So let's talk about sensors.

First of all, let's get one thing on the table: cameras are great.  They're a fantastic addition to a home safety/security plan.  They literally function as additional "eyes" to keep watch on your property.

But they're dumb... they only watch.  How do you make them smarter?

A lot of network cameras (and analog DVRs) do video motion detection either on the camera, or on the DVR.  You'd think this would be a fine modality for when you want to know if something is happening on your property.  Well... it is... and it isn't.  

Video motion detection is prone to false alerts, from birds/bugs flying into the camera, clouds and lighting changes, flood lights (and car headlights) coming on, or moving across your field-of-view, wind, etc.  You want your system to send you email alerts to let you know when something important is happening... but after the dozenth time a car driving by has triggered an "alert," you start to tune it out... or you shut off your phone.

It's the classic boy-crying-wolf, brought into the digital age.  Eventually, you'll miss something important, because the noise floor has risen so much that the important alerts get lost in the static.  

That's where sensors come in.

Alarm science is reasonably advanced.  Burglar and intrusion alarms have been installed in houses for decades.  There are glass breakage sensors, reed switches, pressure switches, passive-infrared (PIR) motion detectors, microwave, photocells, light beams, seismic detectors, magnetic detectors... you name it, and somebody has built a detector for it.  These detectors (particularly the kind that go into burglar and intrusion alarms) are much more reliable than video motion detection.  If they were not, your home alarm would being going off all the time, and your alarm company would be out-of-business.

So is there a way to use such sensors to lend some "intelligence" to your camera system?  The answer is "Yes!"

We're going to slave a high-end PIR (passive infrared) sensor to a bargain-range Acti camera:  

The PIR is from Crow Engineering, and costs you about $120 online.  It's a dual-sensor model, so both pyroelectric elements have to be tripped in order to generate an alert.  This helps keep false alerts down (a common problem with cheap PIRs).  It's also outdoor-rated, and suitable for harsh environments.:



The camera is one we've used before.  The TCM-4201 from Acti.  It actually has its own built-in PIR element (we'll be using the Crow):



As an aside, we could do this same test with other types of sensors too... like this photocell (being used here to trigger a light):



This mercury tilt-switch:



Or this large garage-door magnetic switch... the sky's the limit:



So let us begin by taking the front off the Crow (that trim piece you see comes off by gentle prying with a screwdriver).  Four screws reveals the innards:



Here's a closer look, with the appropriate components annotated.  That connection block on the bottom is the most important piece for the purposes of this guide:



Here's an explanation of those connections from the included manual:



They helpfully include a nice rubber grommet on the bottom, which should pass any cable you're likely to use:



It requires 12vDC power, and functions nicely once hooked up:



And here we have connected two wires to the "NC" (normally-closed) connector:



And here's how it connects to the camera.

The 4201 (and most Acti cameras) have a connection block somewhere on the camera for digital I/O.  With the domes, it's inside.  The KCM-5311E has it inside the back cover.  This model has it in the lower-right side, on the back of the unit:



There's a small connection block that's included with the camera.  They're standard push-in connectors (to remove the wire, push in on the little orange lever underneath the hole, and the wire will come loose).  



We're using two slots on the connection block:  Digital Input (DI), and ground (DIO GND):



Once hooked up, it looks like this:



Now we have to configure the camera to recognize the input from the PIR, and initiate the appropriate response.  In this case, we're going to use an emailed picture (you can also email a video clip).  The I/O capabilities of these cameras also allow you to send a digital signal to a relay, turn on a flood-light, or signal your alarm system.  In this case, we won't use those connections, since we're going to initiate our response action through the network.

We have to first  set up "Event servers," so that the camera has the appropriate server settings to get the message out.  You can FTP pictures (I have this camera setup to do that also), email pictures, videos, or even simple text (useful if you're on a low or metered-bandwidth connection).  In this case, we're concerned with the SMTP server config.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  you must enter a numeric IP address for your mailserver.  A hostname like "mailserver.google.com " won't work (took me forever to figure that out).  



