UMDRanger

If CCTV_Supplies doesn't know the answer, I'd suggest checking out the American Dynamics website http://www.americandynamics.net and then go to "support" then "support documents". Browse the catagories and the model numbers. AD has an excellent free, online database for their products.

Have you tried hooking it up to a spot monitor (use a RCA adapter) to see if the picture looks any different? Could be a bad camera, bad wiring/interference, or bad port on the DVR. See what it looks like on the spot monitor, if it's fine, then the problem is the DVR. Try swapping cameras, if the new camera works fine on the existing wire and DVR port, then it's a bad camera. If the new camera is bad too, then it's likely the cable/interference. It's too blury and distorted for me to tell you what the problem might be on the camera. It could be an iris open too much with a bad focus. Just take a slow, methodical problem solving course of action, you'll have the problem nailed in no time.

Ahh yes, the whiteout effect... See if the camera has a dipswich for auto backlight/gain control (?) ABC/AGC. Or close the iris a bit. One of my older black and white cameras views a doorway, and in the morning when the sun hits it, I get a nice whiteout for a few hours. But after the direct sunlight passes, it works great. Closing the iris would make it too dark in the evening hours, and there is no dipswitches on my old camera.

It's on my "to-do" list. I looked at the products the other day, but I figured since I had some time still, I could digest the options and figure out which one I'd like/need the most.

Been running my GV-800-4 for a while with no problems. Then, yesterday it started acting up on me. I have the Supervisor user/pass, am logged in with it, but when I enter system config, it tells me "supervisor password didn't auto-log in. contact supervisor" or something along those lines. I've added accounts, tried them, making sure they have all the permissions. I've restarted Geo and the PC... I'm confused. Anyone know about this problem?

I'll 2nd the American Dynamics speeddome (ultra). I love the layout and response of the touch tracker controller.

The kits I bought a few years ago had 5 micro-BNC pigtails, and one set of connectors for power, data, and alarm with a mountable base. Cost for these was about the price of a TV series DVD box set. The I/O boards are typically a lot more than that. A supplier here may be able to get you an exact price via PM.

Yes, you can use a plug that snaps into the back of the camera, thereby eliminating the need for the I/O board. IIRC the plug comes in a kit with the micro-BNC pigtail which will also be needed for non-I/O board use. However, I would first try swapping dome/IO Boards to see where the problem is. Then, try swapping I/O Boards at the problem location. See if it is the I/O board, camera, or wires. And as you are already doing, try a different J-box output. If no more J-Box outputs that work are available, you can double up on an existing output, or, if the cable itself is damaged, string coax from the nearest other Sensormatic PTZ for power and data, and let the video run on the old composite cable. I use Sensormatic products at my store, but CCTV Supplies can (most likely) get you the micro-BNC and the plugs you'll need.

Moe - I think you're tracking. {camera enclosure} House wall J-Box Wires to DVR ...........I I........................IIII ...........I I_____________[iIII------- ...........I________________==[ ]=============== .......................................[iIII------- ........................................IIII I see nothing wrong with your plans. Thats how I typically do a junction for an outside camera. I feed the wires to an inside junction box because it is usually easier to get to for any upgrades, or tapping into the other pair of CAT5E on that line. Obviously, there are no exposed wires outside as I will do as already suggested and use a 2nd box and liquid tight flex if I can't send the wires through the mount's arm. Be sure to use a good sealant around the base of the arm at your home's wall.

Thank you for clearing that up.

I am in the middle of upgrading 1/2 my CCTV system at work. I say 1/2 because some of them are just too old to upgrade. I have a Sensorvision controlling RA485 American Dynamics Speeddomes via RS-422. I just got a VM32 with touch tracker to control the Speeddomes and a Speed Dome Ultra via Sensornet. (only 1/2 my Speeddomes have the unicard capable of Sensornet). I have a Gv-net card to output Sensornet. I assume I can piggy back that on the EIM with the touchtracker output and the two outputs going to J-boxes and domes. I have a RS-232 --> RS-422 adapter (from a Dedicated Micros DS2). Would I be able to use this with Geovision as well, and tie this into the data lines from the Sensorvision controller?

Just hook up the CAT5E wires you are using for power to the power supply and camera. No need for a power balun, unless you want one. I've never used a balun for power.

