SublimitySam

I purchased some cheap no-name baluns through Amazon and THEN I read the discussions about some cheap baluns being only pass-through w/o the required circuitry. So what do I do? Well take one apart and find out what's inside! Here's the balun: and the other side: And what did I find inside?? Is this what I might find inside a brand name balun? ~Jim

I know little about IR but I am an advanced ametuer photographer (of visible light) and to see "into" water, or to reduce reflection off the surface, I would slap a polarizer on the end of my lens. Of course that reduces the amount of available light by up to 1 1/2 f stops. i'm not sure why your customer needs to see "into" the water but a plolarizer might help if they do.

Could you elaborate?

Hopefully someone else will aswer this for clarity, but as a photographer and knowing my rights, no you do not have to declare your cameras. However, as a deterent, sometimes it's a good idea. ~Jim (aka SublimitySam) 4th degree Knight - St. Anthony Council

For monetary reasons. The Qvis, I believe was a little bit less. I went with the 16 channel. I purchased the 500gb HD to get started. I will swap that for a 2tb later on. You can definitely spend more and get better cameras (just listen to the buzz around here). But these are decidedly better in build quality and better image quality than those in the Qsee kit. With these you can fully adjust the picture settings. What's especially useful is the back light compensation setting, and of course the adjustable focal length.

...and one more thing: At first I thought I needed 30fps. I've found that 7fps is good enough. And it uses less than 1/3 of the storage on the HD. That's a plus

Hi Bob, I'm also fairly new to the CCTV game and shouldn't be giving out advice but I'll tell you what I did because I bought the exact Costco kit that you are thinking about. It's a decent unit, easy to learn, great capabilities, and the cameras have OK quality images. I was drawn in by the full D1 resolution and that 1T hard drive. Then I took it back. The DVR sounds like a jet. It has a small fan that turns at high RPM and is noisy as all get out. And I was not impressed with the camera mount mechanism. The "joints" are pretty cheezy and I can see them breaking. And to tell the truth, the big/black RG59 Siamese cable is a bear to hide and the fixed length (60') is either too short or too long. I purchased a Qvis Apollo (16 channel) and am very happy with it. I'm still in the act of installing some of the 9 cameras I purchased but I've seen enough to recommend the Qvis EYE-N35-V2G-N Outdoor Eyeball Dome Security Camera 2.8-11mm 600 TVL as a good entry level (read affordable) camera. The real plus there is the variable focal length lens. Helps you dial in exactly what you want to see. I purchased a 29 amp power supply from Amazon, baluns from Amazon and Cat5e from Home Depot. Had I stuck with 8 channels and 4 cameras, I'd have spent about the same as the Costco unit. That's my story and I'm sticking to it...

...that I introduce myself. Hi, my real name is Jim and I'm a DYIer from the wet side of Oregon. My day job is as a wildland fire logistics manager and I am a photography enthusiast-advanced amateur. I am also a hobbiest woodworker, a homeowner, family man, and did I mention DYIer. I am just now venturing into the world of CCTV. I won't go into why or what but circumstances have driven me to feel the need to know what goes on outside my home when we are not there or asleep. As many DYIers have d, I have already made the mistake of buying an all-in-one (Costco) kit. Although this kit is pretty good, I am not entirely happy with it. Here is a screenshot of just a few minutes ago. Bear in mind that camera placement and the installs only temporary. And I did say, "the wet side of Oregon" Buying this kit was not a bad thing. It escalated the learning curve. The DVR is pretty nice. Seems to be quite capable but doesn't seem to just do want I want. It's the Qsee QT528. The cameras are the 1/3 CCD bullets with 4.3mm lens. They do OK (as can be attested by the above screenshot) but they are limited in quality and I feel they won't last long. Their adjustment hardware (for aiming) is pretty weak and in just days, one already has lost about 6 LED's. But the whole kit is going back to Costco. Anyway, I think I'm starting to get the feel for this thing now and have ordered a new kit from Sean (@ Nelly's). Sean has been a great help and answered my emails promptly and worked with me when I wanted to change product AFTER I ordered. He was patient when I botched the order. I can't say enough good things about Sean. My kit now consists of (or will be, it'll arrive on Tuesday): 1- Qvis Apollo HD 16 Channel Security DVR 7 - Qvis EYE-N35-V2G-N Outdoor Eyeball Dome 2.8-11mm 600 TVL 1 - Dahua ESC-Z30 30X Optical Zoom Camera W/ Auto Focus 3-90 mm Motorized Zoom Lens 1 - Netrome SH-1253 1/3 CCD 3.6 mm f/2 indoor camera Sean didn't have an adequate power supply (or I'd purchased his) but I found an 18 channel 29 amp power supply through Amazon. I've already got it and it looks pretty good, fully fused (20 of 'em all together) and indicator lights for each channel. I'm installing with CAT 5e and baluns. Wish me luck!! I'll soon open a thread and tell you about my layout and what I intend to accomplish. WARNING, Soon the dumb questions begin... ~Jim (aka SublimitySam)

