Strange DVR Problem

[mexdss 0]

I am new on cctv, i installed a system at home, its a 9 cam and dvr with a 500 gb hdd, the thing is that it pauses recording and shows the number of the 8 remaining cams (no matter if it is on sequence and showing only one cam) and also shows date as 31-07-2063, I have tried disconnecting each cam (both video and power) one by one, also disconnected network and video cables sequence on and off, the installation has 7 cameras installed (of 9) length of the longest cable is about 115 yards down to 20 yards the shortest cable has soldering.

My problem persist and I run out of ideas on what to try, can someone give me an idea?

Thanks in advance, Americo.

[shoreviewsecurity 0]

Hi and welcome to the forum...

 

Very interesting??? Have you tried resetting the DVR back to it's default settings?? Also, in the time, does that say 28:23:09?? Image is very pixelated. If so, that would suggest to me that maybe the 2 issues have something in common and is a bigger issue. Do you access to the firmware. Most DVR suppliers/distributors should have it. Maybe, just maybe by flashing the DVR with the firmware may solve the problem but I'm just not too sure though.

 

Just looked at the image again. The time displayed is just the way you have the date and time formated. There has got to be a way to access the display settings to change all that and also you may find the settings to fix your problem.

 

What kind of DVR is it??

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[mexdss 0]

Its a RaySharp, the people which I bought the dvr from send me a second one hoping the dvr was defective, but did the same thing (so it looks like my installation has something to do with the problem). I flashed the old one, but it did not helped. When I restart the dvr it displays time and date correctly no need to reset it.

And yes it shows that time (28:23:09 and date 2063/07/31), it goes to strange time and date when it pauses from recording and also shows the cam numbers.

 

Hi and welcome to the forum...

 

Very interesting??? Have you tried resetting the DVR back to it's default settings?? Also, in the time, does that say 28:23:09?? Image is very pixelated. If so, that would suggest to me that maybe the 2 issues have something in common and is a bigger issue. Do you access to the firmware. Most DVR suppliers/distributors should have it. Maybe, just maybe by flashing the DVR with the firmware may solve the problem but I'm just not too sure though.

 

Just looked at the image again. The time displayed is just the way you have the date and time formated. There has got to be a way to access the display settings to change all that and also you may find the settings to fix your problem.

 

What kind of DVR is it??

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[Jim Barrett 0]

Very strange.

Did it ever work right or is this a problem that developed some time after install?

I have seen DVRs do wierd things and have usually traced it to a power or ground problem.

Is the problem consistent enough that you can reproduce it or predict when it will happen?

I guess I would first make sure I have a good clean AC connection with ground (the last flakey DVR I had was trying to run on 104-105V AC, corrected the AC & the problem went away).

Then I'd connect a camera on a short piece of cable and powered by the same ckt as the DVR. Be sure you have good connectors & cables. If the problem shows up you have everything right there for substitution/elimination.

If you can, pull all the cameras & DVR to your bench & test them there. If the problem shows up you have the equipment right in front of you. If the problem doesn't show up your problem is in the install. If you bench tested the equipment before install & the problem didn't show, that's a clue.

Strict and rigid troubleshooting techniques are required, otherwise you're counting on luck to find your problem. No matter what you're trying to fix the routine is always the same - Sectionalize, Localize, Isolate.

Good luck. If it was easy, anyone could do it.

[mexdss 0]

Jim:

 

First thanks a lot for your time, expirience and your reply.

I am almost sure it appeard some time during the install of the cameras, it took me about 10 days to finish the install (obiusly 1 or 2 hours a day at max and not every day).

It is not grounded but connected to a voltage regulator, so next thing to do is ground the installation.

Curiouosly the first DVR the HDD stoped working and had it connected without the HDD the problem DOES NOT appear so I would guess that power consuption by the HDD may have triggered the problem thinking that lack of ground may be the culpirt of the problem .

The problems appears normaly 4 to 24 hours after reboot.

Jim what do you mean by "piece of cable and powered by the same ckt as the DVR." CKT I do not get the meaning.

