Little Brother

We never seriously considered getting a full-service security solution after being robbed. Way too expensive and hopefully not very necessary. But we did toss around the idea of self-installing something. The serious self-rolled security systems involve setting up a server to record video along with several expensive cameras. Just too much money and hassle. Should we ever make our house part of the internet of things, we may install cheap motion sensors on the main entry doors and ground level windows with some kind of hub (this or whatever Apple does?). But there's too much flux and uncertainty about which system will win out. So that project is on hold.

Our main concern is that packages get left on our stoop. Since our street is so highly trafficked, we are always worried about something getting lifted. So some kind of video camera or still capture system would work. A super popular one is the Dropcam. But this works by streaming all of the video through your home internet connection to Dropcam. So should Russian or Chinese hackers compromise Dropcam, they could watch your home camera from the comfort of their desks. But worse, Google bought Dropcam. Which means that eventually Google will decide to use the video streams to figure out how to sell things to you. So we wanted something we had some control over.

My brother is using this camera to monitor his front door and recommended it.

Nothing fancy. 640x480 resolution. IR sensors for night vision. Wireless network connection. But what I liked about it was 1. it's really cheap and 2. you can log directly into it and control it. We have it setup to transmit photos whenever it detects motion to an email account. D-Link isn't involved at all. The camera can't be accessed from outside our network. So it is (sort of?) secure. 

I originally put it in our bay window but the IR sensors don't work through the glass and I couldn't get a angle on our porch. I did a little bit of googling and it seems that a bunch of people are using them outside without too many problems. It's really cheap, so I think it's worth a try. 

Our walkway. The camera was originally next to the potted plant in the bay window. Now it is behind the gray pot center right.

Shielded pretty well from the elements from the bay widow overhang and the pot. It's also right on top of the outlet. 

The capture photo resolution is pretty lousy. But better than nothing. I think it'd only be useful for a actual theft for capturing the time and a general description of the thief. Unless the thief had really distinguishing tattoos. Since the emails get sent a minute or two after it gets triggered, I could conceivably catch a robbery in action.

Unfortunately a spider has decided that this location is great. Apparently a little spider walking right in front of the camera is enough to trigger the motion detector. Each morning I have a dozen or so captures of this little dude walking around.

Here he is during the day. 

I've removed his web several times, but he is quite clever. He immediately drops to the ground and scrambles away when I touch his web. A few hours later, a new web appears. I guess I have to keep knocking his web down to discourage him. 

Aside from spiders, the camera seems to work fine. The resolution is terrible, but there's a fairly steep price penalty to get a HD camera. We plan on getting at least another camera to cover the basement entrance.