Gyro Gearloose

Well, I'm not so sure there is anything wrong. Here are a couple of things to consider. When you changed the settings on the 15 non used camera inputs the HDD was already full and was overwriting. It will take some time to overwrite all of the old video with the new video, especially since the new video is recording at a much smaller rate since now there is only one camera. That is, it will take less space for more days of stored video so it's going to take a while to overwrite the 16 cameras worth of data that's already on the drive. You should see the time available slowly get longer and longer until it reaches it's maximum. You should know you have reached it's equilibrium when your earliest video is dated after you turned off the non used camera inputs. As I mentioned in the other post I'm not familiar with the programing on this DVR. With some machines you just program them to not record. On other machines you have to set the record quality to it's lowest for each camera and set the record rate to zero for each camera to really shut it off. I usually shut them off & set the quality & record rates to minimums. Also make sure you have disabled motion and loss of signal for each of these inputs. Another possible factor is the size of the HDD, only 120Gigs, and the recording format. Some formats don't compress as efficiently as others and therefore create a larger file size which fills up the HDD faster. The instruction manual or the manufacturer's web site usually has a calculator available so you can estimate how many days you should be getting for the number of cameras and settings you have. Motion settings can mess this estimate up however. Let me know how it works out.

Survtech, can you please elaborate on this? Do the DVR manufacturers post their bit rates and how do we evaluate the effects they will have on our total picture quality from one DVR manufacturers spec to another by considering them? How can we use this information to make meaningful decisions on DVR selection? How does compression figure into recorded picture clarity? ( If the DVR comresses it can't it faithfully decompress it? ) Does the picture clarity go down as the compression rate goes up? How do compression rates & bit rates relate if at all? .

Merry Christmas! Possibly the other 15 cameras are not turned off & the DVR is taking up space for them on the HDD. Try going into programing and turning off the other 15 cameras. I'm not familiar with this DVR but many allow you to program camera inputs individually. Sometimes you can program the other cameras to poor recording quality or to a lower frame rate or to even a zero frame rate. All this extends the space on HDD. Check your installation manual. Hope this helps. .

We ought to list every freaking camera brand we can think of to make it more meaningful. The results will highlight the less popular as well as the popular. Listing a price will be a problem ... who's price, retail or wholesale and from which source?

Did anyone call Tech Support? That's the First thing I usually do. Better brush up on your Korean because they haven't brushed up on their English!

Question and Caution On MG Electronics Power Supply Question: If auto iris lens are not provided adequate current and their motors are just left clicking with no picture, will this condition likely hasten lens burn out? We recently purchased an MG Electronics DPS-12C-16UL power supply. It is 12V, 16 cameras, rated at "8 amps supply current" with PTCs and LEDs for each channel. Lets see ... 16 cams divided by 8 amps is .. um .. er .. 500ma per camera. However when you check out the sticker on the inside of the door it claims that each channel has only 250ma available. Since our cameras typically draw less than this we connected them. We found however that the channel LED started to wink for one of the cameras and we had no picture. At the camera we found that the auto iris motor was clicking even though the voltage was adequate. We found that the current for the other cameras were 194ma to 203 ma and steady. The current for the camera that wouldn't work was jumping all over the place. We connected this camera to a different brand of power supply & it started to work. We found that the voltage was the same as with the MG PS but the current was stable at 218ma, well below the MG PS claimed limit of 250ma. Conclusion: This PS can't even provide the reduced claim of 250ma let alone the advertised claim of 500ma. Most disturbingly when I turned the power supply off for a few seconds & then back on to simulate a temporary power outage seven of the nine cameras, the ones with the highest current, refused to come back up with a picture. At each of the effected cameras we found the auto iris motors clicking. They had voltage but fluctuating current. Is it likely that if there was a temporary power outage and subsequent restore that caused the cameras lenses to receive inadequate current for a long period of time such as when a system is unmonitored for days or weeks will the camera lenses prematurely burn out?

RickA, None of these are using the heater / blowers since they are all inside. We will see if I need a heater / blower on the outside camera as the weather worsens. At the same location I installed a Speco HT-7246IHR Intensifier dome but they don't call for a heater blower, in fact they don't even have a option for one. Why would one brand need one and another brand not? I used a damaged alarm panel to power the camera. I installed it at the DVR (at the farthest point from the camera). The wiring for most of the other cams was RG59u Siamese w/ 18ga power wire. This cam is at about 100ft but uses a 22ga wire (Something left over from an ADT Observation system). It goes up a couple of floors so I chose to leave it. I guess it adds about 10 or 15 ma to the current but I'm getting 13.4 vdc at the cam which is fine. Lolo, I looked at these power supplies but they all seemed to small. the largest I saw was 2.5A at 12vdc. Do they have off the shelf units that are higher power? I don't care if they have separate power out for each camera, I can just use a terminal strip if necessary.

