Common sense and preparedness set the professionals apart

Jun 1, 1997 12:00 PM, By CHARLIE PIERCE

Covert installation requires common sense and preparedness. Having obvious and not-so-obvious tools available makes the difference between doing the job efficiently or not. Remember there is no equipment, only job tools. Anything can be a tool with a little creative license.

Cameras Be careful not to jump at the first neat-looking toy that comes along. For instance, I priced smoke detector cameras the other day and found I could buy one for $500-$800. That would be OK if it included a wireless transmitter and receiver or if it made coffee. But it didn't. So I went to a hardware store and bought a smoke detector (nothing fancy) for seven bucks. I then ordered a board camera for less than $200 from a reputable manufacturer. Upon receipt of the camera, I measured the outer diameter of the lens and drilled a hole in the top of the smoke detector. Using a rubber O ring, I held the camera in place, and with a little fooling around to make a plug-in wire harness, I had my smoke detector camera. The best part is mine cost less than $200 to make, and I can change lenses if I need to. Buyer beware: Much of the covert equipment you see can be made at home for one fourth the cost, using basic, reputable equipment and a touch of handyman capabilities.

But board cameras are not always the answer. You may need a standard camera so you can use a specialty lens such as a pinhole or fiber-optic style. Overall, however, the camera is the first major, obvious tool you should have, and you should have at least three or four to choose from.

There are always those who think about going to DC cameras that work on batteries. That is necessary for jobs such as working inside vehicles, but it is not recommended for most standard covert jobs. Because a DC camera works on a crystal oscillator for its 60 cycles (50 cycles in Europe) timing pulses, only DC recorders can be used for time-lapse recording and/or playback with DC cameras. The timing pulses in the video signal from the DC cameras do not match the blanking requirements of standard time-lapse video recorders. Lenses

A variety of lenses are suited to covert. Pinhole lenses have a small opening at the sight end. They can be used to view through false ceilings, walls, or objects with little or no obtrusion. But beware of light loss due to their sometimes extreme length. It may be necessary to add illumination to the scene when using a pinhole lens - an undesirable task.

There are also varifocal lenses made for smaller board cameras. A varifocal lens is a smaller version of the manual zoom and can be a lifesaver in a tight covert situation.

The need for auto-iris lenses will usually be slight in covert, because jobs where size is paramount are done inside where the lighting is fixed or at least minimally variable. The auto-iris only really becomes a concern when you step into the sun.

A variety of lenses in your covert arsenal can be the difference between installation success and failure.

Cabling, signal and power Cabling is a major consideration. When determining where to hide the camera, lens, and signal and power cables, try to minimize cable requirements. I recommend working with one of the following:

* Bi-coaxial camera system. The power is delivered on the same coax as the video signal, so only one cable needs to be run to the camera.

* Siamese coaxial is specially designed cable with a 22-gauge power line attached. It was not of much benefit with the old tube cameras since the power side of the cable caused too much power loss. However, the power requirements of CCD cameras are one quarter that of their tube counterparts. A siamese coaxial can be used on runs of up to 200 feet. Because the power side of the cable is made of twisted-pair, induction of the 24V camera power into the video signal is not a concern.

* Twisted-pair transmission allows up to 2,000 feet of video signal to be run on a pair of speaker wires, so it is easier to hide the cable and to install the system quickly. The disadvantage of twisted-pair is it requires a transmitter at the camera and a receiver at the monitor end of the cable. But the transmitters of such systems plug directly into the output BNC of the camera. With a cable-type system, twisted-pair units are the way to go.

Wireless transmission RF transmission systems are becoming more prevalent. Most offer good to excellent video reception at 100-150 feet. Some boast 300- to 400-foot transmission capabilities. Buyer beware! All RF systems' transmission capabilities depend on the surrounding area. In an area with a lot of metal grid work, you could be disappointed. Going between floors of a building can be difficult for such systems.

I prefer to leave wireless systems to daytime installations , with plenty of time to experiment. I hate to sound archaic, but I still prefer to work with hardwired systems on most covert applications.

Video motion detection Video motion detection is not a new technology. It has been improved through digital processes, but the basics have remained the same: monitoring for contrast change within a defined area. The video signal from the camera is fed through a black box, and the video image is monitored for contrast change.

Because many covert jobs are designed to capture a specific action, video motion detection can help capture action on tape. Also, because many covert jobs cover weeks of monitoring, the amount of tape used can be paramount to the success of the job. So it is important to find a way to decrease the speed of a video recorder to the minimum when not needed and increase it when an action occurs.

Words of caution

* Since video motion detectors work on contrast change, you cannot use them in areas with variable lighting. Every time the light is suddenly increased or decreased, you will end up with an alarm condition and wasted tape.

* You will have less control over how long a video tape lasts in the recorder. Without knowledge of how many alarms or their average duration, you won't have a way to judge when the video tape needs to be replaced. A simple analog video motion detector is basic to many covert situations.

