Video Surveillance @ Slip

[SUMB44]

Has anyone implemented video surveillance of their boat while it is in their slip?

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[Salty7]

Yes, Blink system. Very happy with it, has motion sensing, infrared, sound monitoring as well as video. It is on 24/7, texts me and delivers video direct to my phone every time sensors are tripped. I can also spot monitor whenever I choose.

 

[baz]

Yes, Blink system. Very happy with it, has motion sensing, infrared, sound monitoring as well as video. It is on 24/7, texts me and delivers video direct to my phone every time sensors are tripped. I can also spot monitor whenever I choose.

Is this system powered via 110v using shore power ? If so, does it have a backup if shore power disconnected ?

 

[ixlr8]

Yes, Blink system. Very happy with it, has motion sensing, infrared, sound monitoring as well as video. It is on 24/7, texts me and delivers video direct to my phone every time sensors are tripped. I can also spot monitor whenever I choose.

Is this system powered via 110v using shore power ? If so, does it have a backup if shore power disconnected ?

The system is battery powered, and the batteries are rated for 2 years and are easily changed. But it needs wifi access to the internet to get the data/video out. What wifi connection do you have at a marina?
The other question I have, you need to purchase the individual units and they are not that expensive, and there is no monthly fee that I can find. But how is the cloud storage and system maintenance paid for??? Blink is an Amazon company, what data, if any, are they selling to pay for this system?
My neighbor is using the Blink system in both his homes and is very happy with it.

 

[baz]

Jim: The Blink system does require 100-200V.... Thus if shore power disconnected the monitoring system is useless. It also depends on W-Fi which in itself is not totally reliable and subject to 'hacking' by the expert criminal(s). The Blink system requires a reliable 100-200V supply that cannot be compromised by the criminal(s).

Quote from the product's specs...

"Camera Battery: 2 1.5 volt AA lithium batteries. Sync Module Power: 100-200V AC to 5V DC converter included."

"Included in the box
Blink Camera (dependent on quantity selected), Mounting Kit (1 per camera), AA 1.5v Non-rechargeable Lithium Batteries (2 per camera), Quick Start Guide (1), Sync Module (1), USB Cable (1), and Power Adapter (1).

 

[Salty7]

Without giving all the details, because I value my security, I use a wifi hotspot which has rolling 256 bit data encryption, I am told, by a senior engineer at the cellular network, it cannot be hacked. The hotspot has battery backup and will go for about 24 hours without power. Call your cellular provider for wifi hot spot information. The blink battery will power the camera for months, I have the Blink server connected to a battery powered UPS which will keep it live for about 24 hours without power too. Because the power requirements are so low even a small UPS will keep this equipment alive for a long time if the power is out or someone turns it off. There are no fees or charges for Blink data storage.

 

[baz]

Without giving all the details, because I value my security, I use a wifi hotspot which has rolling 256 bit data encryption, I am told, by a senior engineer at the cellular network, it cannot be hacked. The hotspot has battery backup and will go for about 24 hours without power. Call your cellular provider for wifi hot spot information. The blink battery will power the camera for months, I have the Blink server connected to a battery powered UPS which will keep it live for about 24 hours without power too. Because the power requirements are so low even a small UPS will keep this equipment alive for a long time if the power is out or someone turns it off. There are no fees or charges for Blink data storage.

OK... I agree that IF you have a UPS inline with the shore power then if shore power disconnected you will have backup power for the Blink system for some limited time.

Questions:
1) If shore power is disconnected and the UPS kicks in are you notified about this within the 24 hr period you've mentioned ?
2) Note That even UPS integral batteries have a limit life so the UPS battery health needs to be monitored as well.... so is this battery health level also communicated to you for your attention ?
3) Of course the UPS unit also needs to be secured inside the boat otherwise it can be also disconnected as can the shore power connection.

[EDIT]
I posted a question to the Blink company asking... "If the 100-200V supply is disconnected does the Blink system stop functioning ?"

and the response was...

"It will stop functioning."

 

[Salty7]

If the power is disconnected and after a very long period of time the UPS expires the Blink router will go down, it then sends a text message telling me it has been disconnected within minutes of the event. I have taken the time to really dial in the motion sensor correctly, I know right away if someone boards the boat, which is what I am most concerned about. Blink's motion detection is sophisticated with a variety of "sense zones" If I see something improper happening visually I will call marina security who will respond immediately. There are more expensive systems out there which will monitor water in the boat, monitor battery voltage, compartment temperatures etc. What I have is working great for me and is very robust for the price. The Blink camera does also monitor temperature at the location of each camera. I have used UPS systems for many years in a variety of systems, I test the batteries several times a year and always swap them out before their 4th anniversary, the batteries seem to last about 5 years on average.

 

[baz]

If the Blink router goes down how can a text msg be transmitted ? Have you tested this scenario ?

What type of alarm do you get if say a seagull lands on your boat or some other critter ?

Does your boat Ins. Co. provide you with a discount for the Blink alarm system, much like some companies do for having a home security system ?