Welcome to the site. There are camera systems, and security systems. They are usually seperate systems, but they can be linked together. For advice on what you need for each, you need to know what you want to protect and monitor. Let me give a quick example. When I lived in a bad area in an apartment, I had a solid door and was high off the ground with power lines near my windows, so I wasn't concerned about an alarm per say. But I had four cameras: one watching my car in the parking lot, one zoomed in on the parking lot entrance to get a vehicle description and license plate, one just inside my door in case someone broke in, GF forgot to lock the door, or Maintinance guy. And my last camera was in my office facing my closet where my important documents and firearms were. When I build or buy a house, I will have a much larger system. Exterior cameras to watch window entry, cameras near the doors for face shots (let the kids see who is at the door without having to open it, when you are not home), garage, driveway, and probably a PTZ or two to watch the wildlife. For an alarm, I would put magnetic door switches in the doors. I'm not entirely a huge fan of motion detectors, but a lot of people like them, and they are usually in an alarm install. For window entry you can choose glassbreak sensors (which detect the sound of breaking glass), or magnetic switches (which will cause alarm when the window is opened), or you can use both as if they break the window they may not open it and trip the switch. Once you have your master plan in your head on what you want, then you are set to start detailed planning on your setup (what to buy, where from, how is the best way to install, etc). Like cars, everyone has their favorite brands, so keep that in mind when researching here. You will need to consider what works best for you.

Check out a copy of "Ocean's 11", "12, "13". In all seriousness, I assume they like to keep their exact capabilities secret, but with all the money we can safey assume they have the best gear.

Dales - I think there is a market for such a device. And having a screen at the door would be an added bonus. Children not tall enough to see the peep-hole, but who are at home alone, would be able to see if someone at the door is a stranger, a friend, or the friendly neighborhood postman. There are peep-hole lense cameras on the market already. They are not expensive, and hook up to a monitor or DVR, but have no built in screen. I'd say your market for this product would be more apartment renters rather than home owners. The camera install would have to be the diameter of standard peep-holes, as to allow for installation of the original peep-hole upon lease ending, without any damage to the door. Frankly, I have considered getting a peep-hole camera several times, but it just hasn't popped up as a high enough priority yet. While some home owners would buy it if cheap enough and marketed correctly, I'd fatham that they would take advantage of the built in screen. Anyone who would hook it up to a DVR likely will have an outside camera already observing the door. These are my opinions.

I have several cameras run through cheap e*ay baluns. And most of my monitors are plain old TVs with RCA inputs. I don't see any difference between the RG-59 and the CAT5E. And I agree that CAT5E is faster and easier to terminate. I can't fatham how it could take longer.

I wouldn't be able to help you wire it up. I don't know *that* much, as it would likely involve relays or something. Rory, or someone else much more experienced than myself may be able to help you with that. BUT why set off the alarm? If you KNOW they have shoplifted, why not just detain then for shoplifting, get the merchandise back, have the cops come and charge them for theft, and then get civil restitution from them? I wouldn't want to spook the shoplifter by setting off the alarm intentionally prior to detaining them. I've had to abort a few high dollar detentions because someone set off the EAS alarms, spooking the shoplifter, who then dumped the merchandise and left the store without it. If you want an alarm of sorts to call additional employees to assist with detaining the shoplifter, I wouldn't tie it into the EAS system. I'd have a seperate annunciator or speaker recording played when activated.

Do you have any idea how often security at Target is accused of doing that?!?!?! We never had a remote, and setting the towers off on innocent people would be wrong. But - I remember that we had a key switch in the office, and when we turned on the system, all the towers would light up and sound. So cycling the power would create an "alarm". A remote could easily be tied into this switch. Since this alarm doesn't happen at my current store when power is applied, I am going to suggest that it will depend on the model of the EAS towers.

When buying for myself, I buy from a US based store online. Where they get their cameras I don't know, don't care, so long as they work as specified. When buying for my store, and needing many camera with little to no funds from management, I usually buy online from a Hong Kong based ebay store. However, I won't buy CMOS, only CCD. So I look for the cheapest color, CCD, 420 lines of resolution I can get. I can get 4-6 camera this way, than buying just one 380 B/W through the company's contractor. Just tell me the cameras aren't painted with lead in the paint. China really has to get that under control. People in my area are now very concerned when buying products from China.

