rory

I used one of the CNB True Day Night Vandal IR domes the other day, not impressed. It is the older model though. I would keep the 24VF and add external IR, it works great like that, also a nice wide angle, wider than the IR domes will have, though you would have to flood it with IR to match the FOV. Here is a VBM-24Vf with separate Infrared, in this case its an old Extreme CCTV EX26LED, I think thats 60 degree IR beam, see it in the snapshot below in black at the left.

the price is good, much less than Geovision and others. Example: http://www.cnbtec.com/en/html/product/product.php?seqx_prod=198 Their Remote software is put together well, so Im hoping maybe their DVR card software is good also. Anyone tried them yet, before I fork over the money for one myself to test? And before anyone asks, i dont need all the tons of features that come with Geovision.

Quite a few online retailers sell their cameras, cards and standalones. I imagine the warranty with a retailer wont be much though .. should still have the manufacturer warranty though.

Zoom cameras arent much larger than a regular box camera, also the lens is built in, eg: http://www.ktnc.co.kr/english/index.php?c=21 KT&C can be bought from most stores online in the US. Or CNB http://www.cnbusa.com/en/html/product/product_list.php?maxx=1&midx=1 Buy the module and make your own housing? http://www.cnbusa.com/en/html/product/product.php?seqx_prod=94

Could also be the pigtails, does it get better or worse when you move them?

I didnt know there was lead in the cable insulation? Is this the same for all?

sure, but most start at a narrow FOV such as 5 or 6mm, and are higher f stops. eg http://www.fujinon.com/Security/Product.aspx?cat=54&id=88 Ive never tried them like this, but guess they should work. Sure there are others from brands like Computar and Tamron and others.

make sure the port is also added in the Windows Firewall if that is enabled.

Anyone seen a hidden IP camera, wireless, or not. Would need to connect to a linksys Wireless access point if wireless .. Any ideas? Thanks.

Thats actually a good idea, though I already installed the memocam Also not sure if that would hold up in the attic, and if not the attic it is then visible to the staff. If it didnt have the word DVR written on the top of it in large writing well ..

yeah screen shot of the DVR software if possible, and a picture of the DVR will also help. If its Windows XP you can just use Prt Scrn key on the keyboard, open up Paint, and then paste and save it.

Yeah the picture may show clear on the portable monitor, but its a very small image with very little pixels so its generally hard to see if it is really that clear or not, which is why focusing using them is not suggested - when you blow it up full size then you may see the difference, even lines are not always visible to the eye on very small screens. I would plug the camera into a larger monitor like a 9" or a 13" TV, then see how the image is. Another option is to power them individually, and use separate baluns for each, at least for trouble shooting.

change the camera. power the camera locally at the camera with a plug in power supply. make sure the camera is going straight back to the DVR with single connectors, no other cameras connected, also cable at least 1-2 foot away from high voltage (120v) and in this case, away from ANY other cable. Get some ground loop isolation (these come with it built in, NVT.com - not cheap though) EG. I recently had a camera, short run, PSU is isolated, good RG59 siamese - lines started at night time only, and not every night. Turns out the camera was just a half inch underneath a bunch of cable which had been added to over the years, maybe some cable for the gate controller or even high voltage, anyway moved the camera down 1 foot and no more lines.

Next step is to make sure the DVR is good. Can you test another DVR there? Or test a camera right at the DVR?

The CIF one is obviously blown up so wont look as good anyway, but the quality just seems off, like its way too compressed, looks like its been streamed over the internet. What DVR is it? Ive seen this with a Nubix from Eclipse, it has a compression level setting per camera, by default it is way too compressed and poor quality, no matter what camera is connected to it, but it can be adjusted.

Rory, I'm confused. Did you mean for me to take it off CIF? If so here are my 3 options for each cam. Looks like the frame rate will slow down. Actually your image is probably bad due to capture over the network and the DVR being used. But yeah I would max the quality out if it were me, and just loose some frames, at least on high priority cameras.

