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Starbus
Active Member
USA
45 Posts |
 Posted - 09/19/2006 : 06:36:33 AM
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| I have one problem route (has been for 3 years) with students. I think a video camera would be the solution to the problem. What are the + and - of having a camera? What would be a great system to buy? Color vs B&W? Do they have sound? Easy to use. |
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dem84skeeprollinup
Top Member
USA
888 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2006 : 06:44:04 AM
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We have been using real cameras on all of our buses since around 2001 and onour problem routes since the mid 90's.
A basic Silent witness VCR, metal locking case, and a 1 basic camera runs about 980 bucks. |
Do the world a favor and bring back GMC and Ford conventional chassis......
 
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joe_w
Active Member
USA
33 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2006 : 10:45:22 AM
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| Hey dem84skeeprollinup, I was just wondering, is that camera system really worth a grand? Why not a camera from walmart for less than a third? Whats so great about this system? thanks |
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dem84skeeprollinup
Top Member
USA
888 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2006 : 07:33:44 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by joe_w
Hey dem84skeeprollinup, I was just wondering, is that camera system really worth a grand? Why not a camera from walmart for less than a third? Whats so great about this system? thanks
I know that way costs more, but its not my decision. We used to have the old mirror and box system in our buses. we would have 30 boxes and olny 3 or 4 actual cameras, but this has its own pros and cons.
Pros: The home video camera is much cheaper. If you are on a lower budget, you can rotate the actual cameras from bus to bus to keep the kids gueesing, or if you want, put them in al of the buse.
Cons: Only one view. A lot of districts including ours are moving over to multiple camera systems. Also, there has been cases where the video cameras fall out and break due to drivers not latching the boxes shut or extremley bumpy roads.
Its realy up to you which way to do it. |
Do the world a favor and bring back GMC and Ford conventional chassis......
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Thomas Ford 85-16
Top Member
USA
4177 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2006 : 09:19:15 AM
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A lot of bus camera systems are engineered specifically for working in moving vehicles, so that contributes to the cost. Normal consumer camcorders would not be able to record effectively given the vibrations and voltage variations that come with a vehicle, and they might not be able to record as long either. The sound in newer bus camera systems is also more tuned for the noisy environment to pick up on conversations, and that is something a camcorder would be lacking. Most bus systems also record the status of certain bus systems in the camera, such as what lights are on, if the doors are open, etc.
The cameras in the newest buses at my old district had a wide angle view, infrared lighting for night vision, digital recording to a hard drive, and were equipped with GPS that allowed the bus's position and interior to be viewed from the base. I don't know what it cost for our five or so buses that have this system, but I've seen very similar set ups available on websites for about $2000.
A home camcorder would work for the bus, but the extra costs of the industrial systems work to make the recorded product that much better. |
Mike's Bus Yard - http://buses.zwebpages.com - Since 1999
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Brad Barker
Administrator
USA
874 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2006 : 11:48:35 AM
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In my tenure at our district we have used four different types and brands. The first was as was mentioned above, mirror box and roving camera's. It was really a pain since the problem most often occured before we got the camera into the bus. You need to catch it the first time which was most often impossible with this system.
Our second type was the Bus Vision VCR which has a tape that runs whenever the bus is running. It automatically rewinds at the end of the tape and starts recording again. This was a great improvement over the first type but only one camera, the driver had to scan the entire tape to find the incident, tapes break, VCR's need cleaning and service, etc. It was difficult to pick out what was taking place in the back of the bus. The camera's ability to detect and function in low light conditions was poor.
The third type was Bus Vision digital with two camera's. I believe you can have up to six camera's per vehicle if you want. It is a pretty good system but the hard drive has to be pulled each time you want to view incidents. Saving incidents is difficult but not impossible. I find it easiest to print single pictures of say a kid punching another in the face as in example. It is set up with an event marker that marks the time the incident occured. This is activated by the driver. When an incident occurs the driver pushes a button on the side panel. Pushing the button marks the time the incident occured in the stored file which makes it much easier to locate when searching for it.
The forth type and our best and last type, I hope, is the 24/7 Security Inc. system. We use four camera's per bus, black & white, color is available, with three different lens sizes. This system is by far the most user friendly and even with four camera's was cheaper than the Bus Vision model with two camera's. It has mic's in all three camera domes. We use a center dome with two camera's in it and one mic.
This sytem also has the event marker which is programable. When the button is pushed it records so many minutes before the event and so many minutes after the event. This allows you to see what took place leading up to the event. Events can be recovered simply by incerting a USB memory stick into the DVR and turning on the key. You then take the USB memory stick to any computer, plug it in and the events are there to chose from. Events can be save to a CD if desired or printed. Having the four camera's has been great. This allows us to see fronts and backs of all seats and hear the entire bus, the driver and the step well area. Once you are viewing it on the computer you can click any window and it enlarges that camera view to full screen and access the mic for that camera separatly from the rest of the bus. |
Brad A. Barker |
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Starbus
Active Member
USA
45 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2006 : 12:12:54 PM
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| I have decided on a Safety Vision color camera system with 2 cameras and an 80gb hard drive. I am having this installed this week and will test next. Thanks for the info Brad Barker |
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I Am Thinking About Getting a Camera