A technician took my DVR to his office and got it working with 2 cams for 10 days and showed no problems at all.

 

Very strange.

Did it ever work right or is this a problem that developed some time after install?

I have seen DVRs do wierd things and have usually traced it to a power or ground problem.

Is the problem consistent enough that you can reproduce it or predict when it will happen?

I guess I would first make sure I have a good clean AC connection with ground (the last flakey DVR I had was trying to run on 104-105V AC, corrected the AC & the problem went away).

Then I'd connect a camera on a short piece of cable and powered by the same ckt as the DVR. Be sure you have good connectors & cables. If the problem shows up you have everything right there for substitution/elimination.

If you can, pull all the cameras & DVR to your bench & test them there. If the problem shows up you have the equipment right in front of you. If the problem doesn't show up your problem is in the install. If you bench tested the equipment before install & the problem didn't show, that's a clue.

Strict and rigid troubleshooting techniques are required, otherwise you're counting on luck to find your problem. No matter what you're trying to fix the routine is always the same - Sectionalize, Localize, Isolate.

Good luck. If it was easy, anyone could do it.

[mexdss 0]

Jim:

 

First thanks a lot for your time, expirience and your reply.

I am almost sure it appeard some time during the install of the cameras, it took me about 10 days to finish the install (obiusly 1 or 2 hours a day at max and not every day).

It is not grounded but connected to a voltage regulator, so next thing to do is ground the installation.

Curiouosly the first DVR the HDD stoped working and had it connected without the HDD the problem DOES NOT appear so I would guess that power consuption by the HDD may have triggered the problem thinking that lack of ground may be the culpirt of the problem .

The problems appears normaly 4 to 24 hours after reboot.

Jim what do you mean by "piece of cable and powered by the same ckt as the DVR." CKT I do not get the meaning.

A technician took my DVR to his office and got it working with 2 cams for 10 days and showed no problems at all.

 

Very strange.

Did it ever work right or is this a problem that developed some time after install?

I have seen DVRs do wierd things and have usually traced it to a power or ground problem.

Is the problem consistent enough that you can reproduce it or predict when it will happen?

I guess I would first make sure I have a good clean AC connection with ground (the last flakey DVR I had was trying to run on 104-105V AC, corrected the AC & the problem went away).

Then I'd connect a camera on a short piece of cable and powered by the same ckt as the DVR. Be sure you have good connectors & cables. If the problem shows up you have everything right there for substitution/elimination.

If you can, pull all the cameras & DVR to your bench & test them there. If the problem shows up you have the equipment right in front of you. If the problem doesn't show up your problem is in the install. If you bench tested the equipment before install & the problem didn't show, that's a clue.

Strict and rigid troubleshooting techniques are required, otherwise you're counting on luck to find your problem. No matter what you're trying to fix the routine is always the same - Sectionalize, Localize, Isolate.

Good luck. If it was easy, anyone could do it.

[si_kungs 0]

try to teset the dvr to default factory setting. and check each camera feed if it is good.

[mexdss 0]

Hi, how do I check the feed?

Can you elaborate on that?

 

Thanks in advance, Americo.

 

try to teset the dvr to default factory setting. and check each camera feed if it is good.

[si_kungs 0]

To check the cable:

use a VOM tester, set it to ohms. connect the + terminal to the core of the coaxial cable and - terminal to the sheild of the coaxial cable. check if you got 75 ohms.

 

To check the camera feed.

check the video if it is good quality.

[mexdss 0]

si_kungs

I will do that, for now today I installed ground on the voltage regulator.

 

Thanks a lot, Americo.

 

To check the cable:

use a VOM tester, set it to ohms. connect the + terminal to the core of the coaxial cable and - terminal to the sheild of the coaxial cable. check if you got 75 ohms.

 

To check the camera feed.

check the video if it is good quality.

[mexdss 0]

I was out of town for 4 weeks, I changed the voltage regulator, and the funny numbers and funny date have disappeared, but still pauses the recording, also noticed that without recording there is no problem at all.

Any ideas on what to check?

Thanks in advance, Americo.