Surveillance camera needed due to insane neighbor

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BlackThorne64

BlackThorne64

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Jun 30, 2017
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Guys I have a problem and could use some good advice. I live in an apt in a very small town. I have a new neighbor that moved here from Chicago. I have been wearing camo hats etc since I served in the U.S. Army. I just like the look of it. I was verbally accosted / confronted while taking the trash to the dumpster by this new neighbor. I reported her verbal abuse to the apt manger. I have lived quietly here for many years and this woman said I was a evil fn satanic white racist prick. Seriously. Never talked to her before today. My older neighbor told me she was from the windy city and was a oddball. So wearing my camo ball cap while going to the dumpster set the nut case off the deep end. I am worried now she will do something to my pickup, my only mode of transportation. I am disabled due to an incurable auto immune disease. I get treatment for it at the V.A. up in stl,mo. What should I do to monitor my vehicle. I have the last parking place in the parking lot. which is about 40 feet from my front door. It's been peaceful here for the last 7 years since I moved here. which is why I moved here. Any recommendations for GOOD QUALITY but INEXPENSIVE surveillance cam, it will need to have night vision and have a range of ***(i was incorrectly stating distance. from my front door to the p/u is 40')*** from the br window is only 20' or less. About 15 ft from my truck is a dust to dawn light that emits a little light from a screw in mercury vapor swirl light. pics are linked just below.

https://imgur.com/a/s5gyf

I appreciate each and everyone of your ideas on how to best to nip this situation in the bud. I did call the apt mgr immediately after this happened. Since it was Sunday afternoon I was not expecting any feedback from the mngr. I hooked up a cheep logitech 250 cam to watch my front door incase she comes to me with more anger. My plan for now is to try and deflate this by staying away from the other side of the building in which the lady lives and since my trash was dumped I have no further need to go that direction until the end of this week and hopefully my apt mgr will have nipped this in the bud. I worry about people putting sugar in my gas or nails under my tires. I grew up in the stlouis area and saw some of that in apts up there. Normally this small town as far as I am aware doesn't have issues along those lines. I worry too much probably. The thing is I have PTSD along with other mh issues, and I try and stay indoors to try and prevent myself from triggering and going in the wrong direction. Again sry for so many typing mistakes and Thank you all.

*I had to edit this multiple times to make up for type o' and am sure I missed a bunch still. also not originally understanding how to use (imgur)
 
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The Original Ralph
only con i had with Blue Iris was it couldn't manage NEST well, but that was because of NEST - over on youtube, there are a couple of videos on how to setup blue iris to manage NEST, and they're only there cause NEST does not want to allow you to record your video feed locally, so they can sell you their storage subscription service - in fact, if you don't subscribe to their cloud storage at the end of the free 30 day subscription, you loose motion alerts and voice comm - not sure what logic they use to justify loosing two features they promote with their camera, but back to point, in both youtube videos, in the comments section, people joke that NEST has a team of engineers dedicated to watching for "work-arounds" that allow 3rd party...
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Ralston18

Ralston18

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Oct 11, 2014
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Will defer any specific camera suggestion to someone else more knowledgeable about such cameras.

However, please consider the "bigger picture".

Did she actually threaten physical violence towards you or your vehicle?

Has she confronted you more than once?

Has she confronted anyone else for any reason(s)?

How has the Apartment Manager responded?

Unfortunately, even video evidence may be of little use if she does do some damage. Odds are she will be "out again" in no time.

First try not wearing the camo cap. Agree that you certainly have the right to do so but let's not (for the moment) throw gas on the flames.

I like camo also but got tired of "anti-hunters", "anti-military", and even "fashion police".

Plus after seeing you few times (with or without camo) she may move on to other targets....

Try to determine if she is truly capable of physical violence to your vehicle or you.

Suggest that you check your auto insurance: verify your vandalism coverage/deductible. Evidence or not, you probably will end up paying for any damage.

Unfortunately, nothing may be possible until she actually does something.

However, the thought crosses my mind that she may be harmless overall and only acting out "verbally".

Could save you the need and costs for a camera. Albeit even an "inexpensive" one.

P.S.

You can post your pics via imgur.

http://imgur.com/









 
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smorizio

smorizio

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Jan 22, 2010
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for the truck you may want look into wifi cam put it in the truck hidden and turn on when you leave. look into your state video and wire recording laws. states like mass are two party states. if yours is one that you can wear a bug and small cam. do that and take the film of her flaking out to the cops and get a restrain order to keep her away. if she keeps it up also call local disable avacote for the town/area they can fill abuse on disable person charges.
 
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Saga Lout

Saga Lout

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Mar 31, 2010
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It's too late once you have photographic evidence of any damage that's already been done. The best answer to your problem is to talk her round. She's the fish out of water and probably doesn't feel comfortable in her new environment.

In your position, I would ask the apartment manager to go with you to her door, you with your cap in hand and quietly explain to her that you're a Veteran and have some disabilitiy issues. You aren't a bad person or a threat to her with or without your cap.

It has to be worth a shot before you spend money you can't spare only to prove some damage that's too late to prevent.

Prevention is always better than cure and if this line fails, at least you did your best.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Mar 16, 2013
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OK...that's about the same distance as my truck is parked at the end of my driveway.
Looking at the monitor right now, I could tell if 'someone' was there, but in no way could I identify. Male, female, young, old...it would be "a person".

