Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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By Boswell
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#1548600
I realise security professionals will shoot this down as amateurish, but would welcome feedback on this proposal for basic security cover in a reasonably remote hangar; Rotax engines seem flavour-of-the-month in Eastern Europe, and we need to get something in place.

We’ve got mains power available, and now 4G WiFi with an EE Hotspot (4G reception, 20hz up/down bandwidth, preferably limited to 8Gb/month). Assume other suppliers available, but we’ve been using this model (in theory 10 device hookup, in France successfully for a week with PCs, Macs, iThings at UK EE rates). See: https://goo.gl/i5oWxA

Since we discussed remote WiFi airfield weather stations (forum last year?) the low-end security camera market now has a wider choice of wireless kit.

We don’t need continuous streaming, but movement/sound trigger warning, recording to SD card, access from iThings or Android, night vision, wide-angle capture, battery powered (preferable in case an intruder kills main power), waterproof/external use are some of the features we’ve found. So far the only model with all the above at a reasonable cost, and shortly available, is the Reolink Argus: https://goo.gl/twdZEQ Reolink tech support communicate well. So do Logitech, but their equivalent model is mains-powered which would be vulnerable.

Hardware cost is modest - less than 200 quid, and ongoing simcard cost around £120/year for the EE Hotspot. Having WiFi in the hangar would, of course, be useful. One interior camera, one external, would be ideal.

We’d appreciate constructive comments and advice for alternative solutions at a reasonable budget.
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By rikur_
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#1548609
I've done a few remote webcams for various ongoing and ad hoc requirements.
A few observations:
- I've had no problem uploading on 4G ... I've done it in a home-rolled manner, but many webcams offer a cloud storage service
- My typical set-up is:
a) a USB battery pack to act as an uninterruptible power supply
b) an EE 4G wifi modem
c) Foscam-C1

There are probably better cameras around than the C1, but a big benefits are:
(1) it detects motion through passive infrared, so won't be triggered by moving shadows etc
(2) it uses a standard microUSB power supply, so will run off the USB battery
(3) wide angle

In my case I have the 4G modem on a 'second sim' to my main mobile phone, which just costs £8 per month
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By Boswell
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#1548613
The Foscam looks interesting, but is it streaming continuously, and, if so, what's the monthly bandwidth usage?

Also, do you keep the USB on mains charge? If not, how long do you get before a recharge? If we use mains we really need to keep it out-of-reach of an intruder.

We're keen to have one exterior camera, as info on their vehicles would be essential, so waterproofing to IP 65 could be useful.
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By rikur_
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#1548621
Boswell wrote:The Foscam looks interesting, but is it streaming continuously, and, if so, what's the monthly bandwidth usage?

No - it uploads on demand - either snapshots, or video, or both.
Last month used 1.5GB - in my case that's for an outdoor camera in a quiet location, uploading 30 snapshots, 1 sec intervals each time motion triggers. At 720HD images are typically around 100kByte each.
Boswell wrote:Also, do you keep the USB on mains charge?
Yes - there's at least 12 hours battery back-up, probably a lot more. If you go for the more expensive EE modem, it acts as a built in USB battery, so you can plug the camera into the USB port on the EE modem and don't need a separate battery pack (these weren't available when I set up mine)
We're keen to have one exterior camera, as info on their vehicles would be essential, so waterproofing to IP 65 could be useful.

I've mounted C1's outside using a modified birdbox for shelter .... one has been outside for 2 years+ now and still works.

As an alternative to 4G connectivity, you could simply have a local wireless network to a secure location and save the video locally ... whilst they might look for/destroy the cameras .... they probably wouldn't look for a discrete network storage device hidden away somewhere separate.... many WiFi hubs will now let you plug in a USB drive and become a wireless storage network. One of these with a 16GB USB stick in it could sit discretely somewhere to store the video.
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By Tall_Guy_In_a_PA28
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#1548625
A couple of things to bear in mind.

1. Handheld WiFi jammers are cheap. Cabled networking is much more secure.
2. There are smartphone apps to spot IR LEDs on webcams (CCD cameras are very sensitive to IR). Better to use a separate IR illuminator to not draw attention to the camera locations.
3. The best you will get are black and white videos of people in hoodies and scarves.

Your proposed low-end solution may be effective against kids and vandals, but not Rotax thieves.

Criminals do not like to hang around in exposed locations, so good physical security linked to intrusion detection and local enforcement (e.g. man with barky dog) is the way I would go.
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By PeteSpencer
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#1548632
At the moment we seem to pin our faith in the next door hangar which has a PIR/Motion beam across the hangar door so any inquisitive scrote reaching for the lock sets off a shrill siren which goes on for 25 minutes before it stops and resets ..

