Poundland dummy CCTV camera.

Another wonderfully weird item from Poundland. A dummy CCTV camera complete with blinking LED. The sort of blinking LED that has "this is a fake CCTV camera" written all over it.
Bizarrely, the LED is turned on and off by pressing the dome like a typical cupboard push-light. It flashes at a rate of about 0.5Hz. One second on and one second off. The two AA cells will probably last just a few weeks of continuous operation before the LED starts getting quite dim. But that's OK, because it looks more realistic if the LED is not lit anyway. And it does look very realistic as a dome camera, complete with similar multi-section construction.
The LED is quite neat in that it has such a slow 50/50 flash rate. Very different to the usual flashing LEDs, and runs directly on the 3V supply.
If you enjoy the videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and odd CCTV type things via Patreon or PayPal at www.bigclive.com/coffee.htm

[@topphemelig]

Install it in the bathroom to make your guests uncomfortable

[@bluey_heeler]

David Parry ?

[@mikadaman1]

@David Parry Truly fascinating

[@arcticbadger1]

😆👏👍

[@pufango4059]

Superb

[@timbocolorado5389]

As a former CCTV installer, I can spot a fake camera a mile away and the flashing LED is dead give-away :)

[@rso823]

Literally what he said in the video

[@WELLINGTON20]

well your incorrect because 50% of working cameras flash like this kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWfXp5J3ZsepedU

[@inthenameofjustice8811]

What I did to deter thieves was to nip into a well known electrickery store and buy a tiny real analogue, full colour, high definition, camera with sound and night vision capabilities on sale for £15 and hook it up to an old analogue portable Video Recorder/TV. I then put the TV close to the front living room window with a label on it that reads, *Camera One,* to imply there may be many more. Any potential thief coming up the path can see him or herself on TV through the window. Along with the BEWARE OF THE DOG sign, scattered doggy toys in the front garden and a visible picture of the ex wife, my house has been kept burglar free by these devices for years.

[@pearz420]

We all know the real MVP is the ex-wife.

[@floofywoofertime7035]

Where can I find an electricity store?

[@arcticbadger1]

@@floofywoofertime7035 you don’t ! It has to be an *electrickery* store 😉👍

[@hugebartlett1884]

Where can I get hold of a suitable ex-wife?

[@Netties8266]

I did the same but I put a few piles of dog shit on the path. Works perfect.

[@Gayestskijumpever]

It would be funny to make real CCTV look fake

[@wisteela]

Good way of confusing people

[@MrTechguyy]

double bluff them

[@felixautomaton5314]

I was thinking retiring one of my older RPis and a $3 webcam as a security camera, and one of these dummy cameras might make an okay outdoor housing for it.

[@miniwarrior7]

+Felix Automaton doubtful,simply the fact that its push button means it won't be sealed at all. wet RPI = unhappy rpi

[@cb1671]

+Felix Automaton Just make sure to epoxy around the push button part, and make sure the screws are on really tight on the backplate. It should be fine as long as it isn't directly in heavy rain.

[@AsymptoteInverse]

It occurs to me that this only works on burglars who have never been to Poundland.

[@ReNeyer]

Btw. CCTV cameras suggest to burglars and home invaders that something of value has to be protected at said home. So if you can't shell out the money to get an actual CCTV cam or multiple ones AND a proper home alarm system PLEASE do not put up dummies, for they will make you the next target of thieves.

[@MrJozza65]

Or maybe it would suggest that your house is full of cheap Poundland shite, and Mr Burglar would be put off and break into the posh house next door instead :)

[@j4ck3t]

haha exactly, you just don't know these days. Which is good for us and risky for them.

[@GadgetAddict]

lol I really don't understand why they add a flashing red LED to these fake cameras. Like you say, it's pretty much the sure-fire way of knowing it's a fake because no real security cameras have flashing lights.

[@gogoeverybody]

My only guess is a prop.

[@assassinlexx1993]

Double fake. Install a real camera. But keep the flashing red light.