Don't take my enquiries as being -ive. I'm just assessing the alarm features and reliability covering the various potential weaknesses that may exist. Nothing is perfect, but some alarm/security systems are more perfect than others. An alarm system can indeed alert you to 'trouble' but not necessarily in time to protect you from ultimate theft of possessions.

 

[Salty7]

The Blink router on the boat connects via the internet to the Blink server on land at Blink HQ wherever that is. When the router disconnects from the server it starts timing the disconnect, after a period, about 15 minutes, the server, which is land based, sends the text to notify me the router is disconnected. I was getting false alarms from shadows, not critters landing when I first installed everything. I turned down the sensitivity to prevent those nuisance alarms. I have tested both the router down and sensitivity issues. I haven't checked with my insurance company, my premium is so low because I have two boats I'm afraid to draw attention to how little they charge me. All good questions, you have covered the bases. I put this system together after a break in last winter two boats away from mine. The intruders stole about $8,000 of equipment off that boat, even the batteries and tools plus they did some nasty damage getting in. I took a good look at the marina's video cameras after that and decided I needed to protect myself. So far, so good, I am happy with it. I did try using the marina's wifi system initially and found it far too spurious to be reliable that is why I went with my own hot spot.

 

[baz]

Salty7: Thanks so much for your detailed responses surrounding the Blink setup and what you've done to customize it for your intended use.

This boat security has certainly brought this aspect to my attention and I will admit it has got me thinking about my boat's security.

I feel at this time my Edmonds marina is pretty secure and 'break-ins' that have been recorded by the marina's operations are few.

I'm fortunate to have two boats on my dock that are quite frequently (read this as most days) occupied by their owners (they are retired single people) just toying about with their boats, watching TV programs and what not. Their presence goes a long way for protecting all the boats on the dock from unauthorized intrusions. They walk the dock at times for goodness sake.

The marina's security people walk the docks at least twice a day to check things. Last week I had returned to my slip at dusk with my Nav lights on. I forgot to turn them off when I left. Just as I was leaving in my car the marina's Operations office called me about the Nav Lights. This tells me they are keeping a diligent eye on things.

The most vulnerable security risk IMO at my marina would be criminals arriving by water down the fairways.

BTW... I've viewed the La Conner marina adjacent to the Skagit Marina and did see that it's quite open and has locked gates. However, it seemed to me to be a little exposed with trees and bushes hiding the view of the gates. There's a large car parking lot adjacent to the gates and suspect this can be used by criminals without being open to question. I also wonder if the docks are walked occasionally by the marina's security folk (do they have them?). Is the marina well lit at night time?

 

[Salty7]

I agree, having people present on their boats is an important deterrent to thieves. However, I think it is essential to introduce yourself and make sure there is a conversation about your boat and how you appreciate them being there and keeping an eye on things, many folks are there but really not paying any attention. I have traveled extensively up and down the west coast from Canada to Mexico and theft is a reality in many marinas. I was in La Conner for several years, never had a problem there. I was on my boat in Long Beach California and woken up one night about 2:30am by someone wandering around the cockpit attempting to steal my bbq and rummaging through a cooler. Just because someone is around does not mean a brazen thief won't try to steal from you. This character had arrived by dinghy and fled in it when I turned all the lights on. If I had the cameras then I have now the police would have a good picture of him. The recent problems were in Cap Sante and they have excellent security with constant patrols, good lighting and cameras everywhere. I think the bottom line is anything you can do to make a thief think twice before acting is worth doing.

 

[PlanetoSea]

Hello Salty7,

I like the idea of using Blink cameras as well. My question is how did you mount the camera(s)? Are you using just one for the cockpit, or more than one? Thanks!

 

[Salty7]

The exterior rated cameras come with mounting brackets which are very easy to mount. I was concerned initially that the cameras might fall as the mount retains the camera with friction. I have used the boat extensively in all types of weather conditions and the cameras have not moved. I started with one camera and was very happy with the system, I decided to add a second camera just in case the battery on one camera goes down. By the way, the Blink router on the boat can be powered by a USB port so AC power is not necessary to keep the router online.

 

[PlanetoSea]

Great info—thanks. I got two as well. Did you screw the mount bases into one of the boat surfaces, or flat mount the base with adhesive/tape/Velcro or something similar? Thanks again!

 

[Salty7]

I screwed the brackets to the boat, if I remember correctly, there is just one center screw for each bracket. I used a stainless screw. I have never had good luck with Velcro or tape in high temperature environments, Kiki gets pretty warm inside when locked up in the summer. The installation was really easy, the setting of motion sense areas and pointing the cameras takes a little fiddling about but the end result is well worth it.

 

[PlanetoSea]

Thanks again for the info! I did the same and just mounted them. Very happy with the setup and results so far.

 

[Salty7]

Glad to hear it is working well for you. I couldn't be happier with Blink myself, it is a great system for a very reasonable price.

 

[salbrent]

How is the night time or low light video quality?


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[PlanetoSea]

Night and low light have both been really good. If I could figure out how to include an image here, I’d post a couple for you, but not sure how to do that on this forum.