<div><br></div><div><br></div>I don't have the budget for the Axis cameras so I use cheap security cameras (from Costco and < 100 bucks) that I hook up to an Aviosys 9100A video converters (<a href="http://www.aviosys.com/9100.html">http://www.aviosys.com/9100.html</a>) which has a lot of support on the net for hacks, etc (<a href="http://www.aviosys.com/9100.html">http://www.aviosys.com/9100.html</a>).<div>
<br></div><div>The whole cost was actually cheaper than an Axis camera for my 3 camera setup.</div><div><br></div><div>Now this was done years ago and if I was to do it today I would probably look some of the wired network cameras. The biggest issue is getting power to the camera, I'm also using a POE (power over ethernet) camera which has been working pretty well.</div>
<div><br></div><div>To tie all this together I use SecuritySpy on a Mac Mini and have it email me on movement. I also can get a web view of all the cameras from my phone if needed.</div><div><br></div><div>I have played with a Foscam network camera (<a href="http://foscam.us/">http://foscam.us/</a>) and it was nice but I had it outside and it wasn't waterproof.</div>
<div><br></div><div>All of this only gets me an alert that something may be going on but doesn't address the security aspect, I'm looking at a security panel and haven't really narrowed down a choice yet.</div>
<div><br></div><div>My next task is to get a camera that I can put at face level so I can get a higher resolution of the person approaching the door, this would be really nice to have but needs a better quality camera (1M pixel probably) and better light control.</div>
<div><br></div><div>X10 - I've been an X10 user for over 30 years and am so happy to be away from that mess, it worked well as a way to turn on and off lights but the security modules were pretty bad. I'm now using a z-wave system and am much happier, it's more of a hassle to configure but I'm on year 2 with simple lights usage and it's been pretty solid. </div>
<div><br></div><div>Watering -- I have been looking at Open Sprinkler kit (<a href="http://rayshobby.net/?page_id=160">http://rayshobby.net/?page_id=160</a>) and it seems pretty neat. It's expandable and would replace my existing Rain Bird sprinkler with something I could control remotely. It's on the budget but I probably won't be able to get to it till next spring.</div>
<div><br></div><div>I would really like to have a way to tape my dog barking and then when someone knocks on the door have it playback when I'm not home. The dog has a really deep house shaking bark that causes people to back up a couple steps when she barks. :-)</div>
<div><br></div><div>That's it for me, good luck and let me know what you end up with.</div><div><br></div><div>bobm</div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Jul 12, 2013 at 6:27 PM, Bill Broadley <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:bill@broadley.org" target="_blank">bill@broadley.org</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><br>
Greetings all,<br>
<br>
After the great responses to my UAV related queries I figured I'd try<br>
again with another somewhat linux related area.<br>
<br>
What are people doing for home automation/physical security?<br>
<br>
I've done some research, but haven't actually built anything yet. I<br>
dislike X10 because it's unreliable and not particularly secure. I<br>
wouldn't for instance want to control my front door or garage door with it.<br>
<br>
The number of home thefts in Davis has been pretty high as well, it was<br>
1-2 a day for a few months starting till they nabbed on guy. I've had 2<br>
homes and a car broken into within a 100 yards of my house in the last 6<br>
months or so.<br>
<br>
One cool product I found was an Axis M1054, seems ideal for a front<br>
door. Allows video + 2 way audio so you can answer the door from<br>
anywhere with a network connection. I do need a metal box to protect,<br>
I'm trying to track down a source for:<br>
<a href="http://eholovision.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=226&Itemid=264" target="_blank">http://eholovision.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=226&Itemid=264</a><br>
<br>
The axis cameras aren't cheap, but they do seem to have better video<br>
quality, tons of functionality, stream well, and many cool features like<br>
motion detection, knock detection etc. They run linux and *gasp* allow<br>
user customizations.<br>
<br>
I also wanted to:<br>
* monitor temperature sensors for inside, outside, and attic. Maybe<br>
even soil moisture.<br>
* control a few relays for attic->outside fan, house -> attic fan,<br>
and maybe a watering system.<br>
* monitor the state of a few door/window sensors to know when the<br>
garage door is open and the like<br>
* Have a small tablet/old phone/small 2x20 display with a speaker/buzzer<br>
for messages like "warning garage door has been open for more than<br>
10 minutes", "Someone is walking towards your front door", "the mail<br>
is here".<br>
<br>
Products that would enable the above:<br>
<br>
Cool arm, arduino, and wifi widget (available sept or so) good for<br>
monitoring analog sensors (like temp/moisture) and digital (like doors).<br>
Even allows updating the arduino over the network. I definitely don't<br>
want to be crawling around in my attic or crawlspace to update software.<br>
<a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sparkdevices/spark-core-wi-fi-for-everything-arduino-compatible" target="_blank">http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sparkdevices/spark-core-wi-fi-for-everything-arduino-compatible</a><br>
<a href="http://www.sparkdevices.com/" target="_blank">http://www.sparkdevices.com/</a><br>
<br>
Similar but more expensive SBC, MANY sensors available:<br>
<a href="http://www.phidgets.com/products.php?category=21&product_id=1073_0" target="_blank">http://www.phidgets.com/products.php?category=21&product_id=1073_0</a><br>
<br>
Nice magnetic switch:<br>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009SUF08" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009SUF08</a><br>
<br>
Soil moisture sensor:<br>
<a href="http://dx.com/p/fc-28-d-soil-hygrometer-detection-module-soil-moisture-sensor-blue-184234" target="_blank">http://dx.com/p/fc-28-d-soil-hygrometer-detection-module-soil-moisture-sensor-blue-184234</a><br>
<br>
Nice relays:<br>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0057OC5O8" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0057OC5O8</a><br>
<br>
The raspberry Pi didn't seem to be a particularly good fit. Wifi<br>
requires a dongle, no build in analog pins. I wanted to keep the<br>
hardware hacking to a minimum.<br>
<br>
With all of the above I was hoping to enable things like:<br>
* sounding a buzzer if a door is open too long or when it shouldn't<br>
be.<br>
* in cool mode turn on attic fan as soon as outside air is cooler<br>
than attic. Turn on house -> attic fan as soon as outside cooler<br>
than inside<br>
* turn on water only when the soil is too dry.<br>
* Open the garage door when I'm home.<br>
<br>
Anyone doing something interesting in this space?<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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</blockquote></div><br></div>