jimboallen

Hi All, Im new here so sorry if this has been asked before, i have had a look around and found bits and bobs but no definitive results. I am trying to design a system, iv toyed with wireless and cant get it to work well over long distances so cable it is. The longest run I am after is around 400m. What cable should I use, the cameras I have at the moment have the coaxial connectors on so I assume something like RG59 cable. What is the best cable for a long run, do you get different qualities of the same cable and can you get video boosters that are compact and not too expensive. Also what cameras do you recommend, for outside use we would like a camera that would allow you to recognise a face at around 5-10m ideally for security. Night vision is also quite important but not essential as we can flood light the area, I understand that night vision will not yield very good results! Any advice would be brilliant! Thanks in advance.

Thanks all for the very useful replies. I will try and be more specific now. The cameras we have at present ready for the system are very similar to these http://www.maplin.co.uk/30m-day-night-colour-outdoor-cctv-camera-223252 although we can upgrade down the line we will probably start with these if thats ok. The actual distance for the main run will be 180m max. The cables will be buried in a conduit about 1-2ft deep, the trench also carries water pipe and 3phase armoured electrical cable. The site is a boat park and therefore doesnt have much moving traffic or machinery on. I have seen baluns for £15 a pair is this a good price or will these be poor quality. We want this system to work obviously and at as higher quality as we can get (subject to cameras of course). Are there differing qualities of CAT5 cable (I have seen CAT5 and CAT5e), is there a reliable source for drums of it. One last thing, am I right in thinking that with CAT5 cable, as most have 4 twisted pairs inside I could use one cable for 4 cameras? Regards James

Ok can I ask what a balun is? I assume it is some type of converter???? What is the max length for RG59?