Last night my GPS was stolen out of my trucklet.
- Don’t leave GPS out in plain site
- Always lock all the doors and not just mine
- Never, ever throw anything away. Ever. I always seem to need it a month later.
- Keep a google spreadsheet document with all the serial numbers of all the electronics I have.
So, I have a problem and I intend to fix it.
Wouldn’t it be cool if I could take my own photo of the theif?
This got me to thinking…
I’ve been wanting to build a security system for my trucklet ever since the ‘OEM’ unit was installed in mine. It royaly sucks!
I haven’t done it because it would be pretty spendy – I really want a cell based internet connection for it so I can ask the truck where it is, it can tell me where it is, and send me photos of who’s driving it, etc. I can’t justify $50 a month for a internet connection even if I can use google maps on the fly on a computer I would replace the stereo with.
A little thinking ‘outside’ the box, I think I found my solution. It’s 2 peices, but I didn’t find anybody that has put them together like I want to.
An Eye-Fi Pro is an SDHC memory card with a built wi-fi card. It will take photos that are saved to it, geocode them, and upload them. How cool is that? You don’t have to stick the card into the computer to get your photos.
For $15 a year, it will connect to a paid, public wifi connections including the ones at McDonalds. My data-plan woes are now addressed, $15 a year is very reasonable!
The other half is the camera. A search revealed the following.
A Defender STEALTH1 Covert Security DVR w/ Hidden Surveillance Camera. It is a motion detector with a built in camera. It can take photos and video which it saves the the memory card.
The freaking awesomeness comes when you combine the two together. You now have a motion detection surveillance camera that automatically uploads photos to a place where you can see them when your away from home. No wires to run half way across the house, just plug it into the nearest power outlet. It can email, text, or even twitter you when it’s triggered. It runs for 17 hours on battery if the power goes out. Put your modem and router on a battery back up, and your set!
How sweet is that?
I got to thinking, all the motion detector is, is a hunter’s trail camera in a house-friendly looking enclosure.
I can get one of these for the trucklet instead. I was going to shell the camera unit out and install it into the dash anyhow, so why not use a cheaper camera that does the same thing?
So, for around $260 I can either build a really slick house security camera or one that I can cut into the dash of my trucklet that works anywhere.
Home
Features:
- Nice looking ‘normal’ security motion sensor.
- Automatic uploading of photos/video using home network.
- Ability to view photos even if home computer or security camera itself is stolen!
- Notification of events via email, text, twitter.
Vehicle
Features:
- Less expensive camera that I can take apart to install into vehicle
- Automatic uploading of photos/video using home network or any of 10,000 public wifi accesspoints.
- Geocoding of photos.
- Ability to view photos even if they steal the vehicle – they just need to slowly drive/park near a wifi access point.
- Notification of events via email, text, twitter.
Now, to find a few extra hundred dollars, because I need a GPS, a couple of motion camera, and a couple of memory cards….
