We had some unwanted humans stop by tonight and vandalize our pumpkins and unfortunately I wasn't able to get the dog on a leash and outside fast enough to hunt them down or get a good look at them.

There are only a half a dozen teenagers in the neighborhood so I have a pretty good idea who it was, but obviously without proof either in the form of video or catching them in the act and dragging their sorry butts to their parents house there isn't much I can do.

I'm thinking a doorbell style camera would work well. Anyone have any real world experience, especially with the IR/Nightvision capabilities? I have SecuritySpy software for the Cam so I don't need a subscription to anything. Looked at the Ring doorbells but they don't appear to allow you to connect them to third party software.

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C(-)ris
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Throwback Thursday Signature:

[www.doorbird.com]
Popped up on a search a while back

Wyzecam perhaps

The Ring Video Doorbell Elite has most of what I want. 1080P, IR, and powered by ethernet. But it is spendy and I don't like that it can't talk to Security Spy.

The Doorbird is pricey as well. Wyze doesn't have a weatherproof camera that I see.

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C(-)ris
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Throwback Thursday Signature:

i’ve had a wyzecam mounted outside under my carport for at least 18 months now without a hiccup. they are developing an outdoor cam but in the meantime if you can mount it away from direct exposure to the elements you’ll be fine.

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If you want to fix our country, work with us in the states. statesproject.org

"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama

I run Ring Doorbell Pros and the night vision, wide angle, and video clarity are good. You are going to have to commit to a Ring cloud storage plan if you want to run Ring...if you run their alarm system or home automation it's relatively cheap per device.

With the Elite, you do need to fish Ethernet cable and have a mounting box. The Pro runs off of existing doorbell wire/transformers for trickle charging the onboard battery and surface mounts.

If you don't need the doorbell/intercom function and were going to run Ethernet anyway, maybe just a PoE dome camera mounted under the eave/soffit near the door would suffice.

Chris,

ALC doorbell cameras work well. I bought one for myself, and then later another for son-in-law. I can link them to my Dropbox account for auto-upload of event videos or to my Google Drive account for same. Easy installation - connects to existing 24v wires. 2-way audio. Mobiles apps. eBay is my source.

I wanted a unit that did not have a proprietary cloud account.

I should add that sometimes you need to swing a cat to get the setup started. OH, and don''t put up any outside decorations that wave in the breeze in view of the camera. It is that sensitive.

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Ed (modelamac)

I think I will just put an OUT OF ORDER
sticker on my head and call it a day.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/2019 08:42AM by modelamac.

Quote
John B.
I run Ring Doorbell Pros and the night vision, wide angle, and video clarity are good. You are going to have to commit to a Ring cloud storage plan if you want to run Ring...if you run their alarm system or home automation it's relatively cheap per device.

With the Elite, you do need to fish Ethernet cable and have a mounting box. The Pro runs off of existing doorbell wire/transformers for trickle charging the onboard battery and surface mounts.

If you don't need the doorbell/intercom function and were going to run Ethernet anyway, maybe just a PoE dome camera mounted under the eave/soffit near the door would suffice.

I have one of these and can attest to the night video quality. They have IR LEDs that turn on when it gets dark so you can see pretty well.

One word of caution - the first one we had died after 9 months. Got it replaced, but also found out that they require more power than most doorbell transformers can supply. When I installed it, it made a point of asking you to check your doorbell voltage, but not the power output. Our transformer turned out to be 10VA (odd designation, no idea why they don't just use Watts) and the Ring apparently needs 20VA minimum.

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Skill without imagination is craftsmanship. Imagination without skill is Modern Art.

I don't have a doorbell at all right now so running wires is a given. Since that is the case I would rather pull an ethernet cable and not have to deal with batteries or wireless for the camera. I really don't care about the doorbell functions at all, I just don't like the aesthetics of mounting a dome camera on my front steps. The doorbell cameras give the perception that this isn't just about surveillance.

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C(-)ris
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Throwback Thursday Signature:

I have had a Ring Door Bell for years and find it mostly unreliable. My mail box is on my porch on the right side of the door and the Ring is in the left. It never see the mail man. It has multiple false alarms all day and night. Unless the vandals ring your doorbell before they start there dirty work chances are you will never see it.

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Portsmouth, Va