Images degrading after an hour..

[cesperon 0]

Ok.. first off I am pretty sure 99% of the problem comes from the fact that we bought these cheap cameras off of ebay.. but is there any fix other than buying new cameras? These are cheap bullet cams with audio that were purchased from an "importer" off ebay.

 

(we've played with everything..it doesn't matter if we are using a VCR or the DVR... BNC or RCA cables.. we've pretty much decided it must be the camera..)

 

When we first plug the cameras in the night vision image is beautiful.. crystal clear.. but the longer the cameras are plugged in the worse the image gets. We get a black haze that starts at the edges, which grows over time (almost like a vignette photo) and the image itself becomes grainy. The cameras are warm to the touch but not hot.

 

I am sure there is more information that you may need.. but I don't know what might be important, please bear with me.. I am a newbie.

 

If there is another thread that deals with this issue, I would be happy to read it if I could find it.

 

Thanks!

 

(I can also upload some sample video it that would help)

[G-MEN 0]

Few questions-What kind of power supply are you using? What is the distance from the power supply to the camera? Is the image only bad at night when the IR's are on? What is your favorite color?

[cesperon 0]

We have never really tried them during the day- it is always pretty dark in the barn where we want to use them. We are using the power supplies that came with the cameras.. If you need evact specs I can get them for you. We are using siamese cable, so a couple of hundred feet... We have also tried it by plugging the camera directly into the power supply (which would make it about 2 feet away) same effect after a while.

 

Uh favorite color.. black of course )

[G-MEN 0]

Run a daytime test with the short cables to see if the camera fails after an hour or so. Beware of those cheap Ebay cameras. Were they used and what brand?

[cesperon 0]

They weren't used- but they are a no-name importer's brand. They are also working with me on the issue, so that makes me feel a little better- they brought up the power supply question too- which reminded me, we did not get the cameras with power supplies. We got the power supplies from a local electronics store .. not a radio shack- this place is HUGE and has every switch, cable and connector known to man lol. So I will have to double check those as well.

 

So I am going to go get the cameras, run the test this weekend and see what the results are. I will post any and all specs I have on both the cameras and the power supplies as well as some images from the daytime test and a night time test we did.

 

 

Thanks for all the help!

[scorpion 0]

If these are 12 volt cameras then you need to figure a way to read the voltage under load at the camera location.

 

We have bought male, and female pig tails, and soldered them to a meter test probe. We can disconnect the camera, and plug in our pigtails to test the voltage.

 

Perhaps you may need to get 13 volt transformers to make up the voltage drop?

 

Another issue is the IR throw. Cheap "off the shelf" IR cameras are going to have a 30 foot throw. This means your effective range is going to be around the 10 to 15 foot range.

 

Measure where you camera is located to the area to be viewed. If this distance exceeds the 15 foot range then you will need to move the camera closer, or order a camera that matches your IR needs. Take that measured distance, and double that for you camera IR specs

 

Some of the really small IR cameras will only have a 15 foot throw which means you can only use them in the 7 foot range.

 

This is what may be seen on such as the wireless style of IR cameras.

 

http://scorpiontheater.com/irlab.aspx

 

When you see the halo then this is a sign that the IR is not throwing far enough.

[DaveM 0]

You can measure voltage in-line by pushing 2 pins through the power wires. Everyone has a volt meter now days don't they?