Plus a 500W PIR floodlight high on the hangar.

I guess this makes scrotes a tad uncomfortable.

Peter.
#1548635
I work in a different kind of security but I can say that something is always better than nothing. Decoy cameras are a good idea (something that looks like a security camera with a nice fat cable for the scrotes to cut and let themselves believe they are no longer being watched.
Also, if you are able to get a system that will alert your local police force so that they can intercept the theives, resources allowing, then you'll get much more than just black and white pictures of hoodies. Something else to bear in mind is the need for a camera pointing at where they are likely to park. A number plate to track via ANPR will give the cops far more to go on than 'average height, average build, etc..'
By JoeC
#1548638
For approx £300 a year you can have a monitored alarm with a call centre that gives you a ring if it goes off.

Monitored alarm, light, dummy cameras plus a call if it goes off may either put the bad guys off or at least alert you if something is kicking off.

I'm not sure what the benefit is of obtaining some black and white footage of unrecognisable people attempting to steal your stuff?
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By Tall_Guy_In_a_PA28
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#1548639
For approx £300 a year you can have a monitored alarm with a call centre that gives you a ring if it goes off.

You can, but the police will not attend unless either you are physically on site and claim to have seen something criminal or the alarm is of an approved type and professionally installed and registered.
The latter is a good option and I use it at work. I have been called out several times over the years and the Police have always beaten me to the front gate (I live 10 minutes away). It is NOT a cheap option.
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By rikur_
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#1548647
Tall_Guy_In_a_PA28 wrote:
Your proposed low-end solution may be effective against kids and vandals, but not Rotax thieves.

I'm minded to agree - albeit I've been surprised what I've turned up in a little over 10 years of amateur surveillance.
1) Use a mix of visible and covert CCTV .... a covert CCTV by the perimeter gate is more likely to catch them unawares than something by the hangar
2) Don't just look at the CCTV of the incident, look back at CCTV of recent visitors - there may well have been a scouting trip .... key point is keep a month of historic coverage
3) Some thieves now wear hi-vis jackets not black - it dazzles night vision cameras - for the same reason reflective number plates can be hard to read on night vision cameras
4) Electronic surveillance combined with CCTV becomes very interesting - you can use a Raspberry Pi to listen to the unique fingerprint of mobile phones/smart watches/etc within range, and then look back through the logs as to when those devices were last on site, and match-up with the CCTV .... more relevant to inside jobs than Rotax thieves.

At the other end of the spectrum, you can't steal a Rotax if you can't see ..... go with one of these instead .... accompanied with a strobe light makes it blooming difficult to even get out, let alone nick anything.
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By JoeC
#1548648
Tall_Guy_In_a_PA28 wrote:
For approx £300 a year you can have a monitored alarm with a call centre that gives you a ring if it goes off.

You can, but the police will not attend unless either you are physically on site and claim to have seen something criminal or the alarm is of an approved type and professionally installed and registered.
The latter is a good option and I use it at work. I have been called out several times over the years and the Police have always beaten me to the front gate (I live 10 minutes away). It is NOT a cheap option.


Yes, I was talking about the cheaper £300 a year call centre that notifies you rather than the one that calls the cops. The alarm units use mobile technology and have built in batteries too.

My main point was that I can't see the point of filming criminals nicking your stuff.

Surely it is better to put them off in the first place by having a visible alarm, dummy camera and light. If they're not put off by that and do have a go the light and alarm are triggered and you get a call. Ideally they've scarpered long before they've managed to steal anything or you've arrived.

I can't see the benefit of being informed by the camera system that it has been triggered so that you can watch the footage at your leisure afterwards.

This is based on experience - when our office was burgled (burglar was caught BTW due to fingerprints.) He kicked a few doors open but ran away when he saw the alarm panel flashing even before the alarm had gone off. I can't see how him being secretly filmed would be such a deterrent. I also wouldn't want the burglar still on site when I arrived to collect my pointless cinematic evidence!
#1548656
I don't know whether any off the shelf system provides wifi MAC address recording, but it occurs to me that it's another way to identify the scrotes.

Recording the MAC address of any phone in the wifi vicinity when the system is triggered, will place the scrote at the scene of the alleged crime.

My home security already checks for known MAC addresses nearby. If none are found, it considers the PIR trigger as an intrusion and records video.

Not a particularly difficult thing to setup using a Pi Zero, I'm sure some commercial operation must have done it.


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