una Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 With high walls surrounding our house and garden (which we appreciate), we're unable to see who is at the door when someone rings the doorbell without our first opening the door. I've searched the forums for information about choosing a security camera and intercom, and I've found some information from some of you, but we would like to have some more up to date information. We are not looking for an alarm system (our big dog barking helps with that), but merely a means to tell who is at the gate. We've seen some simple combinations on Amazon and can arrange to have something brought to us, but perhaps we can find something down here that we can actually look at before we buy. We don't want to spend an inordinate amount since we're renting. Any suggestions would be very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVGRINGO Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 They sell such systems at Costco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHILLIN Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 This is not good advice RV. You need someone to install it, often involving very high ladders. Working off ladders is very dangerous. Then if the unit is "Wi-Fi", you have to call the installer back again to change batteries every six months. The install may cost as much as the hardware. Stick with a unit the installer recommends and knows. If possible, and not cost prohibitive, try to get a hard wired system with battery backup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Berca Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 They sell such systems at Costco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajijicbound Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 they sell video doorbells at steren. There is a man at Handy Mail that installs them. We have had ours for four years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVGRINGO Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 Funny. Many of us are quite capable of reading the installation instructions, and following them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bontekoe Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 Take those wall down! I am tempted to do so they are great to keep the robbers from being seen by the security guards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bontekoe Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 On 2016-09-27 at 4:04 PM, ComputerGuy said: And that's no problem. But your comment about the beaches being "non-existent"... ? Makes me unclear whether you would be my best choice for recommendations. Ignorant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 Well done, Bontekoe. And right here in the correct thread, too. But let's look a little closer... Like, at the fact you posted some baloney about beaches you obviously know absolutely jack about. Perhaps you were insulted when I suggested I'd have a hard time using your recommendation. Anyone else want to take his recommendation for beaches now? So keep it up. We're all anxious to hear what pearls of wisdom fall from your mouth next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Berca Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 Still waiting for the first pearl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHILLIN Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 11 hours ago, RVGRINGO said: Funny. Many of us are quite capable of reading the installation instructions, and following them. Not picking on you RV - but it is sort of like buying one of those cheap A$$ car alarms from China, asking a professional car alarm guy to install it, then D.I.Y. when they laugh you out of the shop. With very predictable and annoying results. A professional car alarm installer would use mercury switches (against towing), kill switches (hidden and timed), and if the car is really valuable, low jack tracking and electric overload protection (preventing thieves burning out the alarm system with a strong jolt). Sometimes the software and installation is more important, and more expensive, than the hardware. An experience gained from many years buying, and discarding low priced, Costco, Wallmart, Harbor Freight (type), electronic items, tools, only to discover they are really a piece of .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowyco Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 Chillin, What exact personal experience do you have with the Costco video system? Please tell us what brand of Costco video systems have so many problems. I've installed one, and a year later, it works great - doing more than what the customer expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowyco Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 I just remembered that I installed Costco-sold video systems for our son's pizza shop, 3 years ago, and also installed some hi-res cameras on the entrance doors of the shop a year ago. All 3 systems are working fine. Installation was straightforward, following the manufacturer's instructions. Chillin: What specific problems should these people be so wary of... to avoid your problems? The most recent Costco system I installed has a wide enough angle lens to clearly show who is at the front gate (in the wall), plus a good view of the street. Police liked the high quality view of the block's street so much, that they requested video files of street views for when a neighbor's home was burglarized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomgates Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 If it is a metal door, install a little peephole door that you can open to see who is there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHILLIN Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 Snowy, I'm sure you think everything you buy is the finest, and coated in gold, but if you read carefully, the OP is not looking for a video security system. That is where I think you definitely need an experienced person, who as a stranger, will look to your TOTAL security system as though they were an experienced burglar. I hear these cheap home security and cheap car alarms going off all the time. They are of course ignored. The number of cameras for x amount of $, may not even be that important in a properly case hardened home or business. Guess what, the burglars will steal the cameras, monitor and video backup -then what? The laughable part, is when they try to fence it as the "best" Costco system - what is wrong with this picture? Dogs are OK, if people train them to identify and only bark at perceived threats, not every passing pedestrian, street dog or noisy vehicle. A barker, is also ignored but also an annoyance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHILLIN Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 4 hours ago, tomgates said: If it is a metal door, install a little peephole door that you can open to see who is there. There is a new peephole which is wide angle view. Another idea, have a flap on the outside of the gate, the curious or those with bad intent, open the flap and see the business end of a double barrelled shotgun (fake, of course). Instead of a door chime, get a sound sample of a repeater rifle loading a bullet in the chamber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pappysmarket Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 I thought you were against anything to do with guns, real or fake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
