UMDRanger

I've gotten to the point where I'll put a 2k resistor accross the center pin and outer clamp part of the BNC on one end, and meter the other end to be sure I got a good solid linkup.

You will want the PC to be dedicated to being the DVR. And I am not just saying that because it's my excuse to build a brand new computer. Being a DVR taxes a system, so running other programs will cause problems at some point. Yes, you can have other programs on it, but don't expect the DVR PC to be your main internet, email, powerpoint, photo sharing PC. As far as cards go, I perfer Geovision, as do many others on the site. Another good brand favored is Avermedia. I have never used them, so I couldn't tell you much about them. These two brands are excellent, but do have a higher cost. You get what you pay for. Hikivision is also widely available, but I have not used their systems either. You can also buy on ebay. If you do, I urge caution. That great deal on a Geovision card for $50... probably is an illegal clone, won't work, and we simply can not help you with that problem. As said above, you get what you pay for. If in doubt, get our feedback before you bid, buy, trade, etc. I suggest buying from a reseller on this site, or someone they recommend, simply because they know the product is actual, and not a fake. Also, we have members here who represent the various manufacturers, and are very helpful with troubleshooting. We have Alnet, Geovision, and Hikivision that I recall off the top of my head.

For some reason I can no longer right click, nor F for the full screen option. I hit F and nothing happens, and I can't even get options to show up when I right click, it's like I'm not clicking at all. I've double checked the permissions for the account, not like I changed them anyway. And I've created a new supervisor account as well, again, with permissions for full screen. No joy. When it auto-logs in now it automatically goes into "mini-view". GV-800-4 Probably software version 6.x or 7.x - I'll check today. Andy / Rory - any ideas?

Remote Miniview had been checked. Back to normal. Thanks again.

Thanks Andy - I'll double check those today.

Need some help here. A fellow Loss Prevention Manager in my company took my advice and used CAT5E and baluns for his CCTV system. But apparently he has a problem with a constant "haze" that scrolls across the monitor. This problem is on all 4 of the cameras carried on the CAT5E pull. For the moment, thats the best description he gave me, a "haze". He is using some old baluns on the camera end, and new ones on the head end. Am having him swap out baluns and try a local view test. Anyone have any ideas off the bat?

I didn't do any testing since it's not my store. The store with the issue is 3 hours from me. I've given him the instructions on isolating the problem. But Feb is a very busy time of the year for us (so much paperwork). Hell, I've only watched my cameras for maybe 10 hours this month. Thanks again all for your advice.

Already been discussed before, and is currently being discussed along with other high speed options. [search]

Hey Rory the "Mall of America" is in the fine state of Minnesota, and lucky for you we're finally above zero this week! Disclaimer: Windchill temperature may still be well below zero degrees. While air temps may be above zero during the day, that does not guarentee temps will remain that way at night. Temperatures subject to fast and high value swings.

At my store I generally just put the ladder where I think I want the camera, then climb and look around, move to another spot and repeat. Prior to doing this I have played with the camera in my office and seen the approximate view range the lense will give me. Then pretty much guestimate once I get to the floor with the ladder. Once at the spot, if by myself, I sometimes use a 13" tv at the bottom of the ladder. But usually I've done the focusing in the office, so all I need to do is keep moving the camera, running back to the office, look at the monitor, return to camera and move again. When I have help that knows how to tell if the view is good/what I want, and how to relay focusing instructions... then 2 way radios are the bomb.

Geovision cards are not stackable, but are networkable by the control center program. Not sure I'd use a Dell for Geovision.

Thank you Rory and Wolf. I doubt there are any breaks into the pull, so we'll see how the different baluns work. The spot monitor local test will show the ground loop. Not sure how he has them wired for power, he just said they were powered locally in the stockroom, not along the CAT5E.

How many? IIRC they come in packs of 5.

I asked him to check the cable path, and be sure it wasn't right on top of high voltage. I know with the CAT5E the concerns about interference from floresent lights and high voltage (under 500v obviously) are much less than those with RG59. I'm thinking it's too close to a high voltage source somewhere. Yes, old... very old baluns. We found them last summer in a storage room. Apparently the company bought some, handed a few out back in the day, but no one knew what they were for. He gave me 8. Of those 8, only 4 worked. The 4 that didn't work caused a constant and very rapid vertical scroll. But I've mixed new ones with the 4 old that do work, with no problems.