Picture-in-picture unit A picture-in-picture (pic-in-pic) unit allows you to feed two cameras into a single recorder at the same time. The first camera is used for the primary scene that fills the screen. The second camera is viewed in a small square in one of five quadrants (top right, top left, bottom right, bottom left, center) overlaid on top of the first image. This gives you the advantage of having two perspectives of the same scene at once. The pic-in-pic was originally developed by American Dynamics ahead of the quad splitter. The unit has been a life-saver on more than one occasion.

In the last article, I spoke of a job I did in a cafeteria, monitoring a cash box. In that job, I used one camera to watch the counter area and a second for a tight view of the money box itself. Thanks to the pic-in-pic, I was able to place the second camera's image in the upper-right-hand area of the overall image. I could see who was at the box and what their hand was doing in the box (taking money or change) at the same time from two perspectives. An extremely important aspect of evidence is to have both the identification of what is being taken as well as the action of taking. I do not recommend the use of quad splitters for such incidents under any circumstances. The resolution loss of a quad splitter is too high to ensure proper identification. Because the pic-in-pic uses special insertion technology, the full image of both cameras is viewed and resolution loss is minimal. Such units also work with color images.

Some folks still use video splitters to display multiple images on one screen. The problems are that the splitter does as its name suggests by splitting two images and not producing a full picture from either camera and requiring that the two cameras are synchronized. Since the invention of the pic-in-pic years ago, the need for video splitters has fallen by the wayside.

Video recorders The first choice for gathering evidence is the standard time-lapse video recorder, which records vast amounts of information onto a two-hour cassette. But how much information is enough and how much is too little? Make a video tape last as long as possible and ensure you are recording enough information. For instance, if a time-lapse recorder works in the 120-hour mode, we are actually taking one picture per second. That is fine for verifying who is in an area at a specific time. But to verify what a person did at that time, we must prove the action of the scene beyond a shadow of a doubt.

How much action can be lost in one second? Can I take an object and have it in my pocket in one second or less? If the answer is yes, there is a good chance the camera will miss the action of the object going into the pocket. Yes, it will be clear the object is missing, but we will not be able to prove it was put into the pocket.

Using a trip device such as a video motion detector can increase the tape speed to record more information, but in most cases of alarm interfacing, an event recorder would be better. When an event happens, the recorder comes out of the standby mode and records for a predetermined amount of time.

If a covert job is to be installed for a short period of time, you might use hybrid 24- or 72-hour video recorders, units designed to use three-hour cassettes (T-180) and give more information or frames per second. The standard time-lapse recorder, in the 24-hour mode, records about five pictures per second, while its hybrid counterpart (24-hour recorder) records about 17 pictures per second. By comparison, the standard time-lapse video recorder in the 72-hour mode records about 1.75 pictures per second, while its counterpart records about seven pictures per second.

Answer several questions before you choose a recorder: * How long will the job last (worst case)? * How quickly can the action you are monitoring happen (worst case)? * How accessible is the machine for a tape change? * Will you be able to use alarm interfacing or video motion detection?

The last thing to remember is that you will, sooner or later, need to review the video tapes, so you should have a second machine available to you on the premises. If you are using a time-lapse machine, you must have a time-lapse video machine to review the tape in any speed slower than real time. The same holds true for the event, 24-hour and 72-hour machines. If you use a consumer machine to review a video tape that was recorded in any speed beyond real time (two hour), you will see nothing but a jumbled mess of images.

Video monitors A video monitor is a must for every covert job. In the field, a hand-heldmonitor is very handy. The problem with a hand-held monitor is it cannot be used to focus the cameras, because of the extreme compression of the video image. So have a 9-inch, black-and-white monitor on hand as well to focus the image while the handheld aims the camera.

I don't recommend showing the client what is being viewed prior to release of the video tapes. The more the client is in the dark about the scene of the covert camera, the less likely the client is to blow the cover of the camera. It is human nature to want to find what is hidden.

I always try to take all monitors off the scene during the job. All video tapes go back to my office for review. I do carry a hand-held monitor with me whenever I change a video tape, however. Prior to changing the tape, I play back the last five minutes or so into my hand-held monitor to ensure the recorder is working properly, the camera has not changed position and that I am recording the right amount of information.

The last recorder consideration is positioning. Because of its size, potential operation noise, heat output, power requirements and adversity to dust, placing a video recorder can be a major dilemma. I always carry a couple of 3-foot 2x1-inch boards. By placing them on the grids of a false ceiling, the recorder has a stable place to sit. Place the recorder between the wire supports of the ceiling, but make sure they are mounted well. There is nothing worse than having a recorder come crashing down in the middle of a job. Besides the obvious potential to hurt someone, it is a sure way to blow your cover.

Such are the tools of covert surveillance. The rest comes down to things such as spray paint, duct tape and bailing wire. If you are new to covert, install a few jobs around your own office or home. Experience is the true teacher of covert installation. Common sense guides the job, and the more of it you have, the better off you will be. Sound morals are the conscience of good covert surveillance.

Editor's note: This is the second in a series of three articles. The final article will deal with the legal aspects of covert surveillance.

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