I had someone try to break in at 530am on Friday while the whole family was home asleep. I do have internal cameras from my monitored security system but the pictures were not the best. I plan on keeping these but also putting some outside. Iv been getting some pictures from other people in the neighborhood of the guy. I particularly about night vision quality. One of the guys had a night owl setup and it was pretty good.

Iv tried to read through all the info here but its a bit much for me right now and I don't want to make an impulse buy. I dont have a budget but Iv priced things from 500-3k. Id like to do a 8 channel setup but will only be getting 4 cameras to start. My backyard is aprox 90 feet long.

I was looking a 12mp camera but is it worth all the extra coin compared to the 4mp ones? If possible Id do 4k but I do want at least 1080.

I hate being "that guy" who doesn't read through all the info here first but this guy is prolific and has been hitting or trying to hit many houses and I really need to get this up and running. Thanks in advance for all your help.

ETA: Id like to integrate a motion sensor so it will make going through videos easier.

To bad you dont have motion sensors connected to a semi quiet alarm near where you sleep... I'd say leave a door unlocked on purpose and have an AR carbine ready...solve the neighborhoods problem, permently.


I hate theifs above almost all but the worst scum. (Child molesters etc) Good luck.

OP glad things did not get worse. Go look around at Nelly's Security. Good folks amd good gear. Tech support is USA and good. If you decide to Go with Kelly's I have some 4/8 camera POE and wireless info that can save you some cash.

If you have the budget for a 12mp camera, go for it! Personally, I would never get a 12mp camera due simply to cost, they're massively expensive compared to 4mp or 5mp, which will do a great job. I have a lot of experience with the Reolink system, which is a 4mp POE set up, it is excellent. Able to tell faces and plate numbers with relative ease, has excellent Night Vision up to 100', even without additional lights/IR.

The 8 channel, 4 camera, Reolink package will run you around $550-600, it's incredibly easy to set up and has built in motion sensor-record function. Since it's POE, you only run 1 ethernet cable to each camera, Cat5/5e, or 6, you could go higher but it won't help much with the current system, only with future-proofing.

I would also suggest motion lights around the easy entry points to the house, bottom windows, back doors, etc, usually that'll scare people off.

Upgrade your door locks, it is a DIY project, there are a number of really good locks but Medeco will be miles ahead of anything you now have unless you have some high buck deadbolts.

Upgrade your door jams/strike plates too.

Medeco also makes a captive thumb turn deadbolt for doors with windows, thumb turn key comes out if you want making it a double cylinder on demand.

It is also reasonably easy to DIY an alarm without paying for monitoring.

Motion lights where there is no electric I use a H.F solar that does ok.  Mounted up high and behind a rose bush so it wont be screwed with.

 They also have the motion driveway alarm that could be used for a situation like this.

 I'm due to clean the lens on my cameras and was just talking about it.

They tried to break in while the family was home?    Forget the cameras.    Get a dog.   Or better yet, get a couple of REALLY BIG DOGS.  

At work, one of my responsibilities has involved certain aspects of security.   I have called the police when people were on the property shooting guns.   The police show up, look at the security tapes and ask, "Did you get a license plate number?   No?  Nothing we can do."   The officer that told me that is now the Sheriff for our county.   So then we have a guy breaking into cars in the parking lot.   We call the police with a witness, a license plate number, and the whole thing on camera.    What do the cops tell us?   "Yeah, we know who that is.   He is a meth head and is driving his wife's car.   But we didn't catch him with the stolen property so there isn't anything that we can do."   WTF?!?!?!?!?!

Cameras can be helpful to let you know if something interesting is going on around your property but they won't PREVENT interesting things from happening around your property.   If someone is going to be traumatized on my property I want it to be the bad guy and not the wife and kids.   Since I cannot be home twenty-four seven the next best thing is a living, breathing, intelligent, loving, family friend that I know would give her life to protect the wife and kids.     She will be home twenty-four seven.  

as always, YMMV.

2Hut8

You sure he wasn't a drunk that got lost? That's a dumbass thief who tries breaking in at 5:30AM lol

I have 2 dogs. The sequence of events went:

Heard xmas bells on the door jingle.

