Subscriber Discussion

Would You Sell And Install A CCTV System To Catch Ghosts?

U
Undisclosed #1
May 25, 2015
IPVMU Certified

Ghost hunting is apparently a popular hobby, with media and cable programs galore.

And ghost hunters love CCTV equipment, and not just the cheap stuff either, FLIR cameras are all the rage these days.  Many stores sell esoteric and expensive equipment (EMF detectors, full spectrum cameras, etc) with dubious value for the consumer.

And then they have their own gear too. Take a look at this 'novel' 360 infrared puck light.

 

Maybe it was originally designed to snap into the middle of an icRealtime 720 , but stand alone it will set you back $130.

So, assuming you don't believe that spectrers can be captured by cctv, would you sell, install and consult on a system that you don't believe could ever work for what it's intended to do?

Why or why not?

JH
John Honovich
May 25, 2015
IPVM

This is truly one of the most surreal IPVM discussions ever.

I'd pass. Too small of a job, too big of a hassle - bad combination.

(1)
U
Undisclosed #1
May 25, 2015
IPVMU Certified

Passing just on practical reasons then, no ethical concerns?

JH
John Honovich
May 26, 2015
IPVM

Is this really an ethical issue for the integrator? Now, if an integrator said they have a camera that can detect ghosts, that's an ethical issue. If someone wants to buy a camera to monitor for UFOs, and the integrator did not make any claims about UFO detection performance, how is this an ethical issue for them?

Related, here's the video for that product:

U
Undisclosed #1
May 26, 2015
IPVMU Certified

For sure there's greater and lesser degrees of offense. But let's say your the poor slob that shows up on your first Amazon gig. You clearly haven't done anything wrong since you had no idea. And you just want to string'em up like Christmas lights and get out of there:

Contractor: Ok, where do you want'em?

Hunter: Well, one looking up the staircase, one in the pantry, one in the attic and one under the bed to start. Does that sound right to you?

Contractor: You're the boss!

Hunter: Listen, can you get any of those heatprint cameras you see on the shows? You know where you can see spectral thermal fades?

Contractor: Spectrum or spectral? Yeah, I can get 'em but the prices are out of this world...
Hunter: They work right?

Contractor: Like a charm!

Have any lines been crossed yet?

U
Undisclosed #1
May 27, 2015
IPVMU Certified

I had no idea it was a GhostPro 36-MP multi-imager deal.

just snap in some frickin' laser beams:

Now that's innovation.

The first Paranormic Panoramic ever?

(2)
U
Undisclosed #1
Apr 04, 2016
IPVMU Certified

This is truly one of the most surreal IPVM discussions ever.

Sure, until one of the "big boys" enters the market...

(1)
GC
Greg Cortina
May 26, 2015
I was asked to sell a PTZ for tracking UFO's in the sky. The goal was to aim many in the air and alarm when a UFO was seen and track it. They wanted assurances it would work. End of conversation.
(2)
U
Undisclosed #1
May 26, 2015
IPVMU Certified

Truthful Sales Pitch:

When it comes to detecting real ghosts in the real world, you're not gonna find a better system than FLIR!

(3)
Avatar
Keith Walker
May 26, 2015

Payment in full upfront, no refunds, warranty on defects only (with a ton of stipulations), and all camera adjustments after the initial installation are billable.

If that didn't scare them off (I'm sure there's a ghost joke in there somewhere), then sure. If nothing else, it would provide years of entertainment in retelling the story.

(1)
U
Undisclosed #1
May 27, 2015
IPVMU Certified

An installer looking to earn street cred in this vertical would sell cheap CCD box models from couple years back, and set the manual iris to f/5.6 or darker, max out the Gain and saturation, Sens it up 256x or so, and Voila!, ghosts even in broad daylight!

(6)
BD
Bob Damrau
May 29, 2015

I've a few ghost hunting friend.

They love their thobby often producing interesting site exploration study results.

Like most niches, aligned technology and costs typically outweigh budgetry desires.

LT
Larry Tracy
May 31, 2015

We protect the old Spanish Missions of California and you don't need anything other than cameras with IR to see what I would call un natural events. Smoke or spheres with a blue light radiating in them is common.

Our best video was a camera over one of the original pastors bed and during daytime a shadow the shape of a human comes over the bed and the thick grey blanket folds back smoothly in a triangle and the shadow goes away. Does it different times of the day and different days of the week and never when there is a tourist in the room.

U
Undisclosed #1
May 31, 2015
IPVMU Certified

Other than that are you happy with Arecont? ;)

(6)
LT
Larry Tracy
May 31, 2015

very funny I dont use that stuff

(1)
UI
Undisclosed Integrator #2
Apr 04, 2016

Sure I would.

I sold a CCTV system to a wealthy lady one time who swore that someone was breaking into her home and stealing the magnetic catches off of the kitchen cabinets, LOL.

She called back a week or so later making demands that we move the cameras because they had stopped doing that and now were rearranging the pine cones under the tree in the front yard while she was sleeping.

Turned out her husband was the head honcho at the local Mental Hospital, hows that for irony?

Its not up to me to decide if someone has a need or not, if they request a specific system for a specific task and its legal, I am all for it no matter how silly I may assume it is it can be very important to the buyer.

I go into every deal with a 'open mind' and as a security professional we are here to help.

(1)
Avatar
John Jenkins
May 12, 2018

Just be sure to have a solid SoW.  I see tons of potential for that infamous fantom scope creep in this one.

(1)
U
Undisclosed #3
May 12, 2018

I was going to laugh at your pun, but one of your vertical markets is K-12 educational institutions and you spelled phantom wrong.

(1)
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