I would like to fit a very simple camera at my mother's front door so
that she can see who is calling without opening the door. She has a
glass spy hole but they are not easy to view through (especially for the
older folk).

1 Distance from camera to likely viewing point is only a few feet and
could easily be cabled.

2 It must either use common or garden batteries (and they must last
well) such as AA or C - or it should run on mains.

3 I am not seeking an expensive solution - simple is fine.

3 It must just work!

Any advice, suggestions, etc. warmly welcomed.

--
Rod

On Sat, 01 Mar 2008 13:01:23 +0000, Rod
wrote:

I would like to fit a very simple camera at my mother's front door so
that she can see who is calling without opening the door. She has a
glass spy hole but they are not easy to view through (especially for the
older folk).

Something like the reversing camera at http://tinyurl.com/2cqa5g might
be fine. It runs off 12VDC so you can use any adapter and the camera
radio links over a short distance to the small screen which can mount
on the back of the door or anywhere convenient nearby. The camera can
either mount outside on the door, or a hole for it to see through
drilled to mount it from the back. It has a very wide field of view
and depth of field.

(If you live near a Costco store they were about £60 if they still
have them in stock).

http://tinyurl.com/yveglk is a very small camera only for £20 which
has PAL output if you want to use it with an existing TV.

"Rod" wrote in message
...
I would like to fit a very simple camera at my mother's front door so
that she can see who is calling without opening the door. She has a
glass spy hole but they are not easy to view through (especially for the
older folk).

1 Distance from camera to likely viewing point is only a few feet and
could easily be cabled.

2 It must either use common or garden batteries (and they must last
well) such as AA or C - or it should run on mains.

3 I am not seeking an expensive solution - simple is fine.

3 It must just work!

Any advice, suggestions, etc. warmly welcomed.

--
Rod

http://tinyurl.com/yvptpo

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Peter Parry wrote:

On Sat, 01 Mar 2008 13:01:23 +0000, Rod
wrote:

I would like to fit a very simple camera at my mother's front door so
that she can see who is calling without opening the door. She has a
glass spy hole but they are not easy to view through (especially for
the older folk).

Something like the reversing camera at http://tinyurl.com/2cqa5g might
be fine. It runs off 12VDC so you can use any adapter and the camera
radio links over a short distance to the small screen which can mount
on the back of the door or anywhere convenient nearby. The camera can
either mount outside on the door, or a hole for it to see through
drilled to mount it from the back. It has a very wide field of view
and depth of field.

(If you live near a Costco store they were about £60 if they still
have them in stock).

http://tinyurl.com/yveglk is a very small camera only for £20 which
has PAL output if you want to use it with an existing TV.


If connecting into a TV is acceptable, Maplin have their miniature camera on
special offer at 20 quid at the moment.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...camera&doy=1m3

That is mains powered (via a supplied adapter) and has built-in IR LEDs for
night vision.

If the OP's mother usually has the TV on, she'd simply have to switch to the
appropriate SCART input channel when she wanted to see who was at the door.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

"Roger Mills" wrote in message


If connecting into a TV is acceptable, Maplin have their miniature camera
on
special offer at 20 quid at the moment.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...earchTop&T =c
amera&doy=1m3

That is mains powered (via a supplied adapter) and has built-in IR LEDs
for
night vision.

If the OP's mother usually has the TV on, she'd simply have to switch to
the
appropriate SCART input channel when she wanted to see who was at the
door.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!



Thats gonna be one helluva big hole in the door.?

"George" wrote in message
m...

"Rod" wrote in message
...
I would like to fit a very simple camera at my mother's front door so
that she can see who is calling without opening the door. She has a
glass spy hole but they are not easy to view through (especially for the
older folk).



I've made such a system up. It's probably massively over complex for what
you want, but may give you some ideas.

Firstly, I have a spyhole cam replacing the normal spyhole. Available from
www.henryselectronics.co.uk for about 60 quid I think, runs from 12v supply.

Then I have a little LCD screen behind the door, obtained from ebay for
about 30 quid.

Next, I have a PIR sensor that turns the LCD screen on and off based on
someone walking up to the front door. The spyhole cam doesn't run through
the PIR because as well as feeding the LCD screen, it also feeds a CCTV
recording system.



I'd be tempted to go with the spyhole cam pipped into her telly if I were
you, then she can check without getting up. Downside is you can't physically
check if someone is at the door.

Damn,why do people shop in expensive outlets when the same device can be got
straight from Hong Kong on ebay at a fraction of the price?

Rod wrote:

Any advice, suggestions, etc. warmly welcomed.

Thanks for the responses - definitely need to mull over it for a while.
The use of the telly is probably not appropriate - I would rather a
small LCD monitor-thingy in the hall.

--
Rod

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
George wrote:

"Roger Mills" wrote in message


If connecting into a TV is acceptable, Maplin have their miniature
camera on special offer at 20 quid at the moment.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...earchTop&T =c
amera&doy=1m3


Thats gonna be one helluva big hole in the door.?

I wasn't thinking of putting it *in* the door. It can actually be outside,
as long as it's protected from the elements. In a porch - if there is one -
would be ideal.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

Then I have a little LCD screen behind the door, obtained from ebay
for about 30 quid.

Sounds an excellent idea. Can you tell us what the make and model of the LCD
screen is? I am looking for one that has an RGB input but have not been able
to locate one.

Peter Crosland

On Sun, 2 Mar 2008 12:43:33 -0000, "Peter Crosland"
wrote:

Sounds an excellent idea. Can you tell us what the make and model of the LCD
screen is? I am looking for one that has an RGB input but have not been able
to locate one.


http://shop.reversingcamerasuk.com/epages/es106294.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es106294_shop/Products/290

On Sat, 1 Mar 2008 17:31:36 -0000, "Roger Mills"
wrote:

If connecting into a TV is acceptable, Maplin have their miniature camera on
special offer at 20 quid at the moment.

