hardwired

They'll work with any RS422/485 signals. Technically, they're not amplifiers but signal distribution devices but they will allow longer runs if placed midway. The cheapest device would be the KTD-83. Those devices are for RS422, but I'm not sure that they will work for RS485 correctly, the Pelco product, at least, is only listed as RS422 unidirectional, where RS485 is a bidirectional protocol. I'd take a look at the repeater from B&B model #485OP ,http://www.bb-elec.com/product_family.asp?familyid=1, that seems to be perfectly suited for what he needs.

Yeah, I've been a Milestone Partner since 2007, and price has been one of the biggest hurdles in implementing Milestone in more of my installs, I'd been using more Exacq recently, but will probably be doing more Milestone again soon... FYI, MSRP is $99 for two camera base, and $49 per channel, up to 26 cameras.

You have to go onto Milestone's website(http://www.milestonesys.com),and go to "Software Registration" to delete the previous camera MAC, enter the new camera's MAC address into the Software License Key (SLK), and the system will give you a new license key# for that camera. If you do not have that login information, you may have to contact whoever you got the software from to assist you. This is how the cameras are authorized for use on the particular camera license. The on-line system only allows about 15% of the license numbers on a particular license to be changed before you have to contact their tech support, though.

The Nanostation M5 will not output standard 802.3af power, but I was able to power a camera using a passive PoE injector like this reversed, with the power+data side going to the secondary port on the Nanostation, the data side to the camera, and the "power in" jack supplying power out to the camera's standard power supply connection. I tested this using Ubiquiti's 24 volt adapter to allow for maximum power at the camera. Having said all that, you may just want to use a standard PoE injector on a separate CAT5 wire for the camera.... Also note that for static/lightning prevention, Ubiquiti recommends the use of shielded CAT5 with metal CAT5 plugs (see http://www.ubnt.com/wiki/index.php?title=Proper_installation for details). Also note that for a fully transparent layer 2 link, you need to use WDS.

I'm responding to questions from the original poster of this thread, I'm not sure what you mean?

Those look pretty nice, I'm going to have to start considering Axis again.. Their old stuff just didn't impress me much, but the new models are looking a lot nicer. On that particular model, though, the Acti is vandal/outdoor rated, the Axis is not... Not sure if the OP needs that or not, though.

That wireless stuff looks a little iffy..... I use a lot of Ubiquiti stuff, and have been very happy with it. As far as the Ethernet extenders, I've used ones from http://netsys-direct.com/ that have worked very well, IPERF bandwidth tests on their 100Mbps model came close to wire-speed at 1200 feet of CAT3 phone cable, and I have their 8 port DSLAM running cameras at 1500-2000 feet each in an apartment complex over their existing phone cabling.

I spoke with there tech support and they told me there products are not 802.3af. They have a adapter that does but it is miss leading, it takes the 802.3af and converts it to Ubiquiti's standard. I have not tested this for myself, but I did call and speak with there support. I do hope that he was incorrect He was not incorrect, although I have found a way to power some cameras on the same line as the Nanostation radios. They will not power up from the PoE directly (I tested this with cams from Panasonic, Acti, and Mobotix), but by using a passive power injector block, you can peel the power off of the CAT5 cable, and then go to the camera's standard power input port. Ubiquiti makes power injectors in 15, 18, and 24 volt, I used the 24 volt model for testing this, to allow as much cable losses as possible. I do agree, that picture is a little misleading, I had a few conversations with Ubiquiti about that. The Nanostation "M" models are working extremely well for me, and the 2.4 Ghz model will cut through a surprising amount of trees/foliage, compared to other wireless gear.

Are you looking for something the same size, or why do you need an alternative? Those Acti domes have worked fairly well for me, and they are very small, not sure if there is anything else out there as small.

You should take a look at Exacq for the recording software, the server side will run in Windows or Linux, and the client software will run on Win, Mac, or Linux. Also allows web viewing with no plug-ins (Firefox, etc. work fine).

Thanks man.... that camera is the best bang for the buck for indoors.... use it all the time. What lens are you using on that second picture, Hardwired? The Fujinon YV2.8x2.8SA-2, on that one. I've also been using a fixed Computar 5mm, H0514-MP that works well, too. I didn't notice that the factory lens was a little out of focus until I was going back through the archive after changing it to the Fujinon, and was not going to change it back to the factory lens for a comparison again. Try it yourself, when you get a chance though, you'll see what I mean. It's worth the added cost.

Notable names on the training and/or books on the subject are Vlado Damjanovski (http://www.cctvseminars.com/) and Charlie Pierce (http://www.ipcinternational.com/news/news.asp?NEWS_ID=44) I did look at one of the books by Vlado Damjanovski a while back, they had it in stock at Fry's electronics. Seemed fairly comprehensive. Still, you'll do some of your best learning with a wire in your hand, on a ladder.....

