Need your help to deal with car vandals

"probablyshoulduseafakename" (probablyshoulduseafakename)
04/05/2016 at 14:10 • Filed to: None

My father parks his car outside (garage is not an option unfortunately) and there’s someone that has been trying to steal the badge for two times in a week, without success. We believe it’s actually someone from the neighborhood, and would really fucking know who this piece of shit is.

Do you have any recommendation for a dash cam that can record even when the car is off, parked? I know nothing about the subject matter, so does such a thing even exist? What would you do?

Any suggestion is much appreciated.

DISCUSSION (44)

RyanFrew > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:12

Do you have a GoPro?

crowmolly > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:13

You might be able to use a trail camera (like hunters use). Good ones turn on with motion and can get a good picture even at night.

MrDakka > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:14

If you have time and money: http://www.instructables.com/id/Autonomous-…

If not, maybe a motion activated dash cam

probablyshoulduseafakename > RyanFrew
04/05/2016 at 14:15

I have a Gopro Hero 1, that i don’t use anymore. i did some research because i wanted to turn it into a surveillance camera, but the cost of a video card + surveillance software exceeded the cost of an actual new surveillance camera kit

jariten1781 > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:17

I'd go for a home security camera, always on floods at night, and a motion activated spotlight unless you can't park in front of the house. Spotlight by itself will scare them off most likely anyway. Car cams that record when parked are unreliable.

probablyshoulduseafakename > MrDakka
04/05/2016 at 14:17

haha, that’s awesome but a little over complicated. i’ll do some research for those.

buford-t-justice > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:20

Bear traps?

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > crowmolly
04/05/2016 at 14:21

Was my first thought.

JGrabowMSt > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:21

Knockoff action cam. All in could cost you less than $100.

There are some very small ones too.

What I ultimately suggest looking at is motion lighting and action cams outside the car in a tree or on a garage or something to look from afar. Most action cams have a time lapse feature that is far more effective. The motion lighting will be more effective than the camera though.

You can also pair most dash cams with a portable battery for overnight operation, just need to keep things dry and safe. Get one of those ridiculous large portable phone chargers and use it to power a dashcam over USB (all of my dashcams have supported being powered by USB. Works wonders, can tuck it into the visor for a stealth and temporary install.

What are they trying to steal the badge off of?

probablyshoulduseafakename > buford-t-justice
04/05/2016 at 14:21

fucking mines, my friend.

Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:21

I have this:

http://smile.amazon.com/Rexing-Dashboa…

It’s not exactly great, but it does the job. You have to upgrade the firmware to get the “advanced” settings which is how the parking monitor is enabled. Trivial to do. The docs don’t mention that step.

Takes just under a second for the thing to wake up and record in HD with a panoramic filed of view. Doesn’t include a memory card and the card from your GoPro is the same size and will work just fine.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:23

M16.

RyanFrew > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:24

You should be able to get about 8 hours of video at 720p on that. Then, you just need somewhat adequate lighting. That’s the cheapest option I can think of. If you want it to stream to your computer or anything like that, you’ll need to go with a more sophisticated option.

probablyshoulduseafakename > JGrabowMSt
04/05/2016 at 14:27

Thanks for the suggestion. i thought about the portable battery too, now i’m doing some research. would you reckon it can record for multiple days with a 64 or 128gb memory card?

Stapleface > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:27

Is he parking on the street or in a driveway? If in a driveway maybe a motion activated light might deter the putz?

If not that, maybe something like putting a note on the car next to the emblem saying you know someone is trying to steal the emblem? And Then set up a video camera on a tripod (from inside the hkuae) aimed towards the car and note they’re on camera? Worth a shot .

'Wägen, EPA LOL > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:28

Hunting cams are motion sensitive...

probablyshoulduseafakename > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
04/05/2016 at 14:28

the want is strong for one of those.

probablyshoulduseafakename > JGrabowMSt
04/05/2016 at 14:29

they’re trying to steal the badge of a porsche macan s

facw > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:30

A lot of dashcams (even cheap ones) do have a motion sensor activated mode the problem of course is do they fire up quickly enough, and does the battery last long enough to record something interesting.

probablyshoulduseafakename > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
04/05/2016 at 14:31

so you use it in video mode or time lapse when the car is parked? can it be powered via a usb battery?

probablyshoulduseafakename > jariten1781
04/05/2016 at 14:34

unfortunately the only spot i could attach the lights is far from an energy socket... i’d have to go with a dash cam

jariten1781 > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:35

Lots of battery powered LED motion sensing spotlights. The el-cheapo Chinese ones are like 15 bucks.

McMike > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:36

What kind of badge is it?

probablyshoulduseafakename > 'Wägen, EPA LOL
04/05/2016 at 14:37

i’m afraid it’ll get stolen..

Tripper > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:38

Even cheap home security cameras have IR night vision that works pretty well from 60ft in

probablyshoulduseafakename > McMike
04/05/2016 at 14:38

It’s a porsche badge. yeah, not the best one to leave parked outside.

probablyshoulduseafakename > jariten1781
04/05/2016 at 14:38

i’ll do some research, thank you

probablyshoulduseafakename > Tripper
04/05/2016 at 14:39

any particular suggestion?

Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:41

Video mode. It has a tiny little built in battery, but an external USB battery would work just fine. I just leave it plugged into my 12v USB dual port adapter (so I can charge my phone too) and it seems to not drain the car battery. It also flags the files recorded due to the parking monitor as “do not delete” so you don’t accidentally lose them. You have to unflag them to delete them. It also comes with a GPS receiver and some nifty software. I can’t say I’ve spent enough time fooling around with it yet and some guessing and testing is involved. The included documentation was my main problem, as the code on the camera was updated and the included nicely printed glossy docs were not, so I chased my tail a bit. However the website works and the docs match the code there. It’s being rapidly developed and new features added constantly which is a blessing if you know how to use the unit, but if you go off the supplied docs it’s a bit of a curse.

The Dummy Gummy > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:44

Set it inside the car.

probablyshoulduseafakename > RyanFrew
04/05/2016 at 14:45

i’m not necessarily searching for the cheapest option, just the one that works the best. thanks for your suggestion though

McMike > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:45

That’s a shame, I was hoping it would be something like this so this suggestion would work.

Kinja'd!!!

'Wägen, EPA LOL > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 14:56

Put it in the car, inside the front/back window.

probablyshoulduseafakename > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
04/05/2016 at 14:58

thanks a lot for your suggestion. might actually buy it.

probablyshoulduseafakename > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
04/05/2016 at 15:01

one last thing. how’s the video quality at night?

Tripper > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 15:14

What is your budget? Most systems come with 4 cameras and a DVR (which you need if you want to record). You can buy a DVR and a camera separately for around $100. Just an FYI cheap DVRs (even some spensive DVR’s) are a pain to configure if you’re technically inclined.

Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 15:20

It claims that it’s quite good but I honestly cannot speak from experience. I’d imagine from the quality of the daytime low light video I have watched that it does good work.

Also, one other thing — you can set it to start auto recording two ways. One is if ~75% of the field of view changes, just like a hunting cam. The other is the parking monitor where is detects shock. For your purposes, I’d enable both.

It also is super easy to mount. Double sided 3M tape for a “hook” mounted on your windshield and the cam clips to that. Removing the 3M tape will require a razor blade and some goo gone or lighter fluid or whatever you’ve got but it’s easy to put in and easy to remove.

If you use it for driving the GPS will record a bunch of info and if you use their software you can apparently export your drives with performance data to google maps or something. I haven’t explored that yet. I bought it as I’ve been hit twice while parked and whoever does it next is getting slapped with a hit and run. Your needs and mine overlap almost perfectly. There does seem to be some fun stuff though if you have the inclination to fool around with it.

LOREM IPSUM > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 15:23

If I were fortunate enough to own a Porsche and found that someone had been repeatedly attempting to vandalize it, I would 100% positively be sleeping in it, armed, awaiting their return.

Being an Suv it means there’s more than enough room to remain comfy while doing so. Also enough room for a roll of black and white poly to wrap the body in so it doesn’t leak onto the carpeting while transporting it to the nearest body of water.

Ok, kidding on that last part. Sorta.

probablyshoulduseafakename > LOREM IPSUM
04/05/2016 at 15:32

dude, i’ve been fantasizing stuff like that for a while. it really does make me angry as fuck.

probablyshoulduseafakename > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
04/05/2016 at 15:34

i don’t think both of those modes would be useful. i’m trying to identify a guy that walks up to the front hood and tries to steal the badge, so it’s not 75% of the fov, and there are no g forces to detect.

how many hours of 1080p video can it film with a 128gb card?

Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 15:43

It loops the recording unless you hit a button to save that loop and then it starts a new one. If it’s triggered by shock — someone trying to pull a badge would for sure set it off — it won’t record over it until you unflag it so it can be erased. So you can use a much smaller card, no problem. I have 32g and it seems like overkill.

You’re probably right about the FOV but if it’s a couple teenagers or a big enough guy that close it’ll probably set off the motion detection. Might not go off but who knows. I’ve got security cams that work the same way, theoretically, around my home and I get a lot of false alerts from neighborhood cats walking by. Doesn’t seem like it’s all that discriminating really. I’d bet it would trigger if it someone going for a hood badge from being right in front of the camera, and if they yank at the badge it’ll record for sure.

Danger > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 16:43

Record it, and give it to the cops, stay up all night with your cell phone camera ready to confront them, or don’t do anything.

Do a little research on the legal term “Lying in Wait” before you decide to bash the vandal’s brain in. Posting about it online doesn’t help a hypothetical future legal situation either. It may be satisfying, but not worth getting in real trouble for.

JGrabowMSt > probablyshoulduseafakename
04/05/2016 at 18:37

Most dashcams only support 32gb which works out to like 8-10 hours at lower resolutions.

probablyshoulduseafakename > JGrabowMSt
04/05/2016 at 18:45

I’ve found one called mini 0806, which has two micro sd card slots and is capable of 128gb*2, which is quite awesome