Yep, that's where I got 'em. Glad to know they work great. Thanks! I'm thinking I should put heat shrink around them after they're attached.. Did you?

Don't have loads! I said these were cheap, US $15.90 f0r 6 pair. My goal was to gently remove the "cover" to see what I've got. I succeeded in that. As you can see the balun literally came apart at the seam. Super glue will render this balun transmission worthy again. It's going back into service... " title="Applause" /> ~Jim

Thanks, Soundy. I've done just enough research on baluns to be dangerous (Wikipedia, etc.), and know there are different types. Just wanted to be sure.

Sean, no wonder you said you'd trust me me and ship before I finalized payment. I'm sure glad I paid that bill right away. ~Jim

Thanks for the info.

What models are they? I'm still not completely sold on this Q-see 528. Do you know where I can download a technical (users) manual?

A piece of screen print from the Q-see QT528 web client. I can't vouch for the QT 454 but it uses the same technical manual so I assume it is also 30 FPS in D1. As for CIF, well I guess it's also 30 FPS.

and another over sales pitch by q-see its only 7,5 fps Nope! The QT series is full D1 on all channels. I've thouroughly studied the QT528 technical manual and it definately states 30 FPS on all channels, and CIF equaling 1/2 D1. I believe the manual.

Hello, I'm new (obviously) not just to this forum but also to CCTV. But I've been searching and studying a lot, mostly here. I have a few questions as I'm wanting to install a lower end (but not bottom) DIY system in my home. I need an 8 channel DVR and I put high priority on it having email notification with still pics on motion alert. Dahua seems to be a preferred brand around here but I also read that TVT is probably OK too. Are these two comparable in quality and is one GUI preferred over the other for features and ease of use? I've looked up and read the user manuals for several different brands and I see on some reference to an FTP function. Does this mean live uploads to internet storage are possible? Or is this just for backup (or something else)? ~Sam

OK, thanks. I seem to have gotten off to a rocky start here. I'll try to be more patient in the future. Thank you for being so kind to give the gift of knowledge.

Woa, wasn't trying to ruffle feathers. Just looking for opinions... and just my way to "bump" this thread a little to the forefront. And thanks for replying. Actually I'm looking at a Q-see QT528 and as far as I can determine it's a TVT. I've seen some good comments on the Q-see right here (specifically the QC444, QT428 and the QT528). I'm just trying to determine if it's a decent machine compared to what's "admired" here (Dahua). As far as I can tell, the specs on the QT528 are exactly what I am looking for. Can I (or do I dare) ask why you prefer PC based DVR over the standalone? Does anyone have an answer to my FTP question?? I'll try not to ask to many more questions... ~Sam

Hmmmmm, 24 hours and 29 views... Does no one have any answers for me?