Looking for some hardware advice here - I am aware about the legalities etc but want to install some form of listening equipment in a bedsit property that I let out to students.
A couple of possibilities - a sound recorder in a loft (there is only a thin piece of plasterboard separating the loft from the room so recording quality should be good). This could be plugged in to the mains to give extended battery life & I could access it every month or so. Possibly voice activated or just run for a long time.)
Another possibility is installing a covert piece of equipment such as a mains adaptor or plug socket that has a built in mike and sim card so that I could dial in. A few companies sell this sort of thing.
Any ideas as to equipment?
Advice needed
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- Member
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- Joined: 12 Nov 2006 04:11
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Re: Advice needed
Hypothetically speaking:
I'd go to a garage sale or two and get some old, beat-up furniture and stuff (including your device). When they move in, let them know some stuff is from the prior renter, some stuff you picked up at garage sales. Let them toss anything they don't want. They'll want it all. If it's ever found, you don't remember if it was from a previous tenent or one of items you bought from the last tenent.
I'd go to a garage sale or two and get some old, beat-up furniture and stuff (including your device). When they move in, let them know some stuff is from the prior renter, some stuff you picked up at garage sales. Let them toss anything they don't want. They'll want it all. If it's ever found, you don't remember if it was from a previous tenent or one of items you bought from the last tenent.
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- Knight
- Posts: 1043
- Joined: 20 Dec 2005 23:06
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Re: Advice needed
I have been thinking about this type of setup, or the idea of 'big brothering' my house... the way I would do it is:
Add 'trim' pieces where the wall and ceiling meets (a small wood piece running the full length of the ceiling, all the way around the rooms). You can then add whatever electronics you want as you install it (drill small holes in the trim and mount electronics before installing to the wall). and run the wires where they can be hidden behind the trim piece. Much easier than trying to run wire behind walls, etc (plus if done 'tastefully', can add to decor of the room!).
Only drilling required would be one small hole through the wall of target room to the other side, where you could use more trim pieces to conceal the wiring. For my application, I would route all wires to a central DVR/recorder hub.. but for you.. I would probably invest in one of the semi-high end (read $300-500) a/v transmitter in the 5-10watt range, preferably mounted near the roof (and weather resistant).
For power to the electronics, either look into the y-cables that split power to security cameras (run around $4 each I think) or a complete 12v splitter box (downside is they run higher $$ and require a pretty good knowledge in electricity as you must splice this directly into the main or a wall outlet). If you use the Y-adapters, you could just use an existing wall outlet, but would have to be out of the way (read hidden/concealable) and plug a regular ac/dc converter for the appropriate voltage, then split it from there and run wires to the electronics under the trim. The main unit splitter would be routed the same, but instead of just a voltage regulator, it looks like a fuse box type of unit and would need to route wires in similiar fashion (hidden) to the electronics. Another option would be to use the 'base boards' along the bottom of each room instead... may be easier to install and less obvious, but also may not pick up as many sounds as a higher-placed (ceiling) setup.
Personally, I would avoid 'wireless' transmitters in each room as they are pretty shoddy, unpredictable performance and horrid quality from my experience. Unless you are willing to use a commercial unit (the little clip on ones used in news, tv, music industry that run about 1k for low-end), I would avoid individual wireless audio units altogether.
Just remember, for a 'permanent' install such as this.. 99% of the difficulty is hiding the equipment/wires and making it look 'natural'. Even something as simple as a hollowed out smoke detector with electronics inside placed near the ceiling could look suspicious if a person sees some conduit running from it straight to an ac/dc converter plugged in the closest wall outlet. If this is your property, I would not be afraid to cut some gouges in the drywall to run wires and then re-plaster/paint over (also considering that myself).
For equipment, I would choose:
- Cardoid mics: small/easy to conceal, can hard wire using standard 12v power
- Power cables: I would probably make my own using the smallest guage wire available from radio shack. Much easier to conceal and cheaper than the 'standard' a/v power cable you would get from any online security store.
- Audio cables: Standard generic stereo cable from radio shack, can get 25 foot lengths (spliced together if needed) for around $5/ea
- Power converter: depends on your preference, either one ac/dc converter plugged into wall outlet and spliced using 12v y-adapter
- Recorder: I would go with a basic DVR. These are mainly used for home security camera setups, but have pretty good audio capabilities. Reason I would choose this route is they use a standard computer hard drive, can be set to continuous loop (will recorder over old material once the hard drive is full), can usually record anywhere from 24-96 hours straight before hard drive is full (depending on capabilities of recorder and size of the drive you use), and they run pretty cheap ($150-300 for a decent 4-channel recorder).
