Surveillance system design for a camper

agudra

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Hi all.
I started lurking in this forum a few months ago trying to absorb all this information in order to plan my own system.

I am starting my own thread since I couldn't find much advice for my use case. I am putting together a camper on a truck flat bed and would like to have video coverage of the area around the camper and be able to monitor remotely.

Here are my requirements for the system:
  1. 360 degrees coverage both during the day and at night. (I like the cameras with built-in IR LEDs as I would prefer to not have to mount additional IR LEDs)
  2. Perimeter protection, human detection - humans getting close to the camper door, window, cab or the undermount storage boxes, rear storage etc
  3. Smaller footprint, the camera should not be too obvious.
  4. The ability to trigger notification based on an alarm either in the cameras or the ability to receive events which I can use to initiate my own deterrence measures (turn on bright lights and loud sounds, train horn haha)
  5. Weather resistant
  6. Audio recording would be a nice-to-have
I am attaching some rough design sketches with possible mounting spots, form factors and models I have in mind and hoping to get some critique from the experts on this forum. The top of the camper will be 10 ft, the whole rig, bumper to bumper will be around 24ft. The mannequin is 6'2" tall.

Solution 1
4 fish-eye cameras, one on each side of the camper, positioned in the middle of the horizontal distance.
Possible models:
This was my first impulse before educating myself on the forum and learning how folks here really dislike them. I liked them for their smaller footprint.
My question here would be: do you see any possible uses for a fish eye camera for this setup? Maybe install in the middle of the roof, pointing up in case someone climbs up there?

cams-solution1.png
cams-solution1-back.png


Solution 2
6 - bullet/turret style cameras (1 front ,1 back, 2 on each side pointed towards the front and back respectively)
Possible models:
probably in 2.8mm or 3.6mm focal lengths (haven't yet investigated the field of view and focus areas)

cams-solution2-front.png
cams-solution2-back.png

A few additional notes:

I know one of the recommendations in the cliff notes is to avoid mounting the cameras too high, but I also need to consider vandalism. A house is different than an RV which would be parked in more secluded areas and a perp would be more inclined to try to destroy the cameras so that's why I would incline to mount them higher (of course someone really determined could still tamper with them) and also try to make them less conspicuous. One option here would be to
fabricate/3D print some enclosures myself and remove the original enclosures in order to minimize the size and "blend" them into the camper shell. If they are less conspicuous they could be lowered to maybe around 7-8 ft. I would also design these enclosures to be more "aerodynamic" and prevent "whistling noises" while going at 65mph on the highway.

Browsing the installation guides for the 5442 turret, it looks like the camera hardware is quite small, I wonder if it needs that big enclosure for ventilation purposes.
just-hardware.png

Looking forward to reading your comments. Thanks!
 

PatPend

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One source of ideas might be exterior school bus cameras, you know, the ones that get you a $200 ticket if you pass it when the lights are flashing. They surely must be vandal resistant.
 

agudra

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We spent 10 years on the road, full time...
Did you have any cameras installed? If yes, what was your setup and where did you install the cameras? Any unpleasant incidents?

... I would suggest you look into 12v passive cameras.
Why are you suggesting passive POE? It seems that active POE is more intelligent and a standard: it injects power only if the device handshake is successful.
Thanks for your input!
 

agudra

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Looks like I need to research "modular cameras", the processing is unit is separate from the sensor and lens. This would make it much easier to hide the cameras.

Oh boy these AXIS systems cost an arm and a leg! Too bad Dahua only makes those pinhole cameras with very small sensors.
 

fenderman

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Looks like I need to research "modular cameras", the processing is unit is separate from the sensor and lens. This would make it much easier to hide the cameras.

Oh boy these AXIS systems cost an arm and a leg! Too bad Dahua only makes those pinhole cameras with very small sensors.
Both dahua and hik make modular camerashttps://www.dahuasecurity.com/asset/upload/product/20180110/DH-IPC-HUM8431-E1_Datasheet__20180108.pdf
I dont believe they make them with more than one camera per box though.
 

agudra

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Both dahua and hik make modular camerashttps://www.dahuasecurity.com/asset/upload/product/20180110/DH-IPC-HUM8431-E1_Datasheet__20180108.pdf
I dont believe they make them with more than one camera per box though.
Thanks for sharing this. Are the sensor units connected to the processing unit by coaxial cable ?

@fenderman Do you know which unit is newer? The one with the USB connector for the sensor or the one that looks like one or two coaxial connectors?

IPC-HUM8441-E2 ^

IPC-HUM8441-E1 ^
IPC-HUM8431-E1.png
IPC-HUM8431-E1 ^

Do these units work with IR light or natural light? I'd prefer to add IR illuminators, not natural light LEDs.

EDIT: added images after looking at all the models
 
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Do you have an update on the route you went? I'm in the market for putting some cameras on my 5th wheel, so would love to hear what you did!
 

agudra

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My timeline to purchase is around March next year so I haven't pulled the trigger yet. I decided the modular cameras are the way to go for my use case and in particular IPC-HUM8441E-E1-L3-S2 (wider aperture 1.6 than the other models). I will build custom aluminum enclosures for the sensors and mount them in the spots I showed in the sketches. I simulated their field-of-view in 3D and those spots give me 360 degrees coverage around the RV. The processing units will be inside the camper away from the elements. I will also add IR LEDs around the top to ensure enough illumination at night.

I wish the modular units were more popular on this forum, it would have been great to hear feedback from people with first-hand experience. Maybe I need to post in the Dahua subforum.
 

TonyR

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I just collared a FedEx driver about the system in his delivery van. It had 4 side cams, 2 facing forward and 2 facing backward, a rear view cam and a dash cam, DVR with color LCD monitor on the dash, all 1280 x 960 analog HD.

It's made by Smart Witness and very likely expensive. The cam housings appear to be designed to shrug off brush, etc. and are IP69K rated for weather.

Because the cams are 12VDC outputting composite 1.0 Vp-p, 75Ω, AHD, NTSC you could likely use with any AHD DVR that runs on 12VDC (most that are non-POE do) and save some money.

smartwitness-cam.jpg

EDITED 4/8/23 @1430 CT: Sorry, the above links are 404, it's only been 6 months and the co. has changed hands!
 
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