Residential Surveillance

PTZ Cameras can be controlled on location using your Digital Video Recorder or a PTZ controller and off-site using a PC with client software installed. The prices have dramatically come down and the technology is ever increasing. There are cameras in the Hometown Security Store that have optical 30 X Zooms. This means that you can see things thirty times closer. They are pretty amazing. You can almost read the newspaper in your neighbor’s garage. You probably won’t need anything that strong for residential applications. The PTZ TP 980 pictured above is all you need. It has a ten time zoom and 360 degree high speed panning with 127 preset positions. It also has a Heater/Blower to cool it down in the summer and prorect it from freezing in the winter.

When installing your camera wiring you will need to include an extra pair for Pan Tilt Zoom control from your DVR to your PTZ camera.  The installation is fairly simple. Some DVRs have two terminals for attaching the PTZ controler pair of wires and most PC Based DVRs require a RS-485 adapter.

PTZ TP 980 Features

• Vandal Resistant
• 500 TV Lines High Resolution
• 1/4″ Interline Transfer Color CCD
• Zoom 10X Optical / 10 X Digital
• Minimum Illumination 0.7  Color / 0.02 Black and White, 50 IRE
• Day Night
• Auto Focus
• Auto Iros
• AGC
• Whit Balance
• Backlight Compensation
• Super Sensitive Noise Reduction
• 360 Degree Pan, 180 Degree Tilt (Auto Flip) 95 Degree is Normal
• Speed .05 – 360 Degree Second
• 127 Presets
• 4 Patterns 1200 Commands (about 5 minutes)
• 8 Scans
• 8 Groups (twenty action entries per group)
• Coomunication – RS-485
• Protocol Pelco D and Pelco P
• 4 Priavacy Zones
• 2 Alarm Inputs
• 1 Relay Output
• On Screen Display for Menu and PTZ information
• Rated Power DC Type 12V 0.8A / AC Type 24V / DC 12V Dual Voltage
• Dimensions: Dome o115 Housing 14.75 x 141(H) mm 

Price $575.00

Pin Hole Camera PM 41P

Nanny Cams are fun to build and make great gifts. My oldest daughter received a nanny cam made out of a decorative piece I found at Ross Dress For Less. It had a a mirror on one site and some sort of scene on the other. We drilled a hole and used Bishop Tape to position the camera behind the hole. They signed the gift ”Agents “foxtail and Lightswitch.” It’s still hanging in her kitchen.

Nanny Cam Partys are one day going to be the rage. Hot glue guns make ideal camera fasteners. It’s easy to line-up the cameras while looking at the video on your television. I have found that wicker picnic baskets make good nannycams. Regardless of what you use, a homemade nanny cam will not raise any suspicion as they aren’t commonly found on the market. 

You will need a 12 Volt DC plug-in transormer, available on the Hometown Security Store and a Co-axial cable (like what is hooked up to your TV right now.) On one end of the Coaxial jumper you will attach a Male BNC-Female F Adapter and on the other end of the jumper you will attach an Female F – Male RCA  adapter. Radio Shack stocks these adpters but we can get you better prices on higher quality connectors. Once you scew the adapters onto both ends of your cable TV jumper make sure to wrench tighten them. Not too tight, just beyond finger tight.

You will want a good source of light in the room because pin hole cameras always have high Lux ratings, meaning that the video may appear grainy in low lighting conditions.

The Pin hole Camera pictured above sells for only:

$85.00

Once you have your Nanny Cam built you will need a recording device. Ideally you will hook it up to one of the inputs on your home’s Residential Surveillance DVR(DigitalVideo Recorder.) Not to be confused with your TIVO. DVRs are packed with security features, such as Time-Stamping, Watermarks, Motion Activated Recording, Pan Tilt Zoom Camera Control, TV Monitor Outputs (So you can see what’s happening in the backyard from your bedroom TV,) Email Alerts (Notify you when a particular camera senses video,) Remote Viewing and more. They will continually record and once their hard drives are full, will begin to record over the oldest video footage. You can use a VCR for short periods of time, but playback and search functions will be dramatically sped-up through the DVRs functions.

You can view some of our recommended DVRs on the Hometown Security Store.

Vandal Proof Day Night High Resolution Storm Camera

Hurricane Season is upon us and we have some cutting edge Storm Cameras to get you through.

Features:

• Vandal Resistant with Metal Case
• Water-proof
• Sony Super HAD 1/3″ Color CCD
• Minimum Illumination 0.3 Lux at F1.2 / .oo2 Lux Sen-up x 128 (Color images at night. Excellent images in very low lighting.)
• Day and Function
• AGC
• Backlight Compensation
• White Balance ATW / AWC / Manual / Outdoor (1,800′K -10,500′K)
• On Screen Display for easy set-up
• Super Digital Noise Reduction
• Motion Detection (4 Zones)
• Mirroring (Can reverse an image from left to right or right to left)
• Power Source either 12 Volts DC or 24 Volts AC
• 3 Axis (Can achieve almost any angle) 
• Auto Iris 2.8 -12mm Variable Focus Lens
• High Resolution 580 TV Lines 

This camera is top of the line at hundreds of dollars below our competitors.

It comes in a variety of Auto Iris Variable Focus Lenses: 4-9mm, 2.8 – 12mm and 3.8-9.5mm

You can also purchase it in a fixed lens: 3.6mm, 6mm,, 8mm, and 12mm.

Our price for the Auto Iris Variable Focus 2.8 (wide) – 12mm (nice tight shot) is only

$225.00

Many people search for wireless cameras when shopping for residential surveillance systems. However, you should stay away from wireless CCTV products because of  interference problems. If your neighbors also install wireless cameras, their system may step on yours and distort or pick-up your images. There are lots of frequencies in the air that would impact your system. Aside from that, criminals and voyeurs may access your cameras from parking in front of your house. If wireless systems were a good solution we would sell them. While We can provide you with high quality wireless kits, they should only be used in rural settings such as at  driveway gates and boat docks.