survtech

I myself am puzzled by NVT's claim. The National Electrical Code specifically says that low voltage and high voltage cables can not share a conduit. This is not the case with fiber since glass is not a conductor. Did the Chicago Transit Authority co-locate twisted-pair with 480 volts within a single conduit? It is not only a question of possible interference from the high voltage to the video signals, but also a safety issue since the high voltage can induce itself into the low voltage cabling, causing a shock hazard. From Blue Jeans Cable: "Running Signal and Power Together There are two good reasons not to run signal-carrying cables and power lines in a conduit or other enclosure together. The first is, simply, that it's a great way to get a lot of EMI into your signal chain. The second is, as you've probably guessed by now, that it's against NEC requirements. Video and audio cables may be run in raceways with one another, but NEC prohibits running video in the same "raceway, compartment, outlet box, junction box, or other enclosure[]" with power circuits, NEC 820.52(A)(1)(b), with minor exceptions, and prohibits running audio in the same "cable, cable tray, compartment, enclosure, manhole, outlet box, device box, raceway, or similar fitting" with power circuits, NEC 725.55(A), unless separated by a barrier. Coaxial cable is required to be separated by two inches from power cable, unless either it or the power cable is enclosed in a raceway or they are separated by a "continuous and firmly fixed nonconductor," NEC 820.52(A)(2)."

I think the poster is saying they don't understand the requirements and how to bid on implementing them. My suggestion to the poster in that case is not to bid on a project whose complexity is beyond their capabilities.

I suggest using "direct burial cable". You can find it in a number of configurations. This cable is made of special UV and weather-resistant material that will withstand years of above and underground outdoor exposure. It also often contains a gell that protects the internal wires from liquids. If you need to run low voltage cable outdoors, use this cable. Do not use regular cable, as its insulation will degrade and crack with prolonged outdoor exposure.

You can use some cell phones with a USB cable to get internet service, though it may be a little slow (typically 128k). Here are some links: http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/usingyourphone/a/cellmodem.htm http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum45/435.htm http://cellphones.about.com/cs/buyersguides/a/wireless_data.htm

If you need parts for a Spectra dome PTZ, try Time Lapse Supply: http://www.timelapsesupply.com

Welcome to the forum Slim. I am the Surveillance Technician Manager at a large casino. Perhaps we can trade experiences?

I have never seen that happen with a PTZ. Is there a plastic protective shipping film on the bubble? If so, remove it and try again. Otherwise, check your vendor or the manufacturer's tech support. Perhaps there is some other problem like a defective or distorted bubble.

What do you mean by "photo machine"? Do you mean a piece of equipment that takes photgraphs automatically? They are basically obsolete since the same result can be accomplished with a camera and DVR. There are CCTV cameras with built-in hard drives. Perhaps that would work for you?

Only if you use an infrared light source.

If you are using analog cameras, D1 (720x480) is more than capable. Although color analog cameras are typically 768x494, in practice you wouldn't be able to see any improvement in picture quality if you went higher than D1. But wait, there's more! Besides resolution, you also need to account for other compression settings that affect the picture. Bit rate is the other major factor. High resolution with low bitrate is just as bad as low resolution.

You can get a converter, but your resolution will be limited. The thing about analog versus digital is it depends on what your source is: If you start with analog cameras, then feeding them to an analog monitor (either directly or through an analog switch) will give you the best picture. If you first digitize the video, as with a DVR, that will limit you to the digitizer's capabilities and the resulting video will be whatever quality you chose at the DVR. Likewise, if you start with a megapixel IP camera, converting it to analog will cause the picture to be limited to NTSC standards and the resolution capabilities of the D-A converter.

You said that you used the HDD previously as a backup device. Did you fdisk and format it in Windows for that use? You might have to re-fdisk it to remove the formatting before it will work in the DVR.