The 18-2 wire would work great for power, but you said you are getting the power locally inside the elevator car. I assume there is a 12 VDC source you can tap into in the car. Video needs to run on coax, or twisted pair. I did see a video line at my store where someone had spliced some RCA connectors onto a 100' section of 18-2... I am not sure how well it worked, I pulled it right out and did it the right way (it's like a comic treasure hunt finding the ingenious setups my predicessors did). I have not installed CCTV in an elevator before. I did work on some projects where we put access control into them. However, many others here on the site have installed in an elevator, and are much more knowledgable than I. In the spare cable list, look for CAT5E, CAT6E, or whatever says twisted pair. Someone here can advise whether the specific cables you get on the fax will work.

Baluns allow you to send video over twisted pair. So if a twisted pair is the spare cable the elevator company is going to let you use, you are set. You will need a path from the 15th floor to the head end on the 1st floor. Running down the shaft obviously is not an option. How about running a CAT5E from the 15th floor termination to the 15th floor electrical room, then through the floor conduits for the network all the way down to the 1st floor, then over to the head end. You can tie the elevator twisted pair directly to the CAT5E, so you only need a balun at the camera and at the head end.

Could you post a screen shot? If not here, on a free site, and then post the link website [dot] com

Using the home video camera - I'd get a Y splitter and run the RCA cables to each TV. If you've got the PS3, cable, DVD, etc running on RCA, get one of those RCA input selector boxes. You hook up a bunch of RCA inputs and then select which output to use when you want. With the RCA you could even loop it through the old VCR for taping at night. Thats the cheapest method. Not necessarally the method to get the best results. But I know how reluctant parents can be to spending money on new technology they don't understand well. Will it get the results YOU are looking for? Depends on the camera, the setup/glare, distance, and what you are looking to see detail-wise.

Rory could write one for the benefit of the rest of us. Consider it a moral boost and technical brief on use of an item.

Also, in order to determine if it is a good deal or not, we must know it's specs.

A trick I use to test RG-59 is place a resistor accross the shield and center pin on one connector, and meter it at the other end. You should get the proper resistance (makes double checking those twist-on BNCs a breeze). Likely a bad install on the BNC, or the cable is damaged somewhere along the 150' run. Also - Try what Rick suggested.

Check out the American Dynamics website http://www.americandynamics.com Then go to "Support" and then "support documents", finally "speeddomes". You *may* find information there to help you. I say this, because the old RA486 Speeddomes had huge manual that covered the breakdown, wiring pin to pin for cables, etc. However, it does not have the component board pin-pin layout. Just the major connections.

As much as I love PTZs (and boy do I love them), for a resturant, I think you are wasting your money. The only place I can think to justify one is to cover the parking lot, in order to zoom in and get license plates. But the loss from a few bad customers who leave without paying won't cover the cost of the camera, and you'd need to see them leave and control the camera to view the plate. I would however, put a still camera viewing the parking lot. Very helpful in case of "accidents". Nothing is better than giving the tape to the insurance company to counter a false claim. Since you likely can't afford a high end system like American Dynamics Intellex with the POS integration, but do still want Point of Sale integration to monitor cash theft, I would recommend Geovision. I have had good luck with Geovision, cards as relatively simple to install, and PCs are cheap enough to make on your own. Hard drives are cheap enough to give you plenty of retention. And, Geovision has POS integration among it's other nifty features.

The Speeddome 2000 won't accept Pelco commands. It will accept American Dynamics/Sensormatic RS-422, and if you have the unicard, will accept Sensornet data. Try those protocols. However, if that doesn't work, you likely can still use them! You just need a code converter. This device takes all the data and changes it from say Pelco-D RS485 into Sensormatic RS422. Sennetech creates them, or someone here may be able to sell you one. Be advised these are not cheap, but it is cheaper than one new PTZ. If I had 5 free PTZs, I'd find a way to get the converter and use them.

It looks like you're not too far from the T-intersection. Since vehicles slow down there, I consider that a chokepoint. You could place a low lux box camera with a 5-50mm lense in an outdoor enclosure on the corner of your house, aimed at that intersection. I did this with the entrance to the parking lot at my apartment building. I had better than expected sucess (I was even shooting through a window). I could see several plate numbers clearly as they entered, before the headlights blinded the camera (thank you light post). And I saw most of the rear plates, as the tail lights weren't quite bright enough to blind the camera. However, the mailbox idea is an outstanding idea. That may be all you need.