When we say cheap home security, it is meant in an optimistic manor whereby affordability and availability to the masses is the key issue.
You will be surprised at how much apparatus you will get for your money at present. If you want to talk money, I would say that 300 to 500 pounds would buy you some very good kit including a good spec DVR with 4 Internal/External cameras with Infrared.
So where do we begin to put together your cheap home security system?
Stage 1 - Decide how many cameras you need
Do the cameras have to be internal or external and is infrared required? Most of the CCTV cameras set up these days are available for external use with infrared bundled as standard and lots of companies are offering a bundled deal of 2 to 8 cameras with a DVR for a very sensible price.
Our recommendation is to try and buy like this if you require numerous cameras for your cheap home security system.
Stage 2 - Decide what sort of DVR (Digital Video Recorder) you need
There are so many diverse options on the market our advice is to keep it simple. At least that is if you want your cheap home security system to stay cheap!
A simple 80GB hard drive is a fine start and you will get around 7 days of continuous recordings on this dependant on the resolution settings that you have configured.
Some drives come with various backup options for you to transfer your recordings on to including CD burners, USB inputs and Ethernet ports for backup to your PC.
Obviously an integrated CD burner is a fantastic option but can push the price up a tiny bit. That said, the home user doesnt tend to want to look back over months of video recording so the DVR on a 7 to 30 day loop suits most users perfectly.
This means that when a Hard Drive in the DVR becomes jam-packed the system will simply loop and start recording over the oldest footage again. In effect this is a really popular option and the most convenient cheap home security setup.
Stage 3 - Your Accessories
So you have chosen the best cheap home security equipment for your needs and are ready to buy. Dont forget the accessories! You need to ensure that you have enough coax cable to run to the cameras to begin with.
You can purchase this in pre terminated lengths with all the compulsory connectors on the end or if you are feeling up to it, you can crimp the ends with the BNC heads yourself. You will need the correct tools to do this though.
Also keep in mind that we are one of the only sites to go in to detail about the benefits of wiring with CAT5 cable as this will negate the need for a local power supply by every camera.
Check if the cameras all come with the power adaptors and all come with the wall mounting kits. make sure your DVR has a VGA out put.
This will allow you to see the cameras through a standard PC monitor which you can pick up really cheaply. If it doesnt there are small converters that you can buy to do the work.