Clicking on the "SMTP server Configuration" box will bring up a pop-up window where you can enter settings.  You'll obviously need the appropriate authentication method, login/pass, and IP address/port for the server.  This one uses the standard port 25, and there's a helpful "TEST" button that will send you a test email.



Now we move on to "event configuration."  We click the "Edit" button next to "digital I/O ports"



This likewise brings up a pop-up window.  Here you can set the default behavior of the I/O port.  Digital I/O, as the name might imply, is digital... it's either a zero (off) or a one (on) like any binary bit.  You have to set the condition that will trigger the port.  



Now we move on to the "Upload video/snapshot and Audio" Edit button.  We get a similar pop-up window, and scroll down to the "Enable Message 2" (the off-site FTP server is message 1).  We check what type of media to upload (snapshot), what modality to use (email), the period, the image file name (there's a cheater link under that field that will show you how to name the files), and the recipient.  The "Video Source" setting refers to a setting from another section of the camera's configuration, where you can set "video profiles."  I've set this one as a 640x480 JPEG, just to save on bandwidth (though a full-size megapixel pic can be sent).



Now under "Event List," we can see event rule #2.  You can click on the number to edit the rule, but you can see by looking that it's set to run 24/7, use the Digital Input #1 to trigger, and that it sends IMG2 to the specified email address.  This section can be used to specify a certain time for the rule to be active, or on certain days of the week.  

For instance, if you have a 9-5 job, M-F, you could set this rule to only function during those hours, so you wouldn't be bothered by your phone blowing up with alerts when you're home drinking a beer at the end of the day.  



And so with everything hooked up, the camera configured, we're ready to test (click on the picture for the video... its nothing fancy):



So you can see how the ability to add sensors can add significant intelligence to your cameras.  You can use a photocell to tell you that somebody just turned on a light (and send you picture of the person).  You can use a reed switch to get a picture of somebody opening a door.  You could use a moisture-switch to tell you that your water-heater at your BOL just blew up... or a temperature switch to let you know that your heater crapped out, and your pipes are going to freeze.  You could use a magnetic sensor buried on your property to send you a pic of whatever car is driving by.

Endless options... but the addition of a simple high-quality dual-PIR or PIR + microwave sensor can potentially give you some of the same capabilities of a $1500 Mobotix camera (which includes a PIR in the housing), but for less than half the cost... you just need a little technical know-how.

OK... as a follow-up to my post about sensors, we're going to integrate one into my current setup.  

Unfortunately, I had to replace one of my Mobotix cameras... it's been acting flaky since a lightning strike a few months ago.  It finally wouldn't power up any more... and it's too expensive to replace at retail prices, so I got an Acti camera:

KCM-7211, with standard software, dome, and accessory bag:












Of particular interest to this thread is the connector block.  This is the little plug-in jobbie that allows you to access the camera's digital I/O functions, and tie it into sensors, buzzers, etc.  It's a little larger than the one for the 4201 cube camera, but the connections we'll be using are identical





Here's the 4201 for comparison







Here's the inside of the camera from two angles, and a close-up with the connection block plug-in annotated:











Here's the site of the old camera... alas... we hardly knew ye.  It was set up to watch the side of the home leading up to a gate... great natural choke-point:







The PIR will be mounted partway down the side of the house, partially protected in the upper corner of a window alcove:







We used fish-stix to put two-conductor 18ga wire into the attic from the camera site (see the blue cable?  That's cat5 carrying PoE and network to the camera.  The brown wire to the right is the 2-conductor 18ga for our PIR signaling)






Here's wire fished up into the attic from the PIR site... same type of wire.  The PIR will need two wires to power itself, and two wires to carry signal to the camera)







To save ourselves time in the nasty attic, we untape the PIR power-wiring from the white fish-stix, and tape the signal wiring to the same fiberglass rod... allowing us to pull the signal wire down with the same rod.  






We go outside and pull the rod back to us... and we now have the wiring we need for the PIR:






Here I've bent the end of the power wiring so I can tell them apart:







We drill a small hole and fish both wires through the soffitt vent, right next to the wall:







We route them down the wall to our PIR:







Here's what it looks like:







UPDATE:

I didn't completely like the angle of coverage, so I elected to mount the PIR at a slightly different angle, to better throw the coverage pattern down the outside wall of the home:

I cut the end of a 2x4 diagonally, then sawed the end off, leaving me with two wood wedges.  







