brianparkes

I haven't had a lot of issues with code compliance with cameras since they run off of 12 or 24 volts. They usually don't have enough "juice" to create a fire risk. Every time I've had the fire marshall do a walk through of my casino surveillance system, they never ask about it once I explain what is running through the wiring. You could just contact your local fire marshall and see what they say about it.

Getting better resolution for roughly the same price might be a little tough, but I've never used that particular camera. I've had good results from the basic cameras at supercircuits.com. I run a surveillance department at a casino, and most of those cameras are just fine. Of course in the lower light, you might want to look at the infrared cameras (they have an array of LED looking bulbs on the front of the cameras). If your resolution looks poor at night, that might be the issue.

You could also check out tlselectronics.com they sell a ton of parts, including those.

I probably have one. Are you looking for just the plastic bubble part, or the whole assembly. Are you looking for white or black on the metal ring part? It's kinda the heavy duty kind with the o-ring seal, right?

If you are trying to save cost, you could check out ********** or ********** to purchase the parts and install it yourself. If you are just looking to install a bunch of stationary cameras that feed into a DVR, that is the simplest and cheapest way. Make sure to look at how much storage is in any DVR you purchase. I've found if you want 16 cameras to record for 8 days at basically "live" quality, you need to look for around 2 terabytes of memory. Of course, that can be drastically reduced if the DVR has a motion detect option and you are ok with using that. You can access the DVR through a computer to see the live views or just to review any events triggered by the motion detect. What are you looking to do?

Are you going to just install 6 stationary cameras and you want them to record on a DVR? How many hours/days do you want the cameras to record before the DVR starts to re-write over the data? If you have no outside lights, you should look at infrared cameras (they have an array of what looks like little LED lights on the front of them). They are not really that much more expensive, but do give you less zoom range (at least on the cheaper ones) because those ones have no swappable lense option. [store link removed - please read the rules] has a lot of that equipment for usually a great price. You could purchase an entire system from them, or buy each piece separately. Of course, their products are not "top of the line", but are fully acceptable for home security. If you talk to one of their sales people, usually you can get a 10% discount, too, instead of making the purchase online.

Some of the places that have the best prices are bulkcctvstore.com and supercircuits.com. Are you looking to just expand to more cameras or function?

Is the brightness changing on the TV itself, or is the brightness changing due to the camera trying to automatically adjust. Does it do it all the time, or just during day or night? To see if it is the TV, try putting the signal into another TV. If it is still doing it, you can pretty much assume it is the camera trying to auto-adjust. Is the camera digital with its own internal menu settings. You could try adjusting the settings to manual iris if it has that option. Is it a nightvision camera (like the green screen type) or an infared type camera that has the array of bulbs on the front of the camera?

Is the brightness changing on the TV itself, or is the brightness changing due to the camera trying to automatically adjust. Does it do it all the time, or just during day or night? To see if it is the TV, try putting the signal into another TV. If it is still doing it, you can pretty much assume it is the camera trying to auto-adjust. Is the camera digital with its own internal menu settings. You could try adjusting the settings to manual iris if it has that option. Is it a nightvision camera (like the green screen type) or an infared type camera that has the array of bulbs on the front of the camera?

That manual is for the controller, but it doesn't list the protocol setting options for the PTZs. It says the PTZs have to be set to the Honeywell Diamond protocol, but not what the switch settings on the PTZs should look like. Do you have any links for the HD6, KD6 and/or Samsung SCC-641 settings on the PTZs themselves?

It depends on what equipment you already have. I'll assume you have 1 DVR with let's say 8 cameras. I assume the cameras are hooked directly into the DVR, and the DVR has only one output. Are you viewing the footage on the DVR by hooking it up to a computer to access the files, or are you using the DVR itself and viewing it by hooking it up to a monitor? If you are viewing it through a computer, usually there is software with the DVR and you can view it "live" on a quad (or more) display. In that case, you might be better off purchasing a large monitor and then using the software to select which views to put on the quad view. If you are using stand alone monitors with 1 or 2 inputs, then you will likely have to split the signal from the cameras before it reaches the DVR, since the DVR has only 1 output (usually). The cheapest way would be to purchase some T splitters and then run 2 lines into each monitor, then use the switch on the front of the monitor to flip between line 1 and 2 on each one (this is basically the cheapest way if you have only 8 camera views). Or you could find a matrix switcher with a keypad and run the lines into that. Most matrix switchers will offer multiple outputs to go to multiple monitors. I guess to go any further, what do you already have and how much do you want to spend? Again, you would likely be best off getting a large screen monitor or TV to use as your computer screen and use the DVR software as a large quad view to save money. If you want to use multiple monitors, then you'll have to shop for a matrix system, which can start to get spendy.

Wow, I just had a power outage and it killed 3 of my KD6 cameras. I have plenty of Pelco Spectra II PTZ's, but I cannot get my Ultrak system to control them. I have tried multiple DIP switch settings on the Pelco PTZ and I am currently set on "P" Protocol. With this setting, anytime I try to use the controller the image will darken as if it is communicating and is causing a power drain. I have the RX+ and RX- on the Pelco attached to the corresponding ports on the Ultrak system (B and A respectively since B is usually "positive". Has anyone else tried to hook up this combination of PTZ and Controller system before and do you have any suggestions? Brian Parkes

I've talked to that company, and they mentioned that it would be worth trying a few more things before spending $250 on their product. I've set the DIP switches on the Pelco PTZ and the Ultrak Matrix to Pelco P protocol. The Rx+ and Rx- are connected to the Tx+ and Tx- respectively. I am using CAT-5 cable to send the signals between them. The camera address number matches the specific P protocol setting (#31). There is some sort of signal going to the PTZ, but all it does is uncontrollably zoom in. No pan/tilt, nor can I zoom back out. Does anyone have any suggestions that I could try out before giving up and purchasing the device? I've tried multiple PTZ's and none work, so it shouldn't be a bad PTZ, and the matrix controls the KD-6 PTZ's just fine on their own DIP switch settings. Any ideas are welcome. Thanks.

Excellent. I have sent that company an email to double check if that model will work, or if they have one specifically for the two brands I am trying to use together. Thanks for the tip. Brian Parkes