Taping them together should not cause any problems. One foot spacing is the minimum recommended and you should try to keep the CCTV cables from running parallel to the power cables as much as possible. It is better to cross them at 90 degree angles than to run them parallel.

They don't make PTZ's.

Yes, they often do. Then again, ours were struck by lightning . But for the average user, fixed cameras are rarely cost-effective to repair once the warranty expires.

You are probably attenuating the signal too much with the combiner/splitters. You will need to add a drop amp to overcome the losses (approximately 3.5db per split). It should be 2-way for cable. Check out the DA-520A.

Not really. In my experience, CBC will charge nearly as much to fix the camera as it costs to replace it.

Moore's Electronics 548 Virginia Drive Tiburon, CA USA 94920 telephone: 415-435-3712 415-435-4873 fax 1-800-FIX-CCTV toll free 1-800-349-2288 http://www.mooreselectronics.com/

Ikegami makes far better cameras than they are given credit for. They also come with a 10 year warranty.

Computar has a number of 1/2" and 2/3" lenses designed for megapixel cameras: http://www.cbcamerica.com/cctvprod/computar/megapixel/index.html

Unfortunately, that is what you get when the government cares more about getting the license fees than protecting the consumer. We have that problem in California with the state Department of Consumer Affairs and its sub-agencies. The B.E.A.R. (Bureau of Electronics and Appliance Repair), for one, does little proactive enforcement of license holders' competency and rarely prosecutes unless the licensee doesn't pay their fee or is an outright fraud. Even if you don't pay the fee all they do is tack on a "penalty" that is payable if, and when, you apply for a new license.

It sounds like the Tangam system (http://www.tangamgaming.com/), which is being distributed in the U.S. by NICE. We have looked at it and talked to both the Tangam and the NICE people and we think that they are totally missing the boat on the product. They are selling it to Table Games departments for use in the BJ pits; not in Surveillance. Another casino east of San Diego has it on trial and AFAIK, their Surveillance Department does not have access to it. And they have a Dallmeier DVR system. Unless a casino's camerage coverage on their Blackjack tables is totally awful, there is no real need for the system. We only have to see the value of the cards, not the suit. That is easily picked up by analog cameras. And while there would be some advantage to using the system for ease of following the action and for its analytic capabilities, the $10,000 cost per table and the inablity to record and playback the game play severely hobbles the system. Tangam's slow progress adapting it for "Carnival Games" (Poker, Pai Gow and the like) where the suit of the cards has a bearing on the outcome of the game, may make it a useful marketing tool but not very practical or cost effective for casinos in general and casino Surveillance departments in particular.

None of their products are really suitable for CCTV. They don't offer screw terminal connections or easy multi-camera capability. Try Altronix. Most of their products are also made in the U.S.; they offer models in many different configurations: 24VAC - 1 to 32 outputs 12VDC - 1 to 32 outputs 6-15VDC (adjustable) - 4 to 16 outputs Rack or wall mountable They are available for indoor or outdoor; with fuses, circuit breakers or ptc (automatically reset after a short is removed) protection.

You definitely need to make sure you use the same communication parameters in both the control and the PTZ. You need to set: Protocol (Pelco "P" and "D" are common) Baud Rate (usually 2400 or 4800) Parity (O/odd, E/even or N/None) (usually N/none) Address (usually 1 for a single PTZ but some protocols allow a "0" which changes the address setting on the dip switches) Also make certain you have connected the control wires correctly. You should be using twisted-pair. CAT-5 is not strictly neccessary; for years I used 22/2 shielded and it works fine. You must, however, connect them properly: Transmit (TX) at the controller to Receive (RX) at the PTZ (+) to (+) and (-) to (-).

On the other hand, 24VAC power supplies are very simple, with almost no failure-prone parts. 12VDC power supplies have rectifiers, filters and voltage regulators; all parts that can fail, plus power transformer(s) and fuses. 24VAC power supplies usually consist of just a transformer (which have extremely low failure rates) and fuses (failure-prone but common to both types).