Adt ptz speed dome

[sti2nr 0]

Hi. I am trying to get an adt ptz speed dome camera up and running. I have a dedicated pc I have built with a generic dvr 4 channel bnc input card. I am looking for some software that provides fastrax II protocol as it is required for the initial setup of the camera. I can then switch it over to pelco d when I have initialized it.

 

I am using a serial>rs485 adapter to control the camera.

 

I can bring up an image just fine but I need fastrax II protocol as the camera is initally uncontrollable without it.

 

Any thoughts???

 

Thanks!!

[Soundy 1]

Fastrax is Capture CCTV brand name... this is probably a re-branded Capture camera. You could try contacting them to see if they have software for what you want to do. www.capturecctv.com

[sti2nr 0]

I am a lucky man!!

 

I found this http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290429893317&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

 

It is normally what they use to get a ptz cam up and running.

 

Thanks for the reply I will look into that for my stand alone pc/dvr.

 

 

This appears to be very very similar to the adt one I have. http://www.capturecctv.com/product.php?prod_id=505

 

Further research shall continue.

 

AHHHHHH here it is, The exact same one I have with an ADT rebrand on it. http://www.capturecctv.com/product.php?prod_id=509

 

Perhaps they will be more helpful when I call rather than ADT who just hangs up on me.

[Soundy 1]

Hmmm, that link just leads me to a blank page... which model is it? I have used some older Fastrax II cameras, so I may be familiar with yours...

[sti2nr 0]

It is actually this one http://www.adt-matrix.com/index.php/products/view/53/161

 

I am able to get the startup screen to come up where it says "Start up: Protocol: fastrax II"

 

I have no enter button on any of my computer software to get into the initializing menu.

 

I am hoping the dvr I bought will allow me to get into the startup menu. Reading through the manual it does say that the adt dvrs do communicate with this speed dome. I read through the dvr manual and it seems to be exactly what I am looking for.

 

I am hoping I can program the dvr to react to some outdoor motion sensors. I want it to react to 2 different motion sensors outside and go to a preset position per each motion sensor and start recording. This would be the perfect setup for my home surveillance if i can get it up and running.

 

This is old hardware I know but it definitely fits into my budget right now as I am unemployed and this has become one of my full time hobbies uknowingly of course.

 

I really truly appreciate the advice , anything else you could tell me would help increase my "self taught" abilities to get one of these up and running.

 

[Soundy 1]

Ah, looks like the MiniTrax. If memory serves, there's actually a DIP switch inside that lets you select the protocol. I know the one and only MiniTrax I installed, I never had to use Fastrax protocol, I just connected it to the DVR and away she went, out of the box.

 

Something you could try... I found this manual that appears to be the same camera: http://www.eneo-security.com/mall/2/assets/manual/74116_en_man.pdf - check page 49.

 

The ADT manual says to contact tech support if your DVR doesn't support Fastrax protocol (page 15), but... try following the other camera's manual (since they otherwise look nearly identical), set DIP switches 9 and 10 to both off, and see if it goes to Pelco D. (In fact, the manuals themselves are nearly identical, aside from the Eneo one having both German and English). Remember you'll need to power-cycle the camera after changing switches, for the changes to take effect.

 

It would make sense, actually, that ADT wouldn't change the function of those switches, but would remove the info on using Pelco D from the manual: they want you to buy their rebranded Fastrax controllers, rather than be able to use any generic Pelco D controller.

[sti2nr 0]

Great minds think alike.

 

I actually tried the dip switch thing in any possible configuration with those dip switches.

 

If you do not set the dip switches up like the adt manual says the startup screen says "protocol settings do not match" or something of that nature. I will double check and try it again though.

 

One thing I noticed is when I power it up the camera tries to go to its home position and if it is maxed out already the belt will skip on the "track wheels". I hope this is not damaging anything from powering up multiple times.

 

I will give it another go here in the next couple of days. I am however keeping my fingers crossed that the dvr I purchased works and that I can get the cam up and running with it.

 

Thanks again for the "newbie" guidance.

 

[sti2nr 0]

Looking at the manual you pointed out it appears that they do not use the "Little rj11 box" that adt uses.

 

I am wondering if there is firmware in that box blocking the pelco d protocol which in turn forces you to use one of their controllers.

 

I am wondering if I should make a "breakout cable" and try powering up the camera again seeing if it eliminates the forced fastrax 2 protocol.

 

What do you think??

 

I have some leviton cat 5 and cat 3 blocks and cable. I think I will try making a breakout cable, eliminate the "adt single cam box" and see how that works.

 

[Soundy 1]

One thing I noticed is when I power it up the camera tries to go to its home position and if it is maxed out already the belt will skip on the "track wheels". I hope this is not damaging anything from powering up multiple times.

 

I don't think that's the cause. We had the same problem with the MiniTrax we installed: the belt appears to stretch over time so it's just a little loose and skips when there's any tension on the drive. It's worse in warm or sunny weather, when the belt softens and expands with the heat.

 

If memory serves, you can loosen up the mounting screws for the motor and push is back a little, thereby adding some tension, but this is only a temporary fix if the belt continues to stretch.

 

Ultimately, we pulled the MiniTrax out and replaced it with a used Spectra III. It was a better camera anyway

[sti2nr 0]

I made a breakout cable today and it does the same thing.

 

I power up the camera and it says "Start up... Protocol not matched". So the little rj11 box does not have any firmware in it as first suspected.

 

I guess I will have to wait for the dvr to get here to continue testing of this unit.

 

The belt skipping is because the camera can only do 359 degrees and I think