Electronics Repair (sci.electronics.repair) Discussion of repairing electronic equipment. Topics include requests for assistance, where to obtain servicing information and parts, techniques for diagnosis and repair, and annecdotes about success, failures and problems.

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 231
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

A friend of mine has a neighbor who has stuck a small video camera in his bedroom window to spy on the friend's yard. The problem is in clear view of the camera is the friend's 14 year old daughter's bedroom window. The neighbor claims that the friend is running an illegal business out of his home and the camera is there to try to catch him at it. My friend hasn't tried to get the state police involved yet but the local town cops won't do anything about it.

Anyway I had an idea. I keep a small B&W TV camera in the shop connected to a monitor which I use to check IR remote transmitters. When I hold a suspect remote a few feet from the camera and operate it the camera is essentially "blinded" by the otherwise invisible infrared pulse train. Can something like this be done cost effectively but naturally on a much larger scale to blind Bozo's camera? My friend got ****ed off one night and sat there with a laser pointer directed at this camera for a couple of hours. Although it didn't resolve the problem, it did bring the cops down to advise my friend that he couldn't do that without violating the neighbors privacy! Makes you question the definition of "freedom". The distance looks to be about 200 feet. Thanks, Lenny.
  #2   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 635
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

On 4/16/2015 11:21 PM, wrote:
A friend of mine has a neighbor who has stuck a small video camera in
his bedroom window to spy on the friend's yard. The problem is in
clear view of the camera is the friend's 14 year old daughter's
bedroom window. The neighbor claims that the friend is running an
illegal business out of his home and the camera is there to try to
catch him at it. My friend hasn't tried to get the state police
involved yet but the local town cops won't do anything about it.

Anyway I had an idea. I keep a small B&W TV camera in the shop
connected to a monitor which I use to check IR remote transmitters.
When I hold a suspect remote a few feet from the camera and operate
it the camera is essentially "blinded" by the otherwise invisible
infrared pulse train. Can something like this be done cost
effectively but naturally on a much larger scale to blind Bozo's
camera? My friend got ****ed off one night and sat there with a laser
pointer directed at this camera for a couple of hours. Although it
didn't resolve the problem, it did bring the cops down to advise my
friend that he couldn't do that without violating the neighbors
privacy! Makes you question the definition of "freedom". The
distance looks to be about 200 feet. Thanks, Lenny.


Sounds like this neighbourhood war has been going on for quite awhile,
and this is just the latest episode. Sometimes the only solution is to
move, and be nicer to the next set of neighbours.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net
  #3   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 291
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

On Thu, 16 Apr 2015 20:21:55 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

A friend of mine has a neighbor who has stuck a small video camera in his bedroom window to spy on the friend's yard. The problem is in clear view of the camera is the friend's 14 year old daughter's bedroom window. The neighbor claims that the friend is running an illegal business out of his home and the camera is there to try to catch him at it. My friend hasn't tried to get the state police involved yet but the local town cops won't do anything about it.

Anyway I had an idea. I keep a small B&W TV camera in the shop connected to a monitor which I use to check IR remote transmitters. When I hold a suspect remote a few feet from the camera and operate it the camera is essentially "blinded" by the otherwise invisible infrared pulse train. Can something like this be done cost effectively but naturally on a much larger scale to blind Bozo's camera? My friend got ****ed off one night and sat there with a laser pointer directed at this camera for a couple of hours. Although it didn't resolve the problem, it did bring the cops down to advise my friend that he couldn't do that without violating the neighbors privacy! Makes you question the definition of "freedom". The distance looks to be about 200 feet. Thanks, Lenny.


Many of these cameras are VGA resolution (640x480) so the main worry
about the daughter's bedroom window at 200 feet is unlikely to be a
problem. During the day, nothing will be visible through the window
due to how much brighter it is outside. At night, even if she leaves
her curtains open and has the lights on, only a few pixels will
include the window - assuming the camera is 200 feet away and is one
of the common little cameras. (Of course, if the guy is a pervert and
is using a telescopic lens with a high res camera, call the police!)

Back to the original question, most of the newer cameras have an IR
filter to keep daytime IR light from fuzzing up the picture. If the
camera has nighttime IR illumination, then that filter is turned off
at night so your IR scheme would work at night.
  #4   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 261
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

On Thursday, April 16, 2015 at 11:21:58 PM UTC-4, wrote:

\ My friend got ****ed off one night and sat there with a laser pointer directed at this camera for a couple of hours. Although it didn't resolve the problem, it did bring the cops down to advise my friend that he couldn't do that without violating the neighbors privacy! Makes you question the definition of "freedom". \


Nah. Makes me question the definition of adult.

If you pull the shade on the window, there is no problem.

If you damage his camera, he will have a legitimate case and you will end up paying for it. What is he going to see with a camera that he can't see by looking out the window? Are you going to paint over his windows, too?

