Blink cameras - any good?

[philip964]

I have the older cameras that are not rechargeable. The batteries last about 4 months, are expensive, but are easy to change out if they are magnet attached.

https://www.batteryjunction.com/rcr123a.html

cool thanks

[philip964]

I like them. They are good cameras, cheap and easy to setup. They work good and record sound as well. As Flightmare said the minimum retrigger time is 10 seconds but I just lengthened the record time to 30 seconds. That seems to get most of the action.



I have the one front camera pointed straight down to capture what is going on at the door. I have another one that captures the view coming up my walkway.

These images look real good. My outdoor are the older Arlo which are only 720P. These are Blink right. Are they weatherproof, fully wireless?

Does Blink give you any free cameras or do you have to subscribe for the first one. This would give me the option for more outside, I would like to cover the street which is the only area I am blind to.

[Syntyr]

I like them. They are good cameras, cheap and easy to setup. They work good and record sound as well. As Flightmare said the minimum retrigger time is 10 seconds but I just lengthened the record time to 30 seconds. That seems to get most of the action.


I have the one front camera pointed straight down to capture what is going on at the door. I have another one that captures the view coming up my walkway.

These images look real good. My outdoor are the older Arlo which are only 720P. These are Blink right. Are they weatherproof, fully wireless?

Does Blink give you any free cameras or do you have to subscribe for the first one. This would give me the option for more outside, I would like to cover the street which is the only area I am blind to.

Phillip,

Blink, aka amazon.com, says the cameras are weather proof but mine, while outside, are under my roof line. They are sealed really tight and look to be weather proof I just dont have any personal experience with them out in the rain.

Yes they are fully wireless. They operate over wifi and connect to their own hub controller. When you purchase a kit it generally comes with 2 cameras and 1 hub. The hub connects to your wifi router and the cameras connect to the hub. The cameras run off of batteries. I have had mine for 3 months and so far no battery change or recharge.

The package cost is the only cost you will have. There are no subscription fees or recurring costs. You get some storage for free. I have had 20+ 30 second clips in my online storage and was using about 4pct of my storage allocation.

Amazon has different packages but the basic one has 1 hub plus 1 outdoor camera. Right now selling for 77 bucks down from the normal 129.

EDIT
I just checked and they are also offering a free 3rd generation echo dot voice control for free when you buy the base package for 77 bucks. If you are interested in that... I dont work for amazon I just buy lots of their stuff...

[eureka40]

What does the echo dot do? Not sure I understand. Thanks.

[bblhd672]

What does the echo dot do? Not sure I understand. Thanks.

Spies on you

[Syntyr]

What does the echo dot do? Not sure I understand. Thanks.

It is the Alexa voice control you probably have seen on TV. Plays music, gives you weather, traffic, jokes can read audible books etc. If you buy wemo or other brand switches and wall outlets it can control lights, fans, security systems etc.

[philip964]

What does the echo dot do? Not sure I understand. Thanks.

It is the Alexa voice control you probably have seen on TV. Plays music, gives you weather, traffic, jokes can read audible books etc. If you buy wemo or other brand switches and wall outlets it can control lights, fans, security systems etc.

You say Alexa show me the front door and Alexa will display what the camera is seeing at the front door. But this requires some set up. First you have to remember what you called all the cameras. I will try and get this set up after Christmas with my TV. Right now I think you need an Alexa Show or the Alexa Spot to see what the cameras are seeing. The Alexa dot would probably only give you audio since it only has a speaker. They have the second generation Dot at Best Buy for $19. For a voice activated no commercial radio that plays only the music you ask it to play, that is pretty cheap.

For now I just say "Alexa open the pod bay doors" for entertainment.

[allenchl]

Tom Gresham's Gun Talk has a discount code, https://blinkforhome.com/pages/guntalk?locale=en. According to him, this is the best price anywhere.

I think they might be cheaper on Amazon.

[Syntyr]

What does the echo dot do? Not sure I understand. Thanks.

Spies on you

No it doesnt. And I am paranoid. I have network packet captured every version that has been released. I have torn down 3 different version to the board and scanned the firmware at the chip level.

The results are that the echo unit itself is not spying on you. It listens to every sound it hears and compares its interpretation of that sound against its voice recognition tables, stored in the firmware on the device, looking for the wake word which can be Alexa, Amazon, Echo or computer. Once it hears the wake word it begins transmitting everything after that to Amazon for analysis.

Now does Amazon store those recordings? Yes... as I have pulled them up myself. And they probably search and index them. I am sure most of what they hear is Alexa turn on the brights.... Alexa turn on the fright... NO Alexa turn on the LIGHTS!

Now am I going to discuss my secret ambitions in front of one... probably not. But they are not recording all of the time. You make your decision and I certainly have no problem with it just make that decision from a point knowledge not feelings.

[philip964]

I would n’t put an Alexa Show in bedroom or bathroom, or you may end up with a scene from the original Judge Dredd with Arnold.

[JakeTheSnake]

What does the echo dot do? Not sure I understand. Thanks.

Spies on you

No it doesnt. And I am paranoid. I have network packet captured every version that has been released. I have torn down 3 different version to the board and scanned the firmware at the chip level.

The results are that the echo unit itself is not spying on you. It listens to every sound it hears and compares its interpretation of that sound against its voice recognition tables, stored in the firmware on the device, looking for the wake word which can be Alexa, Amazon, Echo or computer. Once it hears the wake word it begins transmitting everything after that to Amazon for analysis.

Now does Amazon store those recordings? Yes... as I have pulled them up myself. And they probably search and index them. I am sure most of what they hear is Alexa turn on the brights.... Alexa turn on the fright... NO Alexa turn on the LIGHTS!

Now am I going to discuss my secret ambitions in front of one... probably not. But they are not recording all of the time. You make your decision and I certainly have no problem with it just make that decision from a point knowledge not feelings.

And your wireless security cameras can’t be hacked into either, right?

[The Annoyed Man]

Now am I going to discuss my secret ambitions in front of one... probably not.

Oh come on now.... You can tell US. I'll even promise not to laugh or steal your idea!

[Syntyr]

And your wireless security cameras can’t be hacked into either, right?

Everything is hackable given enough time or resources. I work for a bank. Penetration testing is my day job. ATMs, servers, desktops, routers, apps, storage systems, even social engineering employees. As of last year I know of one bank that was still running Windows XP in their ATM systems.

The original supposition was that the echo dot spies on you. My comment was no not as it is designed. Can it be made to sure. I can do the same thing with your cell phone or laptop or smart TV. It's just another computer.

[Syntyr]

Now am I going to discuss my secret ambitions in front of one... probably not.

Oh come on now.... You can tell US. I'll even promise not to laugh or steal your idea!

You probably wouldn't want to steal any of my ideas... but being laughed at by TAM... that would give me a complex!

[eureka40]

Thanks guys for the echo dot info!!