una Posted September 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 18 hours ago, HookEmHorns said: We do not open our door to the wall unless we are 100% sure who it is. All of our family/friends know to call us when they want to come to our house, and they call again when they arrive. If someone else knocks, we sometimes ask who it is and what they want , but we rarely open the door. Often, we just ignore the knock. We haven't missed anything in 16 years that we couldn't do without. Yeah, this has been pretty much our philosophy, but we would have been in trouble the other night. One of our very kind Mexican neighbors rang the doorbell to let us know that our garage door was open. We didn't understand what she was saying at first, so she went and got another neighbor to shout through the door that "la cochera was open." Not sure how that happened--lightning, some short, whatever, but it made us very aware that we need to both see and hear who's at the gate. Had our neighbors not been observant and persistent, our garage would have been open all night, along with access to the garden and terraces. As to the peephole, our landlord tried that while he was down here, but the metal of the door is so thin, the inside part of the peephole apparatus sticks our dangerously far toward the viewer's eye. We do appreciate the contributions from the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lulugirl Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 Check out Illumina Decora next to Sunrise Restaurant in San Antonio. They were selling what you are looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcscats Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 Well I have a Costco alarm system by Lorex. It came with four cameras and can take eight. It can work on motion or records all the time. I have a battery backup so it can record if the bad guys cut the power. I would pay the extra money and get HD cameras and don't forget to put some lights so the camera can work at night. I think Costco has been out of system for a while as I want to replace mine with an HD system but not seen them lately. I found extension cords in the US for the Cameras. Low resolution cameras are not so good in my opinion. Unit does not have an intercom FYI. As far as installing the system we all know who can climb a ladder or not. I installed mine myself. Its not brain surgery but the safety issue is real for many of us. Best Buy had a Swan two camera unit which would be perfect for a door and I saw it yesterday when I was in Guadalajara. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcscats Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 2 hours ago, CHILLIN said: The number of cameras for x amount of $, may not even be that important in a properly case hardened home or business. Guess what, the burglars will steal the cameras, monitor and video backup -then what? The laughable part, is when they try to fence it as the "best" Costco system - what is wrong with this picture? . You hide the black box Chillin. My box by my video display at the door is fake but it has blinking lights and all kinds of shiny stuff so they are not going to look for the real black box. Other than power wires the only real wire is the monitor display from the black box in another room hidden. Sneaky I is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVGRINGO Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 The peephole can be installed with a suitable piece of wooden plank glued to the metal door to increase the thickness and protect anyone looking through it. Of course, another option is a small 2x2 inch or 3x3 inch opening peephole with a latch, allowing you to see and communicate with someone outside. Any ironworker can do it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 Poor poster is simply looking for a little advice from someone who's done it. Not a set of life-instructions. Sheesh. John Martin might be able to offer some advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcscats Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 3 minutes ago, HookEmHorns said: Is it really getting that bad at Lakeside that people are now putting in all types of cameras and recording devices, or is this just preparation for the expected influx of the JNGC and the gangs associated with them? I didn't realize all that was now necessary. Frightening, no? And, I thought all the metal bars, and walls, and electrical wiring and razor wire, etc. was enough. I am much more frightened in the US than here but your point is made. I prefer to be secure wherever I live and prefer my wife is safe when I am gone. I doubt if the gangs care anything about our houses unless you are a drug dealer but petty crime or violence that does affect us. I had security in US also and I lived in a town listed as one of the safest in US. Your point is thought provoking I admit but no I am not frightened. I could see how others may disagree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lulugirl Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 31 minutes ago, HookEmHorns said: Is it really getting that bad at Lakeside that people are now putting in all types of cameras and recording devices, or is this just preparation for the expected influx of the JNGC and the gangs associated with them? I didn't realize all that was now necessary. Frightening, no? And, I thought all the metal bars, and walls, and electrical wiring and razor wire, etc. was enough. So you're never here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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