Numb-nuts

If your predecessor did a lousy job, just tell your client the wiring needs replacing and leave it at that. I wouldn't involve your client in technical issues and concerns they don't understand. I try to never criticize previous work, which I have come to troubleshoot. I just find any fault, and correct it in the best way I can. If that means replacing wiring then I simply advise the wiring needs replacing, "it's degraded so will give trouble in future". I enter this on my worksheet as necessary. That way they have a choice and if your repair doesn't last, and they haven't had the wiring replaced, you can say "I did advise you it needed replacing". Aside from anything else, it does not look professional to criticize existing work or others work.

POWER SLUPPY?

HA! I have a $400 PTZ on my house that's 100x better, but I can still dig it. Were is the fun of buying ? well i like to make stuff and if it works this good its just more fun also cheap because the lens was for free the ptz also and the velleman card i bought for little money. what type of ptz is that cam then , ip version ? I think he's missed the point, and I don't think there is much point in trying to explain it either, no offense meant. I once built a router table for my woodworking, it cost me around £220 to build. My father asked me how much are they to buy, I couldn't help laughing as I told him "oh about £180" but the point was I had a lot of fun building it myself I had the pride of knowing I built it myself. Point is anyone can go and buy one, but I built my own. the cost was not the point.

If some thug had tried to mug you on your way home I think you'd be glad that the cameras were watching so that help could be sent to you very quickly. Thing is what you don't see is that it is likely that no such attack was likely because of CCTV being there. CTV can work both for and against you depending which side of the law you choose. I feel sorry for CCTV operators, their job must be so boring, I fall asleep at my computer frequently. CCTV is the most boring TV with the exception of the occasional action feature. Have you ever watched BIg Brother at night when they are all asleep in bed? Now thats boring!

If you just want a single camera to monitor your driveway from your PC, have you considered ploughing your entire budget into a megapixel IP camera? For what it would cost to build a dedicated PC or buy a camera and DVR you could have a single Ip camera on your existing PC and you could save yourself a LOT of wiring headaches by going wireless. If you just want a general view of the drive and are not worried about close ups or high resolution, get a Foscam wireless IP camera. DEAD CHEAP, easy to install and not bad for the money Do check if they have Linux software I think they do. Just a thought !

At this moment I am taking shelter in my client's office because there is a huge rainstorm . I was asked to attend to see why a speed dome is collecting water. I opened the dome up and first thing I noticed is that the fall wire has not been installed, the second is that the O ring seal is completely perished and cracked. A call to the manufacturer/importer had me talking to 'a very disinterested customer service operator'. The outcome is that a replacement O ring will cost about £20 plus delivery and tax. about £40 in all Whoah. "MAJOR RIP OFF" A quick call to an O ring manufacturer, lead me to discover that I can obtain O Ring chord. They wanted me to buy a 200m roll. A quick look on ebay and I found several sellers selling it by 1m lengths, so I bought 5m. I bought 1mm diameter. The idea is that you cut it to length and superglue the ends together. I haven't done it yet as I have to return after the chord arrives at my house. I was advised that Gorilla superglue is perfect as it uses a rubber cement base. I just happen to have some in my toolbox. I haven't found a perished seal before, so this is a new problem for me, but next time I'll be ready. Meantime, I am planning to seal the dome up with duct tape until I can return. What can I do about the anti-fall wire? I was going to use nylon string but I don't know if that will suffice? I'd hate to see someone else opening the dome in future and dropping it. I though I might use copper earth wire and insulated crimp terminals, don't know if that will work well enough.

I have a little O ring selection box which is quite handy but O ring chord is also useful. Some metal junction boxes use them too and PTZ domes as well as housings. I will have a look next time I'm near a plumbing suppliers place to see if they keep those kits. Worth having for sure provided they don't cost too much.

How much is the Bus fair to Singapore then?

It might be easier to check which one's don't do that As you suspected these are fairly standard features in most DVRs but that should not be taken for granted. Make a list of the features you want and check against the DVR you are considering.

I am really sorry for those of you that feel your freedom is being curtailed and that your privacy is being taken from you. I don't feel that way, and know that if you have strong feelings of being intruded upon, there is nothing I can say to make it better for you.

Your only option would be to behave yourself Isn't that the idea? It's there and there isn't anything to complain about. It's a trade off between your rights and your privacy. If you want to protect your privacy 100% then don't ever go out in public. To some extent CCTV protects your freedom, what it can't do is protect your sensibilities. You can't train a dog to be nasty then complain if you get bitten once in a while but the dog will deter a lot of potential trouble. I can't believe this thread is still being chewed over.

Rioting Works then, doesn't it?

No matter who is responsible, nobody wants an intruder to suffer injury or death as a consequence of trespass. The threat of injury is all that is required. It is still the responsibility of the property owner to react in a "reasonable" manner. For example you cannot post "NO Trespass, minefield beyond" If an intruded died as a result of a mine the owner would almost certainly be held responsible irrespective of any trespass as this would be a gross over reaction especially if someone wandered onto your property as a result of being confused or plain accident. You cannot just kill someone who is not authorized to be on your property unless they pose a significant threat to life and that would have to be proveable. This is one of those cases where you would be guilty until proven innocent. Not worth risking a prosecution.

