fa chris

Their website definitely leaves something to be desired. I have multiple log-ins to the different sections... just poor design all around.

I've put hundreds of analog cameras on fiber. American Fibertek, Comnet, IFS, etc. all make good fiber stuff geared towards cctv/access control/intercom/etc. Who is talking about analog cameras? You stated it as an advantage IP cameras have, just saying its not.

The highwire stuff works great for using IP cameras over existing coax if retrofits are your focus. If it's good cable as mentioned above, depending on the price of the HD-SDI gear it might be your cheapest easiest route if the HD-SDI cam+DVR+Power Supply (if not reusing the old one) is priced better than highwire+IP camera+POE network switch+NVR+software. You'll have to get quotes and calculate both of them out for a comparison. Pulling new, you'll be much more future proofed installing cat5e cable, and it'll be cheaper than pulling new coax & a power cable. You also can't beat the flexibility of building your own network on larger systems, pulling 10 cameras to the nearest IT closet with one home run versus home running 10 cameras to the basement, not only is it a lot less cable but it's a lot less labor. It also gets you away from needing proprietary DVR's. You can buy any server from anywhere or have the owners IT group provide one (and maintenance it)... you just need to worry about the software package you're going to install on it. Assuming you're dealing with commercial customers, offloading the head end (a dell or HP server? whatever they want and have standardized on which meets the requirements for your NVR software) and network gear onto the IT departments budget instead of the security budget helps sell your project. I've put hundreds of analog cameras on fiber. American Fibertek, Comnet, IFS, etc. all make good fiber stuff geared towards cctv/access control/intercom/etc.

There's a lot of places which reference access control in general (not specifically mag locks), but look at Chapter 7 (of the '09 edition), check the appendixes for examples. (A.7.2.1.5.9) 7.2.1.5 Locks, Latches, and Alarm Devices. ...... 7.2.1.5.5 Electrically Controlled Egress Door Assemblies. Door assemblies in the means of egress shall be permitted to be electrically locked if equipped with approved, listed hardware that incorporates a built-in switch, provided that the following conditions are met: (1) The hardware for occupant release of the lock is affixed to the door leaf. (2) The hardware has an obvious method of operation that is readily operated in the direction of egress. (3) The hardware is capable of being operated with one hand in the direction of egress. (4) Operation of the hardware interrupts the power supply directly to the electric lock and unlocks the door assembly in the direction of egress. (5) Loss of power to the hardware automatically unlocks the door assembly in the direction of egress. There's exceptions for institutions and healthcare. It's usually easiest to call the AHJ to see what they want. What exactly do you need it for?

Metal roofs are becoming pretty popular here in the US. They can be different colors and last forever.

can't see the roof, could be metal or could be a rock bed.

It's all brick, might be tough.

I have a couple of my own cameras with wires running loose, but I replace them every few weeks and they are my test locations so little point in making them pretty ... as for security wise, each one has another camera looking at it, and shorting it would only short the camera power supply and they are already recorded. Plus they still have to get through the alarm. For a client though .. no would never leave it like that. But as to the old man, he is an old aged pensioner and most of them cant afford to hire someone. The coax is a direct line into the DVR though. You could theoretically fry the head end from it if you applied high enough voltage. (I'm assuming he didn't use any type of surge protection). The man's situation is what it is, but he could at least make an attempt to conceal the cables under the eaves or something. Not saying this would make it a proper install, but I can't think of a worse way to do it than what he has right now. ...it'd be funny if we found out he is a member of this forum.

Vandal domes make it look like a prison also. Get some mini bullet cameras instead. some do, some don't. a lot look like normal mini domes now. stick it under an overhang on your house and you can barely tells its there.

a few cable snips could disable the entire system. A few snips and a few crossed wires could fry all his equipment... Part of installing a security system is securing the equipment. I would definitely pay to have it done if I was to old or disabled to do it properly. Guy sounds more like a voyeur to me.

HID Edge stuff has been nothing but a headache with dvtel. Worked decent with Genetec though.

I can complain if I never wanted the dog in the first place but the government forced it on me.

I assume the case has a lockable cover over the drives... that's what I've typically seen anyways.

You could try that, but then they have the right to defend their property and therefore they may end up beating you to a pulp - they are not breaking the law but you are the minute you take physical action against them, hence any returned action by them is self defence - it is not illegal for them to film in a public area. Again, if you arent doing anything illegal then you have nothing to worry about. Most citizens welcome the use of CCTV in public, be it on the street, a car park, or in a store. If you dont like it, then dont go outside, have groceries delivered or drive a car with tint. I'd file harassment charges. Don't need the gov't harassing me too with some massive cctv system.

I couldn't find any updates on the story. I assume the thieves have never been caught?

