scorpion

Hello, http://scorpiontheater.com/camlab.aspx

Hello, http://www.channelvision.com/files/guides/diagramsLayouts.pdf http://channelvision.com/files/guides/Filters_And_DigitalCable.pdf I believe that you are saying that the antenna signal, and the modulated signal are combined, and then it enters a DTV converter box, and when you go to the modulated channel the camera is not there. Is this what I understand? Perhaps you can have the antenna go to the DTV converter then combine the modulated signal, and then have this go to the TV? Would this work for you?

All of the night clubs used to chain side, or rear doors to keep the "sneak ins" out of the club that did not want to pay the door fee. All it took was one night club to catch fire, and the chains have disapeared. Then there was the indoor rock concert on stage where all of the bands blew off powder in pots, and then they started doing "fireworks". All it took was one night club to catch fire, and the fireworks have disapeared. It will not be long when a low voltage company will have the book thrown at it, and to be made an example for others!

When talking about cameras then it is real easy for me to stick my foot in to my mouth. The cameras that are in the picture above do not look like they would suffer bounce back like this camera would: http://eclipsecctv.com/ECL-5I_dome_camera.html Only you the self installers, or professional installers can dictate what is good, and what is not good. The answer to your question lays with the level of your budget for your project, and the level of quality that you may demand. If you were tasked to install a CCTV system for a large high end diamond dealer what would you pick? Do not forget that your reputation is on the line. If you were tasked to install a CCTV system for a residence, and you were given a budget that left you scratching your head about how you would make it happen, then what kind of cameras would you use? I may say avoid the terrarium bubble because the cameras, and the IR are both inside the bubble, and they both see the same bubble surface. Think of an astronaut with a flash light mounted to his head, and he is wearing his helmet. That light is going to bounce of his shield, and blind him in the eye! There are a million ways to overcome this problem. Where each IR LED is located then you can design a plastic housing the fits the contour of the buble, and the IR can be sunken in to a "cave". This would direct the IR out of the bubble, and the "cave", or tunnel would prevent the IR from reaching the camera. What other techniques have you seen to separate the camera, and the IR? I am sure there are bubble dome cameras that are an excellant choice, and there may be a manufacture who thinks that I hate all bubble dome, and they may feel that they are being unfairly lumped in to the category of "bad camera", and that would be unfair for me to do so. You have to test each camera based on it's own merit. Forget what the paper spec says. Check it, and test it, and make your own decision. I do like the other style of the camera that I linked to. We will call this the "ball" camera. The IR, and the Camera are not in a dome, or a bubble. The Camera is in the center, and there is "shield" around the camera blocking the IR. The glass is flat, and the camera, and the IR LED sit flush to the glass preventing bounce back. Now if the camera fits your budget, and your level of security needs then use it. Make a list of what you want a camera to do. This is known as a "build to a spec list". After you install the camera, and compare it to how you expected it to perform then call this "Built as list". Did your built as list match your build to list? For the DIY they are at a disadvantage. They are not going to go out, and buy 10 cameras, and keep the one that matches the budget, and spec that they are looking for unless they are rich. You have to depend on what others say about different cameras. Do not go with what I say. I may have had a bad "batch" of a good camera, or one camera may have ruined me from whole "family" of like cameras. Installers sway back, and forth on cameras. When we get a camera that fits the needs, the spec, and the budget then we stick with it. We get handed cameras all the time, and we are asked to test them to see what we think. The goal is to get us to buy from them. There are camera that are like other devices that you may have heard about. They rock the world when they first come out. They set a new standard for every other manufacture to reach for. After production is raised to meet the high demand it seems that the quality goes down. I remember this with a Sears battery many years ago. It was almost a secret among a small group of people who knew about it. With marketing, and advertising the brand took off, and the battery went to crap. This is when the live soft brand first took the auto battery market by storm. How can you have a battery that does not have removable caps? There are cameras that were awful when I first laid hands on them, and then I never used them again. I then come in to contact with them again, and I have to say wow, this has come a long way baby! Maybe the increase in production allowed them to work out the bugs, and make it a quality camera. When it comes to low budget camera, and the manufacture wants to make it as cheap as they can, then a cheap plastic dome is quick, and easy. Plugging a bunch of IR LEDs around a camera is cheap, and easy. Why is the camera cheap inside that dome? It may not have WDR (wide dynamic range), or some of the electronic circuitry that create a great video camera. When it is recommended to separate the IR from the camera then we are talking about good, clear, night time video. Think about an advertising picture shoot, or a beautiful model shoot. They use lighting in a special way. They do not have one giant spot light next to the camera, and they shoot the production. They want to create a mood. What are they selling? What is the target audience? What style will a photographer use to create the atmosphere needed. cool = blue hot = red Do you notice that they put the lighting in to an umbrella? Notice that the lighting is from various angles? Straight on to the face, and from above to recreate the highlights that you would see from the sun. You may see them use side lighting to create texture of the surface of what they are shooting. Brick building, and thick tree bark would not show the texture with bright straight on lighting. We may want to take CCTV IR lighting, and bounce it up in to the over hanging branches of a tree. This will difuse the IR lighting, and allow it to be redirected back down in many different directions. Side lighting with IR lighting makes a big difference when looking at the scene. You can cheat with bullet cameras if you can mount them in a way where the IR from one side lights the viewing area of the other bullet camera. Have fun with it. Play with the cameras, and create what works for you.

