AVCONSULTING

Here is a place to start that will give you information on various components you can buy and wire up the system yourself. http://www.at-fairfax.com/SurveillanceCameras.htm http://www.at-fairfax.com/DVR/ETZ.htm

Any coax using aluminum shield instead of copper braid is unsuitable for CCTV applications. However sometimes you can get away with aluminum on short runs. I'd suggest experimenting with the cable and see if you get a good picture at 250'. If you do then great.

They make a good product. Been around for a very long time so they are a solid company to work with. That looks like a pretty nice camera with the built-in varifocal lens.

Just make sure that whatever cable you get has a copper core and copper braid. Do not get aluminum braid for any reason or you will have serious problems.

It is a good solid machine, very much like the Nuvico. I doubt if you will see many upgrades to it since most embedded systems have very few upgrades. If you are a dealer you might be able to buy this from Tri-Ed which carries the line.

I don't know what that translates into U.S. dollars, but I think that lens is around $150 here. Make sure you can return it if needed in case it isn't wide enough. The 6mm setting is more equivalent to your bullet camera FOV right now. Too bad your camera is 1/2". 1/3" lenses are much less expensive, about 1/2 the price. Sometimes you can get away with a 1/3" varifocal on a 1/2" camera so if the place you are buying the lens from allows returns you might want to try the Computar 1/3" varifocal first. http://www.cbcamerica.com/cctvprod/computar/vari/vari_pdf/TG2Z3514FCS-2.PDF

Are you going to be able to get a static IP address with the cable modem? If not do you have a plan on how to incorporate a dynamic IP with your DVR?

What specific DVR are they including? Yes 320x240 may not be high enough resolution. You should try and get a DVR that can give you 640x480 as an option. That way you can go to a higher resolution if needed. The drawback though is you use twice as much hard drive space.

1/2" lenses are more expensive since they require more glass. Best bet is to look for a 1/2" vari-focal auto iris lens so you have some leeway in what focal length you have available. You'll want a DC auto iris lens, since the video drive auto iris lenses are older technology and more expensive. I'd suggest getting a Computar lens if possible since they are of the highest quality. http://www.cbcamerica.com/cctvprod/computar/vari/vari_pdf/HG2Z4516FCS-2.PDF

Here are a couple of sites to look at to get some general ideas. $3500 isn't an unreasonable price depending on how many cameras you get and if it includes a decent DVR. http://www.at-fairfax.com/ http://www.directlvs.com/ What area is your store located?

Use this to figure the focal length best suited to your camera. http://www.supercircuits.com/store/lenscalc.asp

I'm not saying they are bad cameras, just pointing out that they are not made by Sony as is implied by the advertising. I worry a little about that. Here is another site you might want to look at. Also if you go into the DVR card section you will see several discussions on the GeoVision and I believe some good sites are listed there for low pricing on that card. http://www.at-fairfax.com/Camera/Dome.htm

Watchout, that is false advertising. This is not a Sony camera. It is a camera using a Sony chip. Sony sells chips to anyone. It could be one of Sony's lower quality chips and it can have lower quality electronics. It might be an ok camera but it is certainly not a Sony.

As long as your camcorder has a video out feed, say for an external monitor, you can tap into that and use one of these wireless units. http://www.supercircuits.com/STORE/prodinfo.asp?number=MVL1&variation=&aitem=5&mitem=21

How far will the cameras be away from the DVR? You will have to use baluns and the type of balun will vary with the distance you are running. Also try to power the cameras locally instead of using the CAT 5 wire since you have a pretty big voltage loss in such thin wire.

Rule of thumb with a 1/3" camera and a 4mm lens. Distance = Width. So if you have someone 50' away from the camera you will have a 50' wide FOV. Make sure your bullet isn't a 1/4".

Use a 25mm lens for 125 distance to get 20' wide. There is no limit to how far a camera can see given the proper lens, after all you've used domes before and probably could zoom in 300' away to read a license plate. I would say that the maximum you could get away with might be 50' wide, but I think you need to test that.

The distance is unimportant as long as you use a proper focal length. Rule of thumb is to have a a FOV of 20' wide.

The Nuvico's are pretty decent. Here is a link with some pricing but you could do better through one of the authorized Nuvico distributors like Martco or VSSI. http://www.directlvs.com/Nuvico/Specs/nvdv400n.htm

Forget Kodicom. They are working on a new hardware compression board and new software to be introduced soon so all you'll get is one of their older cards. You can buy their older stuff from Safelong in China for a fraction of the cost. As for loyalty from a Korean DVR card company, Forget It! You can spend a lot of time promoting a card and then the company will sell the same card to someone else for half the price you paid for it and all your work goes down the drain. Just wait till the ISC show where you will see the Korean pavilion just loaded with card suppliers and all of them will tell you that you are special. Special until you leave the booth and the next person walks in. Plus anyone can put a card into a computer and have a DVR. That is why embedded is becoming the DVR of choice not only by dealers and end users for their reliability but by distributors who are tired of garage operators selling DVRs out of their car trunks.

I'm trying to find the U.S. distributor or importer for this card. I understand he may be located in the NY area. Anyone have information on where to get them? www.magicradar.com

Which DVR do you like best out of the ones you have tested? I'm always looking for a new DVR.

http://www.koreadvr.com/eng/members.htm

First, 9vdc is generally the wrong voltage for cameras. Check the camera manual if you have one, it most likely needs 12vdc. Also how far is the cable run from the camera to the GeoVision. You might want to get one transformer for each camera and have them a couple of feet from each camera if possible. If not you'll have to get a pretty big power supply since CAT 5 is very thin cable and the voltage drops quickly. It sounds like a voltage problem. DVRs are very sensitive to camera signal level and you need good voltage to the camera or you will have a weak signal.

Nuvico are decent cameras. I was having lunch yesterday with the Los Angeles distributor of Nuvico and he said that they have had good results with the line and that the cameras have been very reliable. Here is the web site for Nuvico in case you want to look into their other cameras. www.nuvico.com