dickday

Greetings, Last November, we purchased a Zmodo ptz camera. After returning 5 units due to moisture on the lens, I need to buy a different camera. While I am very disappointed that I had to return a camera 5 times, I must give Zmodo credit for their customer service. They grabbed a camera like the one I purchased and mounted it outside their support building near Chicago and were seeing the exact same problem I was running into. Dryer climates may not experience this problem. The camera was purchased from Newegg.com, which is not one of several sites that Zmodo owns, so simply taking it back and refunding my money was not an option. They are working with the Newegg buyer so I will receive a credit for the camera (an amount that would hopefully also include the money we spent for shipping). I would have been willing to stick it out until engineering changes were made that would fix the problem, but it was their idea to work with Newegg and get me into a camera that would do what I need. This camera is Zmodo's top of the line ptz, so they really didn't have anything else to offer me. Again, while I am understandably unhappy at the hassles I have had during the past 3 months, I feel very good about the way Zmodo is resolving this issue. Newegg carries many different ptz cameras. I found two that would do what I want and are in my price range. I am curious if anyone has any thoughts on these two manufacturers or these cameras. If anyone can suggest a different brand/model, I'd love to hear your feedback on that as well. Swann Pro-752 ptz camera http://www.swann.com/s/products/view/?product=1437 Vonnic VCP728W ptz camera http://www.vonnic.com/proddetail.asp?prod=VCP728W Thanks!

I'd like to add one more question to this post... My Zmodo 16-channel system is working fine. My latest addition, a Zmodo ptz is not doing so well. They have determined that this camera (cm-z2213gy) has a problem with moisture forming on the inside of the lens when temps change. They have tried different seals with no luck. I need a ptz to monitor the corral and three pastures. I set a 12' 4x6 treated post in the perfect spot, had 110 run to that post and have both coax and 2 runs of Cat-5 (just as easy to run a second run and cable is cheap) running to the post. After 4 replacement cameras, they admit defeat and this appears to be their only camera in their current product offering that has both motion and zoom. I assume other brands of ptz cameras also use rs485 for communications and can either use coax/bnc or cat-5 with baluns for the video. Can anyone suggest a brand of ptz that should work with the Zmodo dvr? Thanks!

The reason for installing a pt instead of a fixed is so we can monitor 3 stalls with one camera. I tried a fixed camera at one end of the stalls aimed across all three stalls and could not get the detail we were looking for. So, I thought one pt camera would allow us to pick the stall we needed to monitor. In such close proximity I didn't think we would need zoom. I guess we could set up some sort of cruise but not really sure how much that would benefit us. There are times when we'll have a rescued horse or yearling that needs constant attention. The stall that they happen to be in is the one we would keep the camera focused on. Is a varifocal camera one that you manually focus at the camera but have no control at the dvr? Thanks again!

Thank you. I hope to hear from tech support Monday. If they tell me that you cannot leave it set to one position indefinitely, then it's going back. If that's the case, what camera would you suggest? We have three horse stalls and I had hoped to position this pan/tilt camera above the center stall on the back wall. I do not need zoom or any pre-sets. I have a 5-amp 12-volt power supply at the location of the camera and I have Cat5 and siamese coax running from the camera to the dvr. Thanks, I really appreciate the help.

Thanks for the reply. I cannot get 95 or 65 to bring up a menu. I have sent an email to tech support, but it does take a while to get a reply. I really like the image quality of the camera and the pan/tilt action is really smooth, I just cannot get the returning to home problem solved. When I do get this resolved, I will let the list know what fixed it. Have a great day!

Thanks. I have the manual in a pdf and there is no on-screen camera menu. The manual shows you what comes in the box, which wire is plus and minus and disclaimers like don't eat the lens or you'll get cancer. Absolutely nothing about programming. Preset 95 (I tried 65 also) brings up nada. Thanks.

I ran a Cat5 cable from the camera to the dvr and I now can control the pan/tilt. Image quality is good. My problem is that after a few moments, regardless of where we position the camera, it returns to the home position. The manual is worthless. I have sent an email to Zmodo, but it can take days to get a response, and I was curious if anyone on this list had experience with this camera, a Zmodo CM-T1001BG. None of the reviews I have read mentioned anything about this problem. Thanks

I am waiting on an email back from Zmodo tech support telling me how to do this with the two Zmodo controlled cameras. One is at address 1 and the other is set to 129 (this is how they shipped) Right now, just the one is on-line. Thanks

Thanks!

