Hillman

Anyone know an internet source for direct burial RG59 Siamese cable in lenghts less than 1000 or 500 Ft. I need about 200 feet max and all I can find is 500 and 1000 foot rolls. There are no local (within 60 miles) sources I can drive too. Thanks.

I thought the 650-4 could take a simple contact closure to intiate recording, but in reading it seems I need an additional I/O board. Am I missing something?

Thanks CollinR, Yep, after reading more it came to light. I must of misread about the board, because I thought it took a contact closure direct. Because the motion sensor with the GeoVision board is so sensitive I can't use it in my garden to watch the critters. Any wind and it triggers , even with a lot of masking. I plan to use IR motion sensors strategically placed and aimed (I already have them) to turn on the recorder. That is why I will be using the contact closure.

I have downloaded 8.1 and started using it, but I would like to know what some of the new features do. As an example, there is a small slider beside the Motion Detect on the camera tabs. I have no clue what it does. There are other screens and buttons that are new also. I have looked on the GeoVision web site and I have not been able to locate a manual download.

Thank you very much. I am downloading it as I type this.

Can't help on the manual but that slider is for fractional motion detection. Before you could only choose whole numbers, on the left that slider is .0 middle .5. It allows you to fine to MD to keep falses down. Thanks

I just found out the "pop up" and sound alerts on the Webcam client do not work with Internet Explorer 7.0. I doubt it was your problem since your post predates IE7.0 but I wanted to let folks know. GeoVision is aware of it and I will update the post when I hear back about a fix or work around.

Thanks for the tip. I asked the seller and he replied "not for burial". I have since found someone to provide the direct burial cable. Thank you again.

Am I correct in understanding the 1/4 will have the widest viewing angle and the 1/2 the smallest viewing angle? I grabbed this information from http://www.networkcamerareviews.com/articles/viewingangles.html The focal length combined with the sensor size will give you're the viewing angle. A small focal length will give a wide-angle view and a large focal length will give a narrow telephoto view. Wide-angle lenses have a better depth of field than telephoto lenses. This means you can focus close up to the cameras as well as at a distance. Telephoto lenses require a more precise focus adjustment. The calculation for focal length is: f=h x D/H Where h = Image Sensor value 1/4" Sensor: h=3.6mm 1/3" Sensor: h=4.8mm 1/2" Sensor: h=6.4mm Where f = Focal Length Where D = Distance Also, if you wish to find the width of objects that you can see after a certain distance you can use this formula: H=D x h/f Example: What can I see at 10ft distance if I have a camera with 1/4" sensor and 4mm lens (fixed focal length)? H=D x h/f H=10 x 3.6/4 H=9ft

Nevermind I found this thread. http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=4619&highlight=illuminator

I was wondering if anyone has built their own IR illuminators? The electronics for them seems pretty straight forward and simple. I haven't priced the correct LEDs to see if prices for constructed units are close to build it yourself, but I figure if the price differential was big enough it might be a fun weekend project.

I think I am going to go with BW cameras…is this reasoning correct? I am putting together a home system to view a gate I can not see from the house and to view the critters passing around the gate on their way to my garden. Night vision is very important for the gate and the garden. The cameras are not for catching criminals ( we live so far out in the country criminals know everyone has dogs and guns and a sheriff, who if you shoot and kill one will shake you hand and thank you for ridding society of a piece of human debris and saving the tax payers the cost of a trial). The gate camera is just to make sure the gate opens properly and to see the critters passing by on their way to my garden. The garden camera will be the one of highest quality to see the critters enjoying a snack. If I can find acceptable quality for the right price I may buy two for complete coverage 100 X 100 ft garden area. Since night vision is what I seek most and learning what I have so far ( mostly from this site) it would seem I would get the best quality video from BW cameras for money spent. Correct?

Well, after reading and taking the advice of others here I have decided on the Extreme WZ18 for the garden. For $325 it has everything I want with high quality. http://www.extremecctv.com/product_detail.php?producttype_id=10&page=1&product_id=181 I have also abandoned the wireless route to the gate and opted for an alternate location for the camera so the cable run will be more like 60 feet. I not yet selected the camera but I am close to deciding on it. I also decided to go with the Geovision GV-650-4 (60FPS) since I plan to add at least one more cameras in the future. My goal was to keep the current solution under $1000 and it looks like I will make it thanks to everyone's help and advise. Thanks folks!!

