Recent content by wtimothyholman

  1. wtimothyholman

    Yet another Rekor Scout price increase to $12 per camera

    In my case, I record 5000+ plates a week on my street. Plate Recognizer isn't an option.
  2. wtimothyholman

    Flock installed LPR's without permits and has now been banned from operating in two states

    Nice stirring article that of course completely misses two essential points: (1) You could shut down Flock Safety tomorrow, and half a dozen companies would immediately move in to take their place. There's nothing magical about Flock's market position. They got there first, they expanded...
  3. wtimothyholman

    Flock installed LPR's without permits and has now been banned from operating in two states

    Flock uses cameras with 850nm IR illumination, because that makes the optics dirt cheap (lots of suppliers). But more and more states are switching to the 3M printed license plates, which enables them to sells hundred of vanity plate variants to residents. Those plates have terrible 850nm...
  4. wtimothyholman

    Yet another Rekor Scout price increase to $12 per camera

    I think that is exactly the correct answer: Rekor doesn't care. They do not perceive themselves as an LPR vendor anymore. They are now into "smart highways". Individual Scout users are probably insignificant to their revenue model. I am sticking with them for no other reason than the lack of...
  5. wtimothyholman

    Poor IR contrast in new Tennessee license plates

    Speak of the devil: a friend of mine who is also heavily into LPR cameras sent me this: AI Road Traffic Supplement Light Camera It only has 4X zoom, but the IR option is for 740 nm, which will handle any of the 3M printed plates out there. So it seems the camera manufacturers are beginning...
  6. wtimothyholman

    Poor IR contrast in new Tennessee license plates

    Modifying the optics for 740 nm IR would require a significant change in the hardware. Instead, a conventional Z12-E could be easily modified by replacing the 850nm IR LEDs with soft white LEDs, and keeping the camera in daylight mode. It woiuld be able to to read any plate, including...
  7. wtimothyholman

    Is Rekor Scout still the best option?

    I've looked at the UniFi AI LPR camera, and at this point I wouldn't personally consider it a replacement for a good varifocal camera running Rekor Scout. The optical zoom is only 3X, and I suspect that the IR illumination is at 850 nm, which means the camera will miss a lot of 3M and paper...
  8. wtimothyholman

    Drone swarms in the northeast?

    Perhaps my opinion will be an unpopular one in this thread, but here goes: this is "evil clowns are stalking our children" season all over again, except this time it's drones in the sky instead of sightings of clowns around public schools. There is no universe where it makes an ounce of sense...
  9. wtimothyholman

    Poor IR contrast in new Tennessee license plates

    They could reduce the visibility by strobing the 730 nm LEDs synchronously with the shutter. A 30 Hz to 60 Hz strobe is not difficult with LEDs. Yet it seems that manufacturers insist on constant illumination, which wastes power and increases apparent brightness to passing drivers in vehicles...
  10. wtimothyholman

    Poor IR contrast in new Tennessee license plates

    I've been told by a local cop who is very familiar with Flock cameras that they are transitioning to 730 nm illuminators in their latest models. I haven't been able to confirm that, however. Flock, like Rekor, has done what they can in software to improve plate reads, but you can't fight...
  11. wtimothyholman

    Poor IR contrast in new Tennessee license plates

    I've considered that, but a very bright light that flashes for a couple of seconds can still be problematic for passing drivers. I'd hoping for something that has the same color temperature as a porch light, but no brighter to the human eye.
  12. wtimothyholman

    Poor IR contrast in new Tennessee license plates

    But note that your cameras optics must support 730 nm. I learned this the hard way after much experimentation. A camera that operates in 850 nm IR mode won't work with 730 nm illuminators. This includes the standard Dahua -Z12E models that most of us use. What will work is to use white...
  13. wtimothyholman

    AI Cameras for Community Security

    You've gotten some good advice so far, but I'll add one low-cost measure to consider for your Crime Watch meeting: ask homeowners to set up a Wyze Cam v4 to monitor the streets in front of their homes with continuous-time recordings. The Wyze Cams will provide context to supplement whatever...
  14. wtimothyholman

    LPR Fighting Crime - IPC Member?!?

    I've had many people ask me the same thing over the years: "Aren't you afraid someone will retaliate against you for providing video from your cameras to the police?" Yet it has never been an issue. It's not me that is providing the evidence against them - it's my cameras. You can try to...
  15. wtimothyholman

    LPR Fighting Crime - IPC Member?!?

    What I'm saying is that Wyze could produce a camera with the capability to read license plates, but they would never market it as such. It would be a nightmare trying to guide most of their customers through the process of setting up a "Wyze License Plate Cam Pro". But if they marketed a 10X...
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