I measured where to place it, and it's perfect size-wise:







A masonry bit into the mortar, an anchor, and counter sinking the screw made for a nice angled mount:







A bit of double-sided 3M tape on the back of the PIR, and we're all set:

OK... we're going to put in another of these PIRs (because I like 'em).  This one goes on the other side of the structure, where the utilities (phone/cable) enter the home.  If your home security strategy includes your DVR or cameras emailing you alerts, you'll want to pay attention here.

I'll have another post on protecting the utilities next week or so...

For now, we're going to integrate another Crow PIR with another Acti camera:

The mounting location will be next to this downspout:







And it will be tied into this camera, a little further down the wall (the hemispheric structure already mounted on the wall is an IR illuminator):







Here I've placed an anchor into the wall, and we'll be using that other wedge of wood we made yesterday:











We're going to run the cable just above the soffit, rather than up into the attic and across (I didn't feel like an attic crawl today):











We already have 12VDC power over here from a previous analog install (which is powering that IR illuminator), so rather than using standard wiring nuts, we're going to put in a proper connection block:









The two-conductor 18ga from the PIR will connect to the previously-shown little green connector block:













More 3M double-sided tape, and we're GTG:

Here's another example of slaving a sensor to a camera for more accurate alerts.

I was using a Vivotek camera in my garage, but elected to go with a camera with WDR (wide dynamic range) for a slightly better picture.  The location in question is a really nasty lighting challenge for the average camera... dark garage, looking out into the bright sunlight.  It's going to tend to overexpose the picture, and render the darker areas completely opaque.  

Here is the old camera.  Nothing wrong with it, just wanted something a little different:







Here's its replacement... an Acti 7411 (megapixel dome with WDR):







While we were changing out the camera, I decided to integrate a sensor with the camera, and configure it to email alerts to my phone.  I cannibalized a sensor from a gate that I'd previously alarmed (before my youngest child knew enough not to run into traffic).











The sensor was detached from the VoiceAlert transmitter, mounted at the top of the garage door, and wired into the Acti camera thusly:












Here are the two pictures from the Vivotek and Acti cameras, respectively... note how much more visible the dark areas are in the second picture.  The first picture is higher-res (2MP vs 1.3MP), but the WDR shows much more detail in the shadowed areas in the second picture (most visible in the right-lower corner)









Now, when the garage door is opened, I get a series of images sent to my cell phone:











You can literally use any sensor with these types of cameras.  This particular case was a standard, run-of-the-mill magnetic reed switch (larger, and designed for garage doors, but otherwise identical to the reed switches/contacts your home alarm uses at most doors/windows).  This sensor doesn't require power, and only requires two wires to attach to the camera.

Make your cameras smarter, and your alerts worth paying attention to.

Copied-and-Pasted from the larger thread... a follow-up to the sensors mentioned above:

OK.  So everyone following this thread will recall my section on adding external sensors to your cameras.

They're generally superior to video-motion-detection in every way... but even high-quality sensors can get fooled.  I'm about to show you how/why that can happen.  Recall the Crow sensors I've been using.  Crow makes very high-end detectors.  The company is Israeli, and you know the Israelis always make good stuff.












Anyway, adding the dual-element PIR to my camera GREATLY cut down on my false alerts.  In fact, I wasn't getting any false alerts at all... and then the weather started to warm up.  There was a definite pattern to it.  The false alerts would start in the afternoon, usually about 1-2PM, and I'd get one every so often, with nobody in the images that were arriving.  

I was puzzled.  And then I looked at the scene again:







Yep.  Right there.  The warm air currents from that AC unit were just enough to trigger the occasional false alert on warm days... even with the detector sensitivity turned all the way down.

Screw that.  I want my alerts to be meaningful.

So I went with a slightly different model... Crow's EDS-3000.  

This little bugger actually includes a quad PIR, and a K-band microwave radar element inside.  The entire sensor assembly rotates through almost 180 degrees inside the housing, enabling the sensor to be flat-mounted to a wall, and the sensor array turned either direction.












