The use of video surveillance with cameras in Germany is on the rise, as more and more homeowners and shopkeepers want to protect their belongings. Unfortunately, professional solutions are often very expensive and overloaded with extra functions that are usually not used at all.
In the following we will present a monitoring system from MEGASAT which, despite its comparatively low price, offers all security-relevant features.
The project
Suitable for: Small business, doctor’s office, homeowner, kiosks
Time required: 45 minutes
Price: from 124,95€
What you need: MEGASAT HS-130 camera set, SD card up to 128GB or external hard drive
Prerequisite: Assembly tool, mobile phone/tablet/computer
The “HS 130” camera set from MEGASAT includes everything you need for initial commissioning, except a storage medium:
– monitor
– network adapter
– LAN cable
– Camera HS 30
– power supplies
– mounting material
The surveillance system can operate up to 4 IP cameras simultaneously. You can also use MEGASAT’s in-house app to remotely follow live images from the surveillance camera and access your video footage. This is because the monitor has no internal memory.
The “HS 30” camera included in the set is suitable for outdoor use (protection class IP 55) and only requires the 12V power supply unit supplied as power supply. The camera has several infrared sensors, which makes night mode possible. In addition, the camera records videos in 1080p and sends them encrypted to the monitor. The system offers even more features, such as an alarm mode or a hotspot function, which can be configured individually.
Commissioning and camera connection
First, you must mount the camera in a suitable location. Align the camera so that you have a good view of the area to be monitored – for example, the apartment door, windows or patio doors. You can read about what you need to consider when placing your monitor in order to be on the safe side from a legal point of view in this guide.
Now we can begin with the commissioning. To do this, connect the monitor with the power supply unit to the socket and insert the SD card into the corresponding slot.
Once the monitor is powered up, it will automatically attempt to connect to the supplied camera. If the connection is successful, you will see an image on the monitor. If not, the manual connection must be performed as follow: MenuRecording Settingsmanage SD cardformat and confirm then with “Yes”.
Connect the network adapter to the monitor. You can then connect the camera to the monitor using the LAN cable. The path to it is: MenuSystem SettingsAdd CameraAdd Camera.
While the pairing is in progress, the blue LED on the monitor blinks to indicate that the camera is in pairing mode. Once the serial number of the camera is displayed, the pairing was successful and you can now exit pairing mode. You can perform the same steps for connecting additional cameras.
According to the manufacturer, the distance between the monitor and the surveillance camera should not exceed 300m. Otherwise, the camera can be connected to the monitor via your network. You must use a LAN cable in addition to the power supply.
Saving and Playing Back Video Recordings
The monitor can only store video surveillance footage on the SD card if it has been formatted in FAT32. To do this, follow this path: MenuRecording Settings.Manage SD CardFormat and confirm with “Yes”.
The process takes about 10 seconds, then confirm with “Ok”.
Now you can return to the main screen. You should see a red dot in the upper right corner of the camera images. If you are using several cameras, please make sure that you also select the other cameras. As shown in Figure 2, the red dots should light up everywhere.
The recorded video material can be evaluated either directly on the monitor or on the computer. For the former, you can select “Video playback” from the menu and access all videos there.
Control video surveillance via app
For remote access via app, you must first integrate the monitor into your home network. Use the supplied network adapter and LAN cable to connect the monitor to your router. Then download the “gooseview” app from the App Store or GooglePlay Store to your mobile device. Once you have started the app, there are two ways to set it up. First try the first option: the automatic connection. If the automatic connection does not work, run the connection manually (described in variant 2).
Variant 1: Connect monitor and camera via the “LAN Scan” function
Here you can add the monitor via “LAN Scan”, the device ID is automatically found via your network. The scanning process may take several minutes.
Variant 2: Manual connection of cameras to the Megasat set
First go to MenuSystem SettingsSystem Information and write down the last ten UID digits.
Open the app and follow the instructions:
Now you can access your monitoring system anytime, anywhere. You can also set up an alarm mode that sends you an SMS when a movement is detected. The setup is described in great detail in the manual, so this How-To does without it.
Conclusion
The monitoring system from MEGASAT offers a solid range of functions at a really fair price. It scores with uncomplicated commissioning and flexible use thanks to smart functions and app access.
