Operation Security Blanket

Operation Security Blanket Video Report

2009-04-05T06:15:00.000-07:00

The Team is uploading pictures...

2009-03-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

If you would like to view all the pictures that the team took during the trip in one place. You can view them here.

so what have we been doing.

2009-03-25T21:50:00.001-07:00

They say that a picture is a thousand words...so I have been posting Pictures. But here is my attempt at the 1000 word description of what we have been doing the last three days.

The Orphanage.
Upon arrival after our three hour bus ride over road construction on mountainous roads fresh after reading the stories about other groups in this region of late...we found that the street (read dirt road) is in the process of being paved (with pavers) and is blocked. This is the only way in. So we had to carry our 50 pieces of luggage up hill about 200 yards through sand and gravel interspersed with large rocks and re bar sticking out of the ground.
We made it...it was a bit of a chore.

The Guard Shack.
They built a really nice building for us to install the monitoring system in. However we lacked one little detail. The staircase is not installed. So we have been climbing up a homemade ladder to the second floor about 100 times a day.

The tools.
We forgot to bring RJ45 network crimps. Those are not readily available here...that made us change our initial installation plan. But I think it's better this way...so it's all for good.

The Equipment.
We have installed 77 wireless zones in 22 areas on an XR500N. We have additional power supply to push the keypads...and have pulled about 2500 feet of wire under and over and thru the woods to install 6 keypads. The entire campus is block and concrete contruction under two layers of stucco. The Guard Shack has an 1100XH High Powered Receiver installed and we had to install one 1100R repeater on either side of the campus to boost the signal. It works great...and is seamlessly easy to install.

The Walls.
All the walls are at least 12" thick and full of drill bit bending re bar. Its been quite a chore to install all the door contacts in these doors that are constructed in a manner that none of us have ever seen. These Tane Surface Mount Door contacts have been a lifesaver.

Emergency Pull Stations.
We have installed 32 panic alarms in every nook and cranny of the campus here to call for help from the on site guards. This will be one of the best things that we have done.

Tomorrow...I'll talk more about the Clinton Electronics Video Camera's, DVR and the Entre' Software....for now. G'nite.

OK...I know its long past tomorrow...but things happen. I apologize.

The Cameras.
Clinton Electronics gave us some incredible outdoor cameras. Color in the day, and Infa-Red at night. They have amazing picture quality...and are so easy to install and focus, etc. Its is awesome. We installed a total of 14 of the 16 cameras. One wire pull (the longest) the wire broke twice...and we ran out of coax. We hope to get this camera up and working soon. (Larry's guys can get the wire pulled) We were able to mount 6 cameras on the Guard Tower itself...and then we remoted the rest off the Orphanage itself...or over to the Directors House and two on the Sewing Shop. The guys did awesome work getting them installed and they look great.

The DVR.
Again...Clinton Electronics donated a top of the line DVR that is so easy to use and is compatible to the spanish language, that we had the spanish guards trained up on how to use it in practically no time. In fact, I saw them up there the first night...and they were using it, without any training at all. We soon programmed all the camera view names, and ordered the cameras in a logical order, and they were following people walk around the camp from view to view like a pro. It was very powerful. 1.5 TB of storeage...and it was easy to set up and install. What a great product.

DMP Entre' Software.
I was a little concerned about the Entre' Software because I had never used it or worked with it. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is powerful and easy to set up. We quickly pulled in the XR500 panel programming into it. Barrett and Stephen had created a great looking site map of the entire camp...and we were dragging and dropping the active icons onto the map in no time. This is a very powerful visual tool that allows the guards to get a full look of the entire system in a simple map view that notifies them the second an alarm should be tripped. It was awesome...and I can't wait to work with it more.

There is more...but the internet in the hotel in Las Vegas is only about 1/2 again as fast as in Guatemala...and as you can imagine...I'm still pretty busy. More to come...

Day Three...

2009-03-25T21:10:00.000-07:00

The Vista...

