Posted on 04/16/2009 7:01:08 AM PDT by ImJustAnotherOkie
TULSA, OK -- It is possible to sneak a peek inside what many believe to be private. A Bixby man recently bought a backup camera for his pickup, so he could see better when backing his trailers. But, he got much more than he bargained for with his $99 camera. Driving around, he was shocked to find he could see inside businesses and even people's homes.
There are steps you can take to protect your privacy.
Marcus Gibson says he got tired of backing over things in his big Dodge pickup, so he bought a little wireless back up camera system. The camera attaches near the license plate and has a 2.4 gigahertz wireless transmitter that attaches to the backup light and sends video to the monitor on the dashboard, which plugs into the cigarette lighter.
But, as Gibson began driving around town, he noticed he was picking up other people's wireless cameras on his monitor.
"Very weird, lots of things I can see, I don't want to see," said Marcus Gibson.
Pulling up to a business, Gibson could watch himself on his camera. He's seen inside banks, convenience stores, cash registers and even where valuables are hidden.
"The weirdest thing I saw was a video store near Arkansas. When the image came up, there was a wall full of guns," said Marcus Gibson.
But, that's not the scariest. He can also see right inside people's homes.
"Yes, and I'm sure they don't know I can see them," said Marcus Gibson.
Driving past one house, a man could be seen inside sitting on his couch, smoking a cigarette. The man could even be seen moving around the room. The man was unaware he was being watched.
But, what really unnerved Marcus and made him decide to contact The News On 6 was when he saw a baby sleeping in a crib.
The woman didn't want her baby shown on TV, but she agreed to put a doll in her child's crib to help illustrate what could be seen clear as day.
"When I drove by Saturday night and saw the image of the baby and you think about that mother who thinks she's protecting her child, but it's no different than having a video screen outside, showing everybody driving by, what's going on inside the baby bed," said Marcus Gibson.
Gibson says it's ironic the people who think they have cameras for security, actually end up being the least secure of all.
If you have a wireless camera system at your home or business, your signal can be picked up by other wireless transmitters. To prevent that, you can switch to a hard-wired system or buy a wireless signal jammer. Those are sold online for around $200.
"News reporter" Lori Fullbright is technology challenged - she obviously doesn't understand the difference between a transmitter and a receiver. Maybe they don't teach such subtleties as "fact checking" in journalism school anymore...
You might wreck your vehicle!:)
no, socialization.
I don’t understand this, since that’s not how wireless radio transmission works. If you get two signals at once, they will more or less destroy each other. This is why having a plethora of 2.4GHz devices in the home is bad for interference. The only way this could happen is if his camera isn’t transmitting.
Har!! Good one! That actually hurt.
I’m in the security industry though more IT than physical at this point. You would be surprised how easy it is to gain access to a business or home via a garage door opener. In my house, the opener is powered off and only turned on at the time it is needed to be opened and done so via hardware.
Many people do not know that with a fairly simple radio receiver and some basic electronics knowhow, a person can build a receiver that will “read” your garage door opener’s code.
Ha! Thank you.
How hard is it for people to reach the “Shift” key?
Seriously, what do "black helicopters" have to do with the fact that my garage door transmitter might open the garage doors of other careless people?
Quite possible. Many people wire those cameras to the reverse lights 12v circuit, so they don't transmit continually - just when you're backing up.
I was in Claremore over the weekend. If a bald guy in Sponge Bob boxer shorts having a Coors Light shows up on camera - it wasn’t me.
BTW- Is channel 6 KOTV? I usually watch KTUL.
For a long time (and maybe still at some stations) television weahtercasters use a wireless garage-opener remote to change maps, Doppler, etc. on their graphics machines.
Don't get any ideas. You have to be fairly close to affect them.
What, you mean like have a little trouble steering with *the club* sticking through the steering wheel? (Okay, that was bad)
I would assume that his camera is only transmitting when his vehicle is in reverse (that's the way mine works). When he's driving forward he shouldn't be getting interference from his own camera.
Anybody else see the slight flaw in this advice?
"HARD WIRE."
If there is an electric signal, there is a piece of equipment that can pick it up. I remember about fifteen years ago working inside the corporate offices of a major financial institution that Federal laws required computer connections to be shielded. Ordinary wiring could be read from outside the building. Don't know what the state of the art equipment is but I'm sure the spooks have it.
What if he tapped into the backup lights to get the power for the camera? The camera would only transmit when the truck was in reverse. The receiver/display, OTOH, is taking it's power from the cigarette lighter. It is free to receive any and all incoming signals.
I hardly watch any of them.
I watch it on Cable 53 because it is easy to switch back and forth with 52(Fox).
Years ago some kids on my street came to my door and said, “We found one of your car keys.” I hadn’t lost one and the one they had didn’t look like mine. I asked them how they knew it was mine and they looked guilty and then said, “We tried it and it worked.”
“What, you mean like have a little trouble steering with *the club* sticking through the steering wheel? (Okay, that was bad)
BOL! Now you are bragging!:)
if you need a camera to back up your trailer, you’re a girlie man.
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