Picture-in-Picture Shows You Who's at the Door

Posted April 18, 2004

Picture-in-Picture Shows You Who's at the Door By Bill Simpson

I have always been security conscious and would like know who is at my door before I open it. So with X10 products, I was able to set up a system that would announce the arrivial of someone at my door by giving me a picture on my television.

I set up the X10 camera on the front porch in an enclosure that I constructed to hide the camera. The camera was mounted on a Ninja, so I could scan the area by utilizing a motion detector and a VCR Commander II. I programed the VCR Commander to turn on the picture in picture on the T.V. I set the "record" and "stop" on the VCR Commander for the "pip" control with the remote for the T.V. I also set up a X10 control for the porch light to come on when the camera is turned on by the motion detector.

Now anytime someone comes to the front of my house while I'm watching the television, the picture-in-picture will come on and show me what the camera sees in the front of my house. I can then use the Ninja to scan the area. After there is no longer any motion detected, the "pip" (picture in picture) will go off. I can also just click the camera on at any time by use of a X10 remote control, to look around the front of the house .

To act as a burglar deterrent while I am away, I set up a VCR Commander for my CD player to play a sound clip of dogs barking when the motion detector is activated. I simply set the VCR Commander record function with the "CD" command for the CD player remote and set up the "stop" function with the "CD" command again to turn it off. As with the VCR, I always leave the power on for the CD player.

This works very well and I always know who is at my door.

Thanks X10,
Bill Simpson
SPYCAM ---

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