I am a residential installer, and I do not have a client base that would pay to have these settings "dialed" in. I do not have any notes on how the combinations affect (or is that effect) the detection. I wish I could help you more. http://www.optexamerica.com/productlist.aspx?l1=2

I will have to assume that the camera is under a warranty, and that you can return it. Sounds like you are doing a great job troubleshooting.

HMMMMM? Ex LX in the cake dessert, if the lunch doesn't warm em up?

Cheap cameras for the budget customers. That's OK. That is all they are going to spend anyways. Go ahead make a buck. When you get a new line of bullet cameras (is this a bullet? You only said IR) take one out of the box, and thow it over your shoulder on to a carpeted floor. Pick it up, and plug it in. If it craps out, then do not buy anymore, and if it survives the impact then dunk it in to your aquarium. If it leaks, and has water intrusion then forget that model, and if it works under water then you have a keeper. Now take it apart. Is this what you expected in the price range that you paid for it? If this is going to be a main line of your entry level line, then get to know it inside, and out. Could it be a bad connection from the wire to the PC board? Could it be a bad rectifier, or a regulator? Can you buy the parts locally. If you say RH I'll scream as they do not cater to the experimenter customer anymore. Turncoats! Did you know the AVTech cameras are repairable? Do not flame me!! I just said they are repairable, I did not say I would spend the time to do it! LOL! Have you taken a multimeter to your camera? Lets see 5 bench hours @ $50.00 per hour. Well now! That makes it a $250.00 bullet camera! Lets put a Tommy Hilfiger icon on it, and sell it for $500.00!

Man I could have used this on my last job. The bundle of cable I had going through rafters and such were huge and a real pain in the @$$. Thanks for links for this stuff scorpion. This doesn't really help me for the small single cable or maybe two that I have to run on top of the drop ceiling though. When it's just a small business who doesn't want to pay much for a CCTV install I've just been running the single cable or two directly on top of the drop ceiling. I figure if electricians can run their cables directly on top (YA see this all the time!) then it's ok for me to do it Code says this is a big no no though and definitely a no no with electrical cable.... I assume that this is pretty much the norm with most of you then. Run the Siamese cable directly on top of the drop ceiling, especially for a small job with a few cameras seems to be the norm? I try to get my wires over the rafter to keep them off the grid. As a cheat I have taken the suspended ceiling wire, and I have made in impromtu "hanger" to support my wires. Have you ever used these? FIRES STOP http://www.uniquefirestop.com/smooth.htm Home Page http://www.uniquefirestop.com/products.htm Intructions: http://www.uniquefirestop.com/smooth3.htm

v2comp, can you slow down? I am trying to write this down! LOL! Thanks! I will have to make a note of that!

CADDY is great for solving ceiling wire runs. All you do is clamp, and go! Cat Links http://www.erico.com/products/CADDY_CAT_LINKS.asp Cat Links PDF http://www.erico.com/public/library/Fixing/LT1438.pdf Scroll down to CAT 12 Hangers http://www.hometech.com/techwire/wiremgmt.html#SU-66145

I an not a networking guru, and I would be completely lost trying to trouble shoot that issue. I would probably try to do a hard reset on the router, and go through the setup stages all over again. Can you give us an ipconfig from the computer, and then also tell us what the DVR network settings are? http://scorpiontheater.com/Documents/AVTech_Guide_Networking_AVC7XX_Linksys_Info_2A_Line2.pdf

