Door Monitoring and Control with Internet CCTV, Part 1

January 4th, 2021

Because internet CCTV cameras are intelligent, as opposed to the “dumb” traditional CCTV cameras, you can use them to see your property from wherever you are in the world, over the internet.  That, however, is just the start.  By joining these cameras to simple alarm and control circuits, they can be used to monitor and control doors. 

Seeing your home, business, or family from the other side of the world is amazing enough, but wireless internet CCTV cameras can do so much more than even this impressive feat.  Most of the best of this type of camera that your provider offers in , will have a digital input/output port, or I/O port, that allows the camera to be connected to electrical circuits.  The two input connectors on the port can be used to monitor an alarm circuit and trigger an alarm as I will explain.

The input connectors can be wired to each end of a so-called alarm circuit that in reality is nothing more than an unbroken loop of low-voltage wire, connected to, say, a pair of magnetic door contacts.  These are a standard part of any alarm system, but for those of you who have not come across them, you basically get two magnets, with plastic mounts.  One of them has connectors for the two wires of the alarm circuit.  You screw this one with the wires to the door frame, and the other one to the opening door so that they are lined up very close to each other when the door is closed, which keeps the circuit unbroken.  This is known as a “normally closed” or “NC” circuit because in its normal state, the circuit is complete or closed.  When the door is opened, the magnetic contacts separate and the circuit is broken.

The wireless internet CCTV camera will detect when the circuit is broken because there will be a change in voltage at the input connectors and the camera is programmed to raise the alarm when this happens.  So, when the door is opened your camera can send an immediate message across the internet to a central computer.  This computer is programmed to send a text message to your mobile phone, and perhaps an email too – all within seconds of the door being opened.  Of course, if you want this great feature without “getting your hands dirty”, you will need a specialist “internet CCTV” company that can provide you with a camera pack ready-configured to work with your alarm circuit, so you can just plug it in. Contact your local provider in , to learn more.