CCTV camera help

[Landrover]

I need a CCTV camera for somewhere without a WiFi connection, there is mains power, can I get such a thing that records to a memory card or works with a 3g/4g connection ? Ideally just a cheap one as it's just for a temporary site ! Thanks in advance

 

[Limcrazy]

Yes you can get cctv with built in sd cards that record on detected motion. You can also get a dongle on mobile network that will transmit to home or mobile.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Yes you can get cctv with built in sd cards that record on detected motion. You can also get a dongle on mobile network that will transmit to home or mobile.

The 3G/4G data dongle needs to presumably be connected to a laptop or PC - how does it directly connect to the camera?

 

[Chris F]

I need a CCTV camera for somewhere without a WiFi connection, there is mains power, can I get such a thing that records to a memory card or works with a 3g/4g connection ? Ideally just a cheap one as it's just for a temporary site ! Thanks in advance

Depends if you wants to be able to access the footage from your phone (ie will need a 3g/4g sim card in it) or if you are just happy for it to record to an sd card.

SD Card - £110 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reolink-Re...2XTQ7W3XSJD&psc=1&refRID=R9MMCVDXW2XTQ7W3XSJD

4g - £258 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reolink-Se...ocphy=1007192&hvtargid=pla-582904668639&psc=1

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Remote access - you connect directly to the camera - is a bit of a moveable feast over 4G.

You need either a camera or small DVR system that has the smarts basically to punch a hole through the CGNAT networking the carriers use on their mobile network - it’s own little VPN connection, as you don’t get a public or “routable” IP address on your 4G dongle or router generally.

It therefore rarely works like your typical old fashioned fixed line broadband connection and you just open some ports on your router and point (port forward) them to the camera. Doesn’t really work like that with 4G networking unfortunately.

Apologies for all the gobbledygook, but it’s a bit hard to explain without resorting to some acronyms and rubbish.

 

[Landrover]

Thanks for the help, ideally I would like something that I just plug in and it record to a memory card if possible ?

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Thanks for the help, ideally I would like something that I just plug in and it record to a memory card if possible ?

Most decent quality IP CCTV cameras should be able to accommodate a memory card no problem. I know my old Panasonic's do and they're around seven years old. Pretty sure HIK etc will be similar.

I'd strongly recommend you get wired units - wifi CCTV is basically rubbish - also you need to then run mains up to the camera which is rubbish.

A far more elegant and better solution all-round is to use network (PoE) powered cameras - one standard UTP/Cat5e style cable for the network connection and to carry power to the camera. Either use an 'injector' or a PoE capable network switch to provide the power for the cameras.

 

[krikey]

As an alternative and very much a DIY solution, consider a RaspberryPi. A miniature computer which runs on 5V and draws very little current, it has a dedicated camera port and there's software out there that acts like a DVR. They can be weatherproofed quite easily and with a bolt on 3G/4G board with SIM, you could even access it remotely if connectivity were an issue. The newer RaspberryPis can be powered using PoE too, if you want to run a ethernet cable to the destination (assuming its not too far away).

There's a good write up here https://www.itpro.co.uk/hardware/31258/how-to-build-a-raspberry-pi-security-camera and you can always get one of those fake empty security camera enclosures if you want it to look the part. Cost effective too, if you're willing to fiddle around.

 

[krikey]

Also as you mention that you have mains power nearby, you "may" be able to use the Ethernet over Power adapters or what are commonly called "powerline" adapters. These essentially use your power line to send data over. I'm not sure what the distance is and powerline adapters don't play too well with RCDs (your fusebox essentially), but it might be worth exploring, as you can then have a central DVR receiving your video feeds from numerous IP cameras.