X.10 and Home Security?

cancerboy asks: "After last night, I need to set up some home security since a kid put a brick through my bay window. One of my primary concerns is basic video surveillance. I am aware of X.10 and know that any number of vendors sell X.10 cameras. However, I am a complete novice when it comes to X.10 technology. One, I was hoping to get some pointers for getting started (considerations, HOWTOs, code libraries, etc). I am also interested in any opinions about the cost/benefit as well as any legal issues I might be facing by installing video surveillance equipment. I live in an urban environment in a town house and I wonder if there are any issues with recording exterior shots that include public property."

Resources and vendors

[thppt]

I've found a number of good X-10 and home automation resources at HomeToys.com [hometoys.com]. The prices for X-10, video/audio distribution, and DIY security are usually better at SmartHome.com [smarthome.com] than at X10.com [x10.com] (and they don't tend to send you so much spam!). The best prices I've found for X-10 stuff (they also have security and video surveillance equip) are at Worthington Distribution [worthdist.com]. I've had good Web and phone interactions with them. They know what they're talking about when you need technical help, both before and after they make a sale (I can't say as much for X10.com or SmartHome.com).

Re:What when you catch something

[chamont]

Seriously consider paying a big company to monitor your alarm (which they will insist on installing). It costs money, but if your really going to deal with the hasstle you may as well have them call the police. (Far as I know it is illegal for an alarm system to call the police, but the alarm system can call the monitoring station, and then they call the police) And the big advantage is by connecting the fire alarms to the alarm system you can accually get the fire dept out when that neighbor kid figgured he can't break in so he burns the house down.

Only one nitpick. Most thievs know to cut the phone line before they hurl a rock through your back window. That way your $20000 alarm system can just dial all day long.

So, to summarize, buy a $20000 alarm, buy a pitbull, and rewire your phone lines to make sure they're 100% below ground.

Monty

Re:What when you catch something

[inburito]

Only one nitpick. Most thievs know to cut the phone line before they hurl a rock through your back window. That way your $20000 alarm system can just dial all day long.

Already a couple of years ago I recall seeing security systems with wireless monitoring services. That would just be a slightly modified cellular phone that would do the communications.. Then again an easy solution would be to have a cellular phone jammer, which unfortunately are fairly easy to get.

Legal issues vary with jurisdiction

[techwatcher]

I have an elderly friend who shows signs of developing paranoia -- specifically, she is sure a certain maintenance man in her co-op breaks in to mess up her stuff, whenever she goes out (but she has 4 cats!). So some months back, I met her at the local "Spy Shop" (it's a chain -- if you're in a major municipality, there's probably one not far away). With my advice (and being on-hand to drive the price down!), she bought a clock-radio with a built-in b&w camera, plus a wireless transmitter, and a receiver... I hooked up everything to her video machine for her.

This is how I learned that in our state/city, you are legally allowed to tape (PICTURE, but not SOUND). Each jurisdiction has its own rules, however, so you may want to visit the Spy Shop just to gather the relevant information. (Pretend you want to buy.)

I have never heard that an alarm system cannot be linked directly to a police station, btw -- many local businesses' alarm systems, esp. in smaller communities, ARE linked to the police. Perhaps this is another jurisdictional issue?

• Now the problems:
• If your target is actually a thief, you'll have to hide the VCR device.
• Video tapes aren't that long, so even in slowest mode and longest tapes (which are fragile -- not recommended for heavy repeat use), you're only going to get maybe 8 hours of continual coverage.
• You might want to get a device that controls the timing, such that only you're recording every third or fourth second or so. Expect this to be expensive.
• Alternatively, you might try for a device which is motion- or sound-activated, but these often go off at non-relevant stimuli.

You may want to consider a cheaper deterrent -- better relations with your neighbors! The safest place to live is a mixed community with those old ladies (often widows) who sit and watch out their windows all day. In the absence of this, try enlisting neighborhood kids in your service: If nothing else, consider posting a reward for information regarding break-ins (specify the time and location of the last event).

Good luck!

Be careful of X10 quality

[hugehugh]

I use X10 to control a light via remote control to avoid installing 2 switches. I have found that I burn out a light bulb a month. I think that too much power is applied when the light is turned on.
Hugh

X10 is useful, but be wary...

[shaldannon]

First, you can buy X10 products from the X10 web site [x10.com]. Should you do so, be aware of two things:
1. They've taken marketing to a whole new low. They offer "specials" on everything, all the time. For instance, they recently put out an offer of $17 off in honor of March 17. (gag)
2. If you buy through them, use a junk email address: you WILL get spammed by them offering these "deals." Remember, it isn't a deal if you don't need it, no matter how "attractive" the price.

That said, X10 gadgets are quite useful. They have home security devices including motion sensors, and you can control an ungodly number of devices from one control pad. They provide (Windows-based) software for controling the devices, and you can find Linux software for X10 devices.

I would reccomend gx10 [thestuff.net]. gx10 uses the bottlerocket software, and provides a link to it.

I would reccomend putting your serial device on COM2 if you use an external modem, since apparently the bottlerocket software can cause problems with an active modem signal. If you do this, make sure to alias gx10 to /where_your_binaries_are/gx10 -x /dev/ttyS1.

