CraigVM62

600 cameras ??? Man.... I would be Tivo-ing every episode of Vegas to see what they use Seriously though, would an installation that large only be typical of some of the larger Casino's / Hotels ? That is so beyond anything I could imagine taking on but I am interested in seeing what is suggested. Good Luck

Recently I have used the APW / EMI CCSH-10MAG housings. They are a bit shorter than many of the standard housings out there and have a pleasant contemporary design. I like them not just for looks, but their is no problem with grounding issues since the housing and cam mounting system is non conductive. Still a bit larger than needed when some of the smaller box cameras are used. Most of my installations are residential so housings are often mounted off of the home. On several occasions I have painted the housings / bracket to blend in with the home. I have also installed a couple of cameras in custom made bird houses. Only problem is often you would get a Close Up of a bird looking in to see if there was any vacancy

Here is a video of one of the nicer ones in action. They make one that shoots horizontally and is triggered by a trip line. Like a Claymore http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4002359331537176904&q=Paintball+Landmine&total=12&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

put razor blades all over the top of it .. rope goes over, they pull on rope and rope gets cut .. Your starting to scare me Rory Here is one for you... Last week I was visiting my Dad who lives in a little BFE town a hundred miles outside of Las Vegas. While there, a neighbor of his came over and started asking me questions. I guess my Dad told him I was coming and might be able to help him with a recent problem. He owns a small junk yard where he has been dealing with local vandals. He was wanting to find someway to prove which of the local hoodlums was coming in at night stealing parts. A dog is not an option, and his budget eliminates any CCTV or Security System as a solution. Here was my brainstorm .....: I asked him if you have to walk through any rather narrow paths to get from A-B in his small junk yard. He said yes. about a 10 foot path between stacked cars. I remember seeing that they make these wire trip land mines for paintball games. They use a small Co2 cylinder for pressure and state to cover an area of 700+ square feet. I suggested that He try one and instead of filling it with the instructed paint ball paint fill, perhaps a stout mixture of Red Ritz dye along with something of strong odor. He loved the idea. I guess in a little community of 60 people, if someone comes home "colored funny and stinkin" it doesn't take long for everyone to hear about it

A couple of reasons. If you mount a dome camera flush to an exposed outdoor wall, you now have major issues with water beading up on the dome distorting the image. Here in the Pacific North West we get plenty of rain. If you use a wall bracket to mount a dome facing down, your right back to giving them something to toss a rope around. Short of some commercial strength epoxy, I don't think glue is going to add much strength to the bracket. The new brackets are made of 1/4" steel angle iron / plate. They will be attached with 3/8" bolts going clear though the concrete walls and washers / bolts in the inside. I am guessing it will take a good 1000 lbs of downward pull to take this one down with some very strong rope. Scorp, Yes, the idea came from those pull apart disconnects that some use for overhead roll up doors and gates. In this case the wire is very small 28 gage 2 conductor wire. My only fear is if a pigeon or crow doesn't notice the wire and comes in for a landing on the bracket arm ...... whistles and bells I was called in to replace another companies camera that was shot at one of those commercial gas stations that don't have attendants and pumps require issued cards. I found a couple of BB's rolling around in the housing. The story was that a month before an individual came in and used his employers card to fill his own personal vehicle up with gas. They used footage from their cameras to prove what he had done and he was fired from his job. Soon after, new footage showed him walking up to one of the cameras and shooting it several times with a single pump, Daisy Red Rider type BB gun. I replaced the broken glass window of the housing with a piece of 3/16" Daisy proof Lexan.

Hey Scorp. Like most of my CCTV installations, this one is somewhat budget oriented. So I can't go high tech looking for a solution. There are buildings near by "within 60 feet" but we don't have the means of getting conductors to the customers building. So both cameras will be on the same wall. Both will be viewing the desired "protected" area, and the area below the other camera. This is the best idea I could come up with to keep them from tossing a rope over the camera and trying to yank it down. The cabling along with alarm trip wire is routed through the bracket and exits near it's top, just below the camera. There is a small loop exposed before it goes into the camera housing. I installed a contact switch inside the housing incase someone decided to get a tall ladder and try to open the housing to steal the camera. I came back out of the housing with a 2 conductor wire that cloths lines directly to the top of the bracket mount and is attached. If someone should decide to toss a rope and give even a slight tug. It will break that wires connection point and trigger an instant zone on the alarm. The outdoor horn and strobe is near by. With it going off, I hope they won't stick around long enough to try and continue the tug-a-war to pull the camera / housing down.

