Numb-nuts

If you want a network IP camera solution it's called a NVR (network video recorder) If you keep atlking about DVRs thats what you end up with so remember DVR= Analogue it digitizes analogue signals to store digitally NVR = Digital IP cameras the signal starts out digital (I think) You may also have twigged by now that digital cameras are not so good in the dark as analogue cameras, I am not sure why this is I haven't given it a thought but that appears to be the general consensus. Now you've leaned a trade trick, attracting the attention of an intruder to get a full face shot you're a pro and good to go.

Perhaps you're INDESTRUCTABLE? Did you see that movie?

Whats your voltage at the camera end? My feeling is that you probably have a voltage issue and crap cable also. Obviously I haven't seen it but from your description it sounds that way. My guess is most likely voltage issues and a mismatch with your connectors. CCTV is not a plug and play technology despite places like Maplin, and the likes of Costco's best efforts to convince the unsuspecting public otherwise. You might be better scrapping what you have and using Cat5 and baluns for the video signal but try using a more local source for your power, obviously there is a small danger of ground loops but it's worth taking the risk.

Guys, I haven't a clue where to post this so I thought i'd just go ahead and post here as my van is my biggest help when installing. It carries my ladders, tools materials etc to the job with me. So far it's never let me down. It isn't great on fuel (Diesel) but that's about all I can criticize. It's a great asset. Anyway, here are some pictures If you feel like taking pictures of your van and post them here I'd love to see what others vans are like. By the way, thats a Black and Decker workmate not a Snap On I just like the stickers

It was my sat nav that helped me arrive calmer, but driving slower also has that benefit. The next addition to my van that I make will be a two camera DVR with sat nav speed recording. The reason I want one is to record trucks that creep up behind me and suddenly blow their horn when like two feet behind me, in an effort to scare me. I hate tailgaters. I intend to turn over the recordings to police in the various juristictins, (hense the satnav element). Boy they think they are being clever, lets see how clever they feel when they try to deny any wrong doing and find themselves PUNKED!

eeerrm, what's a beach?

Can I suggest if you have any travel plans that you go by ship or by road, no point taking chances is there ????????????????????

Your main requirement will be possible with both analogue and IP systems and hybrid dvrs. With analogue you will use cat5 with a balun at either end and can switch to IP later with very little expense regards the wiring. You can definitely afford a decent server be it Hybrid Analogue DVR or NVR. I am not up on the US market but I would definitely recommend that you get a professional in that can advise you the costs, about surveillance planning techniques, which are the best suited cameras and the capabilities yoou want, i.e we call these operational requirements. CCTV can be an off the shelf product but REAL CCTV that meets your needs, requires some experience and knowledge of cameras, lenses and thsier performance in different circumstances. If I needed a Lawyer, I wouldn't go to the local barbershop to ask for their advice, I'd hire a qualified lawyer with some experience and proven knowledge. You have to consider what the operational requirements are, that you appear to have done.

You can make so many different covert cameras using board cameras with pinhole lenses. I use hot glue to mount the cameras by the lens housing. a 1/8th inch hol is sufficient in ceiling board or coving. It merely looks like a small blemish if you were to notice it. Such a hole is even less noticeable in furniture or a hollowed out book or file box, tin or ornament on a shelf. You need to be creative at hiding the cables. I have made one very successful one behind a mirror removing a tiny spot of the backing and glueing the camera with hot glue after experimenting with blue tack first. Inside stereo speakers is another favorite of mine

That's a cracker

Save you a fortune in funeral expenses...NOT! My Coffin is going to be the shape of a huge body camera housing..... well maybe no window at the end of it The image is a composit of what I expect it to look like.

Some manufacturers such as ICI make polycarbonate cleaners that are specially formulated to clean and maintain the surface of polycarbonate without scratching. They do have anti static properties but of course weather conditions very quickly disperse those. Personally, I use a water spray (with de-ionised water) and a clean a microfiber cloth reserved for the purpose, I store the ASC in an anti-static bag too. It seems to work well enough. It is important never to use fabric conditioner in the was when washing microfiber cloths as the conditioned ruins the properties of the microfiber. I find pollen is more problematic than actual road dust. Not sure I understand the comment about de-magnetising, unless you are referring to static dust attraction ? Gotta go the Queen's Diamond Jubilee pageant is back on the TV.

Oh I had to remove those so I could take the pictures

If you want the widest range of versatility in a camera, the best choice is probably some sort of body (or box) camera with an appropriate lens for your purpose. Also with this type of camera there is such a wide choice of good camera equipment. I use Honeywell cameras and I understand that CNB manufacture these, Ikegami cameras are well thought of and so of course are Bosch, Panasonic, Eneo and many others. You will probably have more problems choosing between these than selecting a suitable lens. Using an auto iris lens with VF range will make your task very much simpler. 2.5 - 11 or there abouts. The only problem non-professionals might have is back focusing the lens to the camera, as this requires filters usually, they should be able to do this for you in the place where you buy the equipment It make the lens continuously focussed throughout its range. (Some cameras can do this automatically without the use of filters)

nobody likes a smart @rse!

