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Ask Slashdot: Video Monitors For Areas That Are Off the Grid?

An anonymous reader writes "I have a cottage at the end of a long dirt road, no electricity nor internet, and recently some (insert expletive here) wads are using the area as a trash dump: countertops, sofas, metal scraps, tvs — all the stuff they don't want to pay to dump at the landfill. I can't block the road because it's a fire access. But I would really like to have a way to catch who is doing this. Are there any a) waterproof, b) self-contained, c) self-powered, and (ideally) d) inexpensive video-recording units out there? Are there any other creative ways to get the guys? I was thinking of something like a device that will cycle, so that the last week of video is recorded. It could take photos or video, and as long as it's small enough that I could camouflage it well, I suspect I'd be able to figure this out soon. And any idea of what my legal rights are to videotape or record?" Hunters have been doing this for years (with film, and now digital) to figure out prey patterns with cameras that are built for concealment; what else would you recommend?

3 of 340 comments (clear)

  1. Do you have a sign? by rollingcalf · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's possible that the more recent dumpers don't even know they're not supposed to dump there; after seeing junk already piled up some may assume that it's a legitimate dumping ground.

    A sign or two saying something like "PRIVATE PROPERTY NO DUMPING" might help, if you don't already have a sign like that which is being ignored.

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    There is inferior bacteria on the interior of your posterior.
  2. Re:Deer cams by samkass · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Or go the opposite route... buy a bunch of empty "surveillance camera" big white cases and install them prominently near a big "No Dumping" sign. Probably a lot cheaper.

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    E pluribus unum
  3. Re:Deer cams by Dishevel · · Score: 4, Insightful

    More to the point. Why not just post the signs all over and skip the cameras.
    If it works then you save money. If not then you can put in the cameras.

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    Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?