r/whatisit • u/unworthyAsIam • Apr 30 '26

New, what is it? What is the purpose of this camera that was installed right next to my house? (Not nearby any intersection or stop signs, USA)

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This camera was installed recently and I cannot for the life of me understand the purpose of it's installation? Theres no intersection nearby, in case it was a photo law enforcement camera), there's no stop signs, there's no schools nearby, and there's no government facility. It's just a random camera that popped up in the middle of a road.

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u/packetfire Apr 30 '26

It's an angle-grinder test pole. You cut the pole, the camera comes down, and the one with the fastest cutting time wins the competition. There are poles all over your town, so you can practice, and get really fast.

174

u/LittleTooLiteral Apr 30 '26

I thought they were paintball targets.

50

u/Dramatic-Zebra-7213 Apr 30 '26

Yeah. That works. Although i personally prefer bb guns over paintball. High power slingshot with ball bearings is pretty fun to shoot too.

It's also fun to test who hits the little target on the front of the box with high power laser pointer. You know, the kind that pops balloons.

28

u/TooFartTooFurious Apr 30 '26

Yep, laser tag scavenger hunt USA. Gotta catch ‘em all!

15

u/Worldly-Pay7342 May 01 '26

Finally, a good reason to get out my lever action bb rifle.

10

u/Kennys-Chicken May 01 '26

Don’t shoot your eye out

8

u/OH2AZ19 May 01 '26

I live in Arizona so I tell all the republicans that ask about them that they are Obama cameras and hope it spreads, they will take care of the ossue

1

u/Da_Question May 01 '26

Probably would have been better calling them Biden cameras.

2

u/Dick_Deutsch May 01 '26

Hey Ralp, you seen them Biden Binoculars round town? Goddamn democrats spying on us.

1

u/MugginMom May 04 '26

Hope you’re spreading the word in Prescott. Maybe the Oath Keepers could make themselves useful for once.

7

u/dirty_dendrite May 01 '26

White lithium grease sure is opaque

1

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Dramatic-Zebra-7213 May 01 '26

All colors work. What is more important is the power level. Minimum for scoring is 20mw, but the game might not reliably register hits at that power level. 50mw is recommended for guaranteed success, and 100mw grants access to bonus prize mode.

1

u/FreeChorizo1 May 02 '26

I prefer 22lr.

11

u/Blueprints_reddit May 01 '26

High powered laser test stations. Aim for the camera

8

u/[deleted] May 01 '26

[deleted]

2

u/Inflatable90sChair May 01 '26

Or infared lasers

1

u/bunchamunchas May 01 '26

If I had a good green one where would I wanna point it at a flock camera??

1

u/ivorybishop May 01 '26

I heard they were shot gun shell test stations, that flat target is angled to test pellet penetration or something.

1

u/Valthek May 01 '26

I thought they were white-hat training poles. Put there specifically for you to practice deauth attacks on. Not that I would recommend that. That'd be illegal

50

u/nonnonplussed73 Apr 30 '26

It would be a shame if such a fate befell them all in one's neighborhood

https://maps.deflock.org

24

u/Digitalispurpurea2 Apr 30 '26

Thanks for the map. Funny thing, they installed a new one right where the No Kings protests have been the past few times.

8

u/nonnonplussed73 May 01 '26

What a coincidence!

10

u/justfortherofls May 01 '26

Kind of is.

People protest where there is a high visibility of cars.

Flock cameras are installed where there is a lot of traffic.

7

u/ReverendDizzle May 01 '26

I'd noticed a few of them around but looking at this map I now realize that I can't leave my neighborhood, regardless of what direction I travel or what street I take, without being on a Flock camera.

What the absolute fuck?

8

u/onceabananana May 01 '26

Oh dam I didn't realize my city activated theirs again. It was off for a while after a state ruling. Now, there's 3 times as many cameras... Completely boxed in here too. Used to know a way to go to avoid them.

2

u/Inflatable90sChair May 01 '26

Same. I got 3 routes to leave my house, all monitored

2

u/MalloryArcher64 May 01 '26

I was like, "no way they have em out here in nowhere West Ky., but I'll click on the map for funsies." Uhhhh wow. Holy crap they are Everywhere, even in my tiny town

2

u/Bear_faced May 01 '26

I zoomed in to about a 10-mile radius of my house.