Glad to hear that someone else has successfully used this PS. I'm really surprised it doesn't cut it since as you can see my cameras are around 200ma also. I do have a question for you. Have you ever measured the actual current of your cameras? The cameras actual draw can be much different than the manuf. spec., as I found out. If it is drawing 200ma or more it would be interesting to know what happens if you drop power for 10 seconds and restore it. (You can't turn it off for to long because when it cools down a bit it restores most of the cameras except for the ones at 220ma or above.) As I mentioned I'm concerned about burning out a lens servo motor that is only partially functioning. The distributor will take the PS back and I was ready to do this until you indicated that you used them with no problem. The question is do I want to take a chance with another one of the same make & model? I called the manufacturer and finally got a hold of someone that said that this PS was of an older design. Because the cameras features continue to expand each year, an example is OSD (On Screen Display), camera current draw is greater now than when this PS was first envisioned. They have had other similar recent complaints about this particular model. When I asked him why they didn't publish honest specifications he said he has sent that recommendation up the line several times. Their other staff members said all this is the fault of the Chinese that actually manufacture it. So I've decided not to change it at all I'm just going to tell my customer. "It's Not My Fault It's The Chinese." and give them a phone number in Hong Kong. They can put their complaint in line with the poisonous tooth paste and the dangerous toys that could maim and kill American kids.

High inrush current, an interesting idea. Unfortunately I don't have equipment to measure this. I only have a multimeter not a scope. These are Nuvico domes CV-S266N and CV-S3895N. The manufacturer rates each at 500ma but they actually measure about 200ma. Curious, Nuvico techs will not vary from the 500ma rating but they concede that the cameras actually measures around 200ma. Maybe the rating is based on issues like inrush current. I don't know. I'd ask Nuvico but their US Techs sort of present a language barrier. Additionally I'm not impressed with their depth of product knowledge. I think Survtech's advice about the sizing of the PS is probably a good one, but if used consistently it sure would add to the cost. However, it certainly would be cheaper than going through this. It would be interesting to compare some other PS to see how they fare. I suppose I could apply a 230ma load, like a resistor, with no inrush current & see what happens. Would it be to much to ask that the manufacturers include a comprehensive set of specifications instead of these vague, weasel worded ones that that only serve their sales departments short term goals? I know in the past I've seen power supply ratings for other applications that include specs for continuous and surge current.

I just found out that many suppliers are sending 50 ohm BNC's out in either 2 or 3 part connectors when you don't specify rather than the 75 ohm that I assumed that I was getting. They are just a little cheaper and you know how price usually sells. What performance difference is there if any? Can you visibly see it or is it just hard on the equipment because of an impedance mismatch? Connection camera to DVR - Both specify 75 ohms Connection to monitor Does cable run length make a difference?

I'm looking for some good ideas in a nice bright service monitor that won't break the bank. Something easy to use on a ladder but large, sharp and bright enough to adjust a sharp focus.

This installation will be using two 16 channel DVR's with a total of 19 cameras. How much upload speed or bandwidth will my customer need to view and manage it smoothly over the Internet?

Has anyone else had problems with an infrared remote control becoming balky and or finally not working at all? I have customer with a Speco DVR-16TS750 and the use of the remote control has become a big problem. Sometimes it's fine. Sometimes it just acts slow. Sometimes it will freeze (usually in the playback mode) and you have to press a button on the face of the DVR to unfreeze it. We have changed the batteries. We have obtained and tried 4 replacement remotes from Speco. We have been sent a replacement DVR. We have rebooted. We have reformatted. We have "repaired" the data base. We have created a large circle in the parking lot and sacrificed a goat AND a chicken. .... (Was going to sacrifice a virgin but I looked high and low and their aren't any these days. Even tried Ebay.) We have adjusted our tinfoil hats ..... The Problem Persists. Speco technical support has tried to duplicate the problem to no avail. Any ideas or experience with a similar remote control problem?

The first machine had an interruption in power shortly after it was unpacked and set up. A loose outlet I think. After that I noticed that the remote was sort of slow & balky. I assumed it was due to the sudden shutdown. I reformatted, rebooted etc. and the problem seemed better but still a little sluggish maybe. Later I put it through it's paces by quickly using the remote to go to playback then search then select different camera configuration. Then I noticed that it would actually quit responding to the remote until I pressed a button on the front of the DVR. My distributor sent me a replacement DVR. I found that it did the same thing straight out of the box. The tech department said they couldn't duplicate the problem but the sales rep said he tried it on a similar model and the DVR became unresponsive to the remote when he pressed in rapid succession. When he talked to the tech department they told him he was pressing the buttons on the remote to quickly and the machine was evidently getting behind. Has anyone else had a problem with DVRs that are a little hesitant to respond to the remote or lock the remote out when pressed in rapid succession? . .