I went with the same mounting location, just for testing purposes (the wiring, all identical hookups to the previous Crow sensor, was already there).









Problem was, the mounting location was too high... the regular Crow D&D dual-PIR is supposed to be mounted 7-8 feet off the ground for best results.  This unit is supposed to be mounted at 4-5 feet.  There was no way to do it right there.  Where I'd placed it, it was scanning at fence-top height, and I was getting PIR-and-radar hits on feral cats at night... like this little bugger







So I went back to plan "A."  I took the original D&D PIR sensor and mounted it further down the wall, away from that AC unit.  I also used a shallow outlet box to wall-mount it, and some conduit to run the wiring up to the attic.










The electronic board of that D&D sensor is easily removable:






And here it is mounted:






I walk-tested it, and there's no sneaking past that thing... no matter how slow you walk, and no matter how low you try to get.  

I'll update the forum on any further false-alarm problems as the weather warms up.

Some cameras have integrated PIR elements into the camera body.  Mobotix does it,  Axis does it with some of their models, and Vivotek does as well.  You'd get FAR fewer false alerts with PIR detection, especially when you compare it to video motion detection.

I think they all have a "service" that they call.  I don't know if there's a law against the alarm directly contacting the police, but I doubt the police would be thrilled about a bunch of false alarms clogging up their 911 system.  

As long as your Hikvision camera has the Alarm I/O feature, yes... you can add any of these sensors to a Hikvision cam as well.

I'd run 18ga 2-conductor bell wire along with your cat6.  It'll go in the same conduit easily.

It can be a very small power supply.  An active PIR will pull maybe 10-20mA... that's almost nothing... it's like a tenth of a watt.

Crow is Israeli... I get them off eBay mostly.  Optex can be used as an alternative... they're available on Amazon.

It's time for a long-needed update to this thread.

By now, many posters are familiar with the Hikvision brand of cameras.  Hikvision came on the market a few years ago, and have really pushed a new standard in the quality-for-$$$ category.  The price-points of Hikvision (and their competitor Dahua) have become so affordable that many members have installed (or are considering installing) these systems.  

With that in mind, let's discuss how to make your Hikvision system smarter... with sensors.  

Alarm sensors have been used for decades in the construction of regular home burglar alarm systems, and most are electrically quite simple.  They are generally either NO or NC (Normally-Open, or Normally-Closed) switches, and the alarm panel/brain monitors the state of these switches by running a very low-voltage/amperage current through the sensor.  If a NC (Normally Closed) sensor (like a reed switch on a door or window) experiences a change-of-state (eg. the window/door opens, moving the magnet away from the reed switch, and the connection opens, breaking continuity) the current stops flowing, and the panel/brain detects it.  The same can happen when current suddenly flows through a NO (Normally-Open) sensor, when it was an open connection before.  

Here is a link that explains it

Simple mechanical sensors like reed switches are as dead-nuts reliable as a sensor can get (as long as the magnet retains its magnetism)... but their application is limited to a defined opening/door/window/gate.  Fortunately, there are other sensors that can cover a much wider area, with reliability that is nearly as good.  

This brings us to PIR and Microwave sensors.  These are the "motion detectors" that everybody has probably seen a thousand times in standard household burglar alarms.  They are usually mounted in a corner, and cover a room in the house.  Fortunately, that's not nearly the limit of their utility.  They can also be mounted outdoors, and cover perimeter areas on your property, or the yard around your house.   These are the sensor technology behind some "driveway" alarms, and many game-cameras.  

Here are several examples.  Going from Left-to-Right, we have an Optex LX-402, a Crow SRX-360, and a Crow Double-Dual (DD):

All are outdoor-rated, but the Optex only uses a single PIR sensor.  The SRX has dual-sensors (PIR and Microwave).  The DD has dual PIRs.  