You could try removing the case. Have a picture of 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. In the US, land owners have zero obligation to protect trespassers from anything naturally on the land (like a pond or a cliff). If you build something like a pool or get a trampoline or a playground, etc. then it's considered an "attractive nuisance" and you could be held liable. These laws are aimed at children though who don't know better than to stay away from dangerous things, still have zero responsibility for adults who drown in your pool while trespassing. In these cases the landowner is responsible for keeping children safe from the attractive nuisance, and generally a fence is enough to show you tried to protect them in court. Notifying their parents, telling the kids to stay away, contacting the police, having a fence, all show you tried to protect them and you would probably be relieved of liability. There's more involved to this though, which is why I suggested consulting a lawyer. The OP is definitely on the right path. A minefield would be cool though.

You can private message links all you want, so getting the information around to people interested instead of to google bots isn't an issue. You currently use analog cameras, analog signal, analog capture cards. Max resolution is D1, accept it, live with it, or go digital. To get to 1080p and beyond you need to switch to digital cameras, digital signal, which require an ethernet connection (as opposed to a capture card). These are commonly referred to as IP cameras, megapixel cameras, etc. You just need a DVR connected to the same network as the camera, and with software that supports the camera... instead of special new hardware. I could turn my dell laptop into an NVR to record all my network cameras, simply by adding the correct software. Nothing else needed. Geovision just needs new software and an ethernet connection to support 1080p (and other digital) cameras, not new hardware.

As a rule, I put surge suppression on everything going outside. Nothing's going to stop a direct lightening strike (except fiber), but a nearby strike can cause some surges and other stuff with all the static involved. Even the buried cable, water or even a shovel could theoretically cause a short. The following produce good surge protectors for cat5, power cables, coax, 120vac, whatever else you might have: http://www.ditekcorp.com/products.asp http://www.protectiongroup.com/Surge Since you're in Alaska, your other option is to move to the north slope where I was told lightening doesn't exist.

You don't need a purpose built NVR. It can be any properly spec'd computer with a NIC card hooked up to the same network as the IP cameras and enough hard drive space to store the recordings. All you need is the right software, which there are a lot of options out there. We buy normal servers from an HP or Dell vendor or whoever else for our NVR's most of the time and install the CCTV software on them ourselves. Nothing special about them and no proprietary hardware like DVR's have. Blade servers run off of 12volts DC I think, this would make them ideal for a car system but they are probably larger and more expensive than what you're looking for, but you could probably build something with a blade server power supply. You can also buy cameras with built in storage, usually saves information to an SD card which you would then download to a computer every day. Might be worth looking into. I've never used them before, but I'm sure someone here can provide more insight as to if it would work or not.

There are a few different types of occupancy sensors, motion, PIR, ultrasonic, and dual tech (which is PIR & Ultrasonic together). A PIR (passive infrared) occupancy sensor detects body heat. It's what Hilton (I believe) and a lot of other hotels use to control the thermostats. Just make sure it's properly mounted because I believe it needs to be line of site and the detection area isn't very large. If you use a dual tech sensor you can pick up motion with the ultrasonic outside of the range of the PIR for fuller coverage.

I'm a big fan of occupancy sensors, especially in cctv applications. Put a few in a warehouse and when someone breaks in the lights come on and the camera gets an awesome picture! Gotta have the right type of ballasts/lights, if the lights take 10 minutes to warm up this won't work. We mainly use them for energy savings though, keeping the lights off whenever nobody is in an area, classrooms, conference rooms, training rooms, single person bathrooms, storage areas, supply closets, etc. What do you want to know about them?

Fabricate some type of rain hood. For example: http://www.commendusa.com/en/intercom/systems/category/doors_and_gates-3/product/rain_protection_roof_wsrr_50v-1.html Make sure the back is sealed up with a rubber gasket or something. You just don't want water running into the unit, so as long as the top is covered and the sides partially covered you'll be fine. Unless someone throws a cup of water on it. Sticking the mic out the bottom side of your camera housing should work too.

Steel toed boots are standard. A lot of sites require a hard hats and safety glasses. Occasionally we run into mechanical rooms which require hearing protection. If vehicles are running around we wear orange safety vests. That's the standard load out for safety equipment all of our guys carry. Anything else like harnesses are more of a special case thing only brought when needed. I never wear gloves when using rotary power tools. If something catches the glove it could suck your whole hand in instead of just nicking you.

cat5e has 4 pairs of 24 AWG cables all inside the same jacket. cat6 has 4 pairs of 24 AWG cables all inside the same jacket, BUT, each pair is separated by a divider to reduce interference. only difference between the two is cat6 is better insulated to reduce cross talk so it has higher bandwidth (makes it certified for gigabit transfer speeds, whereas cat5e is certified for 100mbit). As far as cameras, power, ptz data, and wiring is concerned, they're identical. Now the caveat is cat6 specification allows for 22-24awg wire to be used, so if you purposely buy 22awg cat6 then it could make a difference. 24awg is the most common from what I've seen though and it's what I'd bank on using or finding in the field. I definitely wouldn't recommend going out of my way and probably paying more for 22awg or 23awg (it exists) cat6.