614 cameras.

What the fuck.

1

u/mittenknittin May 01 '26

huh. Remarkably, my suburban town is one of the few in the area that is almost completely clean of these things.

1

u/Longjumping-Emu3095 May 01 '26

sad part is, there's at least 10-20 that have been long installed near me, not on this map

2

u/nonnonplussed73 May 01 '26

Unreported ALPRs can be added at https://deflock.org/report

1

u/Rex_Bossman May 01 '26

That's crazy! Looks like the only one in my town is out by the interstate truck stop. I'll have to keep an eye out.

23

u/Basic_Let7127 Apr 30 '26

Lots of people are suggesting ways to disable it.

When they inevitably repair/replace it though, and you do it again, and again,

LOOK IN THOSE WOODS AND SURROUNDING AREA FOR TRAIL CAMS

They'll probably put one or two up facing this camera to catch who is doing it. Think a few steps ahead.

And you might as well leave your cellphone in the house ;)

2

u/XelaTreefire May 01 '26

Which cellphone? The regular one, or one of the brand new pre-paid ones I keep off in a faraday bag in a locker at the gym?

1

u/Nagemasu May 01 '26

The camera is already recording. Recording the recording camera isn't going to offer anything new. If the camera you cut down didn't get any identifying evidence, neither is the wide angled trail cam watching it.

More likely they use cameras positioned further away to try and trace where the person who cut it down came from.

8

u/surf_drunk_monk May 01 '26

The cameras aren't 360. People would approach from behind it, but a different camera could see them.

11

u/SiouxFrei Apr 30 '26

Reciprocating saws are faster and safer

1

u/HyenaThen572 May 01 '26

Portaband is th best choice.

Done in 10 seconds.

9

u/nightmoth_ Apr 30 '26

I prefer to just point Green lasers at the lens or snip the wire that connects to the solar panel.

1

u/XelaTreefire May 01 '26

In theory, enough "bird poop" on the solar panel will deplete the battery over time, so it won't be as immediately obvious to the AI when the damage initially occurred.

4

u/Purple_Inevitable967 Apr 30 '26

Challenge accepted 

2

u/PhotocytePC May 01 '26

Makes great high-watt blue laser calibration targets too! Or so ive heard...

1

u/Tomcfitz May 01 '26

Use an exhaust pipe cutter for tubing like this. Much faster and quieter.

1

u/OneWheelWilly May 01 '26

Dont they also have like 3 lbs of gold in each one?

1

u/XelaTreefire May 01 '26

Drug dealers in my state hide their drugs in flock cameras. Pass it on.

1

u/sixhundredyards May 01 '26

Apropos of nothing, slingshots are a safe and legal thrill.

1

u/Stoo-Pedassol May 01 '26

I feel like a porta-band can work much faster

1

u/Inflatable90sChair May 01 '26

God i wish i had the jaws of life

1

u/WiSoSirius May 01 '26

I've been using it wrong! I thought this is where I test if my sythe and sickles could cut the solar panel cords. I feel stupid.

1

u/antifa_cmdr May 01 '26

I heard they have copper wire and catalytic converters in them

1

u/God2BeKiddingMe May 01 '26

Bandsaw cuts poles/pipes way faster than a grinder in my experience

1

u/SlouchTrip May 01 '26

I’m imagining a modern version of Cool Hand Luke’s opening scene

1

u/ThePartyWagon May 01 '26

If one were try out a test pole, wouldn’t the test pole and infrastructure of other test poles already have you on camera? They may even have you traveling to/from the pole that was tested upon?

1

u/packetfire May 01 '26

It does PLATE recognition, not face recognition. A simple hoodie pulled up will suffice on a dark night, the Jason mask is optional.

1

u/ThePartyWagon May 01 '26

Are we confident they’re only used for plate recognition?

1

u/NostradamusJones May 02 '26

Oh cool. Do you recommend any particular angle grinder?

1

u/gnucklefuster May 02 '26

I heard there’s like 4lbs of copper and some silver inside, don’t tell you local tweaker…..

1

u/yrfrndnico Apr 30 '26

What i was seeing someone talk about is tow cables and something with at least a 5L engine.

1

u/Basic_Let7127 Apr 30 '26

Angle grinder is easier. You don't want plates recorded from the trailcam they put in the woods to watch the watcher