Birdman Adam

Yea, looks like you have a problem with the monitor. The lines are going across multiple camera views at once. That wouldn't happen if the actual cameras were at fault. I would make sure all monitor connections are firm, and then try another monitor; this one may be going bad.

I think using the monitor is a great idea to show people they are being watched. I would mount the camera feeding the monitor right above the monitor and put both near the entrance. Also split the camera signal to your PC/DVR so its recorded as well as displayed. Its natural for most people to look up at the TV when walking in. This is good because then you get a good look at their face!

The battery probably cant supply the camera correctly. That camera needs 12 volts DC or 24 volts AC. A 9v battery wont cut it.

What he's saying is that even though it says 12VDC on the rating, if measured with no load on it, it will show ~16VDC. These should still be fine for powering 12VDC devices, because once they are put under a typical load, the voltage sits at 12VDC. Here's a great article that talks all about wall-warts: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/tutorial_info.php?tutorials_id=103

Yea a wall wart is just an AC adapter. Often they are called this because they stick out like a wart on the wall.

Any "wall-wart" that puts out 12VDC or 24VAC, at 600 mA (each cam takes 300 max) or higher will do. It would be wise to get one thats fused. I think everyone has a pile of like 10 extra ones from past devices. I know I do!

I would keep all the cameras low, like maybe mounted under the eaves of the roof. Lower and they can be tampered with easily (unless they are vandal domes). This way you can see more details of people/cars, like faces and maybe plates. I like your idea for camera 4. That way you'll get better view of people walking up.

I believe nothing is overkill with surveillance! But seriously, a 4 channel system will probably fit you well. So here's my suggestion for 4 cameras: I tried to optimize for watching all entrances and higher risk areas (cars in driveway..), and also for big areas like rear lawn and front door + front lawn. You can see cameras 1-4 in the numbers, and their viewing angles in the shaded areas. 1 takes care of the rear entrance, plus pretty much the whole lawn, and that shed. 2 watches the alley to the rear lawn entrance. 3 takes the driveway, garage door, and some front lawn. 4 views the front door and the rest of the lawn. -I would suggest all of these be true day/night cameras, and be coupled with motion-sensing floodlights. -3 may require a lens close to fish-eye if you want to get all of the driveway and the garage door. -I didn't put anything down the right side of the house as that seemed low-risk, just utilities, and maybe a couple windows? -If you doing this yourself, I would try to buy cameras with vari-focal lenses, so you can adjust the zoom to exactly what you need for each spot. For example, 2 would have a tighter zoom to get more detail at things in the alley. I'm sure others will chime in with other suggestions.

The camera may also be shaking from a very slight vibration; one that you can't see or feel. For example, a refrigerator kicking on may slightly vibrate a camera sitting on the floor.

PATA drives also use normal Molex power connectors while SATA drives have a special SATA power connector. SATA is also a lot faster.

Yep - Allof CNB's 'Vandal-Proof' housings are IP66 rated

420 TVL is 420 horizontal lines. 540 TVL is 540 horizontal lines. D1 quality is 720 vertical lines by 480 horizontal lines. So a 420 line camera isn't putting out a true D1 picture. I would go for the 540 TVL.

At least 1TB should be good for that amount of storage. There are many factors to consider that affect the amount of storage that is used; like FPS and record quality for example. Whatever you do don't buy the 'green' drives - they are slower, break easier, and aren't meant for constant R/W of surveillance software.

There should be plenty of reputable online retailers that will sell to you. Sony doesn't really mean anything anymore. Most all cheap cameras use some sort of sony chip, its the cheapie-standard. Soon I'm sure others will comment with other suggestions. All I know is CNB