Thanks for the responses. I didn't find out about the possibility of interference until after I started this thread. I read that there can be several sources of IR interference. Sunlight and surprisingly fluorescent lighting when driven by electronic ballasts. http://www.designerblinds.com/CSTips/CSTips_134.htm To test this I took a lamp that was in use on the test bench when I first noticed the problem that has a compact fluorescent bulb to the customers location. Sunlight definitely is not an issue the windows are blocked with little or no light through them. I am holding the remote directly in front of the DVR at anywhere from 1 to 3 feet aimed straight at the IR receiver with nothing blocking it. I have tried it with and without the lamp, with and without the ceiling fluorescent, with and without my laptop close by, with and without the monitor on. There is no plasma TV anywhere in the neighborhood. I'm not sure where to go from here. It seems like either Speco technical is not aggressive enough trying to duplicate the problem (you sort of have to work at it) or I was just lucky enough to get two bad units. If I send one of the units back to Speco and they are not aggressive enough with the one I return they may not be able to duplicate the problem on that one either. I suspect that the problem is a design software programing problem. What a gigantic headache and a waste of time!

So cirvine do you think we need more than 512k?

The compression is MPEG4, 7.5 frames per sec, Record quality listed as "good", 9 cameras on one DVR & 10 cameras on the other. The customer has DSL with the upload and download speeds the same. Right now it measures at 256kb/s Thanks

I am adding on to a customers previously installed 3 year old camera system. The existing system includes 7 B&W domes with varifocal, auto iris lenses. ( ADT A-CB3VD ). These cameras are installed in the hallway ceiling of an apartment complex. The maintenance guy showed me the Pelco monitor but the picture for each camera was over exposed and completely washed out. I have attempted to adjust the cameras with the dc level adjustment on the board ( This is the only adjustment on the board. No other dip switches or pots) and by adjusting the monitor. None of theses adjustments did any good. We did find that if the power was dropped to the cameras for an hour or so we get a usable picture for about 15 minutes then it starts to head south and is soon all washed out. I guess I'm surprised that all 7 cameras would die so quickly ( 2 years ) and exhibit the same problem within the same time frame. According to the manager there they started to get bad about 2 years after they were installed. How long do you expect most cameras to last?

I understand that Nuvico has discontinued all of their Wide Dynamic Range cameras. They say they were having to many production quality control problems.

Nuvico has discontinued all of their wide dynamic range cameras. They were having to many problems with them.

Any suggestions on suppression device that will correct this? I am having a problem with switching transients from an elevator tripping the DVR motion detector on all of my cameras not just the ones with lines running near anything related to the elevator. I have isolated the problem as coming in on the AC power to the DVR not through the camera coax. The transient is very fast and even effects a camera placed next to the DVR using a 3 foot cable and powered by a battery even when all the other coax is disconnected from the DVR. The DVR is three room away from the elevator room (about 20 feet). Will a standard UPS correct this?

No, this test set up: the DVR, Camera, Power Supply and all the wiring are on a table in a room 15 feet or so from the elevator mechanical room. The power cables from the elevator to the electric room run down a 70 foot hall. The hall is about 15 feet from this equipment. I do have 13 coax and 6 UTP cables that run from the DVR room to this hall but the cameras have not been installed yet and they are not connected to the DVR. 2 of the unconnected coax parallel the power cables for about 60 feet down the hall. The other wiring parallels these power cables for 10 feet or less. These unpowered and unconnected coax and UTP's are in the DVR room about 3 feet from the DVR. Now that I think about it probably the spike is transmitted to the proximity of the DVR though these.

Thanks for the advice but the noise evidently isn't entering the system like I thought it was. It is evidently caused by spikes and noise generated when the elevator contactor engages to activate the motor when it is called to ascend ( Causing a huge sudden surge of current ) but it isn’t coming through the AC power to the DVR! In trying to figure out how the noise was getting into the DVR I completely isolated the entire thing by running the DVR, Monitor and one camera that was placed next to the DVR off of a UPS’s battery backup. I unplugged the UPS from the wall so there was no connection to anything in the building. The camera, coax and camera power supply are next to the DVR with only a 3 foot long cable. All of this stuff is 15 or 20 feet from the elevator and the elevator control room. I pushed the button to make the elevator go up and as soon as the elevator motor kicked in the DVR motion detector activated again. It has to be an electromagnetic noise field through the air. Possible solutions: • Buy 600 boxes of aluminum foil at the super market to wrap the elevator control room. • Turn down the sensitivity of the DVR motion detector. I chose the latter and the problem went away. If I had to suppress this spike and it is induced at this distance I wonder what I would have to do? I'm not sure where it's getting through.