Security camera advise

[street]

I didn't want to hijack the thread started on cameras but it got me thinking about cameras.

I have a remote place I a sometime might want a security system but has no power but I can use cell phone and send text from there.

I would be looking for a system I could check on from hundreds of mile away.

So being frugal as I am what kind of systems are out there to buy and what costs are involved for getting the system and what costs are involved for getting the pictures and alerts after system is installed.

Please explain how they work and what I need to expect from this type of system.

Thanks

 

[braumeister]

I have a remote place I a sometime might want a security system but has no power but I can use cell phone and send text from there.

There are plenty of game cameras that can use a cellular SIM to show you what they saw.

 

[H2ODude]

Just re read your post, was going to recommend Blink but it does require 110 for the little modem that connect to wifi. The cameras are battery operated and you can log in anytime to see what's going on. Also record for any motion.

 

[MichaelB]

If the remote location has no power how will you keep the cameras running after their batteries run low.

 

[street]

The system would be used at a remote cabin site and the entrance road to the ranch. I have not had any problems in all the years I have owned the place but it might not be a bad idea if there was a system that would work.

I get there often so changing batteries from time to time wouldn't be an issue.

 

[travelover]

If the remote location has no power how will you keep the cameras running after their batteries run low.

It would be easy to mount a solar panel and a larger battery to power the device.

 

[Sunset]

So you would have these camera's so you could see after the fact how many people broke in and stole your stuff and possibly the cameras ?

You could get an alarm system, like simpli-safe (which is meant to run on electricity), but it uses a transformer to reduce the power to the unit, so instead you could hook up a big battery with some kind of voltage reducer and power the base station.
Use a large battery (like car battery) and a solar panel to keep it charged and it would run for years.
It uses cell service to send out the alerts and alarms, and you can get camera's for it as well.

 

[street]

Thanks for all the reply's. If after the fact for delayed pictures would be fine with that. Not a lot to steal all could be replaced and mostly seeing trespassers people that shouldn't be there.

If someone needed a night to stay and was back in that country I would have no problem with them staying there as long as they didn't destroy the place or burn it down. LOL I know good luck with that right.

I will look in to it but like I said I never have had one issue so far. I have had people their fishing and hunting who shouldn't be there but that has been it. When I find them there I let them stay and finish their hunt or fishing bit tell I never want to see them there again.

 

[OldShooter]

The game camera with a SIM and a solar charging panel sounds like a winner to me. If you have or get Google Project Fi cell phone service they will give you free data-only SIMs and you pay only for what data you use each month at $10/gig. Many months my data bill is under a dollar, so the game camera will not cost you much if anything for data charges.

 

[Sunset]

The game camera with a SIM and a solar charging panel sounds like a winner to me. If you have or get Google Project Fi cell phone service they will give you free data-only SIMs and you pay only for what data you use each month at $10/gig. Many months my data bill is under a dollar, so the game camera will not cost you much if anything for data charges.

This does sound like a great idea.

My only concern with game camera's has been the thinking that someone could/would steal the camera itself.

I wonder how many get stolen per year ?

 

[OldShooter]

... My only concern with game camera's has been the thinking that someone could/would steal the camera itself. ...

Well, I don't know why the risk of theft would be hugely higher for game cameras, but AFIK most of them come in camo paint so that may help. The solar array .... I dunno.

 

[pb4uski]

The game camera with a SIM and a solar charging panel sounds like a winner to me. If you have or get Google Project Fi cell phone service they will give you free data-only SIMs and you pay only for what data you use each month at $10/gig. Many months my data bill is under a dollar, so the game camera will not cost you much if anything for data charges.

That might be an option for me... I'm looking for a cheap wi-fi for data for the Blinks in Florida while I am away this summer... power is not an issue but it would be nice to avoid paying for Xfinity internet all summer if a cheaper wi-fi using the cellular network is available. Please tell me more.

 

[splitwdw]

Game camera and you can buy locks for them. My lock was under $20

 

[OldShooter]

That might be an option for me... I'm looking for a cheap wi-fi for data for the Blinks in Florida while I am away this summer... power is not an issue but it would be nice to avoid paying for Xfinity internet all summer if a cheaper wi-fi using the cellular network is available. Please tell me more.

Well, we have free Project Fi data-only SIMS in both of our Nexus 7 tablets. That lets them access the internet. That's pretty much all there is to it. https://fi.google.com/ has all the info on costs. You have to have one phone line at $20/month, unlimited calling and text. Any data you use is $10/GB but you only pay for what you eat, so it can be zero or, in my case, often under $1/month.

One catch is that only a few phones are supported. We have Nexus 5Xs, which right now can be bought on our local CraigsList in the $100-150 range. They work fine. We can also set them to be hotspots so other devices can access data via WiFi.

Calling and $10/GB data are available in 140+ countries worldwide; that is the big attraction for us.

The only thing to watch AFIK with a remote setup is that many apps (calendar, email, facebook, etc.) call the mother ship frequently to check and exchange messages. For me this is more an issue of cell hone battery consumption than of data cost because for me almost all of the chatter is via WiFi. YMMV however.

 

[street]

OldShooter >>>> thanks I will look in to that system. That would work and what I'm looking for.