[@DoctorX17]

“Security theater” is what they call making it look more secure than it is, lol. I remember a lot of fake cameras like that. Nowadays it’s “cheap” and “easy” to outfit a store with loads of real ones tho, so they’re not so common XD and I agree with not using the blink on the one you took apart - I don’t think any real camera had had blinking lights in 40 years

[@PixelOutlaw]

You know, you can get a composite video pinhole camera for very cheap on eBay. Might be an interesting project to use this case and make a fake looking REAL camera.

[@RWL2012]

I was thinking about that even before I saw your comment haha

[@sixstringedthing]

Take it one step further and add an array of "infrared" LEDs using the super cheap red ones, for extra cheesy effect. You'll have unsuspecting mischief makers laughing straight into the lens because it looks so dodgy.

[@PixelOutlaw]

Actually if you used real infrared you'd have night vision once it reflected back into the camera. Assuming the camera converts it to a purplish white light like the cheap ones do. Some digital cameras do have an infrared filter though which ruins the fun.

[@sixstringedthing]

PixelOutlaw Once you get to that point, wouldn't you be better off just buying an actual dome cam? :P

[@opless]

Dalek head CCTVs - they really freaked me out as a kid. Boots, Woolworths, BHS etc all had those - the Arnedale in Doncaster used to have them. Gave me a robust distrust of CCTV. Thanks for the memory!

[@cyancoyote7366]

My neighbor has one of these. Good to know, I can rob him now! Thanks!

[@AgentOffice]

go ahead, his guns are also fake ;)

[@cyancoyote7366]

Thanks for the info! Good thing you know him too. He won't suspect anything :)

[@fusseldieb]

R I P

[@cardboardboxification]

I dont think the zenith black and white tv is worth it...

[@DECCAS8]

Rob In Peace

[@lemagreengreen]

I had forgotten about those big dalek-head security cameras! I used to be fascinated by them as a lad, they looked like something out of a 50s sci-fi b-movie. Thanks for the nostalgia :)

[@richardsandwell2285]

When you mentioned LM3909 it nearly brought me to tears. Why the hell is it when people invent something perfect and beautiful they stop making it. Just like Nickel Iron batteries which last virtually forever and stand endless abuse. The LM3909 was brilliant, I built a circuit for a friend that flashed a red LED to make it look like he had an alarm in his garden shed. I think it only had one Duracell D battery in it. The spec on the chip said it would flash for two years I think. It flashed for ten years at least, and it may still be flashing. He never changed the battery. I am sure it is still working somewhere in his shed. It has been years I had hair when I made the bloody thing. Managed to buy two LM3909s recently, it may have been ebay. Not used them yet but if I ever need to they are there. The battery must be leaking by now lol.

[@arcticbadger1]

Why don’t they make those batteries that last forever anymore! Hmm 🤔 I wonder why (Because they are B🤬stards & there’s no money in it) 🤗

[@darkhelmet169]

When I was a kid I had an old book on electricity that claimed that the bimetallic strip was the greatest electrical invention ever.

[@_Piers_]

Those security cameras in shops always reminded me of the bot that tortures Princess Leia. It's called an "IT-O Interrogator"apparently.

[@Esqofosd]

On the subject of security cameras (not CCTV): Some places used to have 8mm film cameras that was only activated when the silent alarm was triggered. There were also places that had 35mm still cameras, also started by some kind of panic alarm button or whatever and then proceeded to take a picture every 5 seconds or so until it ran out of film. The 35mm ones had the potential to produce some really good pictures, and for that reason there are some really good pictures of old bank robberies and things like that.

[@deepblue69uk]

I remember those old dome CCTV cams were still being used up until the very early 1990s. Amazingly intimidating things they were. :-)

[@azyfloof]

Oh fuck, I remember them colossal dome cameras when I was a kid! I don't remember them in Boots, but I _do_ remember them in Woolworths! They looked crazy, and always made me feel uncomfortable, like I was up to no good (sometimes because I actually _was_ :P) Woolies used to sell alien/monster figures made of that weird sticky substance that you could replenish with hot soapy water, such that when you threw them against a surface like a window, they'd stick, and slowly roll down. A friend (who shall remain nameless) and I used to steal them by throwing them against the big double doors at the entrance, then casually plucking them off as we walked out the store :O

[@ClarkeZor]

I installed all of the Boots CCTV cameras, they were called randomes. They had loads of fake lenses on them, only one camera, belt driven on an automatic random panning. They were terrible because most of the timelapse tapes had 16 cameras on them so the pictures were blurred while the camera moved and it only recorded 1 frame every 2-3 seconds...