I can't think of much else that would be useful. E-mail me if you have further questions.

PS--you can check freshmeat for more X10 utils.


Who am I?
Why am here?
Where is the chocolate?

What when you catch something

[bluGill]

Security is all nice, but you have to first consider how it will be used

So you get a ticket to the next linux convention out of town. (Nice of the boss to declair it buisness related) you live your comptuer on with all this monitoring equipment. Local theif who has been casing your home for a while notices that you didn't come home last night, your a geek, and there is a linux conf... late the next night breaks in and takes your comptuers. You come back to find a broken window, but the computer that you stored the images from the camera is gone. (And the theif has probably raped your computer with an illegal copy of windows on the machine)

Now lets go the other way. Your arrive home with your security system on. Three buddies with their comptuers in hand are behind you for a network party. In your excitement you forget to turn the alarm off. Just as you get the comptuers booting 120db blasts in your ears. Opps, forget to turn the alarm off. After a few times you quit turning on the alarm, or the neighbors get used to it going off at all hours when you forget to turn it off. (Remember break-ins are rare)

What I'm getting at is two points: The alarm system must be useful in either preventing crime, or capturing the criminal after words. If the alarm is not on or the neighbors are traned to ignore it the theif is home free. If the theif in the later case steals the VCR/comptuer recorder with his picture on you have nothing to give the police and you are free.

Seriously consider paying a big company to monitor your alarm (which they will insist on installing). It costs money, but if your really going to deal with the hasstle you may as well have them call the police. (Far as I know it is illegal for an alarm system to call the police, but the alarm system can call the monitoring station, and then they call the police) And the big advantage is by connecting the fire alarms to the alarm system you can accually get the fire dept out when that neighbor kid figgured he can't break in so he burns the house down.

re: X-10 Wireless Video Cams

[cr0sh]

Their latest is actually a pretty small device, that transmits to the receiver half of one of their Video Sender/Receiver pairs (like what you get when you order the DVD Anywhere kit, etc).

Still, it has a wire that goes to a power supply. And it can be jammed.

I would suggest a regular, monitored alarm system as your main system - They don't tend to be too expensive on a month to month basis, and your renter's/homeowner's insurance rates will be lower with such a system.

You still want to catch the thief, though, and for that you will need a camera (or an auto-targeting taser device - hehe...). You can buy the stuff off the shelf, but you WILL pay through the nose. So I will tell you, in "block" terms, how to build one yourself:

1. Get a few camera's - those pinhole ones you see, black and white is OK - if you want the IR illumination option, get it, too. Mount them in housings, wire them up to power, and bring all the wire into the walls via copper or steel tubing jackets. Bring all the video feeds to a central point.

2. Get an analog signal multiplexor/switcher chip - these chips are provided by several manufacturers, and allow you to poll a line on them to select one of several different inputs/outputs. Most use standard TTL level signals for the polling line, designed to be driven by a timer chip (like a 555) or a computer (in our case). Analog signals generally can go both ways (one to many, or many to one, the latter being what we'll use).

3. Wire the chip up such that each composite video output from each camera goes into one of the switched lines on the chip. There will now be a single line on the chip that can be used as an output, bring a line out from that. Connect the poll line on the chip to one of the control lines on the parallel port on your PC.

4. Now, here is the tricky part: Write some software to poll the parallel port, to cause each camera's output to appear on the single line. Poll only every second or so. This output should be routed to a video digitiser card (like a TV tuner card, or something similar). Now, after you poll the port, have the software digitize the image, and compare that to the LAST image digitized (maybe by XOR the two images, if there are any pixels different, the output of the XOR op will show it). You may want a threshold value here (so as not to detect the grass waving in the wind).

5. If a difference is detected, that means an intruder (or something) is present. Save that picture to your drive, and maybe upload it to a private web/ftp site (broadband comes in REAL handy here). You could also have the system page you, or email you as well.

6. Set up the web page to view the images - or email the image to you!

With that in hand, you could use your judgment on either calling the police, the alarm company, or whatever. I know I have only presented a VERY high level view of what needs to be done for such a system, but on the other hand, such a system beats a time lapse VCR (which are expensive, and have to save the video on-site) in cost and customizability (is that a word?)...

X10 is just a small part of this

[billh]

While the X10 camera might save you some wiring, what do you plan on doing with the image? Legal issues aside, are you just planning on having it pointing out and feeding the signal to a TV? Or will there be a VCR in the loop?

I have worked with a bit of X10 equipment, but not the camera. For what it does, it looks like a good deal. What you hook up to it makes all the difference, though, and that might be more of a cost consideration.

Re:Be careful of X10 quality

[technos]

Switch to an ultra-cheap brand of bulbs in that lamp. Most are manufactured in the former USSR or Mexico primarily for domestic consumption, but sold relabelled in the US cheap because it is actually profitable. They were designed to run acceptably on dirty power grids, and on a wider range of voltages. You'll never get one to last as long as a standard bulb using clean AC, but on dirty AC they last magnitudes longer.