JesseJ

I believe this is the camera you have http://www.ivigilcctv.net/specsh/TD20_TD22HP_TD21.pdf Based on the spec sheet it draws 390ma max. Assuming the cable installed for power is 18AWG (you will need to check this) the maximum rated distance from the power supply is calculated below. Distance Calculator Power Supply Output Voltage 12 volts Camera Minimum Operating Voltage (+/- 10% is what your camera is rated) 10.8 volts Camera Current Consumption 390 milliamps Camera Power Consumption 4.2 watts Number of Power Wire Pairs 1 pairs Loop Resistance for 1 pair 42.4 ohms Wire Gauge 18 AWG Maximum Wire Temperature 122° F 50° C Maximum Distance 185 feet (power supply to camera) 56 meters Battery calcs above taken from http://www.nvt.com/ showing the max distance this camera should be. Your problems described very much sound like a power issue. Remember is it not just the "as the crow flies" distance to your camera, its the total length of the cable including the "up, down and around" route your cable was installed. As mentioned by others, any plug in transformer/power supply that gives you 12vdc and at least 500ma plugged in closer to the camera should resolve the issue. Alternatively, you can run a larger power cable from the power supply out to the camera. If you decide to expand or upgrade this system in the future, reach out to a local professional. They will design the system to account for these types of issues. Hope this helps- Jesse

Short answer-No, don't use camera motion to trigger an alarm zone on an alarm panel. Long answer- Motion detection on cameras generally returns too many false positives...i.e it is not designed for intrusion detection and will likely cause nuisance alarms for you. I would recommend sticking with dedicated intrusion detection devices (IR or better yet a dual technology that uses 2 forms of detection (IR/Micro) to keep false alarms at a minimum. If your intent is to integrate the cameras with your alarm system as a non-alarm event...such as just turning on a light with the motion alarm input from the DVR/NVR then that would be a more reasonable scenario utilizing the DVR/NVR as a trigger. Hope that helps. Jesse