[@RWL2012]

+ClarkeZor they have them in my local Morrisons above the tills

[@multiprickspresents4194]

I remember those, always where penny sweets were so you had to have someone taller or wider next to you to nick them, possibly why woolworths went bust, sorry woolworths! actually never nicked sweets as they were shit, except chocolate footballs and sherbet flying saucers, you could get them fromcorner shop for erm pennies, so no point nicking them really!

[@azyfloof]

Multipricks presents Back when penny sweets _were_ pennies! Those were some good days :D 1 pence each for the smaller sweets, 2 pence for the larger ones like the strawbs. I sound old as balls o.O

[@sjames5027]

Search for this video for a bit of the old days "Old CCTV, Photo-Scan TV, Boots the chemist"

[@jastat]

I do remember those. Very menacing. My mum told me I had to behave myself when I was in the store!

[@ChrisCooper312]

Those old cameras used to remind me of the Interrogation Droids from Star Wars. The thought that they might be also used in that role for shoplifters put me off any vague thoughts I might have had of shop lifting anything. I imagine the idea of having multiple lenses but only one real one was so that people didn't know if they were being watched at any time. That said I remember a lot of shops having screens showing a feed from the cameras, so you could see where the cameras were pointing if you could see a screen.

[@Olliemon]

I was born in '94 and I remember both of the "Dalek" cameras, I remember seeing them in Woolies and Tescos as a child! They amazed and scared the heck out of me at the time!

[@Clodhopping]

Me too! Creepy things. Thought it was just me being a wuss. Glad I'm not alone.

[@CodeJackk]

I remember Boots still having those domes in Late 90's/early 2000's. Always thought they were creepy.

[@Utmoon]

So, if you want to catch someone breaking into your house or whatever, put up a real dome camera, and put a flashing red LED in it.

[@TheSynStalker]

I have to admit I was cynical about how entertaining a teardown of a £1 led blinker would be but you proved my doubts to be misplaced. Well done.

[@danxepha4535]

YES! I'm sure I was talking to you about the big scary Boots camera a while ago. I've still had no luck in finding a picture of them :-(

[@bigclivedotcom]

It's from an era when people just didn't take pictures of stuff like that.

[@bweebar]

I remember them in Woolco's: www.flickr.com/photos/pixelhut/6654036665/ i.imgur.com/uN2s7HP.jpg

[@danxepha4535]

bweebar Well you did better than I did searching for photos of them a while ago. They terrified me as a child.

[@KnugenMooMoo]

I was thinking of them boots camera before you said about them I'm sure Debenham had them too

[@danielplusben]

Both the Boots and M&S near me have those massive things! I will remember to photograph them next time I am there!

[@doubletee5250]

I remember those cameras. They looked like something from Star Wars. They were in my local Debenhams. All lenses and a flashing red light..

[@wbrenne]

I remember these camera domes, which looked more like an UFO with multiple lenses and blinking lights from the C&A store. Most of the time they were rotating slowly, but every now and then, they would rapidly spin around, stop for a moment, and then continue with the slow movement. Very ominous, very convincing, and fascinating for a child.

[@robshorts]

There's a sketch in 'Not the nine o'clock news' sketch show from the late 70s where a woman is stopped by store detectives and has one of those large dome shop security cameras under her coat.

[@MarkHarmer]

Haha excellent! 😆

[@rasberrycast]

LED on all the time in the lens would make a great HAL 9000.

[@sadface]

I am no where near being born even close to the 70's and I remember the big huge cameras with multiple lenses. I was born in 1997 and for the longest time, Argos in Stirling had one of those big rotating cameras. I was also fascinated with it as a child. I wasn't aware that anyone else had picked up on those strange cameras.

[@Smidge204]

But hey, now you have an interesting case for a domed LED lamp with tap-on functionality! Just take the black shield out of the dome.

