chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

i installed a security light yesterday just underneath my cctv camera on the front of my house. as i have nowhere else to park my car at night, it gets parked outside my house on weekends (work nights during the week).

today ive had a call from enviromental health saying ive had three complaints from across the road due to the light, from last night alone. hes asked for me to angle the light down and twiddle with the sensor to make it less erm sensitive.

but the light is angled as far down at the heas will go. the reason for the light in the first place was my camera doesnt get a very good piccy in the dark on a nighttime/weekend when i record my car for vandalism etc.

so basically im gonna have to leave it switched off or face fines/prosecution etc. i asked for the guy to tell me who complained so i could visit them personally and try reseolve it amicabilly. hes not aloud to do that under the confidentiality act.

he said he would be back in a week unless more complaints are made, in which he would them go to the peoples houses and sit in the room(s) worst affected by the light.

its only a 300w halogen security light. £20 from b&q, but the light cant be dimmed. the only things that can be changed is, when its set to be activated depending on darkness, the time its on when activated, and an overide button to leave it on permanently.

im not looking for arguments with my neighbours, and totally understand from their side, but i need to protect my car, and i have no other alternative then to park it outside my house.

can anyone suggest another way of getting some sort of light onto my car (bareing in mind lamposts are at a minimum on my street), without annoying/upsetting my neighbours. the main reason is so i get a decent qulaity picture on my cctv camera when recording in the dark.

any suggestions please? for now ive unplugged the light permanently, its just on show for deterring possible vandals.

andy

scoobynewbie72

iTrader: (1)

sounds daft but have u put the bracket on right, The light should be able to be pointed directly down which shouldnt cause any light polution.

Bug Eyed Peas

It will be set off by any passing person or vehicle as the sensor will pick up movement. So I don`t know how you will be able to satisfy the local community without flashing your light.
One solution, tell your neighbours to shut their curtains .
Anyway I would be glad that my neighbour has added extra security to the neighbourhood,
Owt what distracts thieves is a good idea IMO.
As for the solution, someone will be able to help.

Ant

Bug Eyed Peas

P.S Could you buy an infra red one?

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

yep, took me a while yesterday to wire everything up, and it was all installed correctly. the head only angles so far down. dunno what to do, unless i remove it and re-install further down...

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

it has an infre red light on it, but isnt very good in the dark. see a little bit, but the street is lit errible, so theres never any light bouncing off the car to refect it better on the camera.

im soo pished off, as i had to fork out £100s to get the scratches removed last time - pre camera

the camera itself acts as a very good visual deterrant, but im worried if someone still tries it one night and doesnt see/take notice of the camera. i record the goings on, but the police cant prosecute (chocolate_o_brian can recognise and dish out his own punishement i mean), because of a terrible night picture, im fooked.

scoobystiv8

On the light bracket there is a lug to stop the light being angled to extremely, bend the lug flat and adjust the light so the top edge of the sensor is diagonally in line with the roadside edge of your car. No more light pollution beyond the required area and less false alerts. Could also reduce the light/bulb size to 150W other option is to use a light which has a more focused light pattern, and is partially covered except for direct view.

scubasteve

Remove the glass lense and paint the top two inches with high temp black paint this should dim the excess light that passes over your drive but leave your car fully lit.

if thats no good remove the bulb and fit an electric powered air horn to the terminals so instead of light you get noise then see what they say

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

can try it, but i doubt i can get into the lug without destroying something.

Flaps

iTrader: (1)

Not having much luck with your neighbours are you mate! Did you resolve the issue about the guy parking infront of your house all the time?

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

not really. ive noticed he sells cars from his rear drive to the back of the house, so im just gonna attck one, one night in a drunken rage. ******.

scoobystiv8

Other option would be to fit a couple of sodium lights, and then atleast it would be permanent daylight.
Hence no more problems.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

tryed adjusting the lug to no avail. no idea what to do now... play the wating game until the car is vandalised by jealous ***** again.

thats funny one of the guys across the road just turned up and gave me a rather sheepish guilty look.

