voyager

OK. I've got my prior post's questions fixed. All 6 cams are up and running. 7th cam is still yet to be installed. But, just had another problem pop up. One of my originally installed cams has just had the I-R fail. My cams are Swann NHD-885MSB 4k cams. The circle of IR lights around the face of the cam are not lighting, probable source of the failure. I have 2 extra cams for just in case. But, before changing one of them out, is there any way to check and maybe fix the seemingly bad cam? Is there a schematic available?

I bought a Swann Security Camera System [8 Camera-16 Place]- SWNVK 156808. I installed 4 cameras when I first got it. They have worked fine when installed, and ever since. After over a year, I'm installing 2 more with 1 more later. #5 is working well also. I am attempting to install # 6 and am having problems. They are being installed in various locations around our 1 acre property. I bought a 1000-ft roll of network cable for the cams and am cutting lengths as needed. The problem I'm having with cam #6 leads me to believe the cable cut for this cam has a broken wire in it. Picked up a Wire Tracker/Tester to see what might be wrong. The cables that came with the security system have 4 wires, #s 1,2,3 &6. No others are in the cables. The new cable has 8 double strand twisted wires G/GW, O/OW, Bl/BlW, & Br/BrW. I'm assembling the end connectors per EIA 568A with GW as #1, G as #2, OW as #3 and O as #6. Blue and Brown wires are not being used. Checking the new cable shows wires #s 4, thru 8, are not active. I'm thinking #6 [O] may be broken inside the cable. The cable is about 125' long. Any way to locate the break? Keep cutting it in half until its found, & splice back together ... throw it away and start over, or...? Maybe repurposed the blue or brown wires? Open to thoughts and suggestions.

I am finishing the install of the video surveillance for my lot. All have been mounted under the edge of a roof and are shielded from most effects of the weather. I want the next to be out on the driveway. It will have to be mounted on the trunk of a palm tree. I'll need to build an enclosure for it, or it'll be exposed to the weather. It is a Swann outdoor upscale 4x bullet cam made for outdoor use. I have seen recommendations to have these cams mounted so that thet're not exposed. I'm hoping the cam is weatherproofed enough that it can be mounted on the tree's trunk with out worrying about weather exposure. What is the recommendation for using this type of camera?

I purchased a Swann SWNVK-1685808, a 4k, NVR, 16 channel, 8 camera system a while ago. It was equipped with 885MSB cameras. I intended to add two spotlighted cameras at a later date. In preparing to purchase the lighted cameras, I find they've been replaces by a new camera model, 887MSFB. With a new model number, there have to be differences between them. Swann has made it very hard to find what the differences are. The old model cameras now appear to be out of stock almost everywhere in N .A. The new model cameras are just as expensive as the old through Swann, but can be gotten much cheaper elsewhere. Complaints about them state that they are missing some Video Analytics capabilities. A cursory search indicates that all Line Crossing type abilities are missing in the new cameras; Line Crossing, Perimeter Intrusion, Static Object changes and Counter Crossing Detection. The differences were so hard to find. It's likely that there are more missing that I didn't locate. Their responses to the complaints were little more than feel-good misdirections giving no explanations of the differences. The situations look to be the same for the similar non spotlighted cameras also: 885MSB and 887MSB. The missing abilities should still be in my non spotlighted cameras as they are the 885MSB models. It just burns me to no end that Swann seems to be purposely hiding the differences, and that I cannot match to my older non lighted cameras, even though I may not really need what's missing in the two new addons.

After a number of local burglaries, home invasions, and other personal security issues became obvious risks. I bought a Q-See setup through Home Depot a few years back, an analog QC908 DVR with QCA7201B cameras. From the start, I was not happy with the software's performance, too klunky with poor usability and performance. I am far from being expert in CCTV, but I see no excuse for the Software to be as low quality as it is, unless it's designed to drive you to upgrade. I'm not very impressed with the night vision performance either, not much usable info gained from it. I have built a number of desktop PCs for my personal use, and have an extra LGA 1151 8th Gen motherboard and other components to build my own CCTV setup from. I'm thinking of picking up a relatively inexpensive i3 cpu to add to this mo-bo, then build my own setup. I'm also so tight I squeak. I'm hoping that I could build a setup that will give very good performance at a very reasonable cost, open source software, better night vision cameras, maybe even 1080, or better. It's all for outdoor use around the property with 4 to 6; maybe 8, cameras placed as far as 250 to 300' from the dedicated computer it will run from. Is this doable without making an Enterprise sized investment?

