Birdman Adam

I guess I don't see the difference between a CCTV Wiki and the actual forum. We're not giving away any more information than we already do by answering questions in the forum.

Also, BNC/RCA/F Connector/RJ-11 connections are typically fine out in the open, if they are shielded by water (like underneath the soffit of a house). If you live near the coast, thats another story. For a client, of course you want these connections to be wrapped good or in a box.

That's the camera you have now, right? That is odd... Procedure to use the varifocal zoom would be to zoom in, and then adjust focus until sharp (if needed). Have you tried the whole range of focus? I think the camera is broken somehow... I would suggest trying to get it replaced, because that should not happen. If you want a new camera, under $200, check out CNB's -24VF line of cameras: http://cnbusa.com/en/html/product/product_search.php?searchstr=24vf They all have varifocal lenses that go from 2.8-10.5mm. Cameras that start with V are vandal-resistant, completely waterproof - great for outside. Cameras that start with D are indoor domes, not waterproof, cheaper for that reason. All of those have their 'Monalisa' processor, so night viewing is excellent for the price. They will have better picture than the camera you have now. The VCM-24VF (http://cnbusa.com/en/html/product/product.php?seqx_prod=1073) goes for less than $130 from online sellers, just google 'vcm-24vf'.

Primary question: Are we talking analog or megapixel IP?

To clarify, your talking about the 'American Civil Liberties Union', right? This is stupid... Don't they realize those cameras record in public places? You can't complain about privacy/being watched/big brother there! For some things, these organizations can be good, but it looks like they blow their little whistle too often.

" title="Applause" /> " title="Applause" /> " title="Applause" /> Glad you fixed it! It's interesting that the fan runs all the time. I would think it would just turn on when it's hot.

Don't think anyone will know the difference between an intercom with you speaking through a phone or you speaking through another intercom in another room. I would suggest a prominent camera looking right at the person as they are standing at your door. Any one looking to make trouble is going to think "****, i'm already being recorded! " Combine that with you talking back to them, and they will know for certain they don't want to mess around here.

Just give it a good slap! I've had that technique work multiple times with countless electronics. (this is actually true) On second thought don't do that... So what kind of sound is it? A buzzing sound may be the power supply or possibly small transformer in there to convert 24VAC down, before its converted to DC. Probably not anything breaking... A whining or high pitched squealing could be 'coil-whine' (some power converters will have coils). You've probably heard it from a computer PSU at some point. I have an old Dell desktop computer that would whine if I loaded the CPU more than about 75%! If there is a fan inside, maybe the temperature sensor has malfunctioned, and the fan is running all the time? Maybe the bearing are worn out, that can be very loud! Also VERY easy to replace!

Looks like covert (hidden) cameras fall under different laws in most US states. Many prohibit them under all circumstances, others allow them with consent.

That's the camera you have, right? First thing is the Honeywell is a 1/3" sensor, Q-See was probably 1/4". Bigger is better! If possible, focus the camera from a direct-connected monitor, not from the DVR. You can always get a better idea of where the sweet-spot it. The Honeywell is a definite improvement. Night-time quality is better, as well as day-time to some degree. Yea, the Q-See looks brighter at night, but look at all that grainy-ness! Maybe play with the BLC (Back Light Compensation), may be able to get a more uniformly lit daytime picture. I wouldn't expect too much from the IR inside any dome camera. Could you maybe put up a floodlight maybe PIR motion-detect? Flying bugs will usually cuddle up to the IR on dome cameras, with spiders and their webs soon to follow.

Not sure about the UK, but here (US) you can record video on your property, with pretty much no limitations. Audio is a different story - usually you can't record audio without openly posting signs about it. Seems odd to me.

Do you have the pieces of it? Usually they will have a number on top, this can be used to find what value it is.

Yea the RFK5500 is nice - it is a full-LCD keypad PLUS a wireless zone receiver! I always like a hardwired sensor (don't like buying batteries). With the wireless transmitter sensors, they take 3V batteries (CR2) that need replacing every 2+ years (usually more than 3). I know this from experience with my own system. With the DSC 1832, you can connect tons of keypads to the system, all you gotta connect is the four wires from the keypad to the keybus. For $200 you can get the "Uplink 2500 Universal GSM Cellular Communicator", which is a cellular communicator. It works with any alarm system brand Obviously it can be set to call any number, so entering your cell is perfectly fine. It looks like you may still have a monthly fee with these GSM units...?

Are you recording in CIF? 320x240? Its best to judge images in highest quality, (D1). I say the Living Room is good - others may say to tinker a bit. The second image seems out of focus on the left side. The right side looks good. Maybe you could compromise between the two?

