Adding WiFi Cams to a Surveillance system query

[gordon_s1942]

My Son bought a brand new 2 Camera system with 7 inch LCD monitor off a gone broke friend who needed the money and it works wonderfully.
He put the Camera inside our 30 X 30 foot Corrogated Iron clad Garage/Shed some 30 metres from the house and he got a good clear picture inside the house (Fibro clad)
Not unexpectedly he had change the antenna angle and move the whole unit about to get a good picture but that it did through the Tin was excellent I thought.
My idea would be to buy a suitable cable and place the antenna outside the shed later on.
The Monitor has the ability to accept 4 Cameras so I was looking at buying a pair to add to the present 2 but this is an area I know little about.
I had a look on Ebay and found some that appear similar to what we have now and if I have read the details correctly, should work.
The big question is, is there anything I need to look for before buying ?

The brand name for this system is 'Digital' and thats it, not even a Country of Origin on either the box or the instruction sheet !!!

While we wont be doing it, apparently it can be connected by CAT5 to a 'router' to allow it to be accessed On Line.
For recording purposes, it uses a full size SD card (32GB recommended).
Any ideas or advise will be most appreciated.

[mtv]

Thread moved here, as more appropriate section.

[Drift]

Chances are that the cameras are simply 2.4GHz wireless rather than WiFi. That being the case, you need to ensure that any camera you buy to add to it, supports the same TX frequencies that are available on the RX/monitor.

[gordon_s1942]

Thank you MTV for relocating the query to the proper location.



This is what I have bought and it uses the terms of Wireless and WiFi which they seem to do ad hoc which is very confusing.
The Cameras I have 'talk' to the Monitor which if you tether it using an RJ45 cable to a Router, it can then be connected to the Internet (not interested presently)
They call the Monitor a DVR and you need to 'Pair the Cameras to the DVR' to get each one to show the Video so I am hoping these I have bought have the same feature.

[watchdog]

Sounds like they are similar to the foscams which would make them wifi or ethernet.

[tristen]

....This is what I have bought and it uses the terms of Wireless and WiFi which they seem to do ad hoc which is very confusing.
The Cameras I have 'talk' to the Monitor which if you tether it using an RJ45 cable to a Router, it can then be connected to the Internet (not interested presently)
They call the Monitor a DVR and you need to 'Pair the Cameras to the DVR' to get each one to show the Video so I am hoping these I have bought have the same feature.

Is it similar to the unit shown at

[gordon_s1942]

Tristen, Thanks very much for that and ours are very similar indeed but NO battery option to the Monitor/DVR.
Unfortunately ours does not give many specs such as Frequency used or the size of the CCD etc.
Distance from Camera(s) to the Monitor/DVR and the IR night range appear similar but I would think thats pretty standard in most surveillance equipment in that price range.
Also ours comes with a mini CD with the software to install a program called 'Intelligent Terminal Applications ' to support Android or iOS devices so I get the idea ours is a resonabaly upmarket version, which might account for the new price of $500 my Son was told the fellow paid for it (Son paid a $100) also on the CD is the program to connect the Monitor/DVD to a router by ethernet cable to the Internet.

Anyway I have bought pair of Cameras I posted a link for and according to Ebay should be here by Thursday 30th of March ( not holding my breath) but no matter when they do arrive, I shall advise what happens for anyone who is interested.

I have been thinking that the Cameras must have a means of individual identification otherwise with more than one 'broadcasting', how would the monitor/DVR know which is which and the combined signal would be a total mishmash of noise otherwise.
This isnt a problem when each Camera is connected by cable to a Monitor.

[gordon_s1942]

Amazingly the Cameras arrived today but Huston, there is a PROBLEM !!!

The Monitor and 2 Cams I have use a different system to 'Pair' ie when you go to register a Camera, you select which of the 4 screens you want it to connect with, select Register, press OK and then press the button on the back of the Camera for it to Pair to the Monitor.
I am presuming each Camera has its own unique ID to allow the Monitor to have up to 4 Cameras in action at once.

Unfortunately the new Cameras dont use this method to pair to a devise.
These are similar to the Pairing of a Mobile Phone to a Devise where you set up the devise to be ready then get the Mobile to transmit and when the devise 'see's' the Mobile, press Ok and its paired.

This is a classic example of buying the whole kit at Once and being where there are no shops to go see the product before you buy it.

[tristen]

Unfortunately, it's a trap for new players, Gordon ... and one which I have heard often.

Did your son get any documentation with the system he bought from his friend?

Where did the friend purchase the units?

Post a picture (complete with ALL relevant information) of the 2 camera "system" your son purchased (as referred to in post #1).

This will hopefully enable somebody to try to identify it accurately for you.

[gordon_s1942]

Tristen, he only paid a $100 for the monitor and 2 Cameras and they work perfectly so we have lost nothing there at all.
I have now found out his friend bought them online which wont help unless I manage to see a similar advert.

I am going to return the 2 I have bought and keep looking around to see whats available.

I have to admit I chose these 2 based on price because the others I saw were almost twice the price, more than what he paid for the kit!!!

[tristen]

... I have now found out his friend bought them online which wont help unless I manage to see a similar advert ....

If you wish to pursue the matter further, several good places to start looking are e-Bay and Aliexpress.

I have bought a lot of electronic stuff from both.

[deanfourie]

Cant you just statically assign them. Give them a static IP and there should be an option to add the cameras manually. Im sure they support ONVIF

Sorry old thread

[xarmy9]

One important security consideration for wireless cameras. A very easy security exploit to a wireless camera is to send a deauthentication frame which will cause the camera to disconnect from whatever access point it's connected to. Then it's pretty much useless. You may still need or want to use a wireless camera, and that's fine, but just be aware that they are the easiest of all cameras to defeat.