No point in moving. You (er, I mean your friend) are likely to find a neighbor you can't get along with everywhere. Get a prescription for Xanax and chill.

  #5   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,630
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

Why IR ? Why not just regular floodlights ? If the neighbor complainns tell the cops he is so paranoid to have cameras, you too want to help stop crime. So you are HELPING the neighvbor in hia quest to be secure.

Tha tneighbor is s ****ing ninny. You know how hard it is to get nayone busted for anytihng unless they are a taerget ? Of course this varies by area. WWe have a suburb around here where the neighbors call the law if you have a jetski in your driveway. Ironically the name of that city is "Independence".

Anyway, with "proper" lighting you can obscure it pretty good because caeras only have so much contrast ratio. then the iris has to close up. Infrared might or might not work. Since it is an outdoor camera it is probably IR sensitive for lowlight operation. Howevr there is plenty of justification for floodlights, putting up IR beacons when you personally have a camera to pick it up might be construed as interfering with the asshole's ability/attempts to be secure. Surely the asshole duidn't tell the cops the intent of his camera was to spy on your friend, the cops would have not sided with him if he said that.

the BIG proble is if this asshole has connections downtown. THAT is a big problem because this entire government runs on the budddy system. In some localities it is alot worse.

If noting else, mount a floodlight right by the daughter's bedroom wind pointin pretty much at the camera but not exactly. It doesn't have to be exact.. As long as a high intensity light source is visible to that camera, its iris will have to close up.


  #6   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,630
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

when you personally DO NOT have a camera...

Of course...
  #7   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 201
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

In article ,
Pat wrote:

Back to the original question, most of the newer cameras have an IR
filter to keep daytime IR light from fuzzing up the picture. If the
camera has nighttime IR illumination, then that filter is turned off
at night so your IR scheme would work at night.


If that's the case, then I suspect that a bunch of high-output narrow-
dispersion IR LEDs, aimed in the direction of the camera, and driven
with periodic high-current pulses, might be the way to go. Think "IR
flash". You can get significantly higher peak intensity from LEDs by
pulsing them - their peak-current capacity is higher than their
continuous-current capacity.

Camera sensors tend to have some "memory", and so if "blinded" by a
bright flash they'll take a fraction of a second (or more) to recover,
just as human eyes do.

Strobing a bank of IR LEDs several times a second might "give 'em
fits".

If you really want to get cute, build a sizable panel of IR LEDs in a
rectangular layout with individual drivers (e.g. one transistor per
LED, or row-and-column drivers), hook it up to a PC or single-board
computer through a suitable interface, and write some software which
"strobes" a message across it.

"STOP SPYING ON US!"

It'd be invisible to the eye, but visible to the camera.



  #8   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 378
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

On Fri, 17 Apr 2015, Dave Platt wrote:

In article ,
Pat wrote:

Back to the original question, most of the newer cameras have an IR
filter to keep daytime IR light from fuzzing up the picture. If the
camera has nighttime IR illumination, then that filter is turned off
at night so your IR scheme would work at night.


If that's the case, then I suspect that a bunch of high-output narrow-
dispersion IR LEDs, aimed in the direction of the camera, and driven
with periodic high-current pulses, might be the way to go. Think "IR
flash". You can get significantly higher peak intensity from LEDs by
pulsing them - their peak-current capacity is higher than their
continuous-current capacity.

Camera sensors tend to have some "memory", and so if "blinded" by a
bright flash they'll take a fraction of a second (or more) to recover,
just as human eyes do.

Strobing a bank of IR LEDs several times a second might "give 'em
fits".

If you really want to get cute, build a sizable panel of IR LEDs in a
rectangular layout with individual drivers (e.g. one transistor per
LED, or row-and-column drivers), hook it up to a PC or single-board
computer through a suitable interface, and write some software which
"strobes" a message across it.

"STOP SPYING ON US!"

It'd be invisible to the eye, but visible to the camera.




Maybe it's just a paranoid interpretation of it all.

I had to read the original post a few times to follow who was doing what.

In the end, are we sure the guy with the camera is spying on the backyard,
or is he outright spying on the bathroom?

Michael

  #9   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 818
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?



"Michael Black" wrote in message
news:alpine.LNX.2.02.1504171552140.20316@darkstar. example.org...

On Fri, 17 Apr 2015, Dave Platt wrote:

In article ,
Pat wrote:

Back to the original question, most of the newer cameras have an IR
filter to keep daytime IR light from fuzzing up the picture. If the
camera has nighttime IR illumination, then that filter is turned off
at night so your IR scheme would work at night.


