Security cameras are becoming more and more common, and one big reason is the steadily declining price of the technology. Putting a security camera in your own home offers numerous advantages, including dissuading burglars from entering -- or helping identify any that do. They're quite easy to install. In fact, with a common wireless minicam and a computer, you can build your own basic home video surveillance system and give yourself and your family a little peace of mind.
Instructions
Placing the Camera
1. Select the area you wish to monitor. Many people choose the living room, with the camera pointing toward the entrance to catch any intruders.
2. Place the wireless minicam in a high spot. If you wish, hide it. When picking a place for the camera, take into account the size of the battery pack. Most minicams require a 9-volt battery to operate -- and these batteries can be bigger than the camera itself.
3. Angle the camera downward. A high, down-facing angle is usually the best vantage point for capturing a wide area.
Setting up the Monitor
4. Use a composite video cable to connect the "video out" jack of the wireless receiver to the "video in" jack of the video capture card. Both jacks should have a yellow circle, which generally indicates a video connection.
5. Insert the video capture card into your computer's card slot. On desktops, this is normally on the front of the tower, while on laptops, it is on the side of the keyboard.
6. Turn on the wireless receiver and the minicam. Images captured from the camera should begin streaming to your PC's monitor.
Tags: capture card, video capture, video capture card, video jack, wireless minicam