2009-03-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

These two photo's tells the story...

2009-03-24T20:32:00.000-07:00

The Guard Shack...

2009-03-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

Work Day 2

2009-03-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

The work...(we decided to start tonight)

2009-03-22T23:03:00.000-07:00

The kids...

2009-03-22T23:01:00.000-07:00

The Luggage...Oh...the Luggage.

2009-03-22T22:59:00.000-07:00

The Traffic...

2009-03-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

The Airport...

2009-03-22T22:56:00.000-07:00

The Group...

2009-03-22T22:34:00.000-07:00

We are "Oscar Mic" at 15:30 hours bound for de Nita.

2009-03-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

Coffee Critic Chris says...

2009-03-13T09:43:00.000-07:00

If you are going to be buying coffee for just a regular coffee drinker I would go with the Lakeshore. It is not too strong and has a really good flavor. If you are buying it for a coffee snob or you are a coffee snob I would go with their Amazing Grace or HueHue. The Amazing Grace was some of the best coffee I have ever had. These are going to be a little stronger and more of your coffee shop type coffee. The Peaberry would also be a good choice for a bold coffee. All of their coffee is very good and there is not a bad choice.

Here is the website of the shop you are going to they have a great story.

The Shipment has arrived!

2009-03-09T08:53:00.000-07:00

The shipment arrived last week, and everything seams to have arrived just fine. Praise the Lord!

Latest Views of Construction...

2009-02-23T06:44:00.000-08:00

Preparing for the big OSB installation trip. Here is what is being done to prepare for it in Guatemala. Looking good!

The "Central Station" Guardshack building is coming right along!

2009-01-18T19:25:00.000-08:00

This is the building that they are building for us to install the Video/Perimeter Security system in...

2009-01-13T21:50:00.000-08:00

We are having a fundraiser for our Operation Security Blanket mission trip in March. The proceeds from this fundraiser will go to help pay shipping for all the materials we will need to install the security system. It will also be used to help purchase any materials we need that were not donated, purchase any items the Eagles Nest Orphanage may need us to bring and
for team members that may need help raising money to go.

ALL YOU CAN EAT PANCAKE FUNDRAISER

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7th 7:30am -10:30 am

APPLEBEE'S NORTH
(corner of Glenstone & Kearney)

COST IS $5 PER PERSON

YOU CAN PURCHASE YOUR TICKET AT THE DOOR
OR YOU CAN PURCHASE A TICKET AT HIGH STREET
ON SUNDAY JAN 25th AND SUNDAY FEB 1st

OSB Update!!!

2008-12-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

Solola, Guatemala. Operation Security Blanket Update: In recent months a few manufacturers have come on board in a large way, Clinton Electronics, Inc., www.clintonelectronics.com has agreed to underwrite Operation Security Blanket by providing state of the art Cameras, Digital Video Recorder, and the necessary mounting hardware and even wire and cable.

“Clinton Electronics is very pleased to be teaming with DMP and Atlas Security to provide the CCTV equipment for such a needed and fulfilling project”. Said Jason West, Inside Sales Manager for Clinton Electronics

In addition to that, Altronix, Inc. www.Altronix.com has agreed to supply Operation Security Blanket with their new rack mounted CCTV power supply equipment to power this project.

“We are very excited about how this whole thing has been coming together, I hope to make some more announcements very soon about more manufacturers that are coming on board to support this orphanage project, said Project Coordinator Mark Hillenburg, “it’s especially exciting to see so many people get involved as we are finalizing our installation details.”

Operation Security Blanket is still looking for a few more key pieces of equipment for this project. We could use some installation hardware like drill bits, and assorted hardware. We could also use a few outdoor weatherproof boxes for pulling wire and conduit, and we have a donor that has supplied a PC and three LCD monitors that will host the brand new DMP Entre’ Head-End software that will provide the command and control for the system. In addition if anyone would like to get involved with any of the financial needs, we will need financial help to buy some additional needed supplies, and cover the cost of the freight of all the equipment to the Orphanage.