If that's the case, then I suspect that a bunch of high-output narrow-
dispersion IR LEDs, aimed in the direction of the camera, and driven
with periodic high-current pulses, might be the way to go. Think "IR
flash". You can get significantly higher peak intensity from LEDs by
pulsing them - their peak-current capacity is higher than their
continuous-current capacity.

Camera sensors tend to have some "memory", and so if "blinded" by a
bright flash they'll take a fraction of a second (or more) to recover,
just as human eyes do.

Strobing a bank of IR LEDs several times a second might "give 'em
fits".

If you really want to get cute, build a sizable panel of IR LEDs in a
rectangular layout with individual drivers (e.g. one transistor per
LED, or row-and-column drivers), hook it up to a PC or single-board
computer through a suitable interface, and write some software which
"strobes" a message across it.

"STOP SPYING ON US!"

It'd be invisible to the eye, but visible to the camera.




Maybe it's just a paranoid interpretation of it all.

I had to read the original post a few times to follow who was doing what.

In the end, are we sure the guy with the camera is spying on the backyard,
or is he outright spying on the bathroom?

Michael




I think to reach any conclusion at all on this matter, you would need to
hear from the other party to find out why they are doing what they are
doing.

IMHO it is very dangerous to come to any conclusion at all based upon one
aggrieved parties's testament.
Why would you do that?



Gareth.



  #10   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 8,582
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

On Fri, 17 Apr 2015 22:03:59 +0100, "Gareth Magennis"
wrote:



"Michael Black" wrote in message
news:alpine.LNX.2.02.1504171552140.20316@darkstar .example.org...

On Fri, 17 Apr 2015, Dave Platt wrote:

In article ,
Pat wrote:

Back to the original question, most of the newer cameras have an IR
filter to keep daytime IR light from fuzzing up the picture. If the
camera has nighttime IR illumination, then that filter is turned off
at night so your IR scheme would work at night.


If that's the case, then I suspect that a bunch of high-output narrow-
dispersion IR LEDs, aimed in the direction of the camera, and driven
with periodic high-current pulses, might be the way to go. Think "IR
flash". You can get significantly higher peak intensity from LEDs by
pulsing them - their peak-current capacity is higher than their
continuous-current capacity.

Camera sensors tend to have some "memory", and so if "blinded" by a
bright flash they'll take a fraction of a second (or more) to recover,
just as human eyes do.

Strobing a bank of IR LEDs several times a second might "give 'em
fits".

If you really want to get cute, build a sizable panel of IR LEDs in a
rectangular layout with individual drivers (e.g. one transistor per
LED, or row-and-column drivers), hook it up to a PC or single-board
computer through a suitable interface, and write some software which
"strobes" a message across it.

"STOP SPYING ON US!"

It'd be invisible to the eye, but visible to the camera.




Maybe it's just a paranoid interpretation of it all.

I had to read the original post a few times to follow who was doing what.

In the end, are we sure the guy with the camera is spying on the backyard,
or is he outright spying on the bathroom?

Michael




I think to reach any conclusion at all on this matter, you would need to
hear from the other party to find out why they are doing what they are
doing.

IMHO it is very dangerous to come to any conclusion at all based upon one
aggrieved parties's testament.
Why would you do that?


Because it's all we have and we need something to talk about on a Friday
evening.


Gareth.





  #11   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 8,582
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?


I too read this post several times and I don't understand it.

On Thu, 16 Apr 2015 20:21:55 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

A friend of mine has a neighbor who has stuck a small video camera in his bedroom window to spy on the friend's yard.


Does something unusual ever happen there?

The problem is in clear view of the camera is the friend's 14 year old daughter's bedroom window.


This isn't really a sentence, yet I think it's the crucial point you're
making here. The camera seems to be taking pictures of BOTH the
backyad and her window???

Even if there were no camera, is she going to check constantly to see if
someone is looking out the neighbor's window? Let her pull down the
shade when she wants privacy. If she doesn't want privacy when she
should want it, that's for her parents to correct.

The neighbor claims that the friend is running an illegal business out of his home and the camera is there to try to catch him at it.


Out of his home or in the back yard?

Does it involve the girl? Or her room?

My friend hasn't tried to get the state police involved yet but the local town cops won't do anything about it.


Is the neighbor breaking some law? What law?

Maybe it's a civil matter and your friend should sue, but I'm not sure
what the cause of action would be. What do you two think?

Invasion of privacy? I don't think so. I'm not a lawyer but I think
it's the girl's responsibility to pull down a shade, if she is even the
target. They sell curtains and roll-down shades many places.

Anyway I had an idea. I keep a small B&W TV camera in the shop connected to a monitor which I use to check IR remote transmitters. When I hold a suspect remote a few feet from the camera and operate it the camera is essentially "blinded" by the otherwise invisible infrared pulse train. Can something like this be done cost effectively but naturally on a much larger scale to blind Bozo's camera? My friend got ****ed off one night and sat there with a laser pointer directed at this camera for a couple of hours. Although it didn't resolve the problem, it did bring the cops down to advise my friend that he couldn't do that without violating the neighbors privacy! Makes you question the definition of "freedom". The distance looks to be about 200 feet. Thanks, Lenny.


