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Building a Home Surveillance System
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Annie Blanco
For the past decade Annie has been in the public eye working in television news from Anchor to Helicopter Reporter and Security News Expert. Annie is the newest member of the Home Security Store Annie’s Videos 
By Annie Blanco
Published on 11/18/2008
 
In today’s world, protection for people and property is a must to combat against thieves who are on the lookout for easy scores.  A great way to guard yourself is a home surveillance system, but before you start the process there are a few things you should consider.

In today’s world, protection for people and property is a must to combat against thieves who are on the lookout for easy scores.  A great way to guard yourself is a home surveillance system, but before you start the process there are a few things you should consider.

          Before buying any parts to build your surveillance system, you should figure out what your needs are.  Take a brief tour of your property and make a map of it.  Try to be as accurate as possible in the process.  You might want to act like an intruder trying to break into your own house so you can determine the vulnerable spots.  Mark out all the entrances and exits.  These will be the prime areas where you need security cameras.

          Once you have figured out your needs, building a DVR kit with four cameras and a security monitor is ideal.  Installation of this kind of kit has many advantages.  First you should make sure that two of the cameras are vandal proof or are outdoor security cameras.  As previously suggested, one camera can be mounted watching the front door and the other camera watching your backyard or back door.  If there is a better spot that you find more appropriate, then mount the camera there.  All outdoor security cameras must be installed at a height which is out of reach for burglars.  You can mount the rest of the cameras inside the house where you think you need to monitor your expensive house contents, where it can capture the front side of a robber coming into the house, or perhaps where the vulnerable spots are that you already determined.  In addition, the DVR should be mounted in a place where burglars cannot get access to it.

Surveillance Equipment has some suggested features a DVR should have:

1.  The DVR should have a motion recording feature to get more recording time per hard drive space and video loss alert, in case a camera craps up or if the cable is tampered with.


2.  The DVR should have alarm inputs so that recording can be auto switched to panic mode, (usually panic mode is set to recording full DVR capacity) in an event of a break-in.


3.  The DVR should have alarm outputs to send signals to the house alarm or to an outside siren to make loud noise and alert neighbors.


4.  The DVR should be network capable, for connecting to the DVR remotely and for monitoring your property while you are miles away.

 

          Fore even more help in the process of building your own surveillance system there are home security websites that can make the process easy.  Home Security Store (www.HomeSecurityStore.com) has a user friendly program that breaks down the decision making to simple terms and choices.  What’s even better is that building your own system starts at around $500.  After you choose your cameras, DVR, and monitor you will be guided through what cables, accessories such as stickers and wall mounts, and power camera supply to buy.