Remote electronic security at your retreat.. CAMERAS and other stuff

[tech]

No, costco doesn't permit CCW here, so I don't support them.

Honestly, I don't recall which vendor it was...it has been over 5 years since we got a replacement. I do know it was significantly more than $150. IIRC, it was more than two and a half times that figure.

You're absolutely right about the low-cost systems. I talked with several folks who had made that mistake. The QSEE system was well received by most folks...granted, there were some nay-sayers, but they couldn't buy a clue. lol Perhaps the company has improved their QC in the past few years.

We actually went backward a bit to an analog wired system. No worries about some fool hacking the system, no remote power supplies and no rf signature. Life is good ;)

My apologies for thread drift....

[justanothergunnut]

after you have a nvr and camera setup you obviously want to start exploring remote camera setup. This could be as close as the gate at the end of your road or your cattle pasture 1/2 mile away. The thing to remember is LINE OF SIGHT... You can not transmit direct from point A to Point B if it isnt line of sight. Fear not though.. you can transmit from A to B THEN to C.. It just depends on how bad you need that data feed. Lets concentrate on A to B first. SO you have a IP camera the key is sending it back to where you need to view it. UBIQUITI NETWORKS..... a device known as the LOCOS Nano Station. This is a directional send/receive IP antenna. Place one unit at the camera site(unit B) and another unit at the viewing site(unit A). At B connect the Locos and the camera to a small network switch(4 or 5 port). At A connect the locos to your router or a small switch. Once the two locos units are set up you now have a remote network brige. It works exactly as if the camera was at your front door and plugged into your house router. The camera, switch and Locos bridge all run off 12vdc. Assemble a battery backup and solar charging system matched to your desired needs and you now have a remote camera system that is usable AFTER the collapse. Grid down post event, total collapse doesnt matter its every bit as easy to power as a small light. total remote power draw is in the 10-11 watt range.. thats camera, locos network bridge and switch. Considering the camera is the largest power thief I would add a single relay IP controlled switch. Plug it into the network switch at the camera that way you can turn on and off the camera remotely saving TONS of battery draw. This will reduce the drain on the battery/solar system allowing for a smaller design. Total cost for a single camera system including solar and battery backup??? $400 to $500 with a total range of 15 to 17km.. Add more cameras at 100 to 150$ ea..

[DIM TIM]

Ok guys, not to be mean or hateful, but what are you going to do in a grid down situation, and what about the rest of us (best guess of 75-99%) that are not grid down prepared and protected? And what about worst case scenario of complete EMP attack?
Having an electronic background myself, I have a few thoughts on electronic security and these hard questions, but securing the gear takes time and money, and a lot of people out here on the forums don't have a lot of either one to begin with.

Going with the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) method of survival and preparedness, I'm going to see about setting aside simple devices and electronic components that are inexpensive and can be protected fairly easy to cover my security needs for these scenarios. I'm also going with some dirt cheap communications that can be bought in bulk to keep lines of information open and available to me and mine. Video is nice, and I'm going the same routes with these as well. It's only a band-aid gesture, since it will all be moot when it all craps out, and there exists the possibility that there will be no way to replace any of them in the forseable future.

Of course there may be the possibility that none of that ever happens either, in which case I can get replacement parts and equipment for everything I have worked to get for my security measures. Problem is I don't want to bet on that happening, so I do what I can and pray to God that I never have to worry about it. BUT, human nature being what it is.......we prepare to be prudent and cautious. A lot of people say God help us these days.......A LOT.
But after we have thumbed our noses at him for so long, it begs the question.......WHY WOULD HE?

If you have deep pockets stuffed with lots of cash, then good fo you. And, if you can get top of the line security equipment, then double good for you. But one more question still remains, and it's the hardest of all. What good will it do you if you, or you're family, or group is killed by a simple mistake or a random set of circumstances that makes your security useless? It's possible, and so it still all becomes moot. But don't stop preparing, because a prudent man sees trouble ahead, and gets ready for it. Just make sure you do it right, and have a back-up plan, and a back-up for your back-up.

[justanothergunnut]

Well Tim I agree with you on one point. It is true that sometimes no matter how hard you prepare something bad can still happen. Let me address your points.

1.."Ok guys, not to be mean or hateful, but what are you going to do in a grid down situation, and what about the rest of us (best guess of 75-99%) that are not grid down prepared and protected? And what about worst case scenario of complete EMP attack?"

I addressed a grid down situation.. SOLAR. The power requirements of every item I spec'd is 12vdc with low power consumption. EMP? none of this gear is prohibitively huge. Build a Faraday cage.

2. "securing the gear takes time and money, and a lot of people out here on the forums don't have a lot of either one to begin with."
YEAH it costs money and time but not huge amounts of either. $400 for a remote video monitoring system WITH solar and battery backup. Not insignificant but certainly not unobtainable.You can even use the solar portion of this build to do other things like recharge your OTHER batteries...."AA" for your flashlights.. As far as time goes!!! Don't even get me started. With all the research and list making and bookmark collecting and pdf downloading the average"prepper" does these days LACK OF TIME is definitely a excuse.

3. "Going with the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) method of survival and preparedness, I'm going to see about setting aside simple devices and electronic components that are inexpensive and can be protected fairly easy to cover my security needs for these scenarios. I'm also going with some dirt cheap communications that can be bought in bulk to keep lines of information open and available to me and mine. Video is nice, and I'm going the same routes with these as well."

I agree with SIMPLE and inexpensive but not at the expense of PERFORMANCE. All to often we concentrate on cheap. "Whats the cheapest I can get this for" turns into "this is almost as good at half the price" which then leads us to "im doing research so I only have to buy this once" but this guy doing research will inevitably buy the CHEAPEST item he can find that will only meet 50% of his needs. Only to have to buy again due to malfunction or a realization that the other 50% functionality he is missing is pretty damn important. I like to save money also and I by no means have pockets overflowing with cash.


Having comms for all your family is important and sure you can "get by" with 40$ FRS radios from the big box store. A far better option is to go HAM. But that takes TIME and certainly costs more. However, that FRS radio only gets you 50% of the function of ham. Video is a force multiplier yes having human sensors is better but human power will be in short supply. Finally I would point out that concentrating on the mindset that bad things can still happen no matter what you do is a defeatist attitude. The prepper community is always talking mindset. "I have a warriors mindset" or " I don't need to stock supplies or learn skills I have the right mindset" When it comes to a defeatist attitude though.. mindset is everything!!!

[justanothergunnut]

OOH I forgot.. The other point... "this stuff wont last forever and how will you replace it" in a worst case mad max the world has gone down the toilet scenario.. Thats true of almost everything. Flashlights will fail, you will run out of batteries, ammo, medicines, solar components. Shoot using that logic you better have ground water and plenty of it because the solar system running your well pump will eventually fail, as will the gaskets and seals in your backup hand pump. In fact why bother with solar AT ALL!! batteries are not a LONG TERM item. You could go with oil lamps for light but eventually you are going to run out of oil. If its a total societal collapse the refineries wont be operational....Many of the things we stock are intended to aid us in the transition through the beginning of a collapse and are not intended to last FOREVER...