200 feet is pretty far. A fixed lens that can watch both the back
yard and the girl's window is probably not going to show much detail of
the girl. A telephoto lens might, but it's not likely it would show
the back yard also.

Please explain the problem.

  #13   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,630
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

" think to reach any conclusion at all on this matter, you would need to
hear from the other party to find out why they are doing what they are
doing. "


Read through. They are trying to catch him in an illegal business. At least that's what they are satying, and this is not from the person doing it.

Therefore the only logical conclusion is the Lenny's friend IS running an "illegal" business. But the fact is there is no such thing as an illegal business. What is he selling nickel bags ?

Know what you do with neighbors like this ? When it is ten below zero outside, get out your garden hose and do them the favor of washing down their driveway. Al the way to their doors. Every one of them .

The water has no serial number.

If they got the cops to come over Lenny's friend doing the LASER thing, they got connects. That makes it dirty territory. All rules are null and void.

I would get very fmailiar with all city codes n ****, and formulate my revenge from there. It is were winter and really vcold, the garden hose is EXCELLENT, but it is getting warm.

Perhaps some sort of solar reflector ?

Hey Lenny, BAKE THE MOTHER****ERS ! HAHAHAHAHA.

They done ****ed with the wrong people.

  #15   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 818
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?



wrote in message
...

" think to reach any conclusion at all on this matter, you would need to
hear from the other party to find out why they are doing what they are
doing. "


Read through. They are trying to catch him in an illegal business. At least
that's what they are satying, and this is not from the person doing it.

Therefore the only logical conclusion is the Lenny's friend IS running an
"illegal" business. But the fact is there is no such thing as an illegal
business. What is he selling nickel bags ?





Yeahbut, if you heard the story from the other guy, it would probably be the
polar opposite of the one we have heard here.
And the real truth would be somewhere between the two.

That's how things normally work. IME.



Gareth.



  #16   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,630
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

"And the real truth would be somewhere between the two."

The camera is the evdence of the guy being an asshole. but other than that you're right. However Lenny is not asking for help in spying on somene, he is asking for help to prevent someone from spying.

We don't want to get to the point where there are ore cameras than people.

I owuld just go to somewhere other than my propperty and shoot the ****ing cmaera, but these days I dunno if I could hit it with my eyesight. when you know how to shoot you know how to shoot. I am fine in regular daylight, but not too bright. But to do this in the middle of the night, I would probably miss. Well I guess I could use a rifle.
  #17   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 818
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?



wrote in message
...

"And the real truth would be somewhere between the two."


The camera is the evdence of the guy being an asshole. but other than that
you're right. However Lenny is not asking for help in spying on somene, he
is asking for help to prevent someone from spying.




I disagree.

The camera might be the only way the other guy is going to be able to prove
that X,Y,Z is happening, when it should not be, and is making his life a
living hell.
This happens.
In the UK, when anti-social behaviour happens between neighbours, the
victims are encouraged to gather as much evidence as they can to produce to
the appropriate authorities, who can then act accordingly. This includes
and often requires recording such incidents with cameras.
This does not necessarily mean "spying" to me.

That is one giant conclusion jump there based upon a totally skewed and
almost non existent set of data.





Gareth.

  #18   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

On Thursday, April 16, 2015 at 11:21:58 PM UTC-4, wrote:
A friend of mine has a neighbor who has stuck a small video camera in his bedroom window to spy on the friend's yard. The problem is in clear view of the camera is the friend's 14 year old daughter's bedroom window. The neighbor claims that the friend is running an illegal business out of his home and the camera is there to try to catch him at it. My friend hasn't tried to get the state police involved yet but the local town cops won't do anything about it.

Anyway I had an idea. I keep a small B&W TV camera in the shop connected to a monitor which I use to check IR remote transmitters. When I hold a suspect remote a few feet from the camera and operate it the camera is essentially "blinded" by the otherwise invisible infrared pulse train. Can something like this be done cost effectively but naturally on a much larger scale to blind Bozo's camera? My friend got ****ed off one night and sat there with a laser pointer directed at this camera for a couple of hours. Although it didn't resolve the problem, it did bring the cops down to advise my friend that he couldn't do that without violating the neighbors privacy! Makes you question the definition of "freedom". The distance looks to be about 200 feet. Thanks, Lenny.


Use the bright IR LED lighting BUT do it from inside the house.

What you do inside is expected to be private. That includes being
able to parade around inside your own house in the nude with the
shades up. Your neighbors cannot complain about it as it would
violate your reasonable expectation of privacy within your own
home. When you go outside it becomes a different issue.

