VST_Man

hard drive size is normally set by the requirements of the client. Some want a few days/weeks recorded and others require months. Once I ask the question I adjut the quote. Yes I have a "standard" size. I purchase the best value for that week and use them. Last few months the prices have been 160Gb and 300Gb hard drives based on sales and rebates. Networked hard drives are still hard to get a good buy on but Maxtor's 300Gb works pretty good, can power off of the 12vdc camera power supply with no problems. You can also add more Gb via a USB connection on the Maxtor, which automatically manages it for you.

make sure the router is MAC compatable and it should work fine. Have clients using MAC mixed with MicroSoft and Java WEB Servers,,,,,works fine...router is MAC compatable.

use active balun's............they take the ground loop issues out.

- dedicated internet connection..Sprint DSL. Static IP if DVR not dynamic capable - router...linksys - DVR with WEB Server...eclipse is cheap and good - power supply...........eclipse is cheap and good - back-up battery power........Belkin 800 - RG-59 siames wire..........95% copper braid - case of beer to use during the training phase eclipse is ok but if your client is looking for great then read/search for other recommendations on this forum. good luck

late at night and early morning..........better that way since you beat the heat and customers...........

fan noise.............can be reduced with a lock box as long as you get a box that has good airflow. the dvr fan noise? you get that from the fan hole, small holes, which can cause the fan to be noisey.no kidding, the air flowing thru those holes restricts the flow and causes resistance that produces the noise. take out the fan and run it,,,,you'll will hear nothing while it is running in your hand, but, mount it back in and it's noisy. only thing that changes is the mounting....... you can increase the hole sizes by drilling them out....takes some time but it will change the volume. changing the fan out does not work. good airflow allows for a fan to push/pull air and all fans have resistance ala natural but when the space is "air tight", or the path is restricted in anyway the push/pull resistance is increased which also increases noise of...........

use cotton rope tied to rafters ect. to keep the cable clear things of while pulling....... pulling several at one time is done with several reels and/or guestimate the cable and lay them out. guestimating produces waste but sometimes i don't care about a few dollars of cable if i can reduce the trips ^ consider UTP and 4 channel balun's. 1 CAT5 able can carry 4 video signals, ect. UTP comes in 1000ft boxes that feed the cable as pulled out. no reel needed. depending on your "style" of installing, price out both cable and UTP in your installs and see if you want to spend and save work? My numbers told me that I can "afford" to toss out $100 worth of cable compared to adding hundreds in UTP/balun's. AND, sometimes I get lucky and hire a part time to do my attic work................for 100 a day. either way it's affordable.

residential or biz is the same..............each camera gets it's own setting based on the scene captured. resolution is set at 320x240 for area's like seating, parking lots, hallways. 640x480 for cash registers, safes, ect. frames per second is set high for registers, safes, ect. medium, parking lot, medium. never set to low. fps? 3 -7 being low, 8 - 18 medium, and 19 on up high. bytes per frame..................pretty much keep them all at default settings of 10000 for 320x240 and 20000 for 640x480. and the final adjustment is done after the above. you watch the live and playback to see if it is clean and crisp.......if not, adjust them accordingly because each camera has it's own variances which effect the overall final picture. ie. great camera only needs medium settings where a cheap one needs higher.

http://www.banksoftusa.net/ used it myelf. works great.

dial-up DSL? DSL is usually a dedicated line, not dial-up? DSL is passed over the phone line at a higher freq and your phone is still "on" all the while DSL connumicates 24/7. just use the netork wizard.....................

water maybe getting it if you have condensation on the inside lens. return and replace or tear apart and weather proof. make sure you dry them out BEFORE you put them back together. the chances that a bullet will leak increases each time you open and close it. if you overtighten it you can crush or twist the o ring.

just a quick FYI i've learned that if you use a active (powered) UTP Balun over a passive UTB Balun that you NEVER get any ground loop issues. yes you can purchase Balun's with ground loop isolation but they become pricey. i had a few installs where the UTP passives where passing ground loop. i installed ground loop isoilators and the bars went away but i had some very faint video shifting going on which DID set off the motion recording. Sooooooooooooooo, i replaced them (passive Balun and ground loop isolator) with active balun's and the pictures went from ok to great, the bars went away, and there is no shifting. i paid $25 for the passive and am now paying 40 for active. was worth the 15 bucks spent. i'm not saying you won't get GL issues from active but i am saying the above worked/impressed me.

any good sources on a decent active 4 channel UTP unit? or 3 and a ptz channel? Price?