Thanks larry, I am considering using as many as 3 or 4 [of the 6 - QCA7201B cameras that I have] around the perimeter of the house. The other 2 to 3 could be used around in the back of the property. I do not consider these areas to be very high risk. The property is surrounded by thick almost impenetrable jungle covering a rough uneven 'a'a lava flow, too much work and danger of injury for too little reward for the average thief. The driveway is the only easy access to the property. Where I am very unhappy with these cameras is in the front driveway entry area at night, headlights interfere, faces are not very recognizable, and license plates do not show info in the video feed. I would like to see at least a couple of better quality cameras in the front area. I would want all video recorded and stored on the PC for my access, and stored on my own hosted web site as backup security. Am I still in the realm of the possible?

About 2 to 3 years ago I purchased a Q-See 8 channel DVR system with 4 720p analog cameras. I've since acquired 2 more of the same cameras. Only 3 of the cameras have been installed yet. I have not completed the installation because I am not very happy with the way the system functions. The software is slow, clunky and not very intuitive or efficient to use. I have a fairly good functional PC that I replaced because I wanted to upgrade to a UEFI BIOS, SATA III HDDs, SSDs and other performance enhancing options that it didn't have. It is still a good quad core system with a smaller SSD and SATA II HDDs. I would like to see if there is a better surveillance software [preferably freeware] than Q-See's that could be installed on the DVR that came with the Q-See system, or onto my extra PC that could make this analog system function much better. Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions on the viability of accomplishing this?

Sorry, I have deleted this post. It was placed in the wrong forum. I will repost in a more proper forum, like the analog forum.

I bought and began the installation of a home video security system over a year ago. I think it is about time to finish the installation. EDIT: After seeing my join date, maybe it was 3 years ago I began this installation. I want to place a camera out along our driveway to monitor anything coming into it. I will also be mounting a motion sensing light with the camera. The infrared night vision is not very detailed and is unlikely to give good ID of any intruder. A bright motion sensing light would take care of that failing, as soon as the camera adjusted to the change in light level. It would also be another very good deterrent to trespassers. The big problem with using a motion sensor is the width of the motion sensing area. Basically we live on a clearing in the jungle. The driveway is only about 12' to 15' wide, and lined with thick, heavy vegetation. There is little doubt that winds on the vegetation will set off the motion detector unless the sensitivity is set very low, maybe even off. Is the a way to limit the width of the motion sensor's detection area? EDIT #2: The light I am considering using has a PIR motion detector. Will that be compatible with the camera's infrared night vision?

I'm not looking for simplicity. I'm looking for functionality. All the surveillance cameras are operational and recording 24 hrs. The motion sensing function on them is not being used. I do not want the lights burning all night, but only when something is sensed for a number of reasons. The main reason being that we have the highest electrical rates in the country. Even though we have a 4kw PV setup on the roof, and are still grid connected, we still need to conserve our electrical usage.

I apparently did not explain my question very clearly. Plus, this question should probably have been in the "General CCTV Discussion" forum, not this one: "Security Cameras - Residential", adding to the confusion. I apologize for my errors. My question was not about getting the camera to work properly with the light. It was about getting the light and it's motion sensor to work properly with the camera. I am familiar with the cameras and the software. I understand how they work. I've been playing with them for almost 3 years now. They are not perfect, but they could be OK for what I want to do, if the light can be made to work properly with the camera. If I need to start this over in the correct forum, let me know. Thanks

I am new to this. I purchased a Q-See 8 channel, 4 camera with night vision, 720p, analog system a few of months ago when H.D. had them on sale. I have put off installing it. So, it has been just sitting here by my desk. After a few recent local home invasions, robberies and burglaries, it is time to get it up and running. After looking at the paperwork that came with the system, I see that I cannot place the cameras as I wanted to without major additions to what has been supplied in the kit. So, for now, I'll settle for one camera near each corner of the house watching the areas immediately around the house. What I would like to do is add 2 more cameras to the installation. Each of them about 150' to 250' from the house. One set in the front to watch the driveway entrance and mailbox. The other to be set in the back to watch the storage and generator sheds. I'm thinking of mounting each of them on an 8' post set in a concrete base. And add solar powered motion detector lighting, at least in the back. The posts would be either a galvanized chain-link fence type post, or a PVC/ABS type pipe filled with concrete. Then, mount a birdhouse on the top of each post with the cameras inside. I want to run the cable down through the inside of the post, then buried until it reached the house. Both of them would cross under an unpaved drive way. I am in Hawai'i. Freeze-thaw is not a consideration. I'll need to get 2 more compatible 720p day/night analog HD cameras. RG59 cables, BNC fittings and tools to assemble them. I assume I'll also need power supplies for each of them. I don't need top of the line equipment just something adequate to do the job. Critiques? Suggestions? Recommendations?