With that said, a large bright LED array inside the window
should not cause you an actionable problem by the law. The onus
should then fall on the neighbor with the camera to prove you
are intentionally interfering with his activity. Simply state
in technical terms it is an 'experiment' being conducted to see
what kind of wildlife/extraterrestrial beings it attracts
(or something like that).
  #19   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,630
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

Thing is, XYZ is none of his business and I would blow the mother****ers head off.
  #20   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 25
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

On Sat, 18 Apr 2015 17:34:38 -0700 (PDT), mickgeyver
wrote:


What you do inside is expected to be private. That includes being=20
able to parade around inside your own house in the nude with the
shades up. Your neighbors cannot complain about it as it would
violate your reasonable expectation of privacy within your own
home. When you go outside it becomes a different issue.


I'm afraid you've misused that phrase. "Reasonable expectation of
privacy" is a standard used to decide if the goverment has violated the
rights (under the Fourth Amendment to the Constition or a similar clause
in a law or state constitution) of someone asserting the right to
privacy. The opposite of how you are using the term.

It has nothing to do with whether one is permitted to display himself
naked so that others can see. I don't know the details of that issue,
but try having sex in front of a picture window with no shades that is
near to and faces the street with pedestrians walking by and you'll find
out that you don't have the unlimited right you think you do.

As to whether you have a 4th Amendment or other right then, when you
don't have curtains or leave the curtains open, you waive your right of
privacy.



  #21   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 732
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

On Sat, 18 Apr 2015 17:34:38 -0700, mickgeyver
wrote:

...snip....

What you do inside is expected to be private. That includes being
able to parade around inside your own house in the nude with the
shades up. Your neighbors cannot complain about it as it would
violate your reasonable expectation of privacy within your own
home. When you go outside it becomes a different issue.

...snip....


BAD ADVICE! NOT TRUE!

Review court case of man arrested for vacuuming 'inside' his home while in
the nude with shades open.
  #22   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

On Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 5:01:44 AM UTC-4, wrote:
On Sat, 18 Apr 2015 17:34:38 -0700 (PDT), mickgeyver
wrote:


What you do inside is expected to be private. That includes being=20
able to parade around inside your own house in the nude with the
shades up. Your neighbors cannot complain about it as it would
violate your reasonable expectation of privacy within your own
home. When you go outside it becomes a different issue.


I'm afraid you've misused that phrase. "Reasonable expectation of
privacy" is a standard used to decide if the goverment has violated the
rights (under the Fourth Amendment to the Constition or a similar clause
in a law or state constitution) of someone asserting the right to
privacy. The opposite of how you are using the term.

It has nothing to do with whether one is permitted to display himself
naked so that others can see. I don't know the details of that issue,
but try having sex in front of a picture window with no shades that is
near to and faces the street with pedestrians walking by and you'll find
out that you don't have the unlimited right you think you do.

As to whether you have a 4th Amendment or other right then, when you
don't have curtains or leave the curtains open, you waive your right of
privacy.


See

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/loc...er-6145021.php


Perhaps it depends more on local interpretation. Please provide your source.
  #23   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 818
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?



wrote in message
...

Thing is, XYZ is none of his business and I would blow the mother****ers
head off.




Thing is, if XYZ is affecting his quality of life then it IS his business,
and, at least in the UK, he is entitled to take the (legal) steps necessary
to record and try and stop this possibly illegal XYZ behaviour.



Gareth.

  #24   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 231
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

On Thursday, April 16, 2015 at 11:21:58 PM UTC-4, wrote:
A friend of mine has a neighbor who has stuck a small video camera in his bedroom window to spy on the friend's yard. The problem is in clear view of the camera is the friend's 14 year old daughter's bedroom window. The neighbor claims that the friend is running an illegal business out of his home and the camera is there to try to catch him at it. My friend hasn't tried to get the state police involved yet but the local town cops won't do anything about it.

Anyway I had an idea. I keep a small B&W TV camera in the shop connected to a monitor which I use to check IR remote transmitters. When I hold a suspect remote a few feet from the camera and operate it the camera is essentially "blinded" by the otherwise invisible infrared pulse train. Can something like this be done cost effectively but naturally on a much larger scale to blind Bozo's camera? My friend got ****ed off one night and sat there with a laser pointer directed at this camera for a couple of hours. Although it didn't resolve the problem, it did bring the cops down to advise my friend that he couldn't do that without violating the neighbors privacy! Makes you question the definition of "freedom". The distance looks to be about 200 feet. Thanks, Lenny.


