AVCONSULTING

Rory, did they just introduce Microwave ovens into the Bahamas? I knew you guys were a little behind the rest of the world but didn't think it was that bad. Have you gotten fax machines and answering machines yet?

Too right mate, no worries there. Gday to you. I'm learning Australian from the ham radio operators I talk to down there. Oh, and put another shrimp on the barbie you old ocker. Make sure there are plenty of shielas around next time I drop in.

2002 Electron Blue convertible. Also to the Ohio guy, I grew up in MO so I don't consider someone saying I'm from MO is an insult. Take what is said here in a spirit of good comradeship. You will find a very likeable bunch of people on this board unlike what you might find on Yahoo sites. Plus no one has a lock on a common name like Security Solutions. I'm sure every state has a few of them listed.

That's ok Hermin. My old nickname in the industry was CCTV King, looks like someone else inherited it after me. I think Larry Haimson in your area at Royal Sales styled himself that way after I retired. I still have a license plate on my Corvette that is CCTVKNG. Security Solutions is out here also. I guess it can be incorporated in different states.

The standalone recording is usually 720x240. You have to check the specifications carefully since the live view spec's are much better.

Any 1 channel video servers that can handle dynamic ip internally without having to resort to No IP, etc. I'm going to have multiple Extreme CCTV license plate cameras that have to be accessed through cable modems so highly unlikely that a static IP would be available. The cameras are standard video output so will need a converter. Total number of cameras will be around 18 so also any input on an NVR to handle this would be appreciated.

This would work well in the freezer. Also might go in the very dark areas for some of the other jobs. http://www.vitekcctv.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductID=189 For a low cost DVR you can hook the cameras up to this. http://www.vitekcctv.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductID=181 You can find a distributor in your area via the website.

Here is an interesting link that might also help. http://www.digitalvideorecorder.net/articles.htm

You have to tell the VCR to look at the video input, not the tuner. Usually this is either on the remote or is in the menu setup. Should work no problem with a standard video camera being fed into the video RCA jack input.

Not everyone is looking for object tracking, human recognition and the rest. In fact a huge numbert of installations are looking for simplicity, not complexity, and systems like the Sanyo, DM, Kalatel, Vitek, Nuvico, etc are just right for them. The last thing they need is a delicate PC based system with all the inherent problems of instability due to Microsoft based operating systems, trojan horse programs, virus', etc. Sometimes a robust standalone product is what works best without all the bells and whistles. Perhaps it is most important to find out what this person is looking for first before throwing out everyone's favorite DVR. BTW just as a note, the Kodicom based systems are very picky about the video card and many installations require a total change of video cards in the remote viewing stations which can be a royal pain. Having sold many Kodicom systems and suffering through problems like that I wouldn't say that I-3 or any Kodicom board based system is the end all solution to many applications.

Elmo USA uses the Kodicom cards in their DVRs so if you want a US based company check them out. http://www.elmousa.com/cctv/pdfs/DVR_brochure.pdf

Stick with RG59U 95% copper braid copper core and you won't have any problems. Good to almost 1000'.

This unit has been very stable and easy to use and not too far from your price range. Here is a link to the specifications and there is a list of distributors on the web site. http://www.vitekcctv.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductID=181

Call Robert Watts at Richardson in Los Angeles. He used to have a good stock of oddball AI connectors, probably still does. He also is very knowledgeable about the wiring configurations. Here is a link to his branch. http://www.cctvnet.com/branchinfo.asp?ID=430

Check with Richardson Electronics. I think they offer some training courses but I'm not sure if they are free. Here is a link to their Texas branch. http://www.cctvnet.com/branchinfo.asp?ID=410

You probably need to adjust the back focus. What camera do you have?

