External Video Monitoring (Security System)

[nelsonic]

Why? (Context)

Currently our front [external] gate uses a simple latch (lock) which can be opened by anyone. e.g. the postman (person) opens the gate to enter the property and place mail in the box. This has been OK while the house has been in development, but it's not "secure". It means anyone can enter the front gate and access the garden/outside of the house. Once we have the door entry system https://github.com/dwyl/smart-home-security-system/issues/1 working, we will implement secure access for the front gate by upgrading the existing latch to be electronic. However having a more secure access system on the external gate is merely a deterrent. It discourages unwanted access to the property, but it does not prevent it. The only way to prevent access is higher walls covered in razor blade wire, but that would make our house a prison! 🤦

Obviously none of us wants to have high walls or razor wire. We don't want to live in a dystopian "walled garden". So instead we want to monitor if people attempt to access the property using a camera system.

What?

A security camera and recording system for the outside of the property so we can monitor attempted access. A basic alerting system that should send a message to the house master and display the captured images on "info" screens in the house. If nobody attends to the intrusion/alert within 30 seconds, sound a loud alarm both inside and outside the house.

We can approach this in two ways:

1. Build our own system from scratch using off-the-shelf components (Raspberry Pi, Pi Cam (or USB WebCam) + 3D Printed enclosure)

https://youtu.be/og-zI0CozLs

2. Buy a high quality security monitoring solution from a reputable brand (€800+ up-front)

The company/products I would considering is UniFi Protect from Ubiquiti: https://unifi-network.ui.com/video-security

We have already invested in UniFi Switches and Access Points (APs) so I think this is a fairly logical choice. 💭 I would never consider a "Cloud" based camera system because (a) I don't want my movements tracked by a random Faceless corporation (and neither should you!!) and (b) I don't want to pay anyone a monthly rent for my security. I want a one-off payment and then to own the system even if that one-off up-front payment seems higher on the surface. I consider the useful life of the system to be 5 years. There's no reason it should not continue working for longer than that.

Further research required. 🔍

 Todo

• [ ] avoid this: https://www.insecam.org 🤦

[nelsonic]

The UniFi Protect G3 FLEX Camera is the cheapest security camera they make. It has 1080p resolution, night vision (IR) and motion detection. https://store.ui.com/collections/unifi-protect/products/unifi-video-g3-flex-camera

The Crosstalk video has a good side-by-side comparison with the G3 Bullet Camera, the have the same quality.

I think this is a good starting point along with the https://github.com/dwyl/home/issues/169

[nelsonic]

We have 5 external entrance points:

1. Front door
2. Kitchen
3. Basement
4. Leisure Room
5. Garage

I think we can justify buying the 3-pack of G3 Flex Cameras. 💭 https://www.mbit.pt/ubiquiti-unifi-video-camera-3-pack-uvc-g3-flex-3

it's only a €10 discount, but ultimately, I think we will have at least 6 cameras to cover the exterior of the house.

[nelsonic]

After reviewing the location of the network ports at the front, kitchen and basement doors I've noticed that the previous electricians did not follow our instructions for their placement. This means we will need to make significant holes in the walls in order to run the Cat5 cables to the desired locations. 🤦 This will take several days work to make the "rasgos", place the cables and then patch up the walls again.

There is a work-around: the UniFi Protect G3 Micro Camera can connect via Wifi and power via 220V (using an adapter) So we would be able to have cameras wherever there are electrical points i.e. Lights. The downside is that the G3 Micro Cameras cost $199 each ... 💸

https://store.ui.com/collections/unifi-protect/products/unifi-video-g3-micro

Cheapest in PT is €200: https://www.senetic.pt/product/UVC-G3-MICRO

Bit annoyed at this ... 😕

[nelsonic]

Ubiquiti just released the G3 Instant which is a $29 Wifi/USB-C Camera (less than half the price of G3 Flex!): https://eu.store.ui.com/collections/unifi-protect-cameras/products/unifi-protect-g3-instant-camera

Obviously it's immediately sold out. And when it was available it was limited to 1 per retail customer ... 🙄

Crosstalk has a good review/comparison:

The best thing about this new camera is the wider angle (field of view) 133 Degrees:

It's very much an indoor camera (no IP rating or weather protection).

I think this camera is perfect in the instances where the original electricians did not follow our instructions/plan for the placement of Cat6 (network) cable and therefore we would still need to extend the cable if we use an IP camera. This is excellent news and will lower our costs for most of the cameras we need. There are still a few instances where we may prefer not to have a bulky power adapter on show and already have Cat6 in which case the g3 Flex is a better option.