Yes, in my opinion, the side long shots are better. This is because you can see the customer/shoplifter's hands as they put them between shelves down the whole isle. A fisheye 3.6mm lense will only see what you would from the top, hands going into a shelf. Hard to tell what level shelf it was, or what the hands were doing. I suggest a 24 VAC camera over a 12 VDC. I have had good luck with Samsung, American Dynamics, and Ganz brand cameras, both box style and domes. Just stay away from 3.6mm domes. For example, Ganz carries 4-12mm and 6-50mm lenses IIRC, and both of those provide very good pictures. But the American Dynamics 12vdc 3.6mm dome sucks IMO. If you do some searching here, you'll see a lot of professionals giving their opinions on the different brands and models. I haven't used either of the two DVR cards you are looking at. I've got a Geovision card. But you can only put one card in a PC, and I think their largest card is a 16 cam. A PTZ in the backroom is a good idea. Maybe some 3.6mm hidden cameras in the candy section. Dishonest employees often hit the candy.

Welcome to the site. I would advise against a top-down camera view for the most part. Top-down, and the 3.6mm wide angles are great for small areas, and hidden cameras in stockrooms, or right over a single register to watch the cash. These wide angle cameras are also ok for hidden "concealment isles" where the shoplifters like to conceal the product. A hidden camera lets them feel comfortable in these isles. Problem is that the manager or whoever needs to be watching. And (check local laws) see certain steps in order to detain the individual for shoplifting. Registers - I'd go with a camera offset, but able to see the cashier, the drawer, and the customer, as well as the product being scanned. Exact angle will depend on the register lane setup/layout. Sometimes, 2-3 registers per a camera are possible. This is important because the store manager can prevent and investigate loss / shrink. He can have a clear picture of the customer (great for giving to police for check fraud) (I refer about $500-$1,000 in check fraud cases a month to the local PD, all based off video). The manager can challenge customers who claim "I didn't get my item", yet the video can show whether they did or not. And this angle allows the manager to monitor any cash shortages from theft by the cashier. Isles - long shots are better IMO. You can see more isles. Use long shots for general isles, and closer shots on high risk merchandise. If a grocery store, I'd put a tight shot on the baby formula, diabetic test strips/checkers, smoking cessation, and meats... simply because the first 3 are high value targets for ORT (Organized Retail Theft) groups, and meats seem to be a higher theft item also. If a general store, well electronics/dvd/cd/jewelry, things of that nature. I'd use some dummy domes as a deterant in isles and areas where there are no cameras. Entrance - if it is a narrow entrance, a 3.6mm camera mounted close to head level may work. Or a nice box camera with a good lense. I'd go with a box camera. Use this channeled area to get great face shots to match with theft and fraud cases, since those views are often wider and the face is small and harder to see. Also, you can see what they came in with, to help prevent against return fraud (off the floor refunds), and to see if the CD the guy just ripped open and put in his pants was his, or was the store's. Yes, I have seen people bring their own packaged CD into a store, and conceal it, just as a shoplifter would. Rare, but it happens. For the motorized camera (PTZ), well that depends on the manager's preference. If he has a lot of cash shortages, I'd put it at the registers so he can monitor as many registers as possible, and be able to zoom in to any one he wants to watch. If he has a shoplifting problem, I'd place it in the best location to see as much of the store as possible. That way he can track where they go, and with what product, and rely on hidden cameras and isle cameras to see actions in those specific isles. Not to hurt anyone's feelings. But in my 5 years retail loss prevention experience, and 1 year installing... installers (and corporate HQs) don't know jack about the best places for cameras. Everytime we get one installed, we have moved it within a day to a better angle, or better location. I'd partner the store manager with a loss prevention guy from the area (check other retailers) if the store manager isn't up on CCTV. Just get the other guy's opinions, and let the manager decide. Even those of us in the field eval each other regularally, checking in to each other's stores, walking the floor, looking for cameras and concealment areas, and then providing feedback to our counterparts.

Nice

There are several members here that sell Geovision. Perhaps some of them could provide you with quotes via PMs. Doesn't hurt to ask.

Have you tried different baluns? Disclaimer: As much as I love using CAT5E for CCTV, and have had overwhelming great results, there is one instance I've had where it failed. I had waving and distorted, generally crappy video. I replaced everything, the camera, the baluns, the DVR, tried different power supplies, different circuits for power, different DVR, and even pulled a 2nd CAT5E siamese cable only to get the same results. The was no high voltage lines along the wire path. I ended up pulling RG-59 and it worked great. No clue why it wouldn't work with CAT5E.

Yes, Dedicated Micros does have a "Return to Factory Default Settings" reset. However, it is in the Installer menu, available with the installer password, contained in the installer instruction booklet, which is not available online from their website. If anyone has an Installer booklet lying around, could one be so kind as to PM me what the default code is? My friend at another retailer needs to reset her DM DS2 with NetVu, but she has no documentation on it. (Slaps head for throwing all the manuals instead of keeping one from one of the many installs I did)