If the signal is too low it could show directly on a monitor and not on a DVR. But should be able to tell if the image is good or bad. Have you checked the basics like enabling the channels on the DVR?

I saw Soundy's post before and I started using wall plugs also .. work out great especially for the indoor domes, havent tried it with vandal domes yet. Ive used wood in the past but well Im not a carpenter so I dont like to cut wood into pieces. Ive used toggle bolts plenty of times also but cost extra and not as easy as a wall plug, even then it cuts into the tile. Also client here dont pay much, so the quickest, cheapest, and easiest way, while still effective, is the best for us. But yea, wood will work fine. if you dont cut a hole in the middle though watch how tight you attach it so it doesnt pinch the cable, if its thin cable. Remember, its just a drop tile, hardly anything secure about it to begin with anyway. BTW I take the drop tile completely down to work on it. But I must admit I do more wood ceilings than anything.

I deal with alot of home users and all they use are DDNS such as DynDns.com and that is set in the Linksys router. Its gone down once recently for a couple days, but the occasional downtime is accepted by most to save that extra $$ every month. Down here you cant get a static IP with the standard $36 a month cable internet, have to upgrade to the pro version which is like $70 a month. As for DSL that is next to useless here for Remote Video, 128k upload speeds if lucky, short of spending $490 a month for similar speeds to the $36 a month Cable internet.

I dont see SDHC anywhere, will have to live with the 1GB card for now, might pick up a 2GB one. Perhaps will leave it and then check it in a month to see how long it is recording for on the 1GB card. There is little to no traffic there anyway as its a hallway that just goes to an empty room. Occasionally workmen will go in there to access a small attic, rare though. Also, accessing the images was not that bad. Basically though it does not save raw images on the mini SD card, you need their program to read them. I left the screw off the pivot mount in this case to make it easier to snap off and remove the mini SD card - the client in this case isnt going to go grab a screw driver and ladder for that. There is another camera right before entering this area so if anyone was to disable it we would know anyway, plus its just inside a private home. So basically in this case, just remove it from the pivot, disconnect the power, then push the mini SD card in with a small thin object to allow it to spring back out, I used the mini to SD card adapter, then take it out and place it in the adapter and play it on the PC. So not that difficult. Then just click the memocam back into the pivot and push it tight against the wall its in the corner so its only going to fit one way anyway, and the picture is good. I still dont like the fact that: 1-Their contact form email came back undeliverable 2-They claim it is IP ready yet it is not 3-It has such as short power cable, really, its just a few inches. 4-The pivot could be more adjustable 5-Its so big For the record, I installed alot of various motion detectors over the years as I installed and serviced alarm systems.

^ you think i going back to that nasty job site aye .. they ran the wire right over a large basin full of radiator fluid, thats where they clean the radiators and rod them out ... and for just the initial $50 to install the camera anyway, and I had to buy a new pair of shoes, and I havent got paid for it yet! actually now to think about it, that thing should be switching to BW .. I have the DN switch to high .. darnit .. more work for free but hey there is nothing but grease and radiator fluid on the ground to steal at night anyway and its surrounded in razor wire .. daytime is all he really cares about there I think. Wonder if we can use external switches or photocells to trigger it to switch to BW? I put 2 more up at the clients other radiator shop but its in the back of the yard and soon as it turns dark, its total blackout, pitch dark, I was installing them in the evenings and ended up like tonight having to use a flash light as it got dark too quick .. gotta go back tomorrow and check it out. Those are only to watch the staff in the daytime.

yeah take it off CIF mode here is a VBM-24VF factory defaults except sharpness to max and DN switch to high. its pitch dark underneath so dont expect to see anything there anyway. captured over the network viewer for a netpromax DVR.

granted most of the problems ive seen with the eclipse baluns are the techs ran passive baluns too far, in other words they listened to the marketing hype and believed the specified distances

oh boy .. eclipse baluns .. do they EVER work? all ive seen from them on other's jobs are problems.

Wait so you arent using baluns, you are using a multi output cat5 receiver and transmitter? also before changing that I would test another totally different camera first.