Quality is lookin' good! " title="Applause" /> I think this camera will be a big improvement. In the second pic, I think that's the 'intelligent-ir' trying to reduce the bright white light from your hand. Maybe it just switched from B/W and hadn't turned that off yet...? The first picture's glare is definitely not how its supposed to be. That ring that prevents IR from reflecting into lens is probably at fault. Or maybe your hand was reflecting it all back in?

I have always recorded at maximum resolution (D1), at a frame rate between 5-10 FPS. Below 5 is too low (things can be missed), above 10 is really overkill (and wastes space). I also always record 24/7. Motion detection is great, but I'm always scared it will miss something! Remember, having a good quality capture is paramount. Having 2 weeks of D1 video is way better than 4 weeks of CIF!!

Have you used a VBM-24VF to compare to? Did you fiddle with all the settings to find the best compromise? For LDM-20S: 0.01 Lux B/W (no IR) For VBM-24VF: 0.005 Lux B/W Those may be fudged some, but they still show that they probably used a crappier sensor and processor. Another thing to remember is that the VBM-24VF is a TDN camera (ICR), and also has DNR (noise reduction). The LDM-20S has neither. Pretty much a run-of-the-mill camera to me. Results would most likely be extremely better if a VBM-24VF was paired with a separate wide-angle IR illuminator.

That can be the worst - when the snow starts to melt, then refreezes into a perfect sheet night after night. It is always interesting to me how phone/internet communications stays up longer than power. I suppose since most phone lines are underground, maybe they are more reliable...

I always thought pretty much all of CNB's cameras had RS485 (Pelco D) ability? Surely there must be a header on the PCB in there for it somewhere? Maybe I will e-mail them about it...

I think the problem is not with the type of light emitted by the LED's, but rather how it is dispersed. In other words, incandescents throw out light rather evenly, many LED floods are too concentrated. This can easily white-out an illuminated area. Looks like LED's are not perfected yet - they still need a little tweaking to get the output shape and level exactly the same as incandescents. Another thing that may be going on here - incandescent bulbs turn on/off (more like bright/dim) 120 times per second, (naturally they follow the frequency of the AC power). Most of these bulbs convert AC into DC that still goes on/off many times a second, or actually convert the AC to pure DC to feed to the LEDs. Alternatively, the LEDs may be pulsed at a higher rate than 60Hz, like maybe in the low kHz range. Could be interpreted as brighter by cameras.

2 feet of snow!?! 50+MPH gusts!?! I hope you have plenty of gas for the generator... Around here it seems if we get above 3 inches of snow, everything is closed, plus isolated outages. Add in a little ice, and everyone freaks out! The pine tree is the ultimate winter-weather destruction device. Leaves that stay on in winter + leaves only near the top + skinny trunk + shallow roots = lots of power outages with even just normal snow.

I'm positive your picture will improve when you look at an actual recorded image. And yes, they made converters to take 24VAC to 12VDC. The Altronix VR1 is rated for 1A. Plenty for a couple non-IR cameras.

Could you maybe hook the camera right up to the composite input on a TV? Then you can get a feel for what it should look like. Looks like maybe too much compression is hurting the picture. Did a quick calc with the picture in GIMP - his face right now is less than 1% of the whole picture.

A picture of the camera's view would help a lot. Could be that a setting is just not right!

Its really quite simple. -Basically, the main board (pc5010) gets mounted in the panel. -Keypads and other modules get wired into to 4-wire 'key-bus' (RED, BLK, YEL, GRN). -Individual sensors in each area are wired in series to different zones (one end in Z1, other end in COM, for example). You may wish to use EOL (End Of Line) resistors so that tampers can be sensed. -Motion's and glass-breaks get 4-wire to them, 2 for power from AUX, 2 that act like any other sensor. -On the left is your AC power in from the transformer. -On the right is your telephone line connection, to go to the RJ31X jack. 2 wires for phone line from telco disconnect, 2 to go out to house phones. (This is handled in the jack, though, so it can be easily disconnected while keeping the phone lines working). -PGM outputs can be used for additional sirens, maybe to switch a relay, anything really. -Bell output for connecting a siren. Programming is rather simple. Save yourself a headache and get the LCD keypad, its a lot easier to use. So here's a little intro into programming... To get into the programming mode, I enter *8 5010. It will beep, and red light turns on. 5010 is the default installers' code. ALL settings are inside 'sections'. Now lets say I added a second keypad. I need to register it with the system so it can detect if its tampered with. I will enter 902 to go into section 902 which enrolls all the modules. Let it sit, it will find all keypads and modules. Now lets say I want to set it so all keypads will keep their screens back-lit so they can be found easily when coming home. Press to get out of section 902 (if necessary). Enter section 016 by entering; 016. Different numbers may appear. These show options that are enabled/disabled. To enable keypad backlighting, enter 5, which should come up on the screen. If we are done with everything, press # until the red light goes out. I can provide you with the installers manuals in case they are not included.