I would definitely go with color for all cameras. Color helps capture a lot of details that you don't get with B/W. For outside; get true day-night cameras. This means they display color in the day (with an IR filter in place to show accurate color), and take away the infrared filter and switch to B/W during low light (night). This is kind of like the best of both worlds. http://cnbusa.com/en/html/product/product_list.php?maxx=1&midx=5 My recommendation for the outdoor cameras is from the VxM line with the Monalisa chip from CNB. They are popular here, work well in very low light, and are actually rather inexpensive. These cameras have a vari-focal lens, which means you can set it to a wide view, or zoom in to a narrow view. For the indoor camera looking in the lobby, I might go for a WDR (Wide Dynamic Range) camera if it is to be looking at bright light sources (like at the entrance). With a WDR camera, the difference in light doesn't wash out parts of the image. http://cnbusa.com/en/html/product/product_list.php?maxx=1&midx=279&smxx=184 Again from CNB, they have a line of WDR cameras called Blue-i. They work well, and also are rather inexpensive compared to their counterparts. I would only go for the ones with the true double-scan technology. That's the real WDR. Both the lines I suggested come in box, dome, and vandal-dome styles. You should use the Vandal-dome style for anything outdoor, as its IP66 rated. Or use the box style with a weatherproof enclosure. Indoors, you can save some money and go with a normal dome or box which isn't weatherproof. If there is a posibility of people trying to bash in the cameras, stick with vandal-proof style. They are very hard to bust.

Thats why the guy in the link I posted used a camcorder viewfinder - it has an adjustable lens so you can just leave your eyes unfocused and move the little bar until its all crisp clear.

Here is an awesome article on building a night vision set: http://www.lucidscience.com/pro-night%20vision%20viewer-1.aspx Things you should look for: -A black and white camera. These can see much better in the dark, and are cheaper too! -A camera with a low Lux value. (This means it can see well in the dark). -A camera with a fairly wide lens. This way when you walk around looking through the camera's feed you not tripping over stuff you can't see. -A camera without a IR cut filter. This lets in IR light, enhancing vision. -For your project, you might want to add some IR LED lights so that the camera can see better. (Humans can't see IR light ).

I'm running one right now for my second monitor. Those connectors work perfectly. Only thing I don't like is they make the connector stick out another like 4", so if it got bent down, the video connector on the card would probably break.

Well in most situations, I would modulate the signal and send it to all of your TVs. Here's why: At my house (like most houses) I have a distribution box like this: Inside are some splitters that take the signal from your antenna, cable, or satellite, and split it to all of your TV's: Its a lot easier to modulate the Composite signal to say, channel 3 (analog), and then split it in with the main signal from your source. Now you have your TV channels incorporated with your CCTV channel. Then it is all split up just like normal and goes to your TV's. Finally, when you want to watch the CCTV feed, just switch to the channel its modulated on. You may have to 're-scan' your TVs to get them to find it. This is a lot easier than running RG59 to every room to the composite in on your TVs.

The signal from the BNC on the DVR is a composite signal (think yellow RCA cable). The F connector input on your TVs are meant to take a modulated signal from an antenna or cable company. The TVs can't pick up composite on an antenna/cable tuner. So, what you actually need is a BNC to RCA connector. Then plug that into a composite (yellow) IN plug on your TV. Now when you want to watch the cameras, switch your TV to the composite IN video source. There is another option. You can buy a modulator that converts the composite signal from the DVR into a channel that your TV can receive through the F connector. This is a bit more expensive, and the cheaper ones are only limited to modulating on a few channels (like 3 or 4). Now once you have a modulated output from your modulator, you need to split this in with the cable that normally feeds your TV. If your a DIY kind of person, you can rip the modulator out of any old VCR. They work just the same as any other modulator, except that you are probably limited to channel 3 or 4. Heres a link to a guide on my site on using the VCR to modulate CCTV throughout your house's TVs: http://birdman.ulmb.com/dep/guides/cctv_to_catv/index.html

Your BNC connectors must not be properly connected. Maybe some of the outer shielding is touching the center conductor, killing the video?

Only the vandal domes (VBM/VCM) are rated to go outside. If you put a DFL-20 outside it will probably die a quick death. They will handle the cold just fine. Almost all cameras I've used have been fine into the negatives.

Rory the parrots diseases' only infect other birds. Can't be passed to a human (not yet at least). I'm a small breeder that raises ****atiels and quaker parrots, so I know where your coming from with needing to know how they sleep! Although my birds are in the <$300 range! I'll usually set up a cam on the babies, make sure they aren't picking on each other while i'm not there. (The quakers have a big personality, and are also escape artists!!!)

One that costs more than $6000!

I'd bet the RCA connector is for audio. I've seen many cards like this that have an audio port like that. This card will also work with Linux perfectly (without any setup).