[@jamesa7020]

Currys in Wigan still has those massive cameras. It was a blast from the past when I went there last year.

[@WaltonPete]

I can remember our local Woolworth's store had large orange (it was the 70's, after all) spherical cameras similar to the first one you drew, hanging from the ceiling of the store. I often wondered if they really housed as many cameras as lenses or, indeed, any camera at all. They would also rotate seemingly randomly to increase the intimidation factor.

[@Tarantulaie]

I remember the EK Boots Dalek-like security cameras being really sinister looking but you could always browse the oil paintings at the back to relax you ha ha!

[@mirkomueller3412]

your vids are always a pleasure to watch. even though it looks uninteresting from the subject it turns out to be worth watching.

[@MagikGimp]

As a child of the 80s, they were still around when I'd go shopping with my Mum in Cardiff. I've definitely seen a photo of one. I'll have a look later if I remember.

[@bouncybobcat5064]

Oh wow, I remember those big domes with the shiny strips. It feels really weird thinking about it because I clearly remember noticing them and wondering what was inside, but since I was only little at the time I didn't really understand anything other than the fact they were cameras. Then 25 years or so later I'm watching one of your videos, and now I know.

[@iantaylor6858]

My understanding is that the chrome coloured strip was where there was a real camera. Urban myth? I don't know, but they looked the part!

[@RossMitchellsProfile]

I suspect that they had those weird cameras in the east kilbride boots long after the 70s, I grew up in the 90s and I have a memory of seeing such a camera in EK.

[@landtechnik4k]

One of my Top 5 Favourite Channels. Little Thank you from ME !

[@mikeselectricstuff]

I remember those cameras in Woolworths

[@bigclivedotcom]

I think they're firmly entrenched in people brains going by the comments. I kinda want one now... For my lounge ceiling.

[@felenov]

bigclivedotcom I have found a video with that exact camera with 4 lenses. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qaKkfJujpd93i5o

[@dietbruboy]

Love your channel, and so odd hearing my home town of EK getting a mention!

[@MichaelBeeny]

I remember those things as a kid. I remember saying to my Dad that they were fake simply because if they had multi cameras why on earth would they need to rotate?? Talking of cinemas in EK. I used to be senior technical engineer at AMC, later UCI. I remember well the fitting out of the first multiplex in EK. I would have loved to see inside the old cinema you were talking about but sadly long gone by that time.

[@bigclivedotcom]

I took it for granted at the time because I didn't realise just how good it was. A round auditorium and wide curved screen with heavy drapes all the way round and whumping bass. And of course Kia-Ora and ice cream.

[@MichaelBeeny]

We cannot say Kia Ora here in New Zealand, it means something very different. Kiwi are not keen when you great them with HELLO ORANGE DRINK TO YOU. For me as a kid it was KiaOra and fruit Poppets ummmm. Probably why I'm diabetic now!!

[@hugebartlett1884]

I put one over my back door many years ago,and didn't bother about batteries after the supplied one expired. It looks real enough,and has certainly paid for itself many times over. Altogether,a very worthwhile investment.

[@JerryEricsson]

Right out of "Are You Being Served!"

[@jaywalt1311]

I loved that show when i was a kid!

[@CosmicWizard79]

Great vid :) You have brought back some forgotten memories about those cameras. I too had a fascination for them when I was a lad. I seem to recall them being in British Home Stores and Allders too :)

[@FrontSideBus]

I was born in '86 and even I can remember those scary cameras dangling from the ceiling when I was a kid :)

[@thisshouldbefree]

About the cameras in Boots; I was born in '95 , And i still remember in the early 2000, seeing them. They were scary, Bigger and very ominous

[@thisshouldbefree]

The Good old days of wilkinson's.. Walk in, Look left, wave at the security guard, Then run away.. i was a devil child..

[@SkyChaserCom]

I used the enclosure and dome from one of these for a vehicle mounded camera used in storm chasing using the base with magnets glued to it! Was $3 at a dollar store (in USA here). A camera shop wanted $30 for such a domed enclosure.

[@W3r3gam3r]

I'd probably tint the plastic "glass" black, at least, to make it just that little bit more convincing.