I am looking at the Pelco MC3651h ftp://www.pelco.com/ProductSpecs/Pelco_MC3651H-2_Series_B-W_Camera_spec.pdf I notice in the spec sheet it says (LENS AND MOUNT NOT SUPPLIED WITH CAMERA). Do I understand this correctly? I buy the camera and I have to buy the lens separate. If I go with their 1/3" 8mm F1.2 DC Auto-Iris CS-Mount it will give me a wide angle of view. Width of view =Distance X Image sensor value (1/3=4.8mm)/ Focal Length 100 feet out from camera ( farthest end of garden) X 4.8/8= 60 ft width at back of garden. Is that correct?

Hi CSG, Power is already at the gate to operate the gate opener and the PC is already in the shop connected to the house LAN. The ONLY reason I want wireless is I don't want to have to run another cable. My soil/ground is particularly rocky..so much so every other shovel scoop will hit a rock. It takes about 3 times as long and 4 times the effort to bury a cable in my soil as it does in normal soil, but if wireless technology is so inferior then I may bury a cable. I will read some more. Thank you.

Thanks of all the help! I have attached a jpeg file with the layout. No visible line of sight to gate due to vegetation and elevation drop. A wireless antenna on top of the gate post will provide "almost( through top of vegetation) " line of sight to receiver on shop. If I have to I can run wire to gate but I would really like to avoid that. No overhead power lines. Would you consider this camera a "junk wireless setup"? http://www.avtechsolutions.com/vavslr2-kt.htm Garden cam will be mounted about 20 feet high with clear view garden. Garden starts at shop and expands out about 100 ft x 100 ft. I don't really care about rabbits mostly want to see deer and bears.

Well I was hoping to stay under $1000. I guest-a-mate 1. Geovision GV-600-4 ~ $200 2. Gate Camera has to be outdoor and wireless ~ $300 3. Garden Camera has to outdoor ~ $500 I am open to suggestions and guidance.

Hi Folks, I am the dreaded DIYer I want to determine the DVR card first then the cameras. I have read a good bit on the boards and I understand very well you get what you pay for. I have always tried to match the quality of what I buy with its intended use. I am in the process of putting in a surveillance camera system for my gate and garden. The gate camera is to see who is there and if the gate opens properly and the garden camera will be for watching the critters enjoying their night snacks. There will be two fixed cameras in the beginning and maybe adding two more. One camera will watch the gate (low quality) the other the garden (higher quality). I currently have a Swann PV DVR-4-net card which for my purposes is adequate. I know it is the bottom of the heap in quality but it does what I need for $95. My question are there other cards better say for under $200 bucks? I checked the Geovision prices on a few and they all seem to be overkill on quality/price for my simple needs. My goal is to keep the whole system under $1000 with the majority going toward garden camera. I am sorta thinking $200 card, $200-300 gate camera and $500 for garden. I would appreciate any comments and I will report back any information I learn in this process to contribute something back to the forums.

Are the frame rates quoted for each board their aggregate frame rate? Meaning if a board says 20fps and you have 4 cameras you will get a max of 5 frames per camera? Hi .. yes, that is the case for all DVR cards ... though most have a "Smart" motion detection feature which means it spreads the fps amongst the active cameras upon motion detection, when enabled. Thank you very much! That helped me decided which board to go with. I plan to start with 2 cameras and in time add 2 more so your advice and information has kept me from making ANOTHER mistake.

Are the frame rates quoted for each board their aggregate frame rate? Meaning if a board says 20fps and you have 4 cameras you will get a max of 5 frames per camera?

Thanks folks. From what you are saying and DUH the formula shows ...it is the combination of the sensor size and the focal length of the lens that determines the final viewing angle. I have a garden that is about 100 feet wide and 100 feet deep that I would like to see as much at possible at night, so I plan to find a good night camera (BW of true Day/night) that can cover as much as possible. I understand seeing all the garden with one camera is impossible. If I can find two cameras I can afford I may go that way. Thanks again for the assistance and guidance.

I will be returning the Swann and picking up a Geovision in the next week or so. Thanks for the feedback folks.

Has anyone tried combining CCTV signals and ethernet traffic on the same cat 5 cable? Ethernet only uses 4 for the eight wires, leaving 4 unused wires ( 2 pair) for possible CCTV transmission. Wonder if it would work?

Hi Folks, Man what an information rich forum! I am in the process of putting in a surveillance camera system. I have not decided whether I am going to go with CCTV or IP. I have done a lot of homework on IP, but the more I learn about CCTV the more I like it over IP. I have a wiring question. I see from reading Cat 5 cable can be used for the CCTV signal with Video Baluns. I currently have a spare direct burial Cat 5 cable to the shop where one camera will be mounted and the receiver for a second wireless will be located. Can two cameras feed a signal through the same Cat 5 cable (separate pairs of course) and not interfere with each other? The distance will be about 200 feet. Thanks for such a great site.

Will do. Thank you.