Here are close-ups of the Optex, the SRX, and the DD, respectively:








Note what you see on all of the close-ups.  All three of these sensors have 12v DC input (note the +/- terminals; you can't read them on the Optex, but it's the left-most terminals), and NO/NC connections, usually next to a "C" or "COM" connection, which would be the ground (the alarm connections are marked "relay" on the SRX, and are a NC zone).  The NC/NO/Relay connections are the ones that go to the camera.  It's two wires; you can't get it wrong.  

So each sensor requires four wires: two for power, and two for signal to the camera or alarm panel.  Standard alarm wire has four conductors for this reason (circled in red):




We are going to use the Optex as our example sensor.  The Hikvision "Alarm" connector looks like another connector on the camera (the "Audio" connector), and you have to read the imprint on the plastic to determine which one you have.  Going from right-to-left in the below picture, the Alarm connector has four connections:  I, GND, O, and another GND.  For the input from your sensor, you need to connect wires to "I" (for input) and the immediately-adjacent "GND."  




You can see they are standard screw-down terminals (end-on view:)




When the PIR is hooked up to both power, and the camera, it looks like this.  12v DC hooked up to the PIR, and the two wires going from PIR to camera.  After that, it's all software config in the camera.  I'll cover that in my next post.  

Referring to the pic below, on the camera side, the Green wire is attached to GND terminal, and the Yellow wire is connected to "I" (or input) terminal.   On the PIR side, the GND terminal on the PIR is directly between the NO, and the NC terminals.   So the connectors on the PIR side, going from left-to-right are (+) (-)... skip to next connector block... NC, GND, NO.    




Make sense so far?

So here's the software configuration within the Hikvision cameras (latest Firmware version, as of this post).  

Start at the "Network" configuration section, and make sure you click "Advanced Settings" in the left-most column.  

The "Basic" section doesn't allow email configuration, but the "Advanced Settings" section will give you the option of configuring an email server.  Click the Email tab at the top of the page (red arrow):




Once you're in "Advanced Settings" and "Email," you need to enter the settings for whatever email server or email relay service you're using.  If you have a company email server, you can enter the IP address, sender, etc.

Sender:  just a name
Sender's address:  This is an email address... [email protected], or whatever.
SMTP server:  This is the IP address of your mailserver.  It can be local, or remote.
SMTP port:  Usually 25, but can be on other ports, depending on your mail service.  You can use anything you like... but as an example, the instructions for relaying through Google's G-suite are here.  There are others... googling for "SMTP relay service" will give you plenty of options (usually 5-10 bucks a month or so), or you can set up your own mailserver if you have the geek chops to make it work.  

Click "attached image" to get an image in your email, and I usually pick 5s as the time interval.  That gives me about three images per-email.

Authentication:  enter whatever your service requires.  I use IP authentication, so I don't have to worry about this section.  As long as the email comes from a certain IP, the service will forward it.  

Don't forget to click the "Test" button (red arrow) to make sure it all works before moving on.  





That's the hard part... the rest is easy.

Here's the "Basic Event" section.  Note the red-dotted fields/buttons.

There is only one alarm input, so the A<--1 is checked by default.
 
The alarm type is NO (Normally-Open), so we have that selected.  You could just as easily use a NC sensor, and simply change this field to NC

The "Arming Schedule" tab in the middle of the page is highlighted, enabling you to determine exactly when the camera will pay attention to the sensor (the sensor is always active... but unless it's during one of the blue time-periods, the camera will ignore the input).  Clicking on a day will allow you enter time intervals, and then repeat them on various days, or set each day with a custom time schedule.  This person has kids, so this camera alarm is set to be active during the day when owner is at work and kids are at school, and at night... it's largely inactive during the weekend, when kids are home and running around.



Clicking the "Linkage Method" tab will bring up the options of what you want the camera to do with the alarm.

Ensure the "Alarm Type" is still "NO"

Enable Alarm input handling

Under "Normal Linkage" click "Send Email," and an email will be sent every time the alarm is triggered.




That should do it.

Now as you look at those pages, you can see that other options exist.  You can also enable alarm OUTPUT from that camera.  This output can be fed to an alarm system, a buzzer, a relay, a chime, a light... the options are endless.   It can also trigger internal recording inside the camera (to a microSD card), so you have backup images in case the bad guys steal your DVR/NVR.