[@gazzc]

Those cameras used to scare me.... Hated going in shops that had them. I'd forgotten about them until I saw this video.

[@Worldwidegam3r]

Stick some infra red LEDs in it.

[@Coolkeys2009]

:-)

[@Gameboygenius]

To what end? Humans obviously aren't going to see them, and not much else either.

[@Coolkeys2009]

+Gameboygenius However it might be visable with something like a phone camera and put someone through unnecessary effort, as many real CCTV cameras have IR illumination.

[@Gameboygenius]

Right. I don't think the average or even above average criminal will look for that.

[@Worldwidegam3r]

Gameboygenius Some criminal they are then xD

[@websitesthatneedanem]

Very good. I remember those face cameras in C&A... even as a youngster I worked out most of the lenses were fake! I do remember that camera movement you spoke of, interesting to know how it was done!

[@SteveInScotland]

In supermarkets, I think they still have them, if your at the checkout, look up. There is often a mirror the length of the checkouts either a mounded semi circular tube or more likely a metal box with long mirrors along its length on the side facing the checkouts. Inside is one camera, that trundles back and forth on tracks. Not sure if it "patrols" back and forth or can be moved at will. It's looking but of course obfuscation of its exact location at any given time is likely more deterrent than the camera itself.

[@johnrobinson357]

I well remember the dalek style cameras, they were popular here in the US as well back in the 70's and early 80's - Guess i'm dating myself. You too Clive. Have not seen one in many years, but i'll bet there are a few still around in some dusty corner somewhere.....

[@chromabotia]

A great segment. First the highly amusing fake security camera with the LED that flashes, *fake* *fake* *fake* - roflol. Then the amusing walk down memory lane with old time retail, security cameras with their bizarre design, monochrome image orthicon tubes. Ah, I could tell you tales of editing on 2 inch (wide) video tape on huge Ampex video tape recorders. Good stuff... thanks!

[@molecaat]

I've seen those cameras you are talking about(the black dome with the chrome strips), I can't remember where I've seen them exactly but I'm guessing it was Cumbernauld Shopping Centre, since even in the early 2000s when I was last there it still looked like it was built in the 70s haha.

[@harvestjet]

Love it Clive, only you could get Swimming Pools, Cinemas, 1970's security camera's electric cookers & Boots the chemist into a video about a product from poundland, keep up the great work :-)

[@wdave6944]

For the price, you get a blinky LED and a nice special project box. hmmm. cut off the 'camera' lens mount, discard the black inner mask and frost the clear dome... sounds like the beginnings of an LED moon stone :-)

[@tomatolicious]

We had the ominous black and chrome domes in local Woolworths and C&A here in Germany. That was in the mid 90s and the cameras were real, as you could see one surveying the entrance on a dedicated monitor in the entrance area.

[@Iliek]

Fascinating.

[@Stego27]

but was anyone actually watching the screen or was it just there as a deterrent?

[@kramreprah]

Hi Clive. The cams you were on about securicam had 1 active cam and 3 dummy's in them. We took some out of a loyds supersave store.

[@Tangobaldy]

hey big Clive what's your printer model? the one with huge ink capacity

[@bigclivedotcom]

It's an ordinary printer (Epson SX515W) but fitted with a CISS system (Continuous Ink Supply System) That has a special set of tanks fitted with an ink ribbon cable that goes to an external reservoir for the four colours (4 x 100ml). The printer occasionally rejects the cartridges because it can't read the ink level properly. When it does I just press a button on the cartridge and it makes the printer think a new set has been fitted.

[@johnrobinson357]

Clive, Perhaps you could show that hack ?

[@Tangobaldy]

+bigclivedotcom thanks for response as I know you've answered it in a video before.

[@Azazeal777]

Love your Videos...I lived and worked in East Kilbride for a few years too, nice Ice rink in the mall :) regards keep up the good work.

[@ZilinaSK]

I have a pile of LM3909 IC's left over from the 80's looking at me right now in my office :) I bought a pile to make funky LED flashing badges when we were kids and still have a handful left... we looked so cool at roller discos etc :-D

[@farish4616]

I remember these. They always reminded me of the talking camera from Flash Gordon. They had them right up to the late 90's in Boots in Coatbridge.

