Numb-nuts

I have had an IR floodlamp for some time, but not used it yet since it doesn't have the range of adjustment to suit my purpose. What I am referring to is that it can only be adjusted on it\s bracket vertically but it cannot pan around horizontally. I decided to modify it to my own range of motion adjustment and I am very pleased with the result. I used a silver bracket, rubbed it all ver with wire wool before spray painting it white to match the IR lamp. I tapped a 1/4" unc hole into the underside of the IR housing unfortunately the aluminum or aluminium (UK) was not strong enough so I installed a repair washers either side of the thread and placed a nut inside the housing to fix it rock solid. Then it was just a matter of fitting it to the bracket and installing. The result has been a tremedous improvement in range of adjustment. Of course, I realize it would have been less trouble to buy a IR light with a swivel bracket in the first place, but I am still very pleased with the result and enjoyed modifying it. And the result

Moving on and ignoring Mr Bellyachin Know-it-all sh1t4brains... Although the lamp looks great IMHO, it appears to perform quite poorly, perhaps the lamp isn't upto what is expected of it, I am not sure yet. I'll have to experiment a bit more. The IR Lamp was very cheap I have to admit.

I'll consider it. I've considered it, sorry but I don't care. Neither you nor I have exclusive rights to sell any equipment. Why are you intent on sidetracking every thread I post you damn bully?

and your point is what Mr know-it-all ? You're the only one that cares, because it gives you summat-else to bellyache about ya miserable g1t

Thanks for that Tom This one seems to work the best and I am guessing it's closer to 34khz as I can hear it, but it gives the best idea of what the teens should be experiencing. I set it to loop and it didn't take more than a minute to really become disturbing Try this one and loop it As for trying it on dogs, if you wanna spend $1000 finding out....is it worth it? Better to move the speaker to the house and train the dog to expect a treat every-time it responds to the message I think that might be more effective. I will report what results I get with it after I have received it and installed it, and of course seen some youths to try it on. I haven't seen any this weekend, not a single one. Mind you, it's been raining and it is quite cold, but nothing like Irene. I hope al you chaps and your families in the path of the storm are bearing up under the starin and that you don't suffer too much.

Yes Fiona, I knew just what you meant, I was trying to bring a little levity to a discussion, I hope you didn't feel that I was mocking you? I observe a lot of youths loitering in my area, they seem to spit about 30 times an hour on average. Now just do the math, a group of 20 youths liotering for approximately 3 hours per night. YUK! That a lotta FLOB!

Spitting on a sidewalk? Glad I don't have to collect the evidence!

I am doing all my learning at home, I want to connect my DVR to the internet and need to connect the DVR to my router but don't want cable runs through the house. I would like to use the Homeplug system to connect through the electricity wiring in my home. I honestly don't know what speed I should be using as I want to then connect to the internet and have the PTZ controllable from a remote control room. Are Homeplug suitable, what speed should I buy as my router will shortly be swapped up to a 802.11n (300Mbps) and my computers are all 802.11n? I know I have to check it supports port forwarding but I am advised most 802.11n routers will support it. Sorry I will be supporting upto 7 static cameras (after DVR upgrade) and one PTZ camera to be remotely controlled over internet. Any advice greatly appreciated.

I live in the UK I have no concerns about powerouts or brownouts. Those are very rare here. I cannot remember the last time I experienced a power out, probably in the 1960's . My broadband is with Virgin media cable and my upload speed is about 1Mbps but I an considering updating to their 20Mbps service which should have a considerably faster upload speed. So I assume I would be okay buying the 200Mbps homeplugs then? I want to also add my TV later too, not for CCTV you understand but for i Player the BBC on demand service.

Nice job Dan, a little minor tweaking of those security lights and your got it cracked. Well positioned cameras no white noise to speak of really is there? My PTZ is worthless at night so my next thing is to think about how to add light, what would be better, flood lights or IR floods, I'll experiment as some places there are too many trees to make IR useful. It's just a matter of trying out different methods and distances. Fortunately, I have about 12 presets (hotspots) to monitor daytime but at night maybe just two or three. I am too embarrassed and frustrated to show what i get at the moment. It's not useful.

The camera settings will not have changed, but you can reboot the camera or if you have the manual and a controller, go into the OSD menu and view the current settings, Be sure to mirror the settings from the camera on the DVR. I always use Pelco D or P for the camera and any baud rate depending on distance of your cable run. I have never used above 9600 and that is good to 300 m probably more. I've never tried any longer distances. Some DVRs that I have installed with PTZs have their protocols for Pelco D & P mixed up so it may be set to Pelco P but only works with pelco D and visa versa. The ones this has happened with were generic and unbranded probably Chinese imports, so I can't tell you which brands it was with. Try using Pelco or some other protocol and change the settings in the camera. Also I have not had the pleasure to install any Lilin PTZ cameras yet, so I am not able to advise about their connections but I don't see that if they worked with one DVR that they shouldn't work with another, but if that is so, I'd be interested why that might be.

