Mailbox hit by a car... security camera thread.

[SoloCamo]

Hello all,

 

So despite paying a ridiculous amount for Arlo cameras they have failed me yet again in detecting anything useful.  For my front I have an Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight  set to best quality and maximum motion sensitivity yet it somehow missed a vehicle smashing into my mailbox and sending the top of said mailbox flying which thankfully barely missed my car (it landed a foot away).  That said, it seems like the majority of security companies these days are also deploying similar systems such as nest, ring, arlo, etc. 

 

I rent a home and cannot install a traditional wired CVR/DVR.  I am looking to see if any of you have personal experience with a wireless camera CVR / DVR system that is reasonably priced?  I will keep the Arlo systems for network based viewing as needed but want something that quite simply will not miss anything.  CVR for my Arlo camera apparently will not work, either.   In fact do yourself a favor and don't bother with Arlo at all. 

 

THANKS FOR ANY HELP AS ALWAYS!

[pio]

I'm not too good with cameras and security systems, but is there a way you can setup a DVR, like with a PC or something, that'll just record the Arlo cameras all the time?  Pretty sure OBS could handle that.  Idk about "data retention" though......like overriding old files the way a regular DVR would do when the drives get full.  Idk, just trying to think of ways to make your existing stuff work better.

[Slaughtahouse]

Redneck way: Use a trail camera. Most take an SD card. If you can photo a deer jumping by, you can probably get a drunk driver smashing into your mail box.

 

More professional: Contact a local, commercial physical security integrator. Ask for a wireless camera recommendation. The job won’t be worth the effort for a commercial contractor to give you a quote and you probably don’t want to spend for their install… but they may be able to give a quick recommendation over the phone if you explain the need.

 

 

[damric]

if you rent, this is the landlord's problem.

 

But yeah my ring cameras suck too and probably would have missed it.

 

I'd say brick mailbox, and bill the landlord.

[SoloCamo]

13 hours ago, pio said:

I'm not too good with cameras and security systems, but is there a way you can setup a DVR, like with a PC or something, that'll just record the Arlo cameras all the time?  Pretty sure OBS could handle that.  Idk about "data retention" though......like overriding old files the way a regular DVR would do when the drives get full.  Idk, just trying to think of ways to make your existing stuff work better.

 

Thanks for the idea but unfortunately the Arlo system is by design set to timeout during extended live viewing (20 minutes or so?) and I can't do a thing about it.  Besides, if I access it from another device it will log off anyone watching it elsewhere.

 

12 hours ago, Slaughtahouse said:

Redneck way: Use a trail camera. Most take an SD card. If you can photo a deer jumping by, you can probably get a drunk driver smashing into your mail box.

 

More professional: Contact a local, commercial physical security integrator. Ask for a wireless camera recommendation. The job won’t be worth the effort for a commercial contractor to give you a quote and you probably don’t want to spend for their install… but they may be able to give a quick recommendation over the phone if you explain the need.

 

 

I am tempted to do the trail camera thing and attach it to a tree in the front lawn but the problem is my street is extremely busy so the battery would be dead very fast.  I do know a few guys at a local security business I've been on many jobsites with  over the years, perhaps I'll run it by them, thanks.

10 hours ago, damric said:

if you rent, this is the landlord's problem.

 

But yeah my ring cameras suck too and probably would have missed it.

 

I'd say brick mailbox, and bill the landlord.

 

Unfortunately due to my lease agreement (we go through a large management company) anything under $100 (which our current mailbox definitely cost less than that) is our problem.  Not going to fight them over it as when they told me that I decided that I'm not replacing it and will leave in place the repairs I made on the current one.   I took a 5lb mini sledge to reshape some metal and it's now affixed with zip ties in a way not noticeable unless you look for them.  To be fair it's probably stronger than it was when new.  I slapped a fresh coat of spray paint on it and called it a day.

Edited May 20 by SoloCamo

[pio]

3 hours ago, SoloCamo said:

 

Unfortunately due to my lease agreement (we go through a large management company) anything under $100 (which our current mailbox definitely cost less than that) is our problem.  Not going to fight them over it as when they told me that I decided that I'm not replacing it and will leave in place the repairs I made on the current one.   I took a 5lb mini sledge to reshape some metal and it's now affixed with zip ties in a way not noticeable unless you look for them.  To be fair it's probably stronger than it was when new.  I slapped a fresh coat of spray paint on it and called it a day.

Wait a second, WHAT?  You're renting, that's literally not your mailbox, not your problem bro.  That can't be legal for the landlord to have YOU make repairs on THEIR house, can it?  

I understand the want and still need for having better security cameras, but reading that just blew my mind.

Also, can also confirm Arlo cameras suck.  My parents had a set at their old house, and my brother in law's truck was lit on fire (vandalism) right in front of the house.  We caught enough footage that the entire neighborhood could tell who did it when we were asking around who it was (it was the neighbor who did it).  But the footage unfortunately wasn't good enough for the police, since it didn't CLEARLY catch his face, but yet he was wearing the same clothes as in the video, live when interviewed.  Whatever, that's an entirely different argument too.......    Point is, the cameras failed to capture the moment that the dude tossed the molotov into the truck, but it caught him coming back to check on his fire and pour gasoline on it.