The guy has a small one car garage in which he is licensed by the town to do state inspections on vehicles. This is not a big operation in any sense of the word. For some unknown reason, (possibly some unfounded concerns about noise, or perhaps because he is unfortunate to have a prick for a neighbor who can't seem to mind his own ****ing business) he is not permitted to do any repairs on any vehicles, just inspections. Russ has actually fired up his compressor and walked towards his neighbors house and noticed that long before he reaches the property line the effect of road noise and distance squared makes the compressor just about inaudible.

If one considers how utterly ridiculous this really is in another sense though, how can the guy even run his business at all? Technically if a car fails inspection for a tail light being out is he supposed to send him on his way without being able to fix it himself? The camera supposedly is supposed to catch him doing the repairs which will invariably be connected with many of those failed inspections. It would seem to me that the town is condoning this asshole trying to put my friend out of business.

In a sense I like the TV station route. And we have a local ABC affiliate 20 miles from here. However on the other hand no one wants to be put under a microscope either and I suspect that would be inevitable. Whether he's trying to get a peek at the daughter is questionable however she shouldn't have to be concerned about that. Even if his only target is the yard I feel that it still could be looked at as spying. At the least a peeping Tom.

When we bought our house I had two pre requisites. Very simply, adequate elevation for TV and two way radio, and no neighbors. That was 36 years ago and so glad that I can still walk out of my back door (bare ass if I want to) and just barely see my neighbors house through the woods. Lenny
  #25   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 261
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

On Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at 7:43:21 AM UTC-4, wrote:

The guy has a small one car garage in which he is licensed by the town to do state inspections on vehicles. This is not a big operation in any sense of the word. For some unknown reason, (possibly some unfounded concerns about noise, or perhaps because he is unfortunate to have a prick for a neighbor who can't seem to mind his own ****ing business) he is not permitted to do any repairs on any vehicles, just inspections.


So. He's running a commercial business in an area zoned residential, and the powers that be are nice enough to look the other way and let him do inspections as long as he doesn't turn it into a repair operation.

But he doesn't want his neighbor seeing what he's really doing? Really? Seems like if he IS following the agreement, the neighbor's camera would back him up. I think he's trying to get away with pushing the envelope here.

There's two sides to every story, and the neighbor MIGHT be a prick, but this guy doesn't sound completely innocent either.


  #26   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 8,582
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

On Tue, 21 Apr 2015 04:43:19 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

On Thursday, April 16, 2015 at 11:21:58 PM UTC-4, wrote:
A friend of mine has a neighbor who has stuck a small video camera in his bedroom window to spy on the friend's yard. The problem is in clear view of the camera is the friend's 14 year old daughter's bedroom window. The neighbor claims that the friend is running an illegal business out of his home and the camera is there to try to catch him at it. My friend hasn't tried to get the state police involved yet but the local town cops won't do anything about it.

Anyway I had an idea. I keep a small B&W TV camera in the shop connected to a monitor which I use to check IR remote transmitters. When I hold a suspect remote a few feet from the camera and operate it the camera is essentially "blinded" by the otherwise invisible infrared pulse train. Can something like this be done cost effectively but naturally on a much larger scale to blind Bozo's camera? My friend got ****ed off one night and sat there with a laser pointer directed at this camera for a couple of hours. Although it didn't resolve the problem, it did bring the cops down to advise my friend that he couldn't do that without violating the neighbors privacy! Makes you question the definition of "freedom". The distance looks to be about 200 feet. Thanks, Lenny.


The guy has a small one car garage in which he is licensed by the town to do state inspections on vehicles. This is not a big operation in any sense of the word. For some unknown reason, (possibly some unfounded concerns about noise, or perhaps because he is unfortunate to have a prick for a neighbor who can't seem to mind his own ****ing business)


Or because zoning, which was in place for years or decades before any of
this started, prohibits a repair shop.

he is not permitted to do any repairs on any vehicles, just inspections. Russ has actually fired up his compressor and walked towards his neighbors house and noticed that long before he reaches the property line the effect of road noise and distance squared makes the compressor just about inaudible.


A) You're assuming here that noise is THE reason. I don't want
anyone running an annoying business in my residential n'hood. Once
every few years, someone leaves a flyer in my mailbox about a daycare or
cosmetic business, or a massage business (genuine massage, not
prostitution) that they are conducting in their townhouse (I live in a
townhouse too, fairly close to all the others.) I've never objected to
any of these things, I don't know if they meet zoning requirements or
not (and I don't care as long as they don't annoy me) , but I save the
fliers and if any were to annoy me substantially -- perhaps one would
become very successful with lots of car and foot traffic -- I might
look into whether it is legal. So I save all the fliers for starter
evidence if I ever want to complain.

B) People often make the argument that even though the law prohibits
something, it shouldn't apply to my situation. It woudl be nice if
every situation could be examined in detail and just the right ruling
made, and I know one legal system where that is the goal, where each
case is decided on its own, although even that one has a rule which
applies sometimes which states "no exceptions". But most legal systems
have general rules that are meant to work most of the time.