You would be crazy Remember, gutters get clogged and then you may have to do more than just unclog your gutters if you do as you described. Makes me shudder to think of it. You could use 20mm round pvc conduit under the rainwater gutters or assuming the soffits are white you could fix it along the soffits. I use it outdoors and use PVC weld adhesive to seal against weather (not designed to be used outdoors) using the PVC weld adhesive that is meant for PVC waste pipe works well to seal against weather. I wait until everything is fitted then and only then do I use the weld adhesive. It's far cheaper than using direct burial cable and almost as effective. The best thing is if you ever do need to replace a cable, fishing cable through this stuff is easy.

A ford Transit connect is cavernous inside. They can hold such a lot of materials and equipment. I have a friend that has one with windows and uses it for family during the weekends and business during the week. He did spend a lot of money on it getting it fitted out but he has a dual purpose vehicle which his kids love. There is also a windowed version of the Peugeot Partner and I have often thought I could go for one of those when the time comes to replace the "old gal" but I like having a separate car. Loading LED or LCD panels into even a van can be precarious as you tend to try and use the spare space and really it needs reserving for such times as when transporting equipment. I tend to have equipment delivered to the site and not store it in the van but sometimes you just have to collect on the day. Have you considered a roof box? looks like your burying your own family member on the cheap, but they are effective and can carry quite a load. By the way, that van shown above looks like the best, but that brand will have cost a fortune to fit out and I simply didn't have the budget. Correction My van LOOKS well organised

The fuel is really nothing compared to the cost of motor insurance, this was about £800.00 (nearly ($1300) I normally pay my insurance annually, but this was just too much to pay in one go so I pay monthly. Insurance was such a shock, nearly half what the van cost me to buy.

Why not tie up with a distributor who will support you through training and technical support while you are getting started? Analogue or IP CCTV are about as easy as each other (perhaps IP is a little more demanding) but if you have good support you can do it easily and make a good job of it building another side to your business. I wish you good luck in your venture, I am sure you will will find a supplier who will train and support you.

Realtime is considered as 30 fps (NTSC) or 25fps (PAL) the two main decode systems(the other is called Secam). But saying 25fps means very little on it's own so what you are looking for is 25fps @ D1 for example (or 4 CIF) What this actually means is 25 still frames (representing 1/25th of a second are recorded @ the resolution stated. Now if police or you were to use footage recorded @ 25fps that means you have 25 images for every second of footage to catch a facial id of an offender. If that image is too small you may miss your chance so you need to record it in as big a resolution as you can, 12 fps would do giving quite nice fluid motion but the number of stills that can be extracted are only 12 images ps of recording. Hens the ips and fps but apparently it's not the same. I may have got that wrong??????? Now as a loose rule of thumb, a 4 channel DVR with a total frame rate of say 100 fps @ D1 means that if every camera will be capable of recording @ 25fps @ D1, (but not necessarily) I hope I haven't confused you further?Try this link to CCTV42's website where Henry the boss there describes all about DVRs and their spec.

You can get a general view across that depth of field but detail? Forget it unless you target specific areas such as doorways and corridors between desks etc then you can use two cameras, one for an overview and one with narrow angle of view targeting a specific area. You can link both cameras to record the other when one is triggered for movement. If you have digital cameras, if the resolution allows you can drill down even on the recording after an event to get a clear picture of a face but expect to be paying out a LOT more.

Time and again, we hear of people buying crap but it is true you )usually) get what you pay for Change the record guys!

That's kind of how we do it in the UK too. When I want to take on a job that is too extensive for me alone, I can call on other independent installers to sub contract the work and visa versa. Customer's generally don't like a job to take more than a week so it is sometimes necessary to call upon other installers. As independent installers, we take every opportunity to network with others and make contacts whom we can call upon if necessary When my business grows enough, having a dedicated 'traveling team' would certainly make a lot of sense. Of course, the distances here are much smaller. A great place to make contact with other installers I find, are training courses run by equipment distributors. I often attend these even if I don't need to, just to make new contacts.

Who did you actually buy the apollo from? Adata the official distributor won't talk to you unless you are a reseller and won't answer your email. That's their policy. Support has to come from the reseller but there is nothing to prevent you visiting the Adata website and finding the downloads as you can click on the support button and download without the need to log in http://www.adata.co.uk/downloads/downloads.aspx I too would guess this is a firmware issue as there isn't a logical explanation that I can see so update the firmware, be careful to follow the instructions very carefully or your could end up needing a factory reset (I've seen this happen a few times)