You got that right... the terminals for the comm wires are iffy at best. I would have liked screw terminals better than the type they have. The pigtail that I made that goes into the 485 terminals is stranded but thick and I tinned the ends to be sure they went in straight. If it makes a difference, I will replace that with solid copper wires. There is only one place for these wires, so I know I have the right inputs. Distance is around 145 feet. Strange, I posted a reply earlier that had the distances but do not see it now. Sorry, should have had that in the first message. The negative side of the old power cable is as thin as my hair and Zmodo says it needs 18 gauge for the rs485, so hopefully that is the problem. I had hoped to avoid running another cable, especially in this weather (-1 tonight with high winds). Thanks

Assuming the gauge of wire is the problem, and I run Cat5, can I combine multiple wires in the Cat5 for each of the two rs485 wires? The Cat5 is have is solid copper and is, I believe, 24 gauge. The manual for the camera says the rs485 should be 18 gauge. Thanks

I have a 5amp power supply that is connected at the camera. The camera is a Zmodo CM-T1001BG. As I said, it worked perfectly when I tested it, so there is something it doesn't like about the new setting. The power supply I used to test it is not the one that is powering now. The one that's in use now just arrived when I was installing the camera. I wonder if it would be wise to also swap power supplies? Maybe the one that I am using has a problem> Thanks

Greetings. I just replaced a regular camera with a pan-tilt camera. It's installed in a barn, so running additional rs485 was not easily done. Since the new camera requires power at the camera, and I would not be using the power cable in the video/power cable, I was told that it would be okay to cut off the old 12-volt power ends and use that wire for the rs485 cable. I know the camera works since I tested it in the house when I received it. The pan tilt worked as it should. When I applied power and connected the video and rs485, the video looks good but I have no control over the camera. When I try to move it, I get flicker on the screen. I was careful to maintain the correct polarity but tried switching polarity and the camera still behaves the same. Every few minutes, it will move down and to the left, then move back to the home position. With the wires disconnected, I don't get the flicker on the screen but it still will every so often move on its own. When I installed this, temps were around 10, so I did not put a meter on the wires (like I should have) to make sure they were not shorted. Does the above sound like the wires are shorted? Is it okay to use the power wires for rs485? Thanks for any suggestions.

That's an excellent idea, thank you. If I am going to invest in really heavy-duty extension cords as a temporary fix, it would make sense to buy enough of the direct bury cable, put ends on it, and then in the spring, use that same cable to create a permanent run. The outlet that I would temporarily plug into is a GFCI. I would also have our electrician fabricate the cable for me and then come back later and use the same cable when he installs the circuit on the pole. I know my limitations and I would feel safer not doing this myself. (funny, as I get older, the fewer things I feel comfortable doing... maybe 50 years ago I would have tried it Do you have any thoughts on how far I could send 12 volts over Cat 5 using baluns before voltage drop would be a problem? Could I combine a pair in the Cat5 as one half of the 12-volt feed? Would that help reduce the loss? The cameras I would be using are the Zmodo CM-S22326BG-AD http://www.zmodo.com/security-cameras/ir-night-vision-camera.html The reason for the interest using Cat5 is that when I installed our 16-camera system last year, I used the closest length of video/power cables I could find that would reach the dvr. Many of the cables are anywhere from 10 to 30 feet too long and are sitting under the dvr. I would like to be able to re-wire those cameras with cat5 and terminate the ends at a patch panel and get ride of the cable mess sitting at the dvr. I had looked at running coax but was told that I would still have to run additional cable for power. Again, thank you.

I really appreciate the comments and suggestions. It's too late to return the camera, so I have to make the best of what I have. Until spring when the ground thaws, and can run conduit out to the site, I'll run heavy extension cords there and install the 12V power supply in the 10"x10" sealed junction box I installed on the post. The power supply is rated at 5amps. It looks like I'll need about 150' of extension cord to get to that post. If I use fairly heavy cords, do I have to worry about AC voltage drop on that small of a load? For future use, how far can you safely use Cat5 and power baluns before you have enough voltage drop to be a problem when running to a fixed (no ptz, no heaters or fans) camera? Thanks again.