UPDATE Well my O ring chord arrived today and I obviously underestimated the diameter of the seal I needed for the Dennard housing. I think it should have been more like 2 or 3mm diameter. I will have to reorder it now. I am at home today as it's horrible cold and wet outside and there are no urgent calls for maintenance. Incidentally the O ring chord is available in all diameters 1mm through 10mm and probably bigger than that if you asked for it. I just know that if I buy a few sizes it will be years before i need it again and by then I will have lost it somewhere.

RIP IT OUT! If just one pair fails, you'd have to rip it out so better to do it now. You can use the existing cat5 as a pull through. Your reputation is at stake. I always find if you try to save the client money, it always comes back to bite you later and it costs you money and a dent to your reputation. In theory, it should work fine but theory doesn't always go in a straight line in practice. Do a proper job at your client's expense and not half a job at the expense of your reputation. One thing I HATE is completing an abandoned or chop-shop and sticky tape job, better to start from scratch.

I know many people go on about youths a lot, drinking and making trouble, bit I would feel exactly the sam way about veterans doing the same thing or just a bunch of older drunks loitering. Just so happend that a LOT of the time it's youths. I am not responsible for that, they are. Try handing out toffees or granola bars their teeth will soon need repair and they'll be loitering around the dentist's office instead.

I have just completed a 16 analogue camera install, almost all cameras were Honeywell. They have all given excellent results first attempt, the colour is literally perfect. I was very impressed with the ease of setup. The weather was horrid so it was good that the installs went without a single hitch. I was wondering what you chaps out there thought of the Honeywell Brand of CCTV cameras? I have been on this forum for a while now and don't think I heard anyone mention Honeywell CCTV equipment, which I thought was a bit strange since they work so well? There are for example setting presets for indoor, outdoor loading bay and numberplate. I didn't get to see the numberplate setting as i was gone after dark but imagine that is some kind of backlight compensation? Any thoughts or comments?

I don't know what all the fuss is about. your typical IR flood isn't that visible anyway. Just ususally an insignificant red glow. Unlike cameras, you can mount them way high up and looking down on the area to be lit. Contrary to what most people think, they do not have to be looking along the same path as the camera, in fact they benefit often from looking at the area from a different direction so long as it isn't direct toward the camera. If I get the opportunity to work with IR floods, I try to position them across the area to be lit so that the camera doesn't suffer 'wash out' making identification useless. I have tired diffusers but haven't had that much success with those yet. The best I have managed is IR light flooding DOWN on the area. Unfortunately this isn't always possible. I also like to use white light security lights operated by PIR so they aren't on all night and LED ones are now available with a much better value of light for cameras it's not so intense. No need to record when nothing is happening, but if a PIR is activated, you can light the area and record what the camera sees. A Compromise? Yes it is!

KT&C european distributor is none other than Norbain. KT&C cameras are well thought of and they do a fantastic selection of cameras. Frankly I don't think you would have to look every much further.

I am sorry I did not see this post to answer it until today. No the DVR that was installed was a Cop Security Red 32 channel with 8GB. Very nice DVR.

CNB cameras seem to offer great value for money and very often are feature packed for the price you pay. Dahua DVRs are also quite well spoken of on here. A single Hi resolution camera for a wide overview of your yard may be a good idea if it's appropriate. For wide angle shots, i.e. more general, colour cameras are a good option. You can then link that to record when others are recording and visa versa using either alarms or motion detection (MD). As for your DVR get the very best you can afford. this is the absolute heart of your system. If you need four cameras now, buy an 8 or 9 channel DVR etc etc. I have replaced several DVRs for customers and always they want more channels and more storage. Think about posting warning signs at your perimeter, 'an ounce of prevention and so on and so forth....'

The wider the area your camera covers, the less detail you will capture, that is unless you use a high magnification Pan Tilt and Zoom camera (PTZ) and a controller, which is not appropriate unless you are ready to also install lots of PIRs or trihggers to make the camera go to areas of activity. I use a combination of cameras to cover a wider area and then a detailed close up shot (which needn't be in colour either) and link them to record when the other one records. EG a close up camera in a front porch and wider angle covering the area at front of the porch. You are right about Swann, they aren't that wonderful, but they are better than nothing, so unless you can afford more, Swan would at least be better than nothing, but only just. One other thing, if you want your CCTV to deter villains, then they need to SEE it and uop a radio mast isn't ideal from that point of view. It may seem like a great vantage point but at night it could be virtually useless without extra lighting PIR security lights etc.

Thanks for explaining that. I knew that Cat6 was rated for higher data rates but I thought ii was only because it used a stouter copper conductor and not realized about the extra separation wrapping. I will now know to look out for that when I next need to order Cat6. thanks again, this is very useful info.

Yes I appreciate how such a device can be beneficial, however for my own problem I have decided that such a device might put others at risk in my situation and therefore I would not consider a jammer. The other point is although there is controversy about the Mosquito, they are not illegal in this country whereas the Jammer is and I am not prepared to break the law to beat anti social behavior. I am one of those that understands the law applies to me aswell as to others and want to try and stay within it. I do try to be creative with my approach to the problem, like laying down stink bombs in the area where youths loiter and such. Considering these youths spend most of their time urination on fences and walls there and spitting all over the place, the effect is minimal. What I say is if it works for you, just do it and don't tell anyone, just be happy it works. Obviously this doesn't extend to this forum where we are anonymous.

I GOTTA HAVE ONE OF THOSE, GREAT!