I have a number of systems running this way, and it works fine, and does provide isolation between networks, as Soundy indicated, they could be physically separate networks, or just different subnets/VLAN's on the same physical network/switch. I have also done systems that had a separate subnet/VLAN for the cameras on the same physical network, and added static routes for the computers that needed access to the NVR. If you were really into isolating networks, you could also add a router with stateful packet inspection that only allowed viewing traffic, and nothing else, between the NVR and the viewing network. I had one customer that requested this, so if the NVR was compromised by an attacker gaining access to the camera network/NVR through removing an exterior camera and connecting to the camera network, they still would not be able to get to the core network.

...But not at megapixel resolution, though. Those Sanyo's are 2 Megapixel. I'm thinking about trying them at a local hospital we service to replace some analog Pelco Spectra's, once Exacq supports them.

I put a before and after from the 4201 in the Megapixel images category....

Acti ACM-4201 with original lens, maybe a hair out of focus, but not much..... ACM-4201 with Fujinon megapixel lens Worth the extra money, I think!

I've been using the Fujinon YV2.8x2.8SA-2, it's a 2.8-8mm, F1.2 Megapixel model, but any true megapixel lens would be a huge improvement. I'll try to post some before and after shots next week, but the difference is huge, really worth the extra cost.

If you want to get your feet wet with Megapixel, I'd second the recommendation of Acti, probably the cheapest way to go with something decent, their newer firmwares keep adding a lot of nice features. An ACM-4201 (I use a lot of these indoors) with a better lens (the one it comes with is crap), and put into an enclosure, would do pretty well if you have good lighting (no D/N cutfilter). Probably the lowest cost option. ACM-1231 (Bullet) or ACM-7411 (dome) would be the next step up. Their newest firmwares include UP&P, Bonjour, and SNMP management. I'm planning to add SNMP to one of my larger sites soon, to help with alerting for outages and network problems. Acti doesn't seem to have published the SNMP OID's, though, so it looks like I'm going to have to do a SNMP walk on it and try to determine what the OID values mean (has anyone already tried this?)

On something like that, I'm guessing Soundy's right, and those were just the largest drives available at the time. Could be firmware limits, though. I've started using the 2TB drives now, hoping they are not time bombs like some early 1.5's I used BTW, I've been using Norco cases (RPC800, mostly) for my DVR/NVR builds for several years now, and they work pretty well, good airflow, nice looking, and a decent price.

Matt, while I might agree with you, there are cameras out there that basically meet the specs for 720p and 1080p. The Honeywell HD3MDIP we are testing, as well as a number of others are 1280x720. In that respect they are 720p. Could they be hooked directly up to an HDTV? It would depend on the TV, but likely not in most cases. To qualify in that respect they would have to have either Component or HDMI outputs. None do that I know of. The Sanyo VCC-HD4000 has a HDMI output, as well as an analog output on BNC. I do still agree that using 720P and 1080P designations is mostly marketing hype, though....

The Acti camera will use standard 802.3af PoE injectors at 48 volts. I tend to use injectors from Phihong, ones from PowerDsine are also good. I don't think the Acti camera will power up with under 48 volt on PoE lines, unless you use the remote end unit from the Linksys module to power the camera on it's seperate power terminals (not necessary, if you use a standard 802.3af power injector) The Linksys unit is NOT standard 802.3af compliant, and will probably not power the camera directly.

Keep going.... Sentryscope 21 Megapixel http://www.sentryscope.com/index.html Or, if you have a little bigger wallet... 1.8 Gigapixel... http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/02/gigapixel-flyin/ Hmmmm, 500 posts, time to warn everybody about wearing a body harness too loose... http://www.usedtowers.com/FROMS/Loose_fitting_harness%20%283%29.pdf

The powerline option (or HPNA phone-line adapters) might be a pretty good choice, and Ubiquiti 2.4Ghz stuff penetrates reasonably well, but they are coming out with 900Mhz versions of their equipment in Q2 of this year, and that should do much better at penetrating interior walls. I've gotten a lot of penetration with 900Mhz Ubiquiti wireless mini-PCI cards in Mikrotik Routerboards, if the new integrated "N" rate stuff is anything like it, it should work very well inside.

I looked at their suggestions, but I can assure you, anything with a sun shield is going to REALLY cut into the view. A dome might be the best bet.

Theia lenses do work very well, however, you'll have a heck of a time finding a housing for them that you will not see the edges/sun-shield in the view. I ended up using an EMI flat front housing (claimed weatherproof, but no gasket or sealed edges!), and sealed the heck out of it with silicone. You will probably want to digitally crop part of the top/bottom of the image, otherwise you usually get a lot of sky and foreground. Here's a sample from an Arecont 5MP/ Theia SY125 lens. **********Edit********* Kowa also makes a nice 3.5MM fixed, as well as a 3.5-10MM varifocal. I have used the fixed lens, it has a really nice image. Haven't tried the varifocal, though.