A non-profit organization and supporter of the orphanage will be overseeing the donations and making sure that all the participating companies receive proper tax deductions for their generosity toward this important project .

For more information, or to find out how to get involved, contact Mark Hillenburg at OperationSecurityBlanket@gmail.com or by going to www.OperationSecurityBlanket.com

Make your Plans now to be a part of this important project!

2008-11-08T10:30:00.000-08:00

DMP releases New Software...to be installed for OSB.

2008-11-08T07:18:00.000-08:00

DMP releases new state of the art "Head-End" software called Entre' . It will create the ability for OSB to provide complete command and control of the entire installation locally, or connected to the internet from across the world. We are very excited about this new product and the project would not be possibel without it. How cool is that!

More Great News...

2008-11-08T07:07:00.001-08:00

One thing that video cameras need is to be powered.

In our industry Altronix means power...Amazingly enough I made a single email to Altronix...and they came right on board and supplied us with the latest state of the art CCTV rack mounted Camera Power Supply. Awesome!

Great news...

2008-11-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

We have a new manufacturer that has come on board in a major way.

Is a top manufacturer of video cameras, DVR's etc. They have agreed to supply OSB with all the cameras and wire and cable, and a DVR for the project. This is a huge answer to prayer...as we had a meeting last month, making our Plan B...because we were having difficulty getting video onboard.

This is major!

More OSB In the NEWS...

2008-10-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

(also check out that Dave Rogers)

More Press Coverage...

2008-08-05T14:15:00.000-07:00

Latest Press Coverage

2008-07-23T19:35:00.000-07:00

View it here.

2008-06-24T12:02:00.000-07:00

I would like to tell you about a project that has captured my heart and hopefully after reading this letter it will capture yours as well. For the past 22 years some friends of ours have operated an orphanage and children’s home in

Guatemala

. Just recently I returned from a trip to visit them where I could see the children and the orphanage first hand. First let me say how blessed we are. I recently read that if you make more than $20K per year, you are in the top ten percent of the wealthiest people on earth. I now firmly believe that statistic.

One of the critical needs of this orphanage is for security. If you read the U.S. State Dept. travel information on

Guatemala

(www.travel.state.gov) you will see that there is dangerous activity, especially surrounding the adoption of children. This is because of a very real threat of crime, kidnapping & other violence that can be common in Central America
By experiencing the need first hand & spending time with the children it has persuaded a few colleagues & I to try to do something about it. That is why we have started Operation Security Blanket. This is simply an attempt to raise the equipment & funds to install a fully integrated Intrusion Detection & Digital Video security system in the orphanage compound. Since we all work in this industry we felt it was an opportunity to give back & provide real security to some people who could really use it.

While we were at the orphanage in Solala, Guatemala in March the team was able to do a walk through & design the needs and requirements of such a system. Attached is an equipment list with the items still needed. We are currently looking for donations of these items from other security industry manufacturers.

Digital Monitoring Products (DMP) has been gracious enough to donate all of the intrusion products that will be needed for the project. We have also been fortunate that Peter Harlick, Publisher of Security Dealer and Integrator Magazine has agreed to write a cover feature article on the project upon its completion, including some progress updates along the way. Additionally, Atlas Security of Springfield, Mo is sponsoring the installation supervision, and will be overseeing the volunteers that will return next spring to do the installation. We are currently seeking additional sponsors to come on board to supply the other items required. We have secured a non-profit organization that supports the orphanage on a monthly basis (High Street Baptist Church) and they have agreed to write letters of donation for all of the equipment or other donations that come in for this project. So your contribution will be tax deductible.

In short we are trying to create a win-win-win situation to provide the security so desperately needed by these children while they wait to gain the security of a loving family here in the US. Would you consider coming on board and being a part of this great project? Contact me Directly at OperationSecurityBlanket@gmail.com.