Ok everything just came in, so I thought Id give a update and share some footage to demonstrate this setup.
Dont have time to install it in the car yet, so I just slowly swept the camera around my computer area. The device can be setup for motion detection and record video or take pictures. I have attached to this post what it looks like with the cheap eBay camera attached. Ive attached both captures in video mode and picture mode.
I also wanted to measure the power consumption, but it maxed out my multimeter. So I attached a 1ohm resistor inline, measured the voltage drop, and calculated that the camera + dvr consumes about 3.1W @ 12V.
I definitely think perhaps my cheap camera is the limiting factor for this setup. I have hooked the device directly to a cable box, and you can see the quality is noticeably better. I have attached the video and pictures of when the input is from a cable box. Although I can set it to record at 30fps, right now its set at 5fps to save memory.
If anyone has suggestions on how to improve this setup, comments are welcome.
It does seem much better with the cable setup vs. the camera. Even still, I don't think the camera is horrible. Much better than any security footage I've seen.
Nice, do you have more info on the setup? Like the recorder and camera you are using?
For my setup, I was thinking of mounting the camera in the back of the cabin pointing forwards. That way it can capture my driving, as well as the driver and passengers (and if anyone breaks in, messing with my dash). Not sure how well that's going to work out...as my camera is pretty low quality.
Nice, do you have more info on the setup? Like the recorder and camera you are using?
For my setup, I was thinking of mounting the camera in the back of the cabin pointing forwards. That way it can capture my driving, as well as the driver and passengers (and if anyone breaks in, messing with my dash). Not sure how well that's going to work out...as my camera is pretty low quality.
Search ebay for "motion activated dvr" and match it with the one I posted a picture of in the thread. The original ebay link I used is not there anymore. As for the camera, the ebay listing was "Mini Pin-hole Sharp CCD CCTV Camera W/Mic 420TVL 3.7mm". Bascially, make sure you get one with CCD vs. CMOS camera chip (also sony is the best i think) as well as a decent low lux rating (mine was 0.3 lux) for night shots.
Thanks for the tip. My current camera sucks in low light conditions, noticeably dimmer at night under indoor lighting. But that's probably because its rated for 3 lux illumination. I just eBayed a Sony 480 lines resolution CCD camera rated for 0.3 lux, so hopefully that will look much better.
Well my Sony CCD camera just arrived and the picture quality is amazing, even in low light. Rounding up, power consumption has now increased to about 4W with the new camera. But according to my calculations, that should be about 7 days worth of 24/7 operation on my current deep cycle. Hopefully ~1.5hr of driving/day should keep that topped up.
The camera came with both a 16mm and 6mm lens, still trying to decide which one I like better. Ive attached shots using the 16mm. The interior looks really clear, but the downside is you cant really see the outside because of the brightness.
Now, here are pictures using the 6mm. The field of view is more narrower now. Id love to hear your guys' opinions what you think I use should. Perhaps maybe getting a lens that is between 6mm and 16mm would work better? Ideally, I would like the view of the 16mm but being able to actually see outside without the brightness problem.
Could you possibly post some more info about the DVR that you ended up selecting since the ebay pages that were linked to no longer exist? Maybe the unit's manufacturer, or even the keywords you used to find it on ebay? Thanks!
I completely forgot the keywords, sorry. For the camera, I know it was a Sony cctv ccd (not cmos), bare circuit board type. DVR was basically just the cheapest one I could find on eBay that had an automatic erase old footage feature and could write on a SD card.
Hey, you're trying for the goal by going the other way around, you're crazzzyyyy!
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Miami
Posts: 4,169
You can also use a mini DVR..... This what I will be using. Its battery powered, lasts 2 days, and records up to 2 days on a micro SD card. i am also going to have it connected to the PC so when its on, it charges, but I can also transfer the video to a secondary HDD for record keeping. The DVR will also run while I drive to record accidents and what not.
On the eBay page, I didnt see any mention of it being able to automatically erase old footage to make room for new stuff. That was an important feature for me. Also, you might want to take into account how much time you are in the car each day and whether that will be enough to keep the batteries charged. You dont want to be drawing more power than can be replenished.
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