So this summer my oldest boy moved into a "deluxe dorm room" so he could attend tech school. This studio apartment started out as a motel but was very recently converted into a very nice luxury studio apartment complete with built in desk, shelves, entertainment center, kitchenette, etc. It has one large window in the front and one small window in the bathroom. His assigned parking space is right outside the front door & window. The first thing we did before he moved in was buy and install a 3 camera surveillance system with an add on camera. The system we chose was the Blink XT2 from Amazon. https://blinkforhome.com/ We purchased a mixture of new and refurbed units so the price was $219. Our units do not have the two way audio that the newest version has.
The basics of this system include easy to mount weather-resistant wireless cameras that run on lithium ion batteries, or solar power, or direct USB power. They are 1080p with night illumination, motion activation, a ton of sensitiveness settings, and audio. The package includes a hub that connect to your wireless network and allows the cameras to send the images to the cloud for storage and viewing on your smart phone. Of course this is paired with his fiber optic fed wireless router and uninterruptible power supply, so even if he loses power the system will continue to work. The Blink cloud storage is free, but is limited in how long it will retain the video. You receive a motion activation alert on your phone and you can see what's going on wherever you are at. My son has already found a way to record the video clips directly to his phone as well via a video capture app.
With permission from the manager we installed one camera on the wall above his door on the exterior of the building, we then installed two inside his apartment, and the add on camera on the back of the building to cover the smaller sliding window. One interior camera is focused on the door, the other covers the majority of the space. The overall package basically cover his vehicle, both methods of entry/exit, and his living space. The building is white so we purchase white mounts and white silicone covers on the exterior cameras. They are easy to spot if you know they are there, but far less so if you are not. The rear camera requires a ladder to get to. The two exterior cameras have been running for 6 weeks now and still show 100% battery. Amazon claims 2 years with normal use, but I think that might be a bit exaggerated. The 2 interior cameras will likely fair longer due to the stable temps and environment. He has received a few false alarm notices, but has also watched as UPS & FedEx have dropped off packages, and as his property manager came to fix a minor issue. So far he is pretty happy and his Momma feels better about her big boy not sleeping under our roof.
In the interest of OPSEC has also has an additional hidden camera with battery back up that records to a micro SD card. It is built in to an alarm clock which he has on his desk in the far left corner of the room. And of course he has a door brace, window alarm, and gun safe.
The basics of this system include easy to mount weather-resistant wireless cameras that run on lithium ion batteries, or solar power, or direct USB power. They are 1080p with night illumination, motion activation, a ton of sensitiveness settings, and audio. The package includes a hub that connect to your wireless network and allows the cameras to send the images to the cloud for storage and viewing on your smart phone. Of course this is paired with his fiber optic fed wireless router and uninterruptible power supply, so even if he loses power the system will continue to work. The Blink cloud storage is free, but is limited in how long it will retain the video. You receive a motion activation alert on your phone and you can see what's going on wherever you are at. My son has already found a way to record the video clips directly to his phone as well via a video capture app.
With permission from the manager we installed one camera on the wall above his door on the exterior of the building, we then installed two inside his apartment, and the add on camera on the back of the building to cover the smaller sliding window. One interior camera is focused on the door, the other covers the majority of the space. The overall package basically cover his vehicle, both methods of entry/exit, and his living space. The building is white so we purchase white mounts and white silicone covers on the exterior cameras. They are easy to spot if you know they are there, but far less so if you are not. The rear camera requires a ladder to get to. The two exterior cameras have been running for 6 weeks now and still show 100% battery. Amazon claims 2 years with normal use, but I think that might be a bit exaggerated. The 2 interior cameras will likely fair longer due to the stable temps and environment. He has received a few false alarm notices, but has also watched as UPS & FedEx have dropped off packages, and as his property manager came to fix a minor issue. So far he is pretty happy and his Momma feels better about her big boy not sleeping under our roof.
In the interest of OPSEC has also has an additional hidden camera with battery back up that records to a micro SD card. It is built in to an alarm clock which he has on his desk in the far left corner of the room. And of course he has a door brace, window alarm, and gun safe.