PnP/easy to set up security measures - please help me

[purps]

This weekend on bonfire night, my girlfriend and I were the victims of a burglary.

Obviously this is a very upsetting time for us. I would really appreciate it if anybody could give me a list of security hardware that they feel is effective, and preferably easy for me to set up, so I can get it all sorted out ASAP.

I have already bought x3 Panasonic BL-C10s (if only it had been a week earlier) and I was thinking of some door/windows sensors. Anything else worth getting?

Is it easy to set up notifications to my mobile when the alarm is tripped? Is there an audible alarm inside the house also?

Any pointers would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
Matt.

[bongowongo]

Scenario
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Security_Scenarios
User manual
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/User_Manual#Security
Tuturial notify
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Have_LinuxMCE_notify_me_of_security_alerts
Tutorial Camera IP
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/IP_Cameras

Also keep in mind that automated lights could aways deter thieves. When away, leave light on, or switch it on when you are away.

[b4rney]

Matt,

Sorry to hear your news. Been there myself last year.

I got a standard alarm (non lmce) as a deterrent and put an IR camera outside (Foscam IP camera on ebay). Anything to make the criminals move on.
Barney

[purps]

Thanks for the replies guys. It's a shame that most people I speak to have been through this.

1. I like the look of this Foscam IP camera - are all IP cameras PnP on LMCE? Will the fact that it is wireless cause any problems? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2x-Foscam-WiFi-Wireless-IP-Net-CCTV-Outdoor-IR-Camera-/280525481665?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CCTV&hash=item41509f26c1#ht_6672wt_1014

2. Regarding notification settings, my mobile phone is only running web orbiter, not touch orbiter, so I assume I cannot do this properly. However I saw in the admin page that you can list further numbers - will this be sufficient? Does it work well?

[b4rney]

Not all IP cameras are plug and play but the Foscam range can be easily made plug and play by adding it's mac addresses to the 'Generic motion IP camera' template. See the wiki page I did:
http://wiki.linuxmce.com/index.php/Foscam_FI8908W

I had the camera you linked to but it was very dark at night. I'd go for the new FI8905W which has more LEDs, but try and get a wider angle lens. The 12mm is a zoom lens. See if any suppliers can get you a 6mm lens for example. See this link:
http://foscam.us/forum/wide-angle-lens-for-fi8905w-t36.html

Wireless is fine as long as you have a wireless access point on your inside network and not too many walls to go through. I inject power over ethernet so I only need one cable and one small hole in the wall. Try searching passive poe on ebay.
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_nkw=passive+poe

Be aware that the shutter speed is low on these cameras so unless your criminal moves slowly, you won't get a good picture. However, the criminal won't know that! The picture quality is OK although some colours are poor (greens are slightly purple ... weird).

Regarding notification, I think you can configure notifications to any mobile number using LinuxMCE. I haven't tried this though. Motion can be used as a trigger for security events and will trigger the notifications as well as recording any detected movement. By default these recordings are stored for 5 days (assuming your core isn't stolen too).

In addition the camera itself can send snapshots when motion is detected to either email or an ftp server.

One last thing if you're going for Foscam ... make sure you're getting a genuine foscam and not a clone. Foscam has excellent support and regular firmware upgrades but the clones don't.
Hope this helps.
Barney

[purps]

Thanks for your various links and advice there, interesting reading.

I had no idea that these passive POE things existed (I know of POE in general, but not in this affordable form!), what a neat idea. Are you using the FI8905W with one of these devices then? Saw a review on youtube, I see what you mean about the colours - purple trees! Still, not too bad for the price from what I have seen.

[purps]

Barney,

Would you mind lending me a hand in setting up my Foscam FI8905W please? Been on it for 16 hours straight now, and I just can't think of what else to try. I'm not trying to get it working under motion wrapper or anything like that, I just want to be able to view it.

Firstly, I can view the camera through the browser, both through the Foscam admin page and via "hxxp://<CAMERA_IP_ADDRESS>/videostream.cgi?user=XXXXX&pwd=XXXXX", so I know the camera is working.

I tried doing it manually first. Have attempted it using "Generic IP Camera", "Generic Motion IP Camera" and the "Panasonic IP Camera" templates, and in each case I have changed the IP address, the MAC (wired), the path (hxxp://<CAMERA_IP_ADDRESS>/videostream.cgi?user=XXXXX&pwd=XXXXX) and the port (80) when it was missing. I've been rebooting the core between each attempt. My security scenarios for the camera are showing the correct device number.

I then tried the PnP method you described in your wiki page for the FI8908W, but again no luck. Not sure if I am doing it right to be fair. I tried editing the "Generic IP Camera" and "Generic Motion IP Camera" templates with the DHCP range you mention, but the camera was not detected. Are there any other steps apart from this?

