Aliexpress had a DS-7604NI-SE/P with 4 DS-2CD2032-I cameras for $580US a couple of months ago, so I picked one up. Shipped to Toronto in approximately 1.5 weeks. In hindsight, I should have gone for the 8 port because I felt the need for more cameras after completing my install.
There's nothing special about my install that hasn't been repeated on the forum already. I scoured Home Depot, Rona and Lowes for the cheapest in PVC conduit. Home Depot won out by pennies.
Notes about my install: I live in a 100 year old semi-detached house. NVR is installed in the basement. Interior walls are plastered with some lattice and metal mesh underneath, so a "hidden cable" install wasn't in the cards for me. I ran a mixture of 1/2" and 3/4" PVC along the side of my house. 1/2" if there was only one wire, 3/4" if there was more than one. The PVC conduit that serves as the trunk is 1".
This is the foot long 1" masonry bit that I used to drill through the brick in the basement.
It wasn't quite long enough, so I had to run back to Home Depot and purchase a 18" bit to drill a pilot hole through both sides of the wall:
Dry fit of the 1" access fitting:
The trunk conduit runs up about 11 feet. I was considering using metal conduit for the trunk but figured a person interested in cutting the cables would be caught on video long before they finished cutting through PVC.
This is the front porch camera mounted on a junction box as per usual install instructions found on this forum:
This is the camera covering the side door aiming toward the front of the house. Note the 45 degree elbow in the background to go over hydro trunk (more on this below):
This is my tree install overlooking my parking pad. Again, it's nothing special, but I don't recall seeing anyone installing on a tree before. I used a zip-tie to make a drip loop but over time the tension on the wire (squirrels, birds, etc..) has made the loop fairly taught. I'll need to revisit it in the future.
This is the camera overseeing the backyard (the tree mount is to my left and behind in this picture). Note the 45 degree elbow on top of the junction box. This is used to run the overhanging wire to the tree mounted camera.
Hindsight/post-install regrets:
1. I want more cameras! I should have totally gotten an 8 porter.
2. My drip loops are terrible.
3. I used 45 degree elbows to make some obtuse corners and hop over my hydro trunk line. This made fishing wires exceedingly hard even with a fishing tape. Adding more access points would have made the job easier, but I was cheap and determined.
4. I used a 90 degree elbow at the rear of the house. I should have used a 90 degree elbow with access panel (i.e., a true 90) like I did in the front. Again, cheap and determined since the junction box was only a few inches away. As you can see the last shot, the curved elbow is a bit ugly.
All four cameras run with motion sensing 24/7 and record to a 4TB HD. The system has been installed for about a month and a half now without any problems except for spider webs. Other than raccoons humping in my backyard, they've caught kids climbing garages at night perving on neighbours, a contractor down the street stealing gravel stones from a neighbour's driveway, tree falling on my lawn, anonymous strangers peeing in the alley, and the UPS delivery man with my iPhone 6 not bothering to ring my doorbell.
There's nothing special about my install that hasn't been repeated on the forum already. I scoured Home Depot, Rona and Lowes for the cheapest in PVC conduit. Home Depot won out by pennies.
Notes about my install: I live in a 100 year old semi-detached house. NVR is installed in the basement. Interior walls are plastered with some lattice and metal mesh underneath, so a "hidden cable" install wasn't in the cards for me. I ran a mixture of 1/2" and 3/4" PVC along the side of my house. 1/2" if there was only one wire, 3/4" if there was more than one. The PVC conduit that serves as the trunk is 1".
This is the foot long 1" masonry bit that I used to drill through the brick in the basement.
It wasn't quite long enough, so I had to run back to Home Depot and purchase a 18" bit to drill a pilot hole through both sides of the wall:
Dry fit of the 1" access fitting:
The trunk conduit runs up about 11 feet. I was considering using metal conduit for the trunk but figured a person interested in cutting the cables would be caught on video long before they finished cutting through PVC.
This is the front porch camera mounted on a junction box as per usual install instructions found on this forum:
This is the camera covering the side door aiming toward the front of the house. Note the 45 degree elbow in the background to go over hydro trunk (more on this below):
This is my tree install overlooking my parking pad. Again, it's nothing special, but I don't recall seeing anyone installing on a tree before. I used a zip-tie to make a drip loop but over time the tension on the wire (squirrels, birds, etc..) has made the loop fairly taught. I'll need to revisit it in the future.
This is the camera overseeing the backyard (the tree mount is to my left and behind in this picture). Note the 45 degree elbow on top of the junction box. This is used to run the overhanging wire to the tree mounted camera.
Hindsight/post-install regrets:
1. I want more cameras! I should have totally gotten an 8 porter.
2. My drip loops are terrible.
3. I used 45 degree elbows to make some obtuse corners and hop over my hydro trunk line. This made fishing wires exceedingly hard even with a fishing tape. Adding more access points would have made the job easier, but I was cheap and determined.
4. I used a 90 degree elbow at the rear of the house. I should have used a 90 degree elbow with access panel (i.e., a true 90) like I did in the front. Again, cheap and determined since the junction box was only a few inches away. As you can see the last shot, the curved elbow is a bit ugly.
All four cameras run with motion sensing 24/7 and record to a 4TB HD. The system has been installed for about a month and a half now without any problems except for spider webs. Other than raccoons humping in my backyard, they've caught kids climbing garages at night perving on neighbours, a contractor down the street stealing gravel stones from a neighbour's driveway, tree falling on my lawn, anonymous strangers peeing in the alley, and the UPS delivery man with my iPhone 6 not bothering to ring my doorbell.