I'm very glad I didn't pony up for the G3 Micro ... waiting for CES has paid off! 🙌

[iteles]

Excellent news! Let's hope they become available to us soon 🤞

[nelsonic]

@iteles yeah, I have signed up for notifications and will buy as soon as they are available, but not holding my breath. ⏳

[nelsonic]

Shopping cart:

This includes:

• Dream Machine Pro: https://eu.store.ui.com/products/udm-pro?variant=31879546962029 this is required to "control" the camera(s) and record any data.
• Doorbell G4: Wifi Doorbell with integrated camera and real-time two-way audio communication i.e. an "intercom" system: https://eu.store.ui.com/collections/unifi-protect-cameras/products/uvc-g4-doorbell
• Camera G3 Instant (mentioned above): https://eu.store.ui.com/collections/unifi-protect-cameras/products/unifi-protect-g3-instant-camera this would be placed in our entrance/landing at the front door pointing to the front gate with motion detection enabled.

@iteles all these items are in-stock right now. The total is €677,73 💸 This is obvs not "cheap" but the quality is "Apple" level, as you know so I feel this is what we should go with ... 💭 It ties into our existing Wifi / Network very well.

I estimate that I can get the Dream Machine and Camera installed quite quickly (e.g: T25m) The doorbell might take a bit longer as we would need to request help from the electricians, but even then it will only take them a couple of hours.

[nelsonic]

After watching a few more videos, I decided we definitely didn't need the Dream Machine because we already have a 16-port POE Switch in our network and are only using 4 of the ports. When we bought the switch we already planned on having the cameras and access points attached.

We need something to record the video, so I got the "basic" Cloud Key Gen2 Plus SKU: UCK-G2-PLUS:

https://eu.store.ui.com/collections/unifi-accessories-cloud-key/products/unifi-cloudkey-gen2-plus

Review: Cloud Key Gen2 Plus https://youtu.be/H_a1BCf1jH0

Order placed: Order #NL-EU330019

The advantage of buying it directly from Ubiquiti is that they don't charge us the VAT.

Included the Doorbell https://github.com/dwyl/home/issues/201 and Basic G3 Camera (which works over WIFI) in the order. See above for product detail. Additionally, added a "Access Point WiFi 6 Long-range" SKU: U6-LR

https://eu.store.ui.com/collections/unifi-network-wireless/products/unifi-6-long-range-access-point-1

This should boost the network signal/range/bandwidth. I will be installing on the ceiling of the large room and testing if it gives people in the garden decent wifi signal. The APs we have currently are UAP-AC-Pro: https://eu.store.ui.com/products/unifi-ac-pro

The Wifi is usually reliable in most of the house. But signal strength is poor in the garden. First world problems, I know! But if we can boost it and guarantee that both the Doorbell and Camera have uninterrupted signal then it's a win.

[iteles]

You have done infinite amounts more research on this so I trust your judgement 👍 Did you add in the company NIF in the details?

Good call also on the long range AP for the garden/front door wifi range.

[nelsonic]

Yeah, used the PT Co NIF & paid from the account. Can forward you the invoice once the equipment arrives. ⏳

[nelsonic]

The Access Reader Pro has been Sold Out all year: https://eu.store.ui.com/collections/unifi-door-access/products/unifi-access-reader-pro

This is the reader with built-in camera and intercom that I want on the front door. The touch-screen allows for a one-time key-code fallback if people don't have their card. I have asked Ubiquiti to notify me when they come back into stock but that was in *January 2022 and I haven't had an in-stock alert all year ... ⌛

I have a watcher for this on ebay and one is available at a slight premium but we could get it installed like ASAP!! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314253263100

@iteles given that this is quite a lot of cash for a glorified card access reader (that is secure and has a built-in camera etc ...) Should I pay a premium and get it installed in January so we can get the door entry system working ASAP?

[nelsonic]

For reference, there are other sellers charging a substantially higher premium for these due to out-of-stock ... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185690320369

[iteles]

Yes, I think £30-40 premium is totally worth it to get it done 👌🏻

[nelsonic]

I just have no idea when these will be back in-stock. 🤷‍♂️ But equally ... we don't need this in order to move forward, we can "just" use the more basic one: https://eu.store.ui.com/collections/unifi-door-access/products/unifi-access-reader-lite

This is the ultra-basic access reader we will be using at the back of the house for the two less-frequently used doors. I mean if I had unlimited funds I'd use the "Pro" readers everywhere

This is suggested network diagram/config:

Having the UA-Pro adds polish to the system but it's definitely not neeeeeded. 💭

[nelsonic]

Still sold out:

Checked ebay and there are a couple of reasonably priced units:

But when I try to checkout the cost jumps:

Think it might be adding VAT ... but doesn't make any sense given it's based in Italy ... Meanwhile, the Unifi Access Starter Kit https://github.com/dwyl/home/issues/234 is back in-stock. Which includes a UA-Pro and the kit (bundle) is cheaper than the sum of the parts.

[iteles]

@nelsonic Please send me the invoice for this.

[nelsonic]

@iteles you have the login. But yes, I will dig it out when I'm next at my desk. 👌