Drive-by shooting!

[Cold-Lemonade]

In my heart of hearts, I knew it would only be a matter of time... On Saturday night around 10:15pm, a car drove down the street and fired two shots at the people hanging out on the stoop across from my house. My house is in an "up-and-coming" small city plagued with problems more commonly found in big cities.

I have two cameras that monitor the front of my rowhouse--I have them set up to identify anyone trying to break in through a ground floor window. The cameras also capture the street and I got a recording of the entire thing. The trouble is these cameras were not set up read the plates of the passing cars. So I while the video can be used to determine the vehicle's make, model, color and appurtenances, it can't identify the plate number.

What can I do to add a camera that I specifically assign to capture the passing vehicles' license plates? I have only one cat6 cable at each junction box for each of the two cameras and I don't want to replace them. Can I use an outdoor PoE switch to expand the number of cameras and monitor the street? Any thoughts about the Centropower Passive 2-port PoE Extender (

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJCSXWTW/ref=twister_B08SQR7WZ3?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

). Could this get the job done?

Also, what camera would be best for this? The intersection where cars turn on to this block is about 120-150 feet way.

FYI. Fortunately, no one was injured in the drive-by shooting.

 

[wittaj]

Oh no that sucks.

This is the camera you need:

https://www.amazon.com/Loryta-IPC-HFW5241E-Z12E-Starlight-Network-English/dp/B07RJQT9NB/ref=sr_1_5?imprToken=eNnu.Pmf5hsW5hcTVECAQg&linkCode=w61&m=A329YQ83EBQGJF&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&qid=1683594384&redirect=true&s=merchant-items&slotNum=0&sr=1-5

And this is the splitter you need:

https://www.amazon.com/Loryta-Extender-Repeater-Ethernet-Splitter/dp/B07RQ569MF/ref=sr_1_53?imprToken=eNnu.Pmf5hsW5hcTVECAQg&linkCode=w61&m=A329YQ83EBQGJF&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&qid=1683594433&redirect=true&s=merchant-items&slotNum=0&sr=1-53

And then look in the LPR subforum for how to set it up to get plates:

LPR

Licence Plate Reader cameras

ipcamtalk.com

Any chance you can post the video?

 

[Cold-Lemonade]

Thank you @wittaj Will the splitter function outside? I guess I need to place it inside a weatherproof junction box. Can you please recommend one?

 

[wittaj]

Yes it will work outside. I put it in the junction box suitable for the camera. But any waterproof type will work.

An alternative is this one as well.

I am using both with no issues for several years now.

Amazon.com

 

[Cold-Lemonade]

Yes it will work outside. I put it in the junction box suitable for the camera. But any waterproof type will work.

An alternative is this one as well.

I am using both with no issues for several years now.

Amazon.com

@wittaj This alternative is interesting. Let me get this right... The "combiner" part of this device stays inside and plus into two ports on my PoE switch. I have a 16-port Netgear switch and currently only use 9 ports so plenty of available space. The "splitter" part goes outside in a junction box. I am not an electrical engineer but this thing is fascinating.

 

[wittaj]

That is correct.

And the nice thing about this one is you can basically waterproof the end that goes to cameras like you would have now. This one works great if you shove the wires up in a soffit.

Like I said I am using both types, but my neighbors opted for this option when they added LPR since they could shove it up in the soffit.

But this one only works if you have available ports, which you do!

 

[samplenhold]

For ideas on how to plan and deploy cams for LPR, see these threads.

New to LPR? Considerations Before You Begin

Thought I would throw together a post on my experiences so far with LPR in an effort to help others that are considering running down that rabbit hole. There are some practical considerations you should know about LPR. I am approaching this from the position of using Blue Iris and Plate...

ipcamtalk.com

LPR Case Study: Scoping, Planning, Proof of Concept, Installation, & Results

Introduction This thread is about my journey into LPR (License Plate Recognition) after having about 18 months of experience with IP cams and having quite a bit of my system finished. I am not an expert on LPR, or IP cameras either. But I have spent a lot of time working with my system and...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[samplenhold]

Sorry this has happened to you. I grew up in Roslindale. Where was this drive by?

If you post some video/pics or maybe google map view we could give ideas on where to mount cams for LPR.

 

[Flintstone61]

You will also get good plate captures with the IPC-B5442E-Z4E. I think in my case the sensor on this camera is quite versatile for tuning into plate reads.
If you need more zoom than this, then the Z12 @wittaj mentioned would be the choice. I have worked with both at this location.

 

[Flintstone61]

 

[Flintstone61]

 

[Flintstone61]

 

[Cold-Lemonade]

Sorry this has happened to you. I grew up in Roslindale. Where was this drive by?

