Trail Cam(s) for Neighborhood Monitoring

**WoodieSC** · 11-11-2023, 11:59 AM

I’m starting a fresh thread vs rereading all of the old ones due to the specific nature of the application. That is, I’ve been asked by some guys from our informal neighborhood network for some recommendations for possibly using a trail cam to monitor the neighborhood entrance. We had a vandal come through early this morning and smash up some mailboxes and things, so it has finally raised some awareness that hasn’t been there in the past.

The desirable options would be:

- 40’+(tbd) motion activation;
- WiFi to a home network vs the cost & flexibility(?) of a separate cell system?
- Minimal manual intervention (changing cards and batteries, etc);
- Up to 24 loop recording if not on a card…
- If on a cellular account, can the video be stored or forwarded to multiple people as backup in case someone is on vacation, etc?

Better options than trail cams, such as Wi-Fi cams on two home networks and just pay for the recording, etc? (SimplySafe…)

Thanks.

**WhitewaterDuck** · 11-11-2023, 12:53 PM

I was very happy with my Bushnell black flash cell cam. It transmitted pics within a minute of receiving them, the unlimited plan...which you will want for that application...was not terribly expensive, it was easy to set up and operate, settings can be adjusted from the computer or phone app, and you have the option of having the pics sent to a cell phone or an email address or both. If you want to catch folks in the act so you can go and confront them (ie. monitoring your premises so you will be ready if someone comes thru your door), have the pics sent to a cell phone. For what you are describing, you just want to be able to match up pics of car or people that correlate with time of vandalism, so I'd opt for the pics to be sent to an email account...and would consider creating a separate account just for the pics...otherwise, you are going to be getting notifications non-stop and around the clock and/or your email inbox is going to SUCK to deal with.

I'm using Cuddelink with 5 cameras now, and that's probably the best option if you want to monitor multiple locations.

Last thing...I'd try to get the camera 20' to 30' from where you expect or want to get pics and try to put it up in a tree with any of the swiveling/adjustible brackets you can get to screw into a limb...because if you don't make it hard to get to, the camera will get gone.

Good luck.