Haven't tried this approach with the "Panasonic IP Camera" template yet as I don't want to mess up my pre-existing Panasonic cameras! How are they different than the other templates? Can I somehow backup or make a copy of the template before I attempt it?

Right, off to get a few hours of sleep methinks!

Cheers,
Matt.

EDIT: I've just realised that you can add more than 1 range to a template, so I have now added the range from your wiki page to the Panasonic IP camera template. I've returned the camera to factory settings, reboot the core, and it STILL isn't detected

[b4rney]

Hi Matt,

Sorry I missed your previous post.

Happy to help you out. Try removing any previously created devices for this camera. I recommend using the 'generic motion ip camera' template with the correct pnp mac address added. Don't forget there is a wireless and wired range for the FI8908W. Check your mac address and convert to decimal to confirm it is in range. It is highly likely that this new camera has a different mac range so add your mac address to the pnp section.

Turn off the camera. Reboot the core fully. Turn on the camera. Cross your fingers.

Try checking the Advanced > Network > DHCP leases page if there is a problem.

Get back to me if you're still having problems.
Barney

PS Might be unrelated but .... I've had some problems getting DHCP working reliably with the LMCE DHCP and the wired Foscam camera. I thought it was just me. I have added my foscam to the external network and added the external ip address in web admin which has solved my problem. You could try this if it isn't given a DHCP address by LMCE.

[purps]

OK thanks, I will try this.

Am I right in saying I need to "Add device" under "Surveillance Cameras" first, in order to be able to edit the template? Should I then remove the device at this stage, once the MAC ranges are in place?

To find the IP, I plugged the camera in, and ran...

Code: [Select]

nmap -sP 192.168.80.0/24...on another machine, because LMCE admin wasn't showing the camera in DHCP leases. However, once I had added the camera manually (during one of my previous attempts, using the IP nmap gave me), it appeared.

Was it necessary for you to carry out any initial steps before giving it the LMCE treatement? For example with my Panasonic BL-C10s, I had to set the username and password by running a Panasonic utility through wine.

Cheers,
Matt.

[b4rney]

You should already know the default user and password for the camera. You can change this using the foscam web interface. This information is all you need. You can also set a fixed ip address using this interface if necessary.

No need to add any devices if you are editing an existing template. Advanced > configuration > device templates. Find template 1916 or filter Pluto > IP Cameras and select 'Generic Motion IP Camera'. Just add your converted decimal mac address to the 'generic motion ip camera' template pnp section.

The camera should be detected automatically and LinuxMCE will ask what room it is in. I had already created a room called 'Drive'. Once detected add your 'path' to your new device (will be under Core > motion wrapper) in the LinuxMCE web admin and a descriptive name (Drive Cam etc). That's it.

Hope this helps.
Barney

[purps]

Bearing in mind I don't want to use motion wrapper, is the approach the same (referring to your last paragraph)?

Do I need to add the motion wrapper template regardless, or will it be automatically added when the camera is detected?

Cheers,
Matt.

[purps]

OK, I gave it a go without worrying about the motion wrapper stuff, so motion wrapper as a device was not present.

I added the MAC range to the template as per your suggestion, rebooted the core, and hoorah, the camera was detected, so I gave it a room, etc.

However, it still doesn't work. The IP address and MAC address that were assigned to it were the IP and MAC of the Panasonic BL-C10 already present in the system. Everything was where it should be in DHCP leases (and I can view the camera through its own admin page), so I manually changed the MAC and IP to what it should be. I also added the path (hxxp://<CAMERA_IP_ADDRESS>/videostream.cgi?user=XXXXX&pwd=XXXXX). I tested this path in a web browser so I'm happy it's correct. Port is 80 as it should be.

In case it is relevant, I noticed that it was not added as a child of anything; it's at the same level as "CORE" in the devices tree. I tried to edit "Controlled by" (which I assume gives it a parent effectively) but the drop down list was blank.

[b4rney]

My suggestions have been based on using the 'generic motion ip camera' template which is created as a child of motion wrapper.

I have limited experience outside of this. The path in this template is used by motion to record movement etc.

Which template did you edit?
Barney

[rchamp]

Hey all, if anyone needs help with IP cameras, that is what I do for a living. I work for a security distributor in the US and work as a trainer/consultant etc.

I have access to lots of different brands of cameras. I would love to get involved with trying to test the different brands that I'm privy to.

[purps]

Yep, adding motion first was what was needed. I edited the template you suggested of course Thank you very much for your patience with me. It's still a bit, erm, sketchy, but it's definitely progress (referring to the restarts that are required).

Does motion record continuously then? I was hoping I'd be able to turn recording on/off automatically when the alarm was armed/disarmed. I'm not interested in using it as a security sensor, and I can see how to disable that particular aspect through web admin, but couldn't see anything for the recordings.

Cheers,
Matt.