SpyGuy10

Thank you for the clarification. I have no objection to a person being compensated for his advice or recommendations, provided that the recommendations are sound. Nevertheless, in fairness to the recipient of the recommendation, such compensation should be openly disclosed. That being said, I have always found Soundy's posts to be quite helpful and very informative. So I hope this situation gets resolved amicably, because I think we will all lose if Soundy stops being an active member of this forum.

So doing some comparisons, it appears the Dahua model number for the 3MP cam you mentioned is the IPC-HF3300. However Dahua has a new 2MP box cam listed on their web site with better specs: the IPC-HF3200. This new model has a larger imaging sensor (1/3" vs. 1/2.8") and better color low-light capability (0.1 lux vs. 0.2 lux). However, a quick search of the Internet failed to turn up anyone selling this cam. Do you know of Dahua distributors in the US?

Sorry to the OP: you were asking about bullet cameras and I replied about box cameras (since I'm shopping for a box camera right now, I've got them on my mind).

That Q1604 does look impressive, based on the photos you posted in the "images" thread, as well as the Axis datasheet for the camera. A search turned up the Q1604-E at Beach Audio for $1,285. That is quite a bit more than what we were planning for, but maybe I can make a convincing argument. One of the other features I like about this cam is its WDR capability. Our runway has a heading of 40/22, and the cam will be pointed ~045 deg., so the camera will be looking into the sunrise every morning. Unmentionable? Why? I'm not familiar with the "politics" of this industry.

Some considerations: 1. For a residence, dome cameras are far more visually appealing; housed box cameras will make your home look like a fort or a bank. 2. Besides aesthetics, you often do not want the camera to stand out. The more obvious the camera is, the more likely a perp will find a way to defeat it and/or vandalize it. 3. Dome cameras have small lenses, whereas box camera lenses are typically much larger. Bigger glass equals better low-light capability and better resolution. 4. A dome camera can see along the face of the wall it is mounted on. 5. A dome camera can be mounted on an arm to extend it's position away from the wall. This can often improve the view. The downsides are that it is more visually obtrusive and easier for a vandal to attack (like throwing a rope over the arm). Of course, the same goes for the housed box camera. Since you're building new, perhaps you can work the cameras into the architectural design of your house.

I'm seeking a megapixel IP box cam with lens to go into an outdoor housing; budget for the camera body and lens is about $500. (May be able to go a small amount over that if it will get us a significantly better camera.) This is for use at a small private airport. Initially, the cam will be used to monitor a construction site to prevent loss of materials. After that project is complete, the cam will be relocated to the runway area to provide pilots a view of weather and runway conditions (via web site feed), with the additional benefit of capturing any mishaps or other unusual circumstances. When in service at the runway, there will be no auxiliary illumination for the cam: the only light will be natural light and the runway lighting. Therefore, good low-level light capability is preferred. Any recommendations and advice would be greatly appreciated.

This kind of TV fantasy nonsense is why killers now walk free from American court rooms: the idiots in the jury actually want to see this kind of "perfect" made-for-tv proof before they convict anyone. They have no capacity to reach a conclusion "beyond reasonable doubt" based on the logical analysis of real-world evidence.

A better reply would be: "Well, ours won't be the cheapest, but it will be the best value for your dollar."

Have a Panasonic POH-1000 outdoor box camera housing. The "Rear Cap/Gasket" is broken (this is the plastic plate and sealing gasket that makes up the back of the housing); the part number is 30-VL956. Are there any Panasonic distributors here who can get this part?

Working on an older Panasonic CCTV system with a mix of cameras: Panasonic box camera (with power zoom) on a PT mount, Panasonic PTZ domes, a stationary bullet cam (unknown make/model), and a DoorKing pinhole cam in a gate entry controller. The Panasonic box camera on the PT mount recently failed. Yesterday, I replaced that box camera with a new CNB IGC2050F; this is a hybrid megapixel cam with both analog & IP outputs. [The plan is to use the analog output with the existing Panasonic system for now, and later upgrade to an IP system.] The new cam has a varifocal lens, but no powered zoom (which was an unused feature on the older Panasonic camera). The Panasonic system was designed to operate on 24VAC, while the new CNB cam operates on 12VDC. So I disconnected the 3 wires for the power zoom from the Panasonic PTZ controller, and used two of those wires to bring 12VDC out to the cam location. The new camera powered up fine and I got video on my hand-held LCD monitor, both at the cam and also at the end of the coax run where the DVR/Controller is located. However, there was no video being displayed on the Panasonic system monitor. The way the Panasonic system is set-up, there is a WJ-MP204C Data Multiplexer between the main system DVR/Controller and the box camera's PTZ controller. The multiplexer injects the PTZ control signals into the video coax cable to the PTZ controller. The PTZ controller extracts the PTZ control signals and then sends power on discrete wiring to the pan and tilt motors at the camera mount (the zoom controls no longer being used). In an attempt to get the system to work, I powered everything off and then back on again. What I found was, when I powered off the WJ-MP204C Data Multiplexer and then powered it back on, the Panasonic system monitor would briefly (about 1 second) display the video from the new CNB camera, but then go black. This was repeatable every time I powered off/on only the multiplexer. So the Panasonic system is "seeing" the video signal from the new camera, but it is not displaying it continuously. I am at a loss to explain this strange behavior. The camera is outputting basic analog NTSC video with a 1V peak-to-peak signal, so I don't see how the camera could be a factor. But it's the only thing that has recently changed in the system. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Could you please elaborate on this statement? I'm curious why Avigilon would require half the labor. I assume you're talking about software set-up labor only, right? So why would there be a big difference between setting up the cameras in one software app versus another? Also, how does Avigilon compare in price to NUUO and/or Exacq? Ballpark figures are fine.

Not on my watch. I pride myself on my installations.

I wouldn't even worry about a patch panel in this case: terminate the Cat5e in an RJ45 plug, and plug it right into the balun. Screw the balun to the wall (or whatever you're mounting it to), anchor the Cat5 in place, and you're done. I wrote that about the separate patch panel + baluns before discovering the 4-channel balun with RJ45 port and 4 BNC connectors. With the 4-channel unit, a "patch panel" is essentially already built into the unit. So, I agree: I would simply mount one 4-ch unit near the cameras, and another near the DVR and I'd be good to go. I didn't think 500' was that great a distance for baluns. The 4-ch unit I posted above is passive and they claim it's rated to 1,200 ft on Cat5. Of course that's probably a "theoretical" maximum (ideal conditions), but shouldn't I be able to get at least half that distance?

I'll post that soon. Thanks.

I was just googling video baluns and found this: a 4-channel passive balun that incorporates its own BNC patch panel. http://www.cctvcamerapros.com/4-Channel-Video-Transmitter-p/balun-4phub.htm