It;s the same here Rory it's the criminals and police that have the guns. By the way, anyonoe thats interested, the riots in the UK stopped after a couple of days. They have not flared up again after police made it clear anyone who took part can expect a knock on their door as everything and everyone was captured on CCTV and public CCTV and video flooded into police after the riots. Police are also using the help of the social network operators to see who was organizing and rallying others to join in. I think it's great. Who says they look daft in those tall helmets?

I have no choice with mine I get a maximum of 180 deg but in reality it's more like 170 deg. Actually its still very useful, I just wish it had a little more height, but you can only install within the constraints imposed on you. This is at my home and is at the apex if a pitched roof above the stairs to the upper apartments. IWe have a much higher gable end but it would give me no useful view. What you say about vegetation is true and it's been discussed on her before, it's the camera's worst enemy, especially where you need to use IR lighting. I have an old tree, must be 100 yrs old or more and it has a preservation order on oit so before I can prune it I have to apply for permission and show why I want to prune it. CCTV is not a good reason, but natural light blocking is so thats the way I am going with my request. My PTZ sugffers a lot of white noise after dark making it all but useless. I am planning a lighting strategy combining IR and security floodlights (white light) I have to work it out a bit. At the moment I have seen some improvement by switching on BLC from the keyboard after dark but there is still a lot of white noise.

Thanks for that Rory, my mistake. My networking ability is virtually nil, therefore I think that reluctantly I will have to look for a course on networking. I have been thinking of doing an Online- CCTV BTEC course through Tavcom Training. Quite expensive, but I think in the long term I would benefit from a formal learning program, rather than just learning as problems arise, which is way too stressful. So what you are saying about bandwidth, is effectively that if a large number of MP cameras are required, then it might be better to set up several smaller LANs and link them, is that correct?

It's not that simple, I wish it were. Firstly you can replace all your cameras with super high resolution cameras and still not be able to read anything if your DVR and display aren't up to the job. Also it's unlikely you would get that kind of detail unlrss you have internal PTZ cameras in the aisles. If a fixed focus camera were used to the level where you can read the labels on the tins, then that is what you would see and nothing else. I think that probably you want a much sharper image then that is achievable but replacing what you have with PTZ cameras will require a full time security operator and a lot of expense. You need to get a survey done by a professional and see if it's just a matter of upgrading your cameras or if you will need a new DVR also. You can also intergate your CCTV at the tills with a POS overlay so that each item sold is recorded along with the video. The only reason I can imagine that you might want to see a particular area so closely is either for theft, of seeing which areas are moving goods best. If the latter then you should be using your POS software to monitor the shel positioning of all items and analysing those figures which do NOT rely on instinct rather on facts. Failing that, have you tried a pair of glasses?

I know these have only recently appeared on the market in the UK, has anyone any opinions on these DVR series? All opinions on the spec sheet welcomed (good or bad) I will quite the spec for the 8 channel dvr for example, what do you all think. • 500 - 12000GB HDD options • Built in CD/DVD RW drive • High speed internet • H.264 recording • CIF, 2 CIF and D1 recording resolution • Maximum record rate 200 fps in any resolution • Set the record rate FPS for each channel independently • Set resolution for each channel independently • Full D1 live real time display • 1x Main/Slave BNC monitor out • 1x Main/Slave VGA monitor output • 1x Spot BNC monitor output • Mobile connectivity • Video loop throughs • 8x Audio in, 1x Audio out • 8x Alarm in, normally open or closed • 4x Alarm relay out • Support for PTZ cameras via RS485 port, supports Pelco P/D • Motion detect for each channel with sensitivity • Support for schedule recording • Covert camera facility • Backup to USB memory stick using built in USB 2.0 port • Backup to external hard drive using built in USB 2.0 port • Backup player automatically copied with each backup • Talkback facility • IR remote control • Mouse control • Password protected • Built in recording time calculator • Size: 440 x 470 x 95mm Three questions, 1. what is the covert camera facility ? 2. what are Video loop throughs ? 3. What are the good points and any bad points ? These retail for about £1000 - £1200 incl Tax, with a 1000 GB HDD good value? ( before anyone says it yes thats four questions)

I used to wash and polish my car twice a week does that count?

A board camera with a wide angle lens say 2 or 2.5mm lens will give you a wider angle without too much distortion like a fish eye lens. You can mount this in either a purpose made anti-vandal dome, a mini ceiling dome or if it needs to be covert spend a few dollars on a large PIR sensor, remover the guts and install the board camera in there. In the board camera lens housing there is usually a little grub screw securing the lens, loosen this and remove the 3.6 mm lens and simply screw in the new 2.5 mm lens. It takes a while to get it in focus, so if you can do it in a workshop before hand you can fine tune when you site the cam. There are too many board cameras available to recommend one brand, but I like Eneo camera units (from Germany). Spend your money on TVL not colour, I use 600 TVL B&W 1/3" CCD sensor board cameras because color isn't necessary at that distance and in a closed environment, for identification. I doubt cost is an issue with your project anyway? With boards cameras. you get three wires out, yellow is usually video, Red is 12v DC (usually, so check) and black is common or earth I interconnect this by using a pair of pigtail baluns, I cut the BNC end off of the pigtail baluns and using con block center to yellow, braid to earth and I use the CAT5 cable for power too, then use the other balun either at your server-encoder (if using IP) or at your DVR. You could just buy a high end mini dome camera and have the seller swap the lens out for you. It'll save a lot of hassle. I don't normally like to recommend anything from ebay but look at item 320586300088 find out if they would supply you one with a 2.5 mm lens it would be ideal snd you can see the video of what kind of view you will get. The view is similar to the room size you describe.