I appreciate the replies. My only concern about adding a concealed camera to view the existing camera location is that it does not provide a deterrent factor. The nearest location for the second camera is around 30 feet away. I would have to find a covert camera with a higher magnification lens to provide a good clear image. I guess this is one of those double edge sword problems. If can install a covert camera, they may not try to hide their faces if they try to steal the main camera again. I could only hope the recorded image provides what is need to catch them and maybe get some stolen items back. There is a good chance that won't happen. If I install cross firing cameras with both in clear view, they may just make it a point to hide their faces and steal both cameras. Though the original mount was strong enough to easily support my weight, I will step it up a bit. I am getting a couple of Pelco HSWM12 mounts that, with bolts running clear though the wall, should be a match for the bumpers of many small cars.

On a remote building I have two cameras. One being a basic Speco Armored Dome, the other a Toshiba Box Cam and Lens in a non heated enclosure. DVR and Power supply is around 280 feet away via twisted pair and passive baluns. The problem is both cameras look great when fed directly to any of several portable and standard monitors I have. When fed into the Kaltech / Digital Watchdog DW-4ZAPro DVR, one camera is having problems. The dome camera still looks great, but the nicer Toshiba box camea looks like a scrambled cable TV channel from back in the 80's, except the lines are horizontal. I have tried plugging it into a different inputs but the scrambled image follows that camera. I checked the voltage reaching the cameras and found it is only 10.6 volts. By the camera not getting it's normal 12 volts, would it's video signal not be as strong? Guessing the DVR needs a stronger video signal than the monitors need be happy Correcting the voltage problem will be an easy fix. If this is not the needed cure, I was wondering if anyone has experienced this problem and what they found. Thanks for any input you may have.

Hey Rory, I don't know where I would find chunks of plastic thick enough though. On one of my larger installs "large for me anyway" I used these APW / EMI Housings. The entire Housing is made of a very strong Polymer Plastic so the camera is completely isolated from the metal bracket and mounting surface. That install is a year old and they have held up perfectly. Anyone have any long term experience with these housings. I wonder if they discolor at all after years in a very sunny environment.

In hindsight, it was a big "DUH" on my point for not considering the issue with the wood getting wet. The plan was "after it stopped raining" to paint the plywood if not just for cosmetic reasons. I ended up using a nylon bolt and some rubber washers to isolate the camera from the housing. I am thinking that in the future I am going to avoid metal housings all together and stick with the better "non metallic" versions.

You guys kept pushing towards it being a Ground Loop problem, and you nailed it. I was 'certain' that I had eliminated any chance of the housing being grounded to the building. Originally a DVR was installed on the opposite end of the same building, and I had a GL problem. I corrected it by mounting the housing bracket onto a 8" x 8" piece of 3/4" Plywood. I used bolts and recessed the heads in the plywood so they would not make contact with the metal building. I then anchored the plywood to the building with screws. This resolved the problem There was a down time of a few weeks when the DVR was removed and cameras were not being viewed. At the end of that downtime, A new DVR was installed in a different building and when it was fired up, that is when the problems this tread addressed came about. During that downtime, we had a good amount of rain so water was absorbed by that piece of plywood, allowing it become something of a conductor. The new DVR location was now in a different building with a completely different electrical service and meter. That small amount of continuity the wet plywood was causing seemed to go a long ways. This all became clear when I finally took your advise Scorpion and just pulled the cam from the housing. I know that is one of the most elementary methods to trouble shooting a potential GL problem, but I was just convinced my "plywood fix" had eliminated it from being a possibility. I will learn to listen better and sooner Thanks for your help

My fingers are crossed that it is the voltage loss issue. If that does not resolve the problem. I will also take the suggestion of replacing the baluns on the problem camera. I don't think it is a reverse polarity problem with the baluns since they have a great image when fed directly into a monitor. I am pretty certain that when a balun is hooked up with the polarity reversed, you won't get anything close to an image. The buildings are metal, so I isolated the cameras when I originally installed them to avoid any ground loop problems. Still I will confirm that by checking for any continuity between ground at the monitor / DVR location and the Baluns. Thanks

I have had good results out to 300 to 400 feet by going with Cat5e and video baluns. I know many here do not favor passive video baluns, but I have been using some cheap generics, again with positive results. Direct burial Cat5e is very cheap so even with $25 for a pair of video baluns, I save over running direct burial RG-59 and power. I use two of the pairs for power allowing 2 pairs for 2 cameras. So in your case, it would allow room for expansion down the road if ever desired. At 300 feet the voltage drop has been less than what would effect a single camera. When running 2 cameras, I have used some 1.5 amp 13 volt power supplies. You can often get your direct burial cable Cat5efor free by calling your local phone company and saying you have a 350 foot trench from street to a new home your building. Tell them you have to cover that utilities trench the next day, and you need to have them come out and install the phone cable. It is very rare that they can get anyone out there in such short notice, so typically will offer to just give you a 500' spool asking if you would not mind putting it in the trench yourself which means free cable "other than gas to go pick it up Anyway ... just food for thought on something that has worked for me. Though I will be the first to say I have a fraction of the CCTV experience as many here.

