To hook up your own surveillance system and make recordings of what the camera sees, you'll need a video camera, a VCR and a TV to monitor the image. You can set the VCR for extremely long tape recording to capture video for up to eight hours on a single cassette. The connections take only a couple of minutes if you follow these steps.

  • To hook up your own surveillance system and make recordings of what the camera sees, you'll need a video camera, a VCR and a TV to monitor the image.

Mount the video camera on a tripod or bracket in an inconspicuous spot overlooking the area you wish to survey.

Plug an RCA video cable into the Video Out jack on the camera. If the camera is equipped with a microphone and audio jacks, plug an RCA cable into the Audio Out jack as well.

Connect the power cord to the AC jack on the camera and the other end to an electrical socket.

Plug the other ends of the video and audio cables into the Video and Audio In jacks of the VCR.

  • Plug the other ends of the video and audio cables into the Video and Audio In jacks of the VCR.

Plug video and audio cables into the VCR output jacks.

Plug the other ends of the cables into the video and audio In jacks on the back of the television.

Set the TV and VCR to channel 3 or 4 to monitor images and sound from the surveillance camera.

Insert a blank, recordable VHS cassette into the VCR.

Program the VCR to record at a predetermined time or press the Record button to begin taping immediately.

Monitor the surveillance area from your TV whether or not the VCR is recording by turning on all three components.