutter speed to a high speed to keep blur under control, and if possible, put the camera up high, so headlights don't aim right up the camera lens and swamp your plate reflectivity. Alternately, if you want to run the IR emitter 24 hours a day, you could put some IR-pass polycarbonate in front of the camera lens, filtering out most visible light and leaving plate reflection at a strong advantage. I haven't tried this in a daytime scenario since my camera's high enough to ride over the top of low-beam headlights.

 

[Purduephotog]

Optical Cast Infrared Longpass Filters | Edmund Optics

I've used this with success in camera modifications (SLR) to only photograph IR. Back before this was a 'thing' that you could order, this material was the easiest for DIY's to cut down and it didn't impact image quality (much). Designed for hot environments and can resist sparks. I think they've changed the material though as I don't see the order number anymore.

You may or may not have to remove the optical pass filter from the camera. I doubt it if it works in IR, but... adding this will knock out any visible light from 650 down. So some red will leak in, but after that- nada.