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/2083/videoviewerdq3.jpg

No. I just do not know what components you have used to set up your "system". You know your system better then I do. I thought I would give you the "shotgun" effect, and see what pellets "hit the tree". I can relate to what you are saying about the cable feed being stronger then your modulated system. The modulator should have a variable screw/knob to adjust the modulated feed. You need to add "gain" out of the modulator, and you need to make the modulated signal stronger than the cable feed. Think of it as a Teeter Totter. You have to balance the two signals. Do you have a CVT 15PIA in the system? This goes between the cable feed, and where you "mix" the two signals. You turn this amp down to match the modulated signal. The tricky part is getting the teeter totter perfectly balanced. Is there anything here that can get your system up, and running? http://www.channelvision.com/files/products/1215042484_CVT1stereo_CVT1ub_CVT2ub_CVT3ub.PDF If you have any BNC T's in the camera video cables then you may create distortion. I am not saying you are having this problem, There may be people who come to your post from a search engine, and I just want to add this in. I have found T's where the signal is split from the camera with a BNC T. One split goes to the DVR input, and the other goes to the modulator. I find this with the kind of DVRs that do not have loop through. Once you have the CVT 15PIA in to the circuit, and get it balanced then you should be good to go. If you have digital cable, or high def then you cannot modulate the system. It will kill the digital signal, and you will lose Hi Def. It will kill the on demand channels also. Do you have a buddy who is a cable installer? Can you borrow is RF meter? This will help get the two branches at the same signal strength.

Diagrams and Layouts http://www.channelvision.com/files/guides/diagramsLayouts.pdf Filters and Digital Cable Support Guide http://channelvision.com/files/guides/Filters_And_DigitalCable.pdf http://www.channelvision.com/ http://channelvision.com/ Affinity Digital Cable Combiner http://www.channelvision.com/products/index/88 http://www.channelvision.com/products/view/427/88 http://beta.channelvision.com/uploads/1215557281_P-0321_MixedSystem.pdf

Why is it that your computer will not connect to the DVR remotely?

As another option you can consider this: http://www.homeplug.org/products http://www.netgear.com/Products/PowerlineNetworking.aspx

Tell him yes, and ask for his business card. Contact his home office the first chance you get. All they are doing is asking for information up front, and verifing that you have the licenses, and the insurance that you require. Ask the front desk if they want it mailed, faxed, or emailed. If they are giving you the run around then you may have said a key word that turned them off, or they get so many calls that they have to weed through them all, and you are just another one in the mill. It would be better to go down to the office, and talk to them. Buy the whole office lunch. It is amazing what you can learn by just sitting back, and listen to all of them talk during lunch. It might cost you some money, but then it may pay itself back. I suggest that you keep copys of your business license, and insurance with you at all times. When the need arises tell the person no you are not an approved vendor, but here is a copy of my license, and my insurance, and who do I speak with to get this information on file? Once they have all of your info filed at the home office you are now an approved vendor unless they tell you otherwise. Some companies just stick all the info in to a manilla file folder, and others will actually check your license, and call your insurance company. They may also want to make sure your employees are covered under workmans comp. It is easy becoming the "approved vendor". It is harder to sway a company when they have been "using someone for years, and we like their work". I call the competition, and ask them what they specialize in. They may list everything in a phone book ad, but they may prefer a certain segment, and not all of what they advertise. I will chat with them to see how much CCTV they do. If they talk about how hard it is to sell CCTV then this is a clue that they do not know how to do it, or they do not like to do it, or they had a bad experience with it. Agree with what they are saying. In other words you will want to confirm his suspicions that he is right, and that not many people are doing good with CCTV sales. Do not tell him how good you are doing with CCTV as he will only get "defensive", and he will cover up, and tell you that he does really good, and that they are getting ready to expand! I sometimes go, and fill out applications at my competition. I find out key names of people that I want to remember, and I kind of get a chance to "make friends" with the office manager, or the front desk clerk. They will tell you that they are not hiring for CCTV, and they may even let on that they just let a tech go because work is to slow for them. You may figure that they do more Burglar Alarms, or what ever it is that they do. Examing the place. Do they have a lot of desk giving you a sign of a lot of sales people, or does it look like a mom n pop operation barely hanging on. If you get a chance see if you can feel out their stock. If they talk Pelco then you can offer bids against them with products that are out of the Pelco price range. If they import direct from china, then bid with named products to "shut them down". Price cuts should get you in the door if you can do it cheaper then the competition. Do not sell yourself cheap as they will expect that on all future bids. Find out through the local cashiers who does the repair work for AC, plumbing, and refridgerator repair. Find out if they have an in house tech. The head maitenance guy may "talk his head off" because you are making him feel important. He will have to brag "how good he is", and blah, blah, but you will get a lot of info out of him as well. He may clue you in on what store is "due" for a system, and what stores are bottom of the list. He may direct you to the "sargent" who does the work, rather than the "colonel" who sits behind a desk saying no all day long. You can do the same by contacting custom home builders, and others, and get on their approved vendor list, and then wait till the regular guy makes a mistake. They may want to go with someone else on a one time basis, until their "anger" at the approved vendor resides. You can buy out contracts from other contractors if you have the money to do so. My experience doing this is more with coin op vending games, and equipment, but it should work for any business. I have an idea to PM you. Have you ever done a fast food restaurant of any kind?

The GigaPan Robotic should be on CNN new around 530pm - 6pm. You can see for yourself how the Inaugarul photo was taken with a Canon G10.

