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Background information:

  • The valuables I want security for will be in a closet.
  • I want the outdoor cameras to be able to be used for surveillance in an internet and power grid down event for which I will have limited solar backup electricity for.

I want to go with a wireless system as:

  • I plan on moving in the next few years so I would prefer not spending money on installation. I also don’t want to install a wired system myself.
  • I want to own the system and use it in my next house as well.

Criteria:

  • All wireless elements should have ways to combat jamming and any other easy ways to bypass them.
  • Cell data backup on all wireless elements for when there is no wi-fi internet would be a nice to have. My cell data plan is 500 MB/month through US Mobile, which I’m on the Verizon network with via SIM card, so I’d only want the cell data to be used when cameras detect humans and to record at a relatively low quality.
  • Outdoor cameras that view the entire perimeter of my house without viewing into any of my neighbor’s houses’ windows and without audio recording, which I believe are limitations I need to abide by due to Ohio law. Night visibility is also desired. They will be used in Ohio so they need to be able to handle both warm and cold temperatures. I want them to have a IP65 or IPX5 rating. I want them to be able to be viewed live from within my home in the event the internet goes down (wi-fi and cell) on something that doesn’t require much wattage to charge or use like my Android cell phone.
  • An indoor camera I plan to put in a closet that will contain valuables.
  • Detect break-ins through windows.
  • Detect break-ins through doors.
  • If the system has internet, I want the system to send emergency alerts to me via text message and ideally make a phone call to me. I don’t want it to rely on push notifications. I want it to either immediately alert authorities or have it alert a “command center” that would handle alerting authorities if they deem there is a break-in. I want a way to cancel the alarm with authorities within 5 minutes of it going off so I can avoid getting penalized for false alarms.
  • No Google or Amazon products.

Please point out flaws in my system and improvements that can be made. Please do not recommend specific products as it is against the site’s rules. Thank you in advance to anyone who’s willing to help.

Also posted to:

https://old.reddit.com/r/homesecurity/comments/196kkyt/can_someone_design_for_me_a_wireless_home/?

1 Answers1

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TL;DR Consult a Local Professional- Really

This is not a jobs board. Nobody here is going to design a large system for you. Pick specific elements about which you have concerns and ask small, focused, non-opinion-based questions and people here will be happy to provide answers.

That being said, if your research amounts to repeating buzzwords and "WiFi is magic" then consult a bricks and mortar local security company. Have them survey your house (there are a lot of physical details that can dramatically affect pricing) and give you a quote. If you then have questions about specific aspects, ask new questions.


Product recommendations are off topic. So this question will most likely be closed for that reason, unless/until it is revised to focus on technical issues (e.g., wired vs. wireless) and not "what system should I get".

And as I write this, I can see it is: Too broad/not focused, opinion based and probably a few other close reasons apply. So I will be voting to close.

But I will speak to a few very specific issues to help (hopefully) guide you.

  • Wired vs. Wireless

If your stuff is so important that you want to go to all this trouble and expense (door/window monitoring, cameras all over the place, text alerts, etc.) then you want something reliable. That means wired. Period.

Yes, there are wireless cameras. But consider that any camera will need power, so even if the signal is wireless, the power has to come from somewhere. Batteries are not practical unless they are being recharged - which again means wired to power. So that leaves basically three options:

  • USB or other low-power adapters plugged in near each camera. Much of the time you will find that the cameras need to be in places that are out of reach of secure power connections. (One of my neighbors used to have a camera above their front door plugged in to an outdoor receptacle next to the door. If someone wanted to break unrecorded, they could simply unplug the camera.) Those connections are likely going to require an electrician to install, which will add up very quickly.
  • USB or other low-power adapters plugged in far from each camera. That requires routing low-power cables (safe to do) long distances to where you have inside power. Which is easier work (doesn't require an electrician). But it does get complicated because you have to figure out how to extend the power for different cable types.
  • Power over Ethernet. This is the usual solution. There is a ton of standard, physically secure/reliable Ethernet wiring, which can be used for Power over Ethernet. It is robust. It can be done by amateurs with relatively little training. It is inexpensive. It is safe (no 120V to zap you).

Guess what? If you go with Power over Ethernet you have reliable wired signal transmission as well.

If you use wireless cameras, that generally means WiFi. Unless you spend a fortune on it, interference is a real concern. Not just deliberate jamming, but also new neighbors who set up a high-powered WiFi network with lots of hot spots. Plus if you have any problems with your internet connection and after spending 2 hours on the phone with heavily accented "support" do a factory reset of your WiFi router, now your cameras are no longer connecting to WiFi and you don't even know it. And many other problems. WiFi is a wonderful tool, but it is a poor substitute for wired Ethernet for any equipment that doesn't move around - desktop computers, security cameras, printers, etc.

  • No Google or Amazon Products

Google and Amazon make (or more typically, private label) relatively few products. The products they actually put their own name on are generally decent quality, and sometimes are actually among the best in their particular product class, at least at a given price point. What I suspect you really mean is "no random junk sold on Amazon with no support, etc." That is actually a valid point, but it varies depending on the product. Is there anything wrong with a USB or Ethernet cable from some random gibberish-named company stocked/delivered by Amazon? No. Would I trust security cameras from some random-gibberish-named company stocked/delivered by Amazon? Absolutely not! Throwing around phrases like this is an extremely poor substitute for actual research into good products - e.g., reading reviews of products available from major US manufacturers.

  • Cell data backup on all wireless elements for when there is no wi-fi internet

This is another fundamental misunderstanding of WiFi and internet. The "internet" (more properly: a home internet connection) is generally a box (or 2 or 3, depending on the type of connection) that connects your internal home network to fiber optic cable, twisted pair copper cable, coaxial cable or wireless (cellular or otherwise) to provide a high-speed connection between devices in your home and the global internet. Your internal home network will typically include WiFi for internal home use, but that is technically independent of "the internet" despite the marketing done by various internet service providers (ISPs).

Cell data backup is an available thing, but it has nothing to do with "WiFi internet". It is a way of providing an alternative connection for your entire home network should the primary connection (fiber, cable, etc.) stop working. It is independent of your particular home network elements - i.e., if enabled it will provide internet connectivity for your desktop computer (wired), laptop computer (WiFi), cameras (wired), etc.

manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
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