I have a remote camera install for a neighborhood association. They want to be able to sound an alarm and flash a strobe if the cameras are tampered with. How can I use the alarm I/O on the cameras to achieve this? I'm not an alarm guy so I'm not familiar with using relays and power supplies for external sirens.
Alarm Siren For Camera Tamper
Hello Jason:
Does the camera already have tamper detection, or are you looking to add this? A camera make/model would be helpful if you don't know for sure.
Yes, it has video tamper to trigger alarm when lens is covered.
Hello Jason:
In that case, you can use the output pins to trigger a relay to turn on an alarm or strobe. Our Using Camera Output Power post is a good overview of this method, check that out first and then see what questions you have.
The image below is from that post - you connect the coil of a relay to the contacts on the output ports of camera I/O, and let the camera send a short pulse to the relay to kick on lights or a siren, even 120/220 V or higher (ie: really bright or really loud!)
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