Here is an interactive photo of the inauguration. It is a gigapixal panorama. Click on it, and zoom in, and move around as you would with Google Earth. http://www.gigapan.org/viewGigapanFullscreen.php?id=15374 You cannot see them at first, but there are construction cranes way in the background. Click on the picture, and then move to the right side of the picture. They are behind the "camera" tower. If you zoom in on them you should be able to read the Morrow sign on the crane! Have you ever wanted to see the corinthium columns, and the details up close? See if you can find the Secret Service Snipers! What do you think? David Bergman made this Gigapan image from the north press platform during President Obama's inaugural address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on January 20, 2009. It's made up of 220 images and the final image size is 59,783 X 24,658 pixels or 1,474 megapixels. I covered my first inauguration and what an inauguration it was. Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States in a ceremony on the west front of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Before Tuesday, I had photographed five presidents and covered big events including the Olympics, the Super Bowl, and concerts like Live 8 and Live Earth. But this one was the biggest. It deserved a big photo. I made a panoramic image showing the nearly two million people who watched President Obama’s inaugural address. To do so, I clamped a Gigapan Imager to the railing on the north media platform about six feet from my photo position. The Gigapan is a robotic camera mount that allows me to take multiple images and stitch them together, creating a massive image file. My final photo is made up of 220 Canon G10 images and the file is 59,783 X 24,658 pixels or 1,474 megapixels. It took more than six and a half hours for the Gigapan software to put together all of the images on my Macbook Pro and the completed TIF file is almost 2 gigabytes. Use the controls to zoom and pan around the photo. You can also double click to zoom in and double click again to get even closer. http://www.davidbergman.net/blog/

Have you swapped one of the other cameras with this camera to see if the problem "follows" to the other location? Side note: I would not use such a wide angle camera for a front door shot. Does this camera have WDR when the sun is shining through the door, and windows?

I miss understood. How much is my wishful cctv giga pixal IP camera with software price? Is this what you are asking, or how much the robotic camera controller that is used to take the inaugural photo?

Well I sure hope the "punks" do not switch to grenades!!!! Yikes! There have been some serious bruising from plastic drink cups hitting the drive thru cashiers. During an install one time I saw where an employee changed syrup boxes, and the valve was damaged and syrup ruptured all over the floor. It took foreever, and a day to clean all of my tools after that mess. Bleach cuts through the goo pretty good if you do not kill yourself from the fumes!!

The most visible snipers are on the right side of the building in the background to the left of the "journalists tower". Rayburn House Office Building http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=Independence+Ave+SE+%26+Capitol+Driveway+SE+%26+1st+St+SE,+Washington,+District+of+Columbia,+District+of+Columbia+20003&sll=38.886122,-77.009493&sspn=0.004309,0.006866&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FctgUQIdifto-w&split=0&ll=38.887592,-77.010512&spn=0.008618,0.013733&z=16&iwloc=addr&layer=c&cbll=38.887597,-77.010293&panoid=3ZDgWiyIt_JZnhn1s0kNWQ&cbp=12,228.68389932271464,,0,-9.794270475807433 http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=what+are+the+building+around+the+us+state+capitol%3F&sll=34.750675,-92.290649&sspn=0.018195,0.027466&ie=UTF8&ll=38.888194,-77.018666&spn=0.017237,0.027466&t=k&z=15 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Capitol I can hardly wait until "normal" CCTV uses this kind of resolution, at entry level pricing!!

I would say it depends on whether your choice is determined by budget is of the essence, or security is of the essence. For budget choice then what you can afford is what you can afford. If you are demanding 30 FPS on each of the 8 channels then you will want to take the 30 FPS, and mulitply it by the channels to come up with the total frame per second that the DVR will have to provide 30 FPS per channel. You will need a DVR that can handle 240 FPS. 120 FPS will provide 15 FPS per 8 channel DVR. 120 FPS will provide 30 FPS NTSC per 4 channel DVR. 240 FPS will provide 30 FPS NTSC per 8 channel DVR. 480 FPS will provide 30 FPS NTSC per 16 channel DVR _____________________________________________________________ http://scorpiontheater.com/lab.aspx Now comes the difficult part. Some DVR companies use FPS, but you have to determine what their "FPS" means: FPS Frames Per Second or FPS Fields Per Second. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frame_rate It takes two fields to make one frame, or interlaced. Progressive scan is one field. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_scan DVRs can also be rated useing IPS, or images per second. If security is of the essence then go with a company that you trust, and have them decide a DVR for your budget, and security needs that matches your specification. When things go wrong down the road it is great to have someone to lean on when you need tech support. If you are budget oriented then get the highest numbers that you can afford. You would be better doing a demo of products. If you cannot find a showroom, then at least ask the dealers to provide an online demo of the DVR with some cameras.