In Washington State, you would want to contact the Dept of Labor and Industries. You will need to get a Limited Energy License and as others mentioned, be bonded.

RCA = RCA = RCA. There is no such thing as a 75 ohm RCA connector. They are all just RCA connectors 100% correct... I can only imagine CollinR was refering to the Video Cables the poster originally stated he had ran down the wall. Do a online / fleabay search for the Steren brand of plates and inserts. They are a generic version of the Levinton products. Through a distributor, I get the plates " from 1 to 6 cavities" for .50 cents each and the RCA inserts for .60 cents each. My catalogs don't show them as making a BNC insert, but those made by Channel Vision, Leviton, ICC..... will fit.

I have had good success installing some of the cheaper Speco dome cameras under eaves where they sit well back "perhaps 10" inches or so" from the outside edge / gutter. Even here is the Pacific North West where we get our share of rain, water has not been an issue. I have had a few people decide to wash their sideing and eves with preassure washers which took it's toll on them. Cabling coming in from attic so no wire exposed, but I still seal where the cable comes into the camera and any other holes where small insects can enter. I am guessing the heat of the board camera attracts them in otherwise.

I am south of you in the Tacoma / Puyallup area. I buy my cable from ADI or TriEd located in Kent. ADI also has a facility in Brothell. I believe TriEd also has a location up north closer to you also.

This thread has addressed a problem I was having today. I am looking forward to seeing if I can resolve the problem by applying suggestions given here.

Distributors like Tri-Ed and ADI sell cameras in every configuration from Bullet, Dome, PTZ, Box Cameras and lenses...... I am confused as you stated your a distributor.... Do you mean your a retailer who intends to sell to the general public ? If your a distributor then you would be just like companies such as Tri-Ed and ADI who buy directly from manufacturers and sell to Installer / Resellers

For local purchases I go to ether ADI or Tri-Ed who are distributors that only sell to contractors / those in the industry. Price wise I have found better deals online sometimes.

I have a customer who is building his own PC Based DVR using a GV 1120-8 I am going to try my first attempt at hooking up a basic PTZ camera. From Geovisions website it sounds like an accessory is needed for this card to control a PTZ camera. Am I correct that I need their RS-2321 to RS-485 Converter card ? Thanks

I think I would only need their GV-NET Card. We would not need the additional inputs and relay outputs the VG-NET / IO Card Offers. After looking over the images and discription of the GV-NET card from Geovisions website, I now see what you mean about it not using a PCI Slot. It looks like you simply come out of the DB9 serial port of the PC and into the card with a RJ-11 / DB9 Cable adapter. The card does utilize a power input from the PC's Power Supply which makes me wonder if this is required vs using a generic adapter that is non powered. The generic adapters are about 1/5th the price of Geovisions option.

I have a residential install where it is near impossible to get a Cat5e cable from the Stand Alone DVR's Location to where their Cable Modem / Router / Wireless Access Point will be. Is there any possible way to link the DVR to a wireless network via IEEE 802.11b/g technology ??? Am I correct that stand alone DVR's with USB ports utilize that port only for back up to drives and firmware upgrades? No way they could be used for a USB wireless adapter is there? Would the only option be to use a PC based DVR and wireless adapter?

I was stumbling around on ebay looking at DVR cards, DVR's and such. I came across an auction for a DVR Card and what caught my attention was an image of their remote software screen. It looked identical to the software that came with a system I purchased using I-View brand cards. Would this be an example of someone selling cards with pirated software? The reason I ask is the idividual whom I purchased this system from promoted that I-View not only engineered their own cards, but the software their cards use. Would that be the case and others are pirateing their software? Are there several versions of DVR software out there that different manufacturers customize just for their individual cards? Granted the individual I purchased the I-View based system from proved to be very shaddy, so perhaps any information he gave me should be taken with a grain of salt. Thanks

Thanks for the link, but at this point "Iview" is a curse word around here. Hard to believe that their US office would have no clue as to what distributor or resaler carries their product here in the US.