On the subject of CCTV. I have wondered about having a play with
cameras but I was confused by all the jargon.

I know lux is a measure of how bright it is, so the lower the lux
rating the better because this means the cameras will see in the
dark(er) but what lux rating do you aim for? I also understand that
you have to take the manufacturer's ratings with a pinch of salt.

The other thing that confused me was the resolution in lines. How many
lines do you need for a good picture?

The problem I had was the low lux camera had few lines and the high
lux lines cameras had high luxes. Which is more important?

Thanks.

"Fred" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 1 Mar 2008 17:31:36 -0000, "Roger Mills"
wrote:

If connecting into a TV is acceptable, Maplin have their miniature camera
on
special offer at 20 quid at the moment.

On the subject of CCTV. I have wondered about having a play with
cameras but I was confused by all the jargon.

I know lux is a measure of how bright it is, so the lower the lux
rating the better because this means the cameras will see in the
dark(er) but what lux rating do you aim for? I also understand that
you have to take the manufacturer's ratings with a pinch of salt.

The other thing that confused me was the resolution in lines. How many
lines do you need for a good picture?

The problem I had was the low lux camera had few lines and the high
lux lines cameras had high luxes. Which is more important?

Thanks.

0.05 Lux with 520 TV lines is the type to strive for however...

625 lines is the standard tv lines for the UK and gets more
expensive,anything below 480 lines is good but the clarity or definition
leaves a lot to be desired so if its high definition you want then go for
the 625 lines or above.

On 20/03/2008 17:42, George wrote:

625 lines is the standard tv lines for the UK

Yes, a UK TV picture has 625 horizontal(ish) lines minus a few borrowed
for sync signals ... BUT ... the word "lines", when used to describe a
camera's resolution, is unrelated; what it refers to is how many
distinct *vertical* lines the camara can resolve across the picture width.

"Andy Burns" wrote in message
...
On 20/03/2008 17:42, George wrote:

625 lines is the standard tv lines for the UK

Yes, a UK TV picture has 625 horizontal(ish) lines minus a few borrowed
for sync signals ... BUT ... the word "lines", when used to describe a
camera's resolution, is unrelated; what it refers to is how many
distinct *vertical* lines the camara can resolve across the picture width.


So would you agree that a camera with 625 lines will give a better,sharper
picture than that of a 420 lines one?

Ho Hum.

"George" wrote in message
m...

"Andy Burns" wrote in message
...
On 20/03/2008 17:42, George wrote:

625 lines is the standard tv lines for the UK

Yes, a UK TV picture has 625 horizontal(ish) lines minus a few borrowed
for sync signals ... BUT ... the word "lines", when used to describe a
camera's resolution, is unrelated; what it refers to is how many
distinct *vertical* lines the camara can resolve across the picture
width.


So would you agree that a camera with 625 lines will give a better,sharper
picture than that of a 420 lines one?

Ho Hum.


Just a comment - those with the ring of LEDs around the lens seem to suffer
from giving a poor image if there is any mist - or a bit of dust on the lens
as the I/R light gets reflected back into the lens.

"John" wrote in message
...

"George" wrote in message
m...

"Andy Burns" wrote in message
...
On 20/03/2008 17:42, George wrote:

625 lines is the standard tv lines for the UK

Yes, a UK TV picture has 625 horizontal(ish) lines minus a few borrowed
for sync signals ... BUT ... the word "lines", when used to describe a
camera's resolution, is unrelated; what it refers to is how many
distinct *vertical* lines the camara can resolve across the picture
width.


So would you agree that a camera with 625 lines will give a
better,sharper
picture than that of a 420 lines one?

Ho Hum.


Just a comment - those with the ring of LEDs around the lens seem to
suffer
from giving a poor image if there is any mist - or a bit of dust on the
lens
as the I/R light gets reflected back into the lens.



Thats why I bought a seperate IR light to work below the camera angle. ;-)

On 20/03/2008 18:01, George wrote:

So would you agree that a camera with 625 lines will give a better,sharper
picture than that of a 420 lines one?

Yes, a camera with higher lines of resolution will give a better picture.

Ho Hum.

Not not really, a question of getting the terminology correct.

Regardless of whether a camera has 400 lines of resolution, or 800, it
still outputs 625 actual lines per frame, otherwise it would be
incompatible with TVs/videos etc.

In article , George
scribeth thus

"Fred" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 1 Mar 2008 17:31:36 -0000, "Roger Mills"
wrote:

If connecting into a TV is acceptable, Maplin have their miniature camera
on
special offer at 20 quid at the moment.

On the subject of CCTV. I have wondered about having a play with
cameras but I was confused by all the jargon.

I know lux is a measure of how bright it is, so the lower the lux
rating the better because this means the cameras will see in the
dark(er) but what lux rating do you aim for? I also understand that
you have to take the manufacturer's ratings with a pinch of salt.

The other thing that confused me was the resolution in lines. How many
lines do you need for a good picture?

The problem I had was the low lux camera had few lines and the high
lux lines cameras had high luxes. Which is more important?

Thanks.

0.05 Lux with 520 TV lines is the type to strive for however...

625 lines is the standard tv lines for the UK and gets more
expensive,anything below 480 lines is good but the clarity or definition
leaves a lot to be desired so if its high definition you want then go for
the 625 lines or above.


Umm... 625 lines are the number of horizontal scanning lines..

TV Horizontal resolution lines are a totally different measurement and
are a measure who what the camera can generate on the Horizontal scale.

And ideal matched with the monitor resolution etc and of course the
recorder which won't be all that wonderful if its VHS..


--
Tony Sayer