Considering how low the price has gone on DVRs it might just be the time to get one. You can use it with your existing cameras since the DVR uses the same type of inputs as does your multiplexer. Go over to the digital forum and read up on the numerous low cost DVRs that we have been discussing to see what is available. Buying a VCR now even under $200 would be a waste of your money. Perhaps the VCR failure is a sign from the electronic gnomes that it is time for you to upgrade.

It is the same one as Toshiba and Digital Watchdog, using a Win4Net card. I have seen some other brands as well but can't remember them off hand. http://www.win4net.com/eng/index.php

Prices have gotten ridiculous on VCR's. http://www.supercircuits.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=4410 End user pricing. I remember when something like this would cost about $1000. So much for progress.

Looks like they dropped the VCR out of the line. Most likely on your VCR in order to get out of the lockup situation you need to press a combination of buttons at the same time, or find a small reset button that has to be accessed with a paper clip. Look carefully on the front and back of the unit for any small hole about the size of a paper clip. There should be mention of a master reset in the manual so you might want to look through the manual once more to see if there is any mention of a key sequence or reset switch. Failing that, new time lapse VCRs are so low cost now that you could easily buy one for the interim until you upgrade to a DVR.

This is a pretty complicated situation. First problem - Are they taking the switched output from the DVR and splitting it to the DA's by using a T connector? If so this is not good since you are now dividing the impedance by 2 and that alone could be a problem. If so then a possible solution would be to first feed the switched out to only one DA, you will get 8 outputs. Take 7 of those outputs to monitors and take the 8th output to the second DA where you will then get another 8 outputs or a total of 15. From your initial description this sounds like what they are doing but wanted to cover that just in case. Second problem is your camera sync. The cameras are most likely out of sync and depending on the camera you may or may not be able to put them in sync. First you have to find if there is a phase adjustment on the camera. Second you have to make sure that all the cameras are being fed with the same phase from the power supply. Is this a multi output power supply or are there multiple supplies? Either way you have to feed all the cameras the same. Think of it as plus and minus even though it is 24vac. If your power cable has a ridge or color then make sure you feed each camera's power with the same side, otherwise you will have cameras 180 deg out of phase. Once you have made sure all cameras are being powered correctly and if you still have a phasing problem then you need to fine tune the phasing or sync. To do it the right way you need a sync meter but they are not easy to find so a quick and dirty method is to take a t connector and a monitor and take one camera as the master. Take the master camera and another camera, take the outputs of each camera into the T and then out of the T into the monitor. You'll get two pictures overlapping but if they are out of phase then one picture will be rolling or out of phase. Turn the phase adjustment on the non master camera until it stabilizes. Then take another camera using the same original master and repeat. Keep doing this until all are in phase. Hopefully then all will be in phase and your rolling will stop. This isn't perfect and may not work but it is the best you can do. Picture flipping on a switcher is pretty common and that is one of the reasons switchers got replaced by quads and then by multiplexers. Hope that helps somewhat, good luck.

Computar would be a good source, they may even be able to prewire it for you since they have wiring diagrams for just about any camera. You'll have to go through a distributor since you can't buy direct from them. Here is a link to their lens information. These are not cheap lenses, but then none of the older "C" mount AI lenses are cheap. http://www.cbcamerica.com/cctvprod/computar/auto/index.html

You'll have to solder. Do you have the AI connector for the Ikegami? They aren't easy to find anymore. It is a metal type with a locking collar. Your lens will have to be a video iris type not a dc iris but since you said it was a C mount AI lens it should be video iris.

Tough question since it depends a lot on what your application is. DM is good and they are made in England presuming that isn't a political problem for you. Maybe you can be more specific in your requirements.

In most cases regarding Korean DVR cards they are supplied as OEM cards to various companies that build their own DVR and then give it a unique name. So you can find several companies that use Kodicom capture boards that are being sold under many different names but all using the same core product. This isn't unusual in our industry. You might check out this site since they do list the Kodicom brand name on their DVRs and I'm sure there are a few others out there. http://www.surveillancetechnologies.com/