eclipse ECL-BTT & ECL-BTR....................call Juan at 1-888-422-8826

ceilings! i use dome vari's on high ceilings so that i can pull the picture in and regular domes on 8ft. ceilings. also use vari's to capture specific "views". otherwise, go with regular low light high res domes. in area's where it might get slammed......go bullet proof. outdoors....go high res low light, position the camera's so that you use any available lighting. if not lighting.....recommend it be installed. IR is only good if you go extreme (Rory style) and that becomes costly real quick. any covert camera's? that's usually a great selling point also. Office, cash registers, ect.

my .02 worth. when i get called into to do a quote i always ask if they have anyother quotes i can "beat". almost all the time they have one and i work right off of the other quote. i then provide comparissons of the other to mine. i provide a good explaination of thier 380tvl to mine. in all cases i can lay it out so the customer makes the choices. for example. i just won a quote where the other was quoting a 380tvl highres dome at 365 each. i offered a 480tvl higres for 150 each. when you are talking 16 camera's you can save the customer a lot of money real quick and makes you look good. But, if the situation calls for a 400 dollar camera i tell them like it is and they usually like my opinion. i won't offer a 400 dollar camera for a lobby seating area but i will offer it up for the employee parking lot, cash resisters, entrance doorways, ect. in other words, i use every "trick" in the book to beat my competition and provide the customer with a great commonsense system. if you go in and try to sell a system to make as much as you can you'll get beat out by ME!!!! eclipse to date has been good to me. returns have been an issue ecause of the "back order" game, but, i stock camera's anyway so this does not hurt me. quality? eclipse is NOT the best and they are not the worst. the camera's i buy from them are all middle of the road, low light, high res, ect. and i apply them as required. it may not be the "best" but i can provide the customer with a decent picture for the money spent. and let's not forget to mention that a GREAT video system well designed from end to end is what counts. no matter how great of camera's you have if....you use cheap cable, cheap DVR's, cheap software, cheap power supplies, cheap baluns, cheap moniotrs, cheap support........you get a cheap picture. you have to put together a "package" of equipment that does GREAT from one end to the other.

maybe a cheaper Walmart brand, but if you noticed, a lot of people spend money at Walmart! I use the eclipse in certain situations and they work pretty good. None of which have gone bad yet. I've gotten more problems/returns from the big dollar camera's. Sometimes KISS is better.

http://www.realvnc.com/documentation.html free download....works great!

run the cable. you'll stay in the "maintainable" box of CCTV and the cost will be lower since the old school technology is proven and available everywhere.

if you are a installer make sure you go with varifocal.why? The customer ALWAYS wants the view to be closer, wider, ect. after it is installed. i've found that the varifocal saves my butt and time addressing the customers quirks. goto http://dvr-surveillance-cameras.com/ for the one i use. *** if you are a DIY installer and understand focal lengths, purchase the dome with a set focal for each location. Otherwise, buy a vari and you can set it once it is installed. trust me, a vari cost more but if your expierence is low you'll save time and get the great view you want.

thoughts are with you..................your family, and your Mom

cs mount provides that distance required for the CCD thingy so that the lense can be focused.....that's all. if the camera is a cs mount type then yes you use that cs ring.

http://dvr-surveillance-cameras.com/ onsale now for $119.00 I just received a few and they are pretty decent.

either one looks good. r u sure you need a varifocal? if not, go for a nonvari lens? most don't need a vari.....i paid 50 at http://www.cctvimports.com

- how many times has someone drove to the "unmanned" fire station for help/treatment and nobody is there? You can hook up a camera, a "internet door bell" that sends a page or email, and would allow you to provide both visual (monitor with treatment steps and reassurance that someone is on the way and will arrive in 9 minutes) and verbal help (remain calm and place a pressure bandage on the wound to stop the) until a "real" person arrives? - location of? if weather can cause damage, water pipes breaking, ect. - you can use it to monitor actual response times to the station for review in planning faster response times. ie. fire call goes out via radio at 6:29 and the first responder to the fire house arrives at 6:18. Do the math a few times, everytime and you can provide a average response time. based on actual/required medical treatment required (1 hour is the most important) you can possible figure out a fast way to respond by watching the video. Other fire stations can view it to provide tips? - Boss cam.....while the cats away the mice will play? - historical video data of events in general - public viewing? no way!!! Keep it secure. unless you want your stuff on real tv? - lights on? We all do it. Coffe pot on? we all do it. sell the electric bill savings over time and the system pays for itself. - get a ptz with great zoom and then mount it hig so that the local weather stations, news, ect. can access it. Provided by the city of "nowhere" ALABAMA! - is there a dangerous intersection (s) near by? If so, you can place a few cams at them for recording to capture the action? - dispatchers have the ability to view location. if your out it will be a quick way to dispatch another unit? - spouse cam? spouse can verify if your really working. ha ha ha