C) The way to make exceptions here is to keep the neighbors happy.

If one considers how utterly ridiculous this really is in another sense though, how can the guy even run his business at all? Technically if a car fails inspection for a tail light being out is he supposed to send him on his way without being able to fix it himself?


Maybe he can't. Maybe the idea was a bad one.

The camera supposedly is supposed to catch him doing the repairs which will invariably be connected with many of those failed inspections. It would seem to me that the town is condoning this asshole trying to put my friend out of business.


I don't see how you can say that. If for whatever reason your friend F
is not allowed to repair cars, if his neighbor N is watching with a
camera to make sure he doesn't repair cars, then he's helping the county
enforce the law.

If F has an inspection station in a place where repairs are not
permitted, it's as if he made a mistake where he estabilished his
inspection station. That's his problem and it's not the n'hood which
has to ignore the zoning or whatever so that F can run a repair business
where it's not permitted.

It's likely at one time he had a shop in an area where it was zoned for
repairs and inspection, and for one of many reasons he closed the shop
and started working at home. I had my convertible top replaced
several years ago by a guy like that, who IIRC had a top shop in a
typical manufacturing or business area, or near gas stations and shops,
perhaps on a business street near a residential area, but where it was
permitted. He got old and wanted to semi-retire but wanted to work a
few hours a week doing convertible tops from his garage. So he does.

Whether he is zoned for this, I don't know. In circumstances like this,
it's more important to keep one's neighbors happy than it is to obey the
zoning law. An uphholstery and convertible top shop doesn't emit any
nozious gases or make much noise. An electric staple gun or a tack
hammer is the loudest thing there. And I'm sure he starts after the
neighbors are up and quits before the first one goes to bed.

Assuming his shop is not permitted by law, perhaps his neighbors on
either side and across the street are very laid back, or they were
friends for years when he had his other location, or he does free work
for them on their cars, or homes. When none of that works, the
universal medium of exchange is money, and maybe he pays some of them
100 dollars a year to not complain about something that doesn't really
bother them anyhow.

I grew up in a house on a pretty large lot, but I learned by the time I
was 21 that if my roommates and I were having a party, the best way to
avoid complaints by neighbors, perhaps for making too much noise too
late, is to invite them to the party. Even if they don't come,
they'll like you a lot better and are far far far less likely to
complain about the noise.

So off the bat without knowing more, I'd suggest F should work on
de-escalating the situation, instead of the opposite as your inquiry
about interfering with his camera suggested. Maybe he can offer to
do some car repairs for the N. Maybe he can bake them a pie or
cake, or buy one, and bring it over as a peace offering. Because
you've made it sound like N has the law on his side, wrt not running a
repair business. So it woudl be nice if they got along, whether the
neighbor relents on the business or not.

In a sense I like the TV station route. And we have a local ABC affiliate 20 miles from here. However on the other hand no one wants to be put under a microscope either and I suspect that would be inevitable. Whether he's trying to get a peek at the daughter is questionable however she shouldn't have to be concerned about that.


Where do you get the crazy idea she shouldn't have to be concerned?
One of the first things a mother is supposed to teach her daughter is to
close the shades. Starting I would guess when the girl is 4 or 5
years** old, well before puberty so it seems like it's not about sex but
about privacy. Does she have a mother or an aunt or grandmother? If
not or if they're falling down on the job, it's up to the father and
even though he is 5 or 10 years late, it's not too late. "A proper
young woman shuts the shades when she is undressed or changing her
clothes."


**Starting when, I'm not quite sure. When she is old enough to take a
bath by herself, or even maybe get undressed by herself, or whenever
she's old enough to reach the string that controls the shades or blinds.
By the time she's 14, she can probably do all these things.

Even if his only target is the yard I feel that it still could be looked at as spying. At the least a peeping Tom.


Peeping Toms sneak up to the house and kneel down next to the window so
they can look under the shade. What your friend is doing is raising an
exhibitionist. If he's not careful, he'll also make her into a whining
trouble-maker who causes trouble and then blames other people.

When we bought our house I had two pre requisites. Very simply, adequate elevation for TV and two way radio, and no neighbors. That was 36 years ago and so glad that I can still walk out of my back door (bare ass if I want to) and just barely see my neighbors house through the woods.


So you've gone at least 36 years without any experience on knowing how
to behave when one has nearby neighbors. You're not the one to be
giving your friend advice.


Lenny


  #27   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,630
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

There are some technicalities here. This guy is in a tricky spot. If he wants to do repairs there are certain things he has to do because there is no Constitution. First of all he made a mistake going into any business with the government on any level but that is beside the point, just worth noting.