mac12

mine is parked on the drive but the drive is at the side of the house so when your in the house you can't see the car.so i installed a security light in november, then on christmas day 10 oclock at night i got a knock on the door from one of the nighbours from over the road complaining about the light coming on all the time.
i could understand it getting on peoples nerves but to knock on the door on christmas day,plus he never has any of his curtains drawn there always wide open im sick of him trolling about with his fat belly hanging out.(get a shirt on fatboy and shut you curtains)
anyway didnt tell him what i really thought i had to angle the light right down as fare as it would go and park the car tight to a wall right underneath it,then i had to put some insulation tape over half of the sensor to stop it gong off unless someone comes rigt up to the car door.
no complaints since but there was no way i was taking it down so some bag head can try and rob my car.

scoobystiv8

Only real option left is to change the fitting to something like this Hi-Lo PIR Floodlight 150W - Screwfix.com, Where The Trade Buys
The pir can be angled to cover a more confined space. Also the light is not as visible unless looking directly at it due to the shroud design.
As for the neighbours, just start having subaru club meets at your house and then they will be that hacked off about that, they will forget about the lights.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

believe it or not, thats the actual light i have. but in 300w format.

FLAT ERIC

iTrader: (1)

What height have you got it at? Optimum height for least light overspill is 2.5m.

If you have angled the head as far down as it will go the only way to tilt it further is to make up an angled spacer to put between the lamp & the wall.

Depending on what area you have to cover if you tape off the top half of the sensor it will reduce the number of triggerings. Trial & error will show how much to mask & still give the sensor enough reach to cover all round the car.

Mark

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

If you want something to really give them to moan about, I have a 1.5kw floodlight in the shed

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

i personally think theyre being petty. my next door neighbour has just commented and thinks its a good idea me having this light on outside. he couldnt believe i had three complaints, and agreed it was either pettyness, or jealously as i have a pretty red car. my streets full of ********* - thats my conclusion. no matter what i try they will complain. i just need another way to shine light on my car...

explore

he means a ir light with a ir bulb (emits red light which isnt very bright the the human eye) but your cam should pick it up fine and should light up your car and most of your road if you get a good one, no one should moan then lol
even the cheapest cctv cameras should pick up a goo amount of ir light.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

this one cost me £80 from b&q. has a little red light near the lense, but doesnt pick much up.

andy

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

heres a pic i just took of my little set up.

Microstar

The little red light is a warning light - its not an infra-red lamp!

The imaging devices in these cameras are made out of silicon, and silicon imagers are very sensitive to infra-red light (which is invisible to the human eye).
Get yourself an infra-red lamp and you can have it on permanently. It will be invisible to the human eye (i.e. it will look dark outside) but you'll get a good picture from your camera.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

it says on the box, that the little red light is for enhanced night time vision, even though it does **** to the picture.

any ideas on where i can get an infra red camera from, and if someone vandalised my car could i use the evidence to prosecute.

Microstar

You don't need an infra-red camera - your exisiting camera will work, you just need an infra-red lamp.
Evidence from your camera could be used - depends what it is. E.g. if you could get a number plate recorded or some 'unique identifying feature' then it would be used by the police.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

ah ok, so i would replace the halogen lamp, and install the infra red one in its place. makes sense. but can you explain to a dummy, how the infra red lamp improves the picture of the camera. i apologise but i dont geddit.

andy

Microstar

Your camera is obviously sensitive to visible light (that the human eye can see), but it is also sensitive to infra-red light (that the human eye can't see).
If you illuminate your car with infra-red light your camera will pick the 'invisible' light up and give a picture on your monitor. Infra-red imaging is the kind of technology used by the millitary for night-vision. If you look at the big CCTV cameras fitted on industrial buildings you'll notice that they often have infra-red bulbs mounted either side of them.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

ah so when you have said infrared lamp mounted up and its switched on, you dont see anything, just little red leds? or the similar if you follow me. i think this may be a solution, as i could probably blag b&q into taking the light back if i unwire it and pick up a infrared one from ebay or somewhere.

any ideas on a strength as i need it to work over say 10-20 metre diamter from my wall.

Microstar

Here is some info on night-vision CCTV (these are complete cameras with infra-red lamps built in):

CCTV Cameras, CCTV Systems, CCTV DVR, Security Camera, CCTV Accessories

Here are some infra-red floodlamps built using LED's - these should work with your presenet camera:

Outside Infrared Illuminator

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

some good stuff there. lamps are pricey, but im not fussed about that for the sake of keeping my car safe and protected at least. think il try go for a decent range infrared lamp, see how it goes.