- Transmitter: Here is where my experience runs a little thin. I only have used the small audio transmitters and have not experimented with any of the 'long range' ones seen on the internet. From what I have read, some claim up to 15-30 miles (line of sight), which would probably be closer to 1/4 mile in an urban type setting, due to buildings in the way, electronic interferance, etc. Most of the 'long range' ones I have seen are only 2-channel (meaning you could only transmit mics from that unit), so you may need more than one depending on how many mics you are using. Not sure how far you need to transmit (read how far away the place you live is), but this will also be a factor. No use in setting up all the equipment if you cannot get a decent reception! I would suppose if you are willing to sit and 'stake out' the place, you could use a makeshift mobile type setup for your car, but that would require real-time monitoring and whatnot. Personally, I would rather put the time in beforehand with a good setup and be able to monitor from the comfort of my own place rather than have to stand watch after. Whichever transmitter you choose, just be sure to mount it at the highest possible location, on the outside of the property (ideally roof area or close to it at the top). If you just place it in an attic, chances are you may get zero reception, or at best very poor quality.
Annywho.. just my 2 cents.. good luck and let us know how it goes!
Add 'trim' pieces where the wall and ceiling meets (a small wood piece running the full length of the ceiling, all the way around the rooms). You can then add whatever electronics you want as you install it (drill small holes in the trim and mount electronics before installing to the wall). and run the wires where they can be hidden behind the trim piece. Much easier than trying to run wire behind walls, etc (plus if done 'tastefully', can add to decor of the room!).
Only drilling required would be one small hole through the wall of target room to the other side, where you could use more trim pieces to conceal the wiring. For my application, I would route all wires to a central DVR/recorder hub.. but for you.. I would probably invest in one of the semi-high end (read $300-500) a/v transmitter in the 5-10watt range, preferably mounted near the roof (and weather resistant).
For power to the electronics, either look into the y-cables that split power to security cameras (run around $4 each I think) or a complete 12v splitter box (downside is they run higher $$ and require a pretty good knowledge in electricity as you must splice this directly into the main or a wall outlet). If you use the Y-adapters, you could just use an existing wall outlet, but would have to be out of the way (read hidden/concealable) and plug a regular ac/dc converter for the appropriate voltage, then split it from there and run wires to the electronics under the trim. The main unit splitter would be routed the same, but instead of just a voltage regulator, it looks like a fuse box type of unit and would need to route wires in similiar fashion (hidden) to the electronics. Another option would be to use the 'base boards' along the bottom of each room instead... may be easier to install and less obvious, but also may not pick up as many sounds as a higher-placed (ceiling) setup.
Personally, I would avoid 'wireless' transmitters in each room as they are pretty shoddy, unpredictable performance and horrid quality from my experience. Unless you are willing to use a commercial unit (the little clip on ones used in news, tv, music industry that run about 1k for low-end), I would avoid individual wireless audio units altogether.
Just remember, for a 'permanent' install such as this.. 99% of the difficulty is hiding the equipment/wires and making it look 'natural'. Even something as simple as a hollowed out smoke detector with electronics inside placed near the ceiling could look suspicious if a person sees some conduit running from it straight to an ac/dc converter plugged in the closest wall outlet. If this is your property, I would not be afraid to cut some gouges in the drywall to run wires and then re-plaster/paint over (also considering that myself).
For equipment, I would choose:
- Cardoid mics: small/easy to conceal, can hard wire using standard 12v power
- Power cables: I would probably make my own using the smallest guage wire available from radio shack. Much easier to conceal and cheaper than the 'standard' a/v power cable you would get from any online security store.
- Audio cables: Standard generic stereo cable from radio shack, can get 25 foot lengths (spliced together if needed) for around $5/ea
- Power converter: depends on your preference, either one ac/dc converter plugged into wall outlet and spliced using 12v y-adapter
- Recorder: I would go with a basic DVR. These are mainly used for home security camera setups, but have pretty good audio capabilities. Reason I would choose this route is they use a standard computer hard drive, can be set to continuous loop (will recorder over old material once the hard drive is full), can usually record anywhere from 24-96 hours straight before hard drive is full (depending on capabilities of recorder and size of the drive you use), and they run pretty cheap ($150-300 for a decent 4-channel recorder).
- Transmitter: Here is where my experience runs a little thin. I only have used the small audio transmitters and have not experimented with any of the 'long range' ones seen on the internet. From what I have read, some claim up to 15-30 miles (line of sight), which would probably be closer to 1/4 mile in an urban type setting, due to buildings in the way, electronic interferance, etc. Most of the 'long range' ones I have seen are only 2-channel (meaning you could only transmit mics from that unit), so you may need more than one depending on how many mics you are using. Not sure how far you need to transmit (read how far away the place you live is), but this will also be a factor. No use in setting up all the equipment if you cannot get a decent reception! I would suppose if you are willing to sit and 'stake out' the place, you could use a makeshift mobile type setup for your car, but that would require real-time monitoring and whatnot. Personally, I would rather put the time in beforehand with a good setup and be able to monitor from the comfort of my own place rather than have to stand watch after. Whichever transmitter you choose, just be sure to mount it at the highest possible location, on the outside of the property (ideally roof area or close to it at the top). If you just place it in an attic, chances are you may get zero reception, or at best very poor quality.
Annywho.. just my 2 cents.. good luck and let us know how it goes!