Dogs barked.

I went to the door and everything was secure but I let my dogs in the yard and checked the security system.

Saw perp. Got gun. Called for backup from upstairs and started clearing.

Problem is all I had was my LCP with CT laser. That wont be the case next time.

No he wasn't a drunk. It wasn't cold out and he had on gloves and also tried to hit a house a fire blocks away. Also found out from some people in the area he's been doing it since atleast late Jan and have pictures from thier security system to prove it.

Here are the pictures from my system.

Also both of my neighbors as well as my house had cars in the driveway. I was in my living room watching TV. He wasnt bright and either didn't recon or didn't care,

All kinds of crazy, think I will put this in GD;

MASON COUNTY, Wash. – Mason County Sheriff’s office is warning women about a man they believe is breaking into their homes to watch them sleep at night. The serial intruder is suspected of hunting his young victims through social media, some as young as 17-years-old, said a press release from the agency.

Sliding glass doors are notoriously bad for break ins. A couple of my neighbors were broken into through their slide glass doors.

I had two sets of glass doors but I screwed the big one shut and removed the smaller door and turned it into a regular solid door with a security screen. My house was fine.

You might want to invest in something like this to further secure that door but still be able to use it.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/LOCKiT-Double-Bolt-Sliding-Glass-Door-Black-White-Lock-200100100/202953665

what are the rules for home defense in your AO OP?

That guy is asking to get ventilated.

I have a 4 month old in my home and if there was a burgler in the area, I'd be sleeping down on the couch w/ my pitbull, AR and 40 round mag every night until he was caught or killed.

Go to amazon and search for "4 magapixel surveillance" and check out the number of reviews and ratings. I wouldn't do any higher resolution than 4k. Get an 8 camera system and you can add in the rest for no additional cost.

Also:

Unfortunately I was told it's illegal to set traps up on your property. Really pisses me off that I can't defend my property how I wish, but I think it's a felony level offense. Home Alone movies spoiled me.

No kidding, wut kind of dumass tries to break in at 5:30am????!!!!    

Those r scary ass pics.    Wow.

Holy shit.  How did he get inside?  Unlocked sliding door or bypassed lock?  I'd get get a pin-lock and/or bar for that thing PDQ.

What more can you do to deter the shit-bags? Any outdoor cameras? Motion lights? Outside and in?  Locked screen-doors? Deadbolts. Windows securely latched? Security bars for sliding doors/windows?  If no alarm system, you could start with magnetic door/window chimes. Strike-plate/hinge reinforcing plates?  Pry guards?  I haven't been terribly concerned about doors getting kicked in the past, but it's happening more frequently around here so I'm considering this as my neighborhood gets more hood....  http://armorconcepts.com/door-armor-max.html  Think in layers of deterrence.  You're only slowing them down, but with enough visible layers, many thieves will pass for an easier target.

Make triangles out of 2x4.

90° sides against door and wall.

Screw a little chock of wood into the wall to keep it from sliding around.

Kick/ram/pick proofed door.

Since fucking fucks are trying to get in while you're there...


ETA I didn't see it was a sliding glass door lol.  Use vice grip, c-clamp, or dowel

Ok, so you got a picture of him, so what? Cameras are worthless.  Alarm, big audio alarm, big lights on motion detectors all around the house!  Meaner dogs or get a gun to take him out when he gets in

Great third post.

Agreed!

I actually scoffed out loud at that comment. I didn't think I would ever do that. Cameras aren't worthless, your crappy advice is. When my house was broken into and my entire gun collection stolen, along with several other personal items, the only thing that allowed us to see who had done it was my camera system. The footage was used to help convict the kid. And earlier this week, when my wife's Porsche was parked in front of our house and some kid proceeded to hit and run with his vehicle causeing our Porsche to be totalled, our "worthless" cameras helped us identify and see what had happened. So far, our camera system has been worth its weight in gold, as these are only 2 examples where our system has helped us. My wife has even given me the go-ahead for a better system this next month (come on 4th of July deals!).