Want a Security Camera to Catch Political Sign Thieves?

[MineralMan]

You don't need an expensive home security camera system. Instead, search on Amazon for:

"motion detecting game camera"

Available for as little as $40 or so, they detect motion up to 75-100 feet from the camera, and record either still photos or video, in 1080P resolution, day or night. All come with an array of infrared LED lights to capture images at night.

You can put up to a 32 gigabyte SD card in the thing (not included), which will be plenty to capture weeks of motion-activated still photos. Then, you just download the images or video to your PC or Laptop via USB cable, and view and process them, if there is a need to do so.

These units are not invisible, by any means. They are all in a camouflage-colored box. You attach them to something and just let them watch over things for you, running on their internal batteries, which last for weeks in normal use. You can set the sensitivity of the motion-sensing thing to prevent it from taking pictures every time a car goes by.

Anyhow, they're worth considering, if you'd like to monitor your yard.

[cayugafalls]

1. Make sure that they are not easily reachable and mounted well.

We had a game camera stolen because it was reachable and someone saw the infrareds glowing and knew what it was.

Infrareds on the cheaper models are noticeable when the unit flashes to take a picture. If the unit is recording video, the glow is visible during the recording.

90$ down the tubes.

You have to spend 400-500$ to get a black flash that is not detectable.

[MineralMan]

3. Well, I wouldn't be all that worried about it getting stolen.

There are tons of them here in Minnesota. The deer hunters put them on trees to see what comes by, well ahead of deer season. If I had one, I'd mount it probably above my mailbox, using security screws, so it would be nice and visible. That would probably deter sign vandals all by itself. If they failed to steal it, you'd have some nice photos of the would-be thief, to boot.

Since they start at about $40, it's not a big investment, and you don't have to bother with looking at the images, unless you have a reason to. I considered a small wifi camera, but it wouldn't automatically record only movement in my yard. I'd have to watch the videos and dedicate an old PC to record them. The motion detector game cameras work pretty well for security, since they take pictures when there is movement within the camera's range. So, if something happens, you can go look at the images to see who or what was moving around your yard. 1080P is high enough definition to see who it was, too. The cameras tend to be about 20 megapixels for still images, which is more than adequate for recognizing someone.

If you call the police, you can print out images of the perpetrator and hand them over, along with a usb drive with copies.

Cheap. Convenient. No continuous video recordings to look through (who has time for that?).

[cayugafalls]

5. Yes, I'm in Texas and they are everywhere. I do agree with you, they are a good option.

Security screws would be necessary, although not fool proof as my case pointed out. I did use security screws, but lo and behold, it was still stolen. On checking with my hunting buddies, they all use security screws for their cameras so easy access to proper tool required to remove is a given round here.

40$ is too much for me to risk on something that can be easily reached and broken or stolen. The one I had is good for motion up to 70-100 feet so I should have mounted it up high, pointing down, rather than on the fence like I did. I had a problem with kids cutting down trees on my property and was trying to catch them in the act as their path in and out of my fence line was noticeable.

My concern in mounting it on the mailbox is the ease with which it could be stolen or broken late at night.

I have since installed high definition security system with cameras that cover my property and everyone in our area knows it, so all vandalism stopped as it was most likely neighborhood kids doing the dirty deeds.

I spent some money and do have a dedicated server so searching for particular points of activity are fairly easy as the software keys videos with markers on activity.

I do agree with you that game cameras are a good inexpensive option, placement in my opinion is key though.

[Siwsan]

2. I have a really good and inexpensive security camera at the front of my house

It is battery operated and transmits any activity to my phone and tablet, via my internet connection. The camera batteries last for 2 years, under normal conditions. I can download video clips to the phone or tablet, onto Google Drive, if I want to save them.

If I can get my hands on a Biden sign, I'm going to re-aim the camera to include the sign. I live in a heavily Democratic area (100% Democratic representation) so I'm not TOO worried about my sign being bothered. It only happened once, AFTER the 2008 election, and I suspect it was from the evil bastard troll kids who lived across the street.

I admit to being pretty paranoid over what will happen after this election. My fear is that this extremely blue area could be a target for disgruntled cult members, should the election be a big victory for Democrats.