[ENTERPRISE]

Is it bad that when I saw the title, I was was hoping for a funny video of someone writing off a mailbox ? Anyway, have you considered Reolink ? I have there Camara's setup and I have one watching over my garden and it is really responsive.

[Snakecharmed]

A camera that supports ONVIF, controlled by the desktop software of your choice, effectively turning one of your PCs into an NVR. For Windows, that's more than likely going to be Blue Iris. Despite how their mobile app looks like it was designed 15 years ago, everything else about Blue Iris seems to work well enough for it to be the software of choice in many IP camera communities.

 

Personally, I'm only going to use wired cameras, but I know there are wireless ones as well that can do the job. Just don't allow them to communicate outside of your LAN. Even better would be to put them on their own VLAN with your NVR PC.

 

I don't trust the security of, nor do I want to pay the monthly fee for cloud-based cameras. Ring is notorious for security breaches, whereas the other brands just have crap hardware with limited functionality masked by modern app design.

[SoloCamo]

21 hours ago, pio said:

Wait a second, WHAT?  You're renting, that's literally not your mailbox, not your problem bro.  That can't be legal for the landlord to have YOU make repairs on THEIR house, can it?  

I understand the want and still need for having better security cameras, but reading that just blew my mind.

Also, can also confirm Arlo cameras suck.  My parents had a set at their old house, and my brother in law's truck was lit on fire (vandalism) right in front of the house.  We caught enough footage that the entire neighborhood could tell who did it when we were asking around who it was (it was the neighbor who did it).  But the footage unfortunately wasn't good enough for the police, since it didn't CLEARLY catch his face, but yet he was wearing the same clothes as in the video, live when interviewed.  Whatever, that's an entirely different argument too.......    Point is, the cameras failed to capture the moment that the dude tossed the molotov into the truck, but it caught him coming back to check on his fire and pour gasoline on it.

 

Unfortunately it's perfectly legal and very common.  That said, we have been here 9 years now and have a fair landlord all things considered.  They do not give us a hard time and we are also paying hundreds less per month for rent compared to the market rate.

 

17 hours ago, ENTERPRISE said:

Is it bad that when I saw the title, I was was hoping for a funny video of someone writing off a mailbox ? Anyway, have you considered Reolink ? I have there Camara's setup and I have one watching over my garden and it is really responsive.

 

Ha, I wish my mailbox story was a bit more entertaining but it is what it is.  Reolink is a name I've heard of many times and it looks like they have two wifi based cameras that may fit the bill (one being 2k, the other being 4k) - thanks.  I will be running direct power to it and it will suck if I lose power but the Arlo will still be in place with it's built in battery to hopefully cover anything in the interim. 

 

10 hours ago, Snakecharmed said:

A camera that supports ONVIF, controlled by the desktop software of your choice, effectively turning one of your PCs into an NVR. For Windows, that's more than likely going to be Blue Iris. Despite how their mobile app looks like it was designed 15 years ago, everything else about Blue Iris seems to work well enough for it to be the software of choice in many IP camera communities.

 

Personally, I'm only going to use wired cameras, but I know there are wireless ones as well that can do the job. Just don't allow them to communicate outside of your LAN. Even better would be to put them on their own VLAN with your NVR PC.

 

I don't trust the security of, nor do I want to pay the monthly fee for cloud-based cameras. Ring is notorious for security breaches, whereas the other brands just have crap hardware with limited functionality masked by modern app design.

 

I've researched this a bit in the past and Blue Iris always popped up.  My home network is  using consumer level hardware  (basic modem from isp and netgear router) so I won't be able to setup a separate vlan.   Are these systems so vulnerable still at this point?   My potential plan as it stands is to have a wifi camera connected to the network which records to a PC that I can host Blue Iris on.  The pc will be overkill for it (i9 10900 / 64gb ddr4 3600) so I may see if I can set Blue Iris up in a VM.

Edited May 21 by SoloCamo

[EHW Ai]

18 hours ago, ENTERPRISE said:

Is it bad that when I saw the title, I was was hoping for a funny video of someone writing off a mailbox ?

 

It might make for humorous video fodder if he replaces the post for his mailbox with a solid steel core post surrounded by wood, with a firm buried concrete footing anchoring it.

 

Perhaps something like this:

 

 

Edited May 21 by iamjanco

[Sir Beregond]

On 20/05/2024 at 10:28, pio said:

Wait a second, WHAT?  You're renting, that's literally not your mailbox, not your problem bro.  That can't be legal for the landlord to have YOU make repairs on THEIR house, can it?  

Extremely common practice. Mine is anything under $50 is my problem. Which is fine. It's typically been stuff I accidentally broke anyway like a toilet seat, or something.

[pio]

7 hours ago, Sir Beregond said:

Extremely common practice. Mine is anything under $50 is my problem. Which is fine. It's typically been stuff I accidentally broke anyway like a toilet seat, or something.

Well, I mean if I personally break something I'll fix it anyway just because that's common courtesy.  Up here in WA State though, a landlord asking a tenant to make home or property repairs is 100% illegal here.  If its their property, its their problem to fix it, and the law states they HAVE to fix it.  Kinda crappy for good landlords that have horrible tenants honestly, but it DOES help out the good tenants with crappy landlords though.

Edited May 24 by pio