Chrispy66

Wow, you guys scare me. You guys are the surveillance super gurus. I got a good scenerio for ya. I got a descision to make here and I need some educated guidance from my mentors here. Soundy and a few others here have helped me out with setup of my security cameras directect kit. Now I have same system and a friend of mine, who owned a business installing surveillance equipment moved out of state. Before leaving he gave me a few good cameras. One of them I want to add to my system and I need to know if it will be compadable or Not. Its a American Dynamics Speed Dome Ultra VII EIS day/night part #RAS918LS 22X camera with mount. I know the camera is worth twice what the 9 camera system cost me that I want to add this to. I just need to know if I can controll it and view and record like the other cctv cams in my system. My DVR is a SDC 9004g160 (AVTECH 776) 9 channel. It states in the setup menu it speaks RS232 an 484? anyways are these protocols compadible with my new camera? If not what do you think I need to be able to view, record,and control it through my DVR. I was told so many things already I am tossed. Should I just trade them in for a couple of good bullet cams and call it a day, or fiddle around with this bad boy and spend a bunch of cash which I dont have, and..... I dont know. Guys, can you give me some insight? I really apreciate your help Sincerely, Chris

I am not tech savy enough for this camera. I want to trade for equal value surveillance equipment. I have a American Dynamics Speed Dome Ultra VII EIS 22X day/night PTZ camera Model # RAS918LSI. This camera was installed at a business for less than a week before being repoed. It works fine, I have no controller, wiring, connectors, so its just as it came from Tyco. The cost of all the accoutraments is making it impossible for me to afford on my budget. If interested I would like to trade for some good quality varifocal bullet cams or box cams as long as there ip66 rated outdoor cams and or maybe a good power supply and a good cam. Whatever you got. Thanks for reading my short story here. Chris

Thanks Guys, I think I'm just gonna sell the cameras due to the cost involved in setting these up. I need some new cameras, but Id rather be able to pay my mortgage. I just thought due to the fact these things are like 2 grand a piece, they would be somewhat turn key in operation setup. It sounds like were talking another grand to set them up propperly. Anyways thank you for your responses and if you know anyone who wants to trade for some reasonably priced cams fot one of these beasts, let me know. Thanks again guys. Chris

Hi Everyone, A friend of mine sold his security company and moved out of state. He left me two very expensive cameras which I definately appreciated due to the fact my cameras are crap. He gave me two American Dynamic Speed dome ultra 7 eis bla bla blah cameras. They didnt come with any documentation and its strange being there both brand new. I have no idea even after visiting there website, and downloading several hundred pages, how to hook these puppies up. It took me days to figure out what I even had. I knew my friend told me they were complete, but are they? The kit product number is RAS918ls. Can anyone shed light on this for me? Thanks in advance Chris

P.S. This is the specs on that camera from closeout cctv I told you about. FYI • click here •540 lines resolution •36 IR L.E.D infrared •3.5 to 8 mm vari focal lens •Professional series •1/3" SONY CCD w/ ADVANCED DSPTM color camera •Our 1/3 SONY CCD gives a much higher quality image than 1/4 CCD •Two Year warranty •Power supply not included

Hi Scorpion, thanks for your response. The DVR does not have ethernet connectivity. SCD said it did, but it does not. It has an io thus the connector kit included, which im still not 100 percent clear on. I can live without the mouse feature and even the lack of remote, but how do you offload video if need be? The only way I can see it is to physically sit there and find the event I want to capture, then record via a VCR or another DVR/PVR etc... I used to be able to network the DVR via a USB video capture card I bought years ago from X10. Lol. Now my new Dell is windows 7 and X10 doesnt support that and visaa versa. Overcoming the fact the DVR is not great and has many shortcomings, my cameras are my issue. They make many claims of quality and they say there superior night vision makes them some of the industries best for the buck. I say B.S! They flicker so bad during the day that its actually hypnotic to look at them, they put you in a trance. At night there so grainy its like watching an old UHF channel on the old BW tv in the garage with a coat hanger for an antenna. I moved them around to fix problem. I bought newer more expensive cables per SCD's not so knowledgable tech staff. Nothing works. There solutions just make you purchase more of there junk. Thats what put me in this situation in the first place. Anyways, I guess I'm at the point I need to at least salvage a tiny bit of my sanity here. I have decided my best move is to try new cameras. Due to my budget I can buy one, to replace one of the nine pieces of crap I bought. Any suggestions? The specs on mine are b.s. but they claim: 1/4" sharp ccd 420 LOR 120m long range IRs for night vision 6mm lense and a whole lot more thats not true. I have been looking at the links on this page, and to the left of us here theres a place called closeout cctv. They have Night Owl? with red wave technology and 1/3" sony super had cctv 540 LOR etc.. Are these for 120 bucks any good? I dont know, I'm gun shy now. Any help with feedback would be great. Thanks for all your help! I do apreciate it. Sincerely Frustrated, Chris