It's all crap, there is no excuse for rioting and looting. This has no protest value whatsoever. Regardless of hoe it started, I think the best punishnment for these criminals is to leave burnt out shells where there once stood a business serving the community. Eventually these thugs will be living in a wasteland and thats what they deserve. WHEN there are no innocent businesses to punish they'll turn on each other Let thes criminals reap what they sow. Police have always recorded riot situations so that they can catch up with those that misbehave and aren't always immediately identifiable and they have a remarkable record of this in the past. When we had poll Tax riots some years ago they did the same thing and were arresting individuals from those riots right up to 2010. They NEVER stop pursuing offenders. It's nothing of the kind just opportunistic thuggery and criminality. I want to see these people arrested and given a minimum term of 5 years just for being involved if police can prove they were involved in any act that contributed to the civil-disobedience. CCTV can assist in making sure the guilty are arrested and charged. The unimpeachable witness CCTV my Hero

I am just a little disappointed to see you didn't fix it to a corner mount which would increase your horizontal view to 270 degrees. I do like to see the spot you placed next to the dome. All in all though a nice tidy install , Those branches could do with a trim, you'd be amazed what a little pruning will achieve. I spent a whole day this year pruning tree barnches from the public area in the alley (when nobody was around) and asked the care-home next to my house if I could trim some of their tree branches and they agreed I could do this whenever I needed to in the future provided I tell them I am in their grounds. Auto zoom zeros in on the branches very often and not on the target beyond then you have to manually re-zoom or move and re-focus. Incidentally, the Fastrax PTZs are sold in Europe by Eneo using Fastrax as the range name, one of my favorite brands in high-end CCTV but very expensive. I tried accessing their website but it's down at the moment. There you can acess the instruction manuals with all the keyboard access codes. Very useful to print out and have by your keyboard. After you have used the dome for a while you will decide on specific areas to monitor and will likely save those as presets. I have an official street-plan I got from the local library and have placed sticky orange labels at hot-spots and written the preset numbers on them for fast access when it counts. My PTZ only has 16 presets but I have found that more than enough for my purposes. Your cam didn't display the zoom factor but from the video I am assuming it is about 36 optical zoom like mine. The picture is first class, just what I'd expect from that camera. Now you can run for Sheriff or at least be the neighborhood security guard.

Alternatively, I have a corner camera mounted to the left of my door in the porch aswell as the doorview camera. It takes a board camera and a 2 mm wide angle lens. Again, I spent the money on TVL rather than colour. This is an Eneo housing and board camera but it does require additional lighting support at night. There is a model of complete camera for corner mounting by Bosh in their extreme range which has IR support built in and also thie pictured model below This is a link to the google page

Hi Adam, I have done quite a lot of research on this as I have a doorview camera at home. The important thing is to get a crisp image of the person at the door and the first conclusion I came to is that a colour image is not necessary. A monochrome image is perfect for close up ID or seeing who is at the front door. Spend the money where it counts. I have done a couple of dooorview cameras for neighbours and friends and my best ones from an operational point of veiw ahve been 19 mm bullet cameras with a 2.5 mm lens, inserted into the door at about 4-5 ft from the ground. I drilled a hole about 10mm through the door and then enlarged it to 19.2 mm from the rear of the door to almost the whole depth but so that the hole at the front was still only 10mm. inserting the camera into the hole, getting the picture vertical and jamming a couple panel pins in from the back to secure it from moving. I then bought a junction box dna drilled a hole in the back and placed it over the camera at the the rear of the door to cover the rear of the camera and hold the connections. A single cat5 cable carries power and video along to the door hinge side and I used stranded cat5 because of the numerous corners the cable had to route around. In my case, I bought a 10m patch cable as my box of cat5 is external grade and solid core. Using passive baluns at both ends obviously. the pictures were far better than mine. I disguised the hole at the front of the door with door numerals. Works well and picture is better than my own doorview camera. Some of the commercially available doorview cams are terrible, so try them out first if you can, like my own one is far from perfect but I can't pass it on to someone else knowing it's rubbish, I couldn't sleep at night knowing that I'd sold a piece of cr@p

One thing for sure the wind won't blow it off. I think that looks like a matching slot, lubricate the slots before you try them out. I too think you are on the right track.

Actually, thinking about it, I remember I used to use a length or RG58 as a fish wire, that was quite effective.

see what a nice British cup-of-tea can do for you Adam?