If he does an inspection, due to all the regulations connected with that, it is most likely that he would have to do any repairs either outside of the area used for the inspections or during hours the area is not used for inspections. Under thoise conditions he is not operating in commerce (even if he charges) and they probably won't do anything, mainly because under those condituions he woud have a valid defense. They don't like to lose so if they got a good chance of losing they do nothing.

However, the city could have been a prick when issuing the permit stating that no part of the parcel of property can be used for auto repairs. If he signed anything like that he is contractually obligated. At that point he has to weigh just what the certification for inspections is worth. I have known backyard mechanics who made two grand a week under the table.

I would imagine that the ban in repairs by an inspection facility is ostensibly to prevent abuse by the inspectors. they could bull**** the customer and say this is wrong and that is wrong and rake them over the coals with the repair bill, them believing the repairs were mandatory.

Here's a good kicker - if he takes deductions on his taxes for upkeep and property taxes for the inspection station, that is only a portion of his total property. As such ONLY the area used for that particular activity is undert those regulations. If he wants to do repairs he should build a second garage fro that. then they got noting to say.

There have been laws in places stating that you are not allowed to work on cars on residential property but none of them hold water. Ironically Detroit, Michican had such an ordinance but it is as dead as the death penalty for auto theft. (Chicago a long time ago)

At this point I am curious as to the geographical location of this. Some states are different than others. And in so many ways. To get really specific you have to get into exactly what that permit saysthe zoning, even the state constitution,

Law is a pain in the ass. I've dealt with altogether to much of it in my life and at this point I am done. Seriously, I will not sign anything. In fact I work for cash. I am done dealing with those ****s, because let's face it, this prick neighbor is enabled by "law" to harrass sonmeone tryong to make a goddam living. And that's what they do, and he is one of theoir little spies who doesn't realize they are the type destroying this country, thinking everything needs to be approved n ****. **** all that, and one day, when I snap, gime this guy's address. If I pull a Thelma and Louise I'll stop by and have a shoirt talk with the guy.

Just like the asshole in Independence, Ohioo whgo called on a neighbor for having a jetski in the driveway. the cops should have laughged their asses off, but nope.

And it is all a money game. Watch and see if the **** hits the fan for your buddy. I BET YOU MY LEFT NUT that he could be allowed to do repairs if he paid more fees.
  #28   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 8,582
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

On Tue, 21 Apr 2015 09:33:38 -0400, micky
wrote:

He got old and wanted to semi-retire but wanted to work a
few hours a week doing convertible tops from his garage. So he does.


From the two-car garage that is in back of the house where he lives.
  #29   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 231
Default Can a TV camera be blinded by IR?

On Thursday, April 16, 2015 at 11:21:58 PM UTC-4, wrote:
A friend of mine has a neighbor who has stuck a small video camera in his bedroom window to spy on the friend's yard. The problem is in clear view of the camera is the friend's 14 year old daughter's bedroom window. The neighbor claims that the friend is running an illegal business out of his home and the camera is there to try to catch him at it. My friend hasn't tried to get the state police involved yet but the local town cops won't do anything about it.

Anyway I had an idea. I keep a small B&W TV camera in the shop connected to a monitor which I use to check IR remote transmitters. When I hold a suspect remote a few feet from the camera and operate it the camera is essentially "blinded" by the otherwise invisible infrared pulse train. Can something like this be done cost effectively but naturally on a much larger scale to blind Bozo's camera? My friend got ****ed off one night and sat there with a laser pointer directed at this camera for a couple of hours. Although it didn't resolve the problem, it did bring the cops down to advise my friend that he couldn't do that without violating the neighbors privacy! Makes you question the definition of "freedom". The distance looks to be about 200 feet. Thanks, Lenny.


I said that I "could" walk out bare ass. I didn't say that I do. And yes after 69 years I think I can recognize a trouble maker and an asshole. But YOU have a better Idea. Bake a pie? Buy him a cake? Why don't you come over and kiss his ass too while you're at it. Are you ****ing nuts? Lenny
Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules

Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Polaroid-i834 Digital Camera – Latest And Advance Digital CAMERA Anushka Sharma[_2_] Electronics Repair 0 April 3rd 09 01:13 PM
Why did the professional camera reviewers totally miss a serious flaw in the camera? Jeanette Guire Electronics Repair 88 October 26th 07 03:26 AM
Why did the professional camera reviewers totally miss a serious flaw in the camera? Jeanette Guire Home Repair 84 October 25th 07 11:51 PM
Took camera in for firewire repair - now camera doesn't work at all! David D Electronics Repair 11 August 6th 07 09:59 PM
is it possible to have pc cable (camera) trigger a disposable camera's flash circuit krem Electronics 1 July 16th 05 05:17 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 02:19 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 DIYbanter.
The comments are property of their posters.
 

About Us

"It's about DIY & home improvement"