Thanks for your reply Scorpion. Sounds like I bought a piece of crap. I was told it did those things, as the small package with a plug and pinset enclosed in the box when I received it. The very short as well as iliterate manual written and translated by a chinese third grader indicated that the enclosed connector kit was for RS232 or something communication. As well as pc control. Very vague on that. The unit is from Security Cameras Direct, but you can see the unit was clearly just repackaged. The only differance between this DVR and the exact ones bearing the names, KTL CCTV DVR9004G160, Lorex 209, AVTech 776, is that my SCD 9004G160 is black. Wow back to the drawing board. Im just gonna have to chaulk up this as a thousand dollar learning experience. Well at least my cameras are crap too. Thanks again, I apreciate and respect your feedback. I am a car painter not a CCTV expert. I only wish I had spoke with you guys first before buying my system. Take care. Chris

Thank you Down Under Your correct in stating what my objective here is. RS is what the platform is and this I should have stated on my initial post. Also is there a generic software out there that would work with this cheap DVR?

Hello All, Once again I am calling on my mentors here to help enhance my technolologically illiterate mind on the wonders of todays video surveillance world. I have a SDC9004 9 channel DVR (AVTECH 776/ KTL9004) It has a output and a plug kit for downloading video to an external device or remotely controlling the unit e.t.c. I am ignorant to this whole technology so please forgive me if im asking stupid questions. I'm not even sure if this is possible, but from my understanding of the vague instruction manual, I want to be able to view and interact with the DVR (as far as using an actual mouse to interact with and navigate) as well as save certain events on my Dell XPS laptop. The manual gives you a pin configuration for the enclosed plug kit so you can make a wire that gives you this ability (suposedly). Can anyone help with this?

Thanks Soundy, You hit the nail on the head. I am running cables purchased with the cameras so I assumed the company (SCD), knew what they were selling when they sold them to me. The cables are really thin and cheesey. They are not labled as far as the gauge of wire goes, but comparing them to other wires I know what the gauge is, they appear to be 20 gauge. Being there 100' wires, I'm sure the voltage drop is substancial. I tried a new cable that is 14 gauge, and low and behold, a camera that doesnt suck as much! Thanks for your help Soundy! Sincerely, Chrispy66

Thanks for your response to my post earlier. I dont think I was clear enough on my post. Kinda like my cameras problem... Anyways I dont feel that the cameras, which are all 420 LOR are performing the way I know they are capable of. The picture is flickering at night as though there is a problem with powerline interferance, the effect is somewhat like a strobe light. Two of the cfc6042ir2 seem like they need to be focused, but the lense is sealed inside the actual body of the camera. I was seeking some feedback from someone who has had similar issues with these cams. Or who has some tricks up there sleeve. Thanks again for your reply.

Hello all. I am a newbie, so please excuse my ignorance. I am amazed at the amount of knowledge in this forum. I can only hope to gain a fraction of your knowledge and I will condider myself a lucky man. My question is vague, but any and all responses will be helpfull. I recently purchased a home in a high crime area. With this said, i opted to purchase a video surveillance system. Due to the current economy, my budget was limited so I purchased the following products from a company I'm sure you have all heard of, "Security cameras Direct" My setup is: 4 x 6042ir2 Day/Night vision 130' ir cams 2 x 6042ir3 '' '' '' 165' ir cams 3 x Swann cheap 50' ir cams 1 x 9 channel regulated power supply box (12volt) 1 x 9 channel DVR (security cameras direct 9004 w/160g hd) 1 x 22" high def 1080p LCD monitor All cameras are within 100' of my monitor and are run with decent quality BNC connectors and wires. I even run the power supply box through a filter on a seperate circuit in the house to prevent interfeirance. my picture qualty is fair at best and i dont think focus is an option on these scd cams. Any suggestions?