If you post some video/pics or maybe google map view we could give ideas on where to mount cams for LPR.

Thank you @samplenhold This happened in Newburgh NY. I know my profile says Boston, but I need to update it. I moved to be closer to my elderly parents who need my help.

I am going to study the forum threads you've kindly directed me to. It is going to be a challenge to figure out how to add these cameras to my system.

I like the alternative that @wittaj pointed out. I have a brick rowhouse. I have two junction boxes mounted on the brick exterior wall for my two front cameras. There is no extra space in these junction boxes to accommodate more wires or a splitter. I can't hide them in a soffit, etc. So I will need to mount more junction boxes. I want to avoid removing the ones I have because they are really perfect for monitoring my ground floor windows.

Finding the right position for the LPR cameras will be a challenge too. My house sits about 15 feet from the sidewalk, on a hillside. Cars are generally parked along the street making it harder to see license plates. I'll post a couple of photos later this week.

 

[CanCuba]

Thank you @samplenhold This happened in Newburgh NY. I know my profile says Boston, but I need to update it. I moved to be closer to my elderly parents who need my help.

I am going to study the forum threads you've kindly directed me to. It is going to be a challenge to figure out how to add these cameras to my system.

I like the alternative that @wittaj pointed out. I have a brick rowhouse. I have two junction boxes mounted on the brick exterior wall for my two front cameras. There is no extra space in these junction boxes to accommodate more wires or a splitter. I can't hide them in a soffit, etc. So I will need to mount more junction boxes. I want to avoid removing the ones I have because they are really perfect for monitoring my ground floor windows.

Finding the right position for the LPR cameras will be a challenge too. My house sits about 15 feet from the sidewalk, on a hillside. Cars are generally parked along the street making it harder to see license plates. I'll post a couple of photos later this week.

I've used these junction boxes to replace smaller ones when I need more room for POE splitters, etc. Lots of different sizes, IP65 rated and easy to swap. I take off the old junction box and use that to drill holes in the new box so it screws into the exact same place.

https://www.amazon.com/LeMotech-Dustproof-Waterproof-Electrical-255mmx200mmx80mm/dp/B075X15KXJ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=lemotech%2Babs%2Bplastic%2Bdustproof%2Bwaterproof%2Bip65%2Bjunction%2Bbox&sr=8-1-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzVExNM1pBM0RJS1lUJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMjA0ODU1MVUzUVJTWU9aU0o5WiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDAxNjM2NzROTU5EV1hEUVhCJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1

 

[Cold-Lemonade]

Thank you @CanCuba These larger junction boxes would work if I were only going to use them to house the wires. I need something strong enough to mount my eyeball camera to and to contain the cat6 splitter. Any suggestions?

 

[CanCuba]

Thank you @CanCuba These larger junction boxes would work if I were only going to use them to house the wires. I need something strong enough to mount my eyeball camera to and to contain the cat6 splitter. Any suggestions?

These are more than strong enough. They have four screws, one in each corner, to close the box. The gasket keeps the water out. I have a Color4K/X screwed to one and this is a larger cam. Weights 2.5lbs and the hurricane we had this past October gave us near hurricane-speed winds at probably 60mph.

I should have saved the recordings but the camera wobbled a bit during the major gusts. When we checked it after the storm passed, the box and camera were unaffected.

These boxes will house the wiring and support the camera without issue.

 

[samplenhold]

I have been through Newburgh several times in our travels.

The B5442 Z4E cam that @Flintstone61 brags about is a great cam. I have it as an overview cam for the intersection. I get good plate caps all day and even at night but I do not have it set up for that. I keep it in color 24/7 to get that kind of info. But I have plenty of light there so it works.

Good luck and keep asking questions. You already have a good foundation in IPCAMS. Just remember to test out the ideas before making them final.

 

[CanCuba]

Here's some pics of the camera mounted to the box. The box size is 7.9" x 6.1" x 3.1". It's secured with four screws with anchors into the parged brick wall.

NOTE: THE WINDOW IS NOT MINE. IT IS MY NEIGHBOUR'S!

 

[Cold-Lemonade]

Nice photos @CanCuba I notice that you have your cameras mounted pretty high. Does having them mounted higher help view the license plates of passing vehicles?

 

[Vettester]

@wittaj This alternative is interesting. Let me get this right... The "combiner" part of this device stays inside and plus into two ports on my PoE switch. I have a 16-port Netgear switch and currently only use 9 ports so plenty of available space. The "splitter" part goes outside in a junction box. I am not an electrical engineer but this thing is fascinating.

Be careful with this one. I purchased two of these and both of them failed within two weeks.