Precast Inc. - May/June 2008 - (Page 27) DIY Video Surveillance By Eric Barger Security and surveillance technology does not have to be professionally installed, complicated or expensive. A video security system that alerts you by phone and AS THIS COMPUTER SCREEN SHOT DEMONSTRATES, A SECURITY SYSTEM ALLOWS YOU TO sends you e-mail with MONITOR YOUR FACILITY WHILE PERFORMING OTHER TASKS, SUCH AS WRITING BUSINESS photographs if something LETTERS AND MONITORING STOCK TICKERS AND WEATHER REPORTS. Courtesy Eric Barger changes in your workplace can be an easy do-ityourself project. You just need a camera, computer, network and software to run the system. Purchase good-quality network cameras that are built for surveillance. Will your camera be inside your plant or office out of the way of Mother Nature? If you plan to monitor your office or indoor manufacturing facility, save money by purchasing an indoor camera. If your camera will be exposed to the sun at any time or will be outside, purchase an outdoor camera to keep the imaging chip from being damaged by the sun and to maximize the life of the camera. An outdoor camera enclosure may be necessary if rain or snow will reach the camera. You get what you pay for. A $100 network camera will give you photographs that look like blurry cell phone images/videos. Spend $200 to $1,000 and get great cameras that will deliver high-resolution photographs and video. Axis (www.axis.com), for example, offers a good product for a modest budget. The next item required is a computer. If you are going to install four or fewer cameras and are going to record motion, then you should be able to run the system off any late-model computer. If you are going to run five or more cameras, purchase a computer with major CPU power and a big hard drive. The more cameras you use, the more processing power your computer needs to keep your system running at its best. The more you record and the longer the history you keep, the more hard drive space you will need. You will also need a basic Local Area Network, which your company may already have. This is how your camera will communicate with your computer and ultimately the Internet to alert you to possible suspect activity. Networks are not difficult to set up and can be done in 30 minutes or less. Choose a security software program for its features and performance. Security Spy (www.securityspy.com), for example, is easy to use and provides good features. A recording schedule can be customized that allows you to record only motion events at specified times (between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. Monday through Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday, for example). You can choose to record when motion is detected and a set number of seconds after the motion stops, or record continuously by taking shots every one second, two seconds, five seconds, etc. Continuous recording will reduce your hard drive space rapidly. A good security program will alert you via cell phone text message whenever a motion event is taking place in view of one of your cameras. An e-mail will be sent out with one or more photographs from the camera view recording the motion. You should also be able to log on to the system from any computer in the world via your Web browser to adjust settings and watch live surveillance. You may want to replay an event for safety or training purposes, or maybe you can catch the vandal who is stealing your tools and equipment at night. For as little as $1,000, you can easily get your system up and running with everything you need including several high-quality cameras. Eric Barger is president of C.R. Barger and Sons Inc., a precast concrete company located in Kingston, Tenn. MAY/JUNE 2008 | WWW.PRECAST.ORG 27 http://www.axis.com http://www.securityspy.com http://www.precast.org
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