dustmop

We built this site so unbelievably quickly that some things were done to a... mediocre... standard. Like so: Before: The back of panels. See all the yellow/green patch cables on the right? Yeah.... After undoing the "cable management". 5' and 7' patch cords. After I re-wired everything.

I have 11 Wells-Gardner 19" touchscreens. (WGF1990) Had fantastic luck with them. Most of the ones here are used 24x7x365, and have been running for almost 4 years now.

Thinner than mini-coax? If it is mini, I use the FSBNC15RGB connector seen here: http://www.icmcorp.net/F-ConnCommSeries.htm

This is from an email I got yesterday from my system manufacturer: "In a global conference call last week, Seagate’s CEO estimated the situation would not improve for at least 2-3 quarters since damaged manufacturing equipment that must be replaced has a 3-6 month lead time." There are surcharges being placed on the Seagate enterprise drives of between $25 and $55 (ballpark numbers). OEM's are saying to expect a 12 week lead time for any device containing an HDD.

If I am building a raid array myself, and not purchasing a pre-built box, I do check the compatibility lists, but I am looking for drives known to NOT work. I will only use enterprise grade drives (e.g. WD RE/RE4, Seagate ES/ES.2), just for their proven reliability/warranty. Cheap/no-name RAID controllers are also a VERY bad idea. LSI (owns 3ware) and Areca are what I use both professionally and personally, and get my vote. Never used an Adaptec RAID controller, but do use their various SCSI and Fiber Channel cards. Highpoint is questionable.

For a RAID 5, I *personally* wouldn't trust a 3TB enterprise drive. In RAID 6 or 10, I would have to see a real-world application that has successfully rebuilt after a drive failure to be satisfied with it. Possibly a few rebuilds over several boxes, just for that "warm and fuzzy". I use 500gb, 1tb, and 2tb drives in my RAID 6 arrays (depends on when the boxes were purchased). So far, I have never had a second drive drop out during a rebuild. And rebuilds do happen quite a bit; most of my 1TB drives are Seagate ES.2 from the batch with the bad firmware. In fact, 2 dropped last night due to SMART errors.

No kidding! Making Pelco cameras fit in a DF5 housing while looking down a long hallway is a royal pain the butt. Requires a right-angle BNC, and LOTS of patience and practice. In some of the hallways, I have taken to mounting the cameras in the wall instead of the ceiling. Sure, it's a dome in/on a wall and seems odd, but if it lets me see what I need to see, then so be it! On the gaming floor, when I need a fixed, long, almost-level shot, I just use the HUGE DF9 housings. Monstrous things. If I could get some example shots out, I would, but I'm in the same boat as survtech here; my ass would be FIRED. Casinos generally don't mess around when it comes to their coverage. Now the prosecutor's office... those guys LOVE leaking the footage they subpoenaed to the media any chance they get.

I second this! DO IT!

My friendly local fire inspector would have an aneurism if he saw something like that. Guy freaks out if he sees an extension cord...

Oh. My. God. Someone would be more than just fired for that. Bad enough the IT department here doesn't understand how to properly run their own lines, and always calls me for help/advice/directions. Sigh. Is it so hard to just read the basics, and then make the cable routing look like what already exists in the racks? (assuming it was done correctly at the start, that is) This makes me want to go take pictures of their network racks. Pitiful.

Reminds me of the first casino I worked at. Place was brand new, but everything going into the matrix was an absolute DISASTER of epic proportions. If you looked at the cables wrong, a camera went out. So glad I was just a stick jockey at that property, and not the technician.

I actually just installed an analog smoke detector camera in an office (jurisdictional/industry regulations allow for this kind of thing, I assure you). For as cheaply made as it is, it definitely has a great image quality. The only thing I wish it had was a blinking LED on it like every real detector on the market does.

Given that it's apparently in an installed location, pull the camera down and play with it on the bench/table/desk. Use a hefty power supply just for this camera alone, and see if it still does the power down/up dance. If it seems good on the test bench, reinstall the camera, and they just temporarily change that one camera to run on the power supply you tested it with (no on the current PSU).

These guys: When splicing low voltage small gauge wire, these are my weapon of choice. Specifically door access-related things. I splice power with wire nuts. Also, lots of good quality electrical tape.

If you're going to install a camera outside in a place where it gets cold, this is the way to go. POE just won't do it for heaters. But if it's indoor, try to come up with a better camera/switch combination.

The raw mathematical answer is: At 10 feet, a 1/4" 3.6mm yields an FOV of 10' x 7.5'. At 10 feet, a 1/3" 3.6mm yields an FOV of 13.3' x 10'.

I'm in the midwest US, and winters here tend to be below freezing (but usually above 0F). Using mostly Pelco exterior enclosures with heaters/fans, I can honestly say that it IS needed below freezing. In fact, I have a few cameras that are in such windy spots, that ice STILL builds up on them, despite the heaters (I've just started looking for something rated for much more severe weather to try and prevent this).

I carry the Paladin tool not for the screwdriver aspect, but for the emergency wire cutting/stripping/crimping,the built-in 110 punch, and also the hole saw. It is my primary crimper for mod-b/beenies, too. For screwdrivers, I just carry a multi-changeroo type screwstick. The MegaPro lives with door access tools. Also, the more I read about people hitting their heads on nails/bolts/etc, I think I'm getting a bump cap right now.

I just checked and only see parts for single mode.

My issue is with ladybugs and bees/wasps getting into my Pelco domes outside. I have yet to find a reasonable fix, but the stuff tom showed would be awesome if it were small enough in diameter. I will see if I can find any locally and give it a try. As for voided warranty... "I have no idea what happened. It just doesn't work anymore!"

After the last cable run I did the other day, I WANT THAT SUIT! For me, I keep the same basics in my office/vehicle; hard hat, steel toed boots, safety glasses, bright safety vest, and Mechanix gloves. I've found some nice rip-stop khaki cargo pants make life nice, too. Crawling on top of ceilings and over/under air ducts means you WILL snag/rip your clothes on the business end of drywall/sheet metal screws. Also random sharp corners of the metal studs. While not exactly "safety", I also ALWAYS carry a changeable blade knife: A multi-tool (Paladin PT-540): Also, a GOOD flashlight. I carry the Fenix tk10. Love it.

Same industry here, hence my remark. If the facility is predominantly fixed cameras, or is more of a site perimeter/manufacturing/industry/military installation, then the latency is not a big deal. Where latency matters is in immediate real-time tracking. Think police helicopters or casino floors. For probably 99% of installations, latency won't really matter that much at all. Most people get used to it almost immediately.

It really depends on what your end goal is. We may be in one of the only industries where that actually matters.

Having seen/used some of their casino installations that are only a few years old... I'll pass on their recording end.

I use http://www.totevision.com/catalog/lcd-monitors/7-20-monitors/lcd-703hd-desk-wall-hot-shoe-hd-7-20-monitors. Can focus quite well with it, too. Somewhat expensive, however. Handy for it's many inputs, and the larger versions have even more inputs.