[@Muzer0]

I remember those giant cameras even in the 90s/perhaps early 2000s when I was growing up. I actually remember reading a children's book in which they heavily featured as a scary dramatic element.

[@DaveCurran]

They had those big dome cameras in a shop called Bevans in Byker, Newcastle, and they were quite sinister even when I was a small child and hadn't read 1984 yet.

[@sadface]

I always had the rare idea of buying one of these to put a real camera inside. Seems like a good indoor enclosure for £1

[@Xesh001]

I remember those cameras were in all the major stores at the time (like Woolys and Bejam). Funnily enough I've still got one of those cookers you mention (a Creda)!

[@annabanana9424]

lol shove the LED inside the lens to make it extra unconvincing...made me laugh

[@karebu2]

I was so glad you talked about the 1970s camera. I wasn't born then but they sound very intriguing nonetheless

[@Coburn64]

That part of the video where Clive talks about sticking the LED under the fake lens was quite amusing for some reason...

[@UkSkin]

Oh the Darlek head Camera's - I remember them in Woolworths! My experience of the "old" Tube time camera's is they suffered horribly from "burn in" in a similar way to cashpoint screens did at the time (and Plasma TV's now!)

[@TrinomCZ]

There are a lot of these dome cameras with flashing LEDs in buses. And they actually work. They don't have crisp HD image, but the driver is still able to see, if there is nobody in the very last door, especially in the articulated bus.

[@CharlieBitMyFinger-bang]

- I purchased 4-pack of these from Amazon for about $15 a couple years ago. Never put batteries in them as I agree that the blinking LED was nothing more than a 'fake' notification. They look real enough without the blinky-blinky, and I won't have to worry about being spotted replacing batteries...I even installed them under cover of darkness so as to not show off their lack of wiring. -

[@MrStabby19812]

Still had those camera domes in the 80s can't remember when they disappeared

[@ashliehiggins]

i remember those dome camera's they were weird as heck and always reminded me of the torture droid from star wars.

[@Spudcore]

Hey, I have one of those wee metal pen-looking screwdriver jobbies, very handy little thing!

[@DundeeRoad]

Nice one Clive, I have done this very thing however i also fitted cameras behind some just make the illusion less fake!

[@Remmes]

I remember a supermarket here having something that looked like a ceiling fan, with 3 cameras mounted to it (the boxy kind), and it would slowly rotate, I was kinda scared at first because they looked so huge

[@RWL2012]

Where? I'm trying to think where they were now

[@Remmes]

I believe it was an old EDAH supermarket (Dutch) I've tried finding a picture of the thing but no luck. I'd say it was in the late 90's, early 2000. All I remember is child me being scared of the things at first. :/

[@rolaroli]

I remember one of those too. They were gray and had a huge flashing red light in the center.

[@CrimsonNorway]

I didn't grow up in the 70s but I can't help but feel that I've seen similar things. I know for sure that I've seen huge black hemispheres hanging from the ceiling in places like Boots, Woolworths etc. Airports too (around the entrances and check-in desks) but my guess is that they would actually have real cameras inside those,

[@chriskennedy1612]

Haha, did anyone else's local Boots have a huge vile of mysterious red liquid in the middle of the front window too...?

[@6F6G]

In the past a lot of chemists shops displayed those giant coloured bottles in their windows.

[@simpleminded1uk]

Yes - they looked like decomissioned lava lamps.

[@whitesapphire5865]

A few years ago, I was given a couple of dummy cameras, but they were rather more sophisticated. Along with the led, there was also a motion sensor of some sort. So in addition to the blinking red LED, the motion sensor detected your presence and activated a small motor which would pan the dummy camera left and right. If you watched it, it soon became apparent that the device always came back to the same parking position. The fake lenses were remarkably realistic, with a dark and sinister look which reflected light, but you couldn't see through them - A bit like Darth Vader's helmet! The fake cameras were a convincing 'duck egg' blue, and of a size that reflected the appearance of an average CCTV camera of its time. They even had a plausible sounding maker's name. For added realism, there was a fake flex which exited the back of the casing, and entered the wall plate. I should still have them somewhere.

