ljarrald

but i'm a regular member, not just a one post wanter...

tom, no i'm not 14. does it count as installing if its just 'fixing' a system? the cameras are already in place, all i'd be doing is repairing the recording device.

i'd like to buy new but the school don't have much money at all at the moment. all the IT equipment is being upgraded soon, so i could just use one of the old towers with a cheap capture card, or buy an IP encoder that has built in VMS to save to the NAS or something, i don't know. i'll look into the options and make a decision. what would you suggest? its just one camera at the moment but hopefully we will add more soon.

i know how normal VCRs work, are CCTV ones basically the same? it already has a tape in, i think im just not going to bother to be honest. its not worth the time and effort. does anyone here, in the UK have a cheap 4CH DVR? i don't mind if it needs repairing...

i think that's what i'll have to do. i just didn't want to do that and then later find out that there was a simpler way. iknow! it seems like a decent VCR... for its time! i think its probably older than me

here in the UK most streetlamps are single phase 240V. the ones at school have several floodlights on top so it is very possible the supply is from two phases at 415V. when doing electrical work, can i do all the first fix like running cables and connecting them to the PSUs and stuff and then all the spark needs to do is connect it to the mains? or does he have to do it all? i know working with poles is a pain, but running cables through the building would also be a pain. and the housings are already mounted and i can get cameras a lot higher on the poles as the school is only a single story. i will probably end up using wireless to get the video back to 'base' to save time and money. there is a switched spur in the reception (that anyone can press, every bloody fuse unit in the school is on a switch, they really shouldn't be) that says CCTV on it, when its switched off the camera loses power so its powered separately to the lighting pole. video transmission is through coax.

the lighting poles are on the land owned by the center and are owned by the center, they're not council ones or anything. or do you need a license to install on any pole? all but one of the cameras are dummies anyway.

yeah, loads. i stopped checking the event log unless there's high possibility of an incident. i'll check later though and get you some snappyshots.

i didn't really buy 10...

i have decided to just use a floodlight with PIR and photocell as its easier. thanks for the help though

hi, i have put a standard cctv camera on the side of my house looking at the back gate, it has not got built in IR LEDs but can see IR light. i am thinking of placing a floodlight near the camera and point it at the gate. but i would like to put an IR filter in the light so it can't be seen by humans. would this work?

so after you install systems you can just log into them whenever you like?

sounds like the DVR is at fault. try swapping the channel that the 'faulty' camera is on with another camera that you know works.

PITA?

oh, i thought scart was worldwide HDMI must do the same sort of thing? perhapts you could do the same with a HDMI cable? i've just made you a diagram anyway... i can't get to sleep :'( i can't remember where you connect the switch ground, i THINK it is to the video ground but i'm not sure so in the diagram i connected it to the 'screen' i also used an all in one cable in the diagram, like the type you get with cheap cameras that has power, audio and video in the one connector. one of them would work, as would a CAT5 cable. i hope it is of use...

i have only read the first two posts because i am in a rush so sorry if someone has already suggested this. YES, it can be done. easily! run a coax cable for video to each TV, AND run a two core cable to each TV. find the pin out of SCART connectors online ans wire up the video output from the DVR to the video input pins on the SCART connector. then wire one of your two wires to the +SWITCH, and the other to the GND. then at the DVR end, connect the video output to the coax cable that goes to the scart connector, and then get a 12V DC power adaptor and connect the - of it to the wire that connects to GND on the scart connector, then connect the + from the 12V power adaptor to the COM of the relay on the DVR and connect the wire that goes to the +SWITCH pin on the SCART connector to the N/O of the relay on the DVR. in the DVR settings make it so when motion is detected, the relay switches on, and switches off again when there is no motion. plug the scart connector into the TV and bobs yer uncle! this is what i've done for my home with alarm inputs, if any camera goes into alarm (or if the doorbell rings) the TV flashes up with the correct camera. i did have a video explaining and demonstrating it on youtube but my account got closed down because some idiot flagged my videos where i tested different types of cable in fires and youtube said they violated the T&C and removed them... and my account... the idiots probably didn't even watch the video! :@ i can remake the video and/or do you a circuit diagram if you want...

yeah, that looks like what we want. can you set them to record for like an hour after collision so that if the other driver starts being aggressive and threatening it will be captured?

you'll like this one. i know i am satisfied with it

yeah, you're right. there must be some that use only a couple of MA though, surely? i'll probably have them record when driving only with a 1 hour timer after engine off or something. so back to the original post.. any suggestions for all in one cameras or a cheap 12V, 4CH dvr that records to a SD/SDHC card?

That's why you'd either use a laptop hard drive, or ideally an SSD. Except... If it was me... I'd use a small mobile DVR (okay, IDEALLY I'd use a Vigil MVR model, but that's getting a bit spendy) mounted in the trunk (boot) along with a small-ish battery, probably something like a motorcycle battery. A battery isolator goes at the front, and a 16-14 AWG wire goes from there to the rear battery - this is standard practice for high-drain mobile equipment, so that the alternator powers the gear and keeps the battery charged while running, and the battery powers the gear when it's not, all while keeping the gear completely separate from the starter battery (remember that the battery's original purpose was simply to crank the starter!). All my cameras would tie into that, and then the output would feed into an in-dash DVD/Nav system. I've always wanted to embed a small board camera in the outer end of my passenger mirror to be able to better see around the jerk in front of me so I'd have one there, plus one in the back for a backup camera (that could, of course, double as an "event" camera). Then you get the dash camera, and for security, a pinhole cam with a fisheye lens in or around the dome light to capture the entire interior. As for the type of battery, keep in mind that you want something that will keep the system powered even if you don't go anywhere for a few days, so over-spec'ing the capacity doesn't hurt. Normally the most my work van will sit is over the weekend, but there are times that I work from home and it may not move all week (for a total of *nine* idle days). A deep-cycle battery is preferred for this, as they're designed to support extended, steady drain, rather than supplying large "bursts" of cranking current. if i had it my way thats what we'd do. BUT i have no experience with cars so i'd probably mess it up which means i'd have to get a specialist to run the wires £££ and then all the equipment £££ there will be no monitor in the car as there isn't really a need for one versus the cost and hassle of one. my dad is not like me. he wants something simple that works and doesn't cost too much this means we just need two cameras, one will be mounted to the dash looking out the windscreen, one will be mounted on the roof at the back looking out of the rear window. thanks

there is the problem of where to put it though, the only place i can think of is in the boot, but then i have to run wires all the way to the front.

hrm. that is a lot of extra cost and hassle though. i could just build a circuit to cut the power if the main battery gets below a certain percentage of charge.

soundy, how do you find a location from an IP?