Birdman Adam

I guess I would be getting some different wire... I think the stranded center is typically used in premade 'patch-cable' solutions, so it can be very flexible. That said I was able to google "Stranded RG59 BNC Connector" and there were some conenctor listed as designed for stranded center cores..

Yea, I've wanted to get one of the Light-O-Rama setups for a while now, but they are pretty expensive! You have to get the controller, software, of course tons of extension cords, lights, etc. Then you have to sit down and program the switching to the songs (unless you prebuy them). I'd bet that setup is in the $2000+ range.

There is a reason it is called "public". You have little right to privacy in public! Where did you get those little ghosts that move about at the front of your house?? I need some for next year!! Your whole setup is so neat!

Yep, thats dumb. You gotta have some *common sense* when installing CCTV! I would never set up a camera to view anything that is not my property, without express permission from the owner.

Either with the new i series will perform very well, much better than what you currently have. The i7 @ 3.4GHz will definitely leave you with lots of room to grow.

Seems like its a bit jumpy. The computer to run that must cost a fortune.

And that's why I like vandal domes.

I use free CamStudio. Its open source, works very well. I can shoot perfect HD videos of my screen with it.

Yes - you can send emails to any cell phone with the proper address. For example on verizon's network, it is 9191234567@vtext.com.

LOL I love seeing these crazy installs. How were those UPSs connected? Maybe daisy-chained? This stuff is just such a mess, I could never imagine myself creating that (even as a DIYer)...

Yea, sounds like the perfect opportunity to release to the news!!

Well I'd say you just got really unlucky. It is certainly possible for the supply to fail, maybe with higher mains voltage leaking through to the low-volt side. You say you can feel a tingling when touching the metal case? Take a multimeter set to measure mains voltage, and test between the case and the ground hole in an outlet (the round one at the bottom). It should read 0V, if there is a significant voltage, something is definitely wrong with it, I would throw it out because it is a fire hazard and a shock hazard. Imagine if your hands were wet, and you touched another *properly* grounding case at the same time (and there is no GFCI on the circuit)!!!

Yea, use 3 pairs for power. Also, check the voltage at the source of the power supply while it is under load. If the actual supply is dropping a lot (not including v-drop over lengths of line) then you need to find a bigger PSU!

Sorry this camera isn;t working for you. Although I can definitely vouch for their DVR line. It is on the more expensive end, but works very well.

I wish I had bought those GEMs when I put up some VCMs... We had to use a separate small electrical box to hold the connections, as the baluns were pretty fat. Should be absolutely no problem mixing baluns as they are all almost the same on the inside.

That brings up another question... With the samsung I've used it is very easy to set a maximum bandwidth that the DVR will send/receive. (I set it for 200kbps as the modem's upload speed was exactly that.) Also, the web-viewing resolution could be set for CIF, 4CIF, etc, at different quality levels. What all of that is possible with the Qvis's?

If it won't get directly rained on, and you don't live right on the coast, I would probably just go ahead and mount it outside with no protection. Most others things you could to to shield it would mask a lot of the sound (I would think).

As far as I could tell when I got mine (w/o heaters though), the RS485 is an option, but is not installed by default. I actually looked around on the PCBs and saw possible connections for RS485: So maybe if you soldered on some wires, you could use the feature. The RS485 actually allows you to change the OSD settings remotely. To me its a cool feature, but not all that useful. I mean, once I set up a camera, it is done with. I don't really have a need to play with it further. Also, it is NOT ran over the power lines (that would be bad). Info on RS485 There are two wires used, + and -.

Love it! The funny things our cameras see...

I'd try to view from the composite out, because there are no "out of range" resolutions. Just get any old TV w/ an AV input.

Nothing special about the HDDs in CCTV recorders (other than that some people use enterprise drives that last longer). I haven't swapped HDDs myself, but I think after a new drive is installed, the DVR must be instructed to format the drive. Often they have their own little format (which is why you typically can't take the drive and view it on a computer). Also, I suppose it is possible that the 500GB drive was too big for the DVR to use. As you probably kow some older tech is like that. Do you have the manual for the DVR? It should include a procedure for swapping HDDs. Oh, and why in the world do people steal hanging baskets...?

That seems like somewhat of a security flaw having the zoom+focus readily available like that. Also, another point of entry for the elements...

Try to ping it maybe. Try in other browsers. I'd bet something is wrong with the browser you typically use. Maybe malware snuck in there.

What do you have the resolution set to? If its not D1 or 4CIF then that explains your problem.

Dispute the charge on your credit card until they realize how dumb they are?