[@BaconSniffer578]

EK HYPE!!! You need to do a meet and greet Clive.

[@RonLaws]

Torquay still has a few of the old type dome cameras around in public areas and along the street, they are massive, have 4 fake lenses attached with the one real camera inside; the camera itself can be upgraded to more modern CCD/CMOS type as the big round dome is just a PTZ housing, so mechanically there is no reason to change them to newer types until they actually break down which has only happened din a few cases recently.

[@nrdesign1991]

I remember those rotating camera arrays, there were similar ones at a local Woolworths until a few years ago. They were painted red and looked more like a disc-shaped UFO with multiple flashing red LEDs around them. At least one camera on them was real, because if you carefully watched the monitors that were located near the cash registers, you would eventually find out which camera looked where.

[@radry100]

A suggestion, how about putting an IR motion sensor in it and activating the led with it? That would look more convincing I think

[@alastairfraser5871]

Poundland.

[@bigclivedotcom]

It has a position for an audio sounder, so I'm guessing that they had a simple LDR style motion sensor option for warning noises.

[@jonathancook4022]

Yeah, some dome cameras have IR emmiters which are barely visable, but visable non-the-less. I think the intention of the LED light is to give the impression that it is connected to something, so not a bad thing

[@MaximumEfficiency]

motion sensor would probably consume more power than contantly flashing LED

[@TheBlackcredo]

I remember those Boots cameras well. I loved them because I was a massive Doctor Who fan and thought they looked like daleks.

[@mattvalcarc]

I love the way you say "cooker"

[@alexanderstevenson6484]

I’m only 15, but until it closed, BHS at the Mall at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol had those big chrome domes that rotated infrequently.

[@ianharrison6597]

The old C & A clothing stores used to have those 'Dalek head' cameras as well. I first saw them in 1973. The vidicon tube was the most common pick-up, Plumbicons were more expensive and were found in broadcast cameras and medical-imaging equipment. Vidicons were overly red sensitive, unlike the early Plumbicons. They also smeared in low light levels. I can't imagine the image would have been very good in some locations.

[@muh1h1]

i now am a patreon of yours, looking forward to future videos over there!

[@muh1h1]

Doug Reed i did before and i still do :)

[@speederbrad95]

woolworths here in Australia used to have cameras that had a flashing blue lights like what you find on the covers for the outside siren

[@johnnyboy3949]

If it’s good enough for Tommy Walsh it’s good enough for him. Removing the led might lose his seal of approval! Then it would be worthless.

[@chaz58]

one of those old massive CCTV cameras in my local Argos still running and it just spins constantly

[@lemagreengreen]

Get a picture of it!

[@chaz58]

i'll try and remember

[@poptartmcjelly7054]

you spin me right round baby right round...

[@chaz58]

Haha

[@Carnology]

I hope you didn't forget, upload to imgur!

[@miniwarrior7]

hey! Clive I'm gonna need you to draw the schematic for this one 😂 ;)

[@kammak743]

Got quite a few of the big dome things in my local bhs. They don't have anything sticking out of them though. Just a (mostly) constantly spinning white thing with silver stripes.

[@scottchristie6734]

I was born in 1996 but the chemist near me had that exact massive camera until the early 00's.

[@LeeHutch89]

Hey Clive I was working in Ayr today and went into boots and seen the big camera's. I will try and get some pics to you.

[@DimensionDude]

On the subject of dummy cameras: we had a problem with people pulling the fire alarm in a hallway in the industrial plant where I work. One day I was handed a real camera (but it wasn't going to be connected) and told to mount it on the ceiling pointed at the alarm pull station. Further instructions were "do it at shift change, and get in the way as much as possible." I went so far as to drop the cables through a hole in the ceiling, but the cables were actually not connected to anything but the camera. I looped the free end of the cable around a rod to keep it from being pulled out of the ceiling. The false alarms stopped immediately. :)

[@kengamble8595]

That first camera you have there is one I noticed in a casino back in the 70s and the last one I have now and still works. Kinda tickled me that it states on the case it's FULL COLOR, but not very good color when I connected to a monitor.