These are camera shots I took of the monitor, so it is NOT as clear as the screen actually shows. This is at 0035, so full IR.
jv76AC3.jpg

SOXN91y.jpg


(the weird stripy things are literally spiderweb. They get rebuilt every night...:fou:)

But I agree with the above posts. Cut the problem off at the source. Report her for harassment, get a paper trail going.
But do NOT deny who you are. If you want to wear your camo, do it. I would.

SHE is the one with the problem, not you.
"OK, ma'am. You are entitled to your opinion. Have a nice day." Smile and walk away.
 
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missypooh_1978

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Sep 4, 2017
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i agree with Ralston18. like the other commenter said, to find a security system that will cover up to a 40 ft range will not be inexpensive, even for just 1 camera (and being that your truck would be at the maxed end of that range, the video quality still won't be that great). i would feel her out some more first. i don't know what it was about the camo that set her off (anti-military/hunter/etc), but chances are she's probably just a very opinionated individual, and has no qualms about making her feelings known... especially about things she disagrees with. I've met MANY people like this in my lifetime, and 95% of the time, their bark is definitely bigger than their bite! however, i still wouldn't take her words lightly, always better to be safe than sorry... there's always that other 5% who's erratic behavior doesn't always stop with verbal abuse, so i would definitely remain cautious and keep an eye on her mannerisms when u come across her. i do disagree with Ralston18 on one point, however...i would NOT stop wearing camo. firstly, it is part of who u are, u like it and u wear it for a reason and nobody should be able to censor how u decide to express yourself. also, the only way u will be able to get an honest reason from this woman as to her feelings towards u, is to continue to live, dress, and act as u always have... but maybe not wear any camo from time to time to see if she acts the same towards u as when u do. that way u will know is it u specifically that offends her somehow, or is it just when u wear the camo? also, make sure u pay attention to the intensity of her reactions to the interactions u have with her... if she seems to be getting more verbally aggressive with each interaction, or seems more and more agitated each time she sees u, i would definitely speak with the apartment manager again, and maybe even consider (depending on how nervous or worried u begin feeling around her based on her treatment of u) filing a harassment report with the police department...that way, God forbid, she does get physically violent with u or your property, at least they'll already be aware of her aggressive/abusive verbal behavior towards u.
 
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lonedadsurvivor

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Sep 4, 2017
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I agree with ralston. Take a look at the bigger picture. Maybe you guys can talk it out or sumthn. But if you really feel the need of buying one, maybe you should get one of the wireless cams since setup is easy. We have an arlo pro and it seems to do good at night, you can speak and hear thru the cam itself. You can find other reviews online but this one helped me narrow our choices down. One downside is that it sends too many false notifications every time its sensor is triggered. I hope you get to iron things out with the neighbor though!
 
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The Original Ralph

The Original Ralph

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Sep 14, 2011
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Blue Iris software helped me cut the number of false alerts way down (i've got a NEST) - the nest software doesn't allow for very fine adjustment on motion alerts, BI lets me set "zones" or where i want motion monitored, as well as sensitivity, including the size of the object, ie i didn't want to know about dogs going thru the yard, Fairly easy to set up - also have a smart phone app, but the main PC installed software will send SMS text alerts with a picture of the movement. Now the only false alert i get is at night from a moth the size of the palm of my hand, that is attracted to the IR LEDs and when he's close to the camera, it fools the camera into thinking it's a human

BI also allows me to record the video feed to my computer or a NAS, which NEST wouldn't allow.
 
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lonedadsurvivor

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Wow, that's a relief! Thanks for sharing. I'm pretty worried about the false alarms by my arlos. I think I may need too take a look at blue iris. Any cons you noticed?
 
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The Original Ralph

The Original Ralph

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only con i had with Blue Iris was it couldn't manage NEST well, but that was because of NEST - over on youtube, there are a couple of videos on how to setup blue iris to manage NEST, and they're only there cause NEST does not want to allow you to record your video feed locally, so they can sell you their storage subscription service - in fact, if you don't subscribe to their cloud storage at the end of the free 30 day subscription, you loose motion alerts and voice comm - not sure what logic they use to justify loosing two features they promote with their camera, but back to point, in both youtube videos, in the comments section, people joke that NEST has a team of engineers dedicated to watching for "work-arounds" that allow 3rd party software to manage their cameras, and they write "defeats" into their NEST software. And up to the day that i took my NEST camera down, BI couldn't give me the voice comm, either listening or speaking to a visitor.

Blue IRIS has been great with my Hikvision cameras, and fairly easy to learn & setup - i can't say it gave me better control of the camera than Hikvision's software as Hikvision's was pretty intense in a lot of areas that BI doesn't cover, but once you configure them with Hikvision's, the settings are recorded in the camera so you can literally delete Hikvision's software and just use BI. BI was a little confusing at first as it's a "new landscape" but it didn't take long to figure out, and BI is pretty decent on customer support - i've put in 3 email requests for support while learing the software and all were answered withing 48 hours.

But i'd check if Arlo does something similiar as NEST, ie try to prevent use of 3rd part software - search on youtube for setting it up with blue iris and read the comments, or check the blue iris forum.

If you do buy it, it was about $10 cheaper on amazon than buying from BI direct. One sour note, their smartphone app is sold separately and is $10 on amazon
 
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