Security Camera Installation – Handyman Project At Annandale

A customer wanted to visually increase their properties ‘security’ appearance, meaning that they wanted to deter possible thieves by installation of ‘fake’ video cameras. These cameras have become popular in recent years as a way of presenting their home as being ‘high security’ without having to invest in what can be expensive video surveillance systems. 

These cameras generally operate on 3 volts d.c. by way of internal batteries. However, because the cameras are best mounted in high, hard to reach locations, when it comes to changing the batteries it can present a a difficult challenge. Rather than using batteries to power the cameras we decided to run cabling from the camera assembly through the wall of the home and into a low cost low voltage power supply, The power supply was rated at only 10 watts, meaning that the cost of running it for the home owner amounted to only a few dollars per year. More importantly it meant that there would be no requirement to get ladders out to reach the cameras to change the batteries every few months.

The cameras were mounted onto the brick walls, just below the eaves, using ‘star plugs’. These are plugs that are inserted into holes drilled into the bricks by way of a masonry bit in a hammer drill. Once installed and wired up to the low voltage power supply the cameras ‘blink’ by way of a red light emitting diode (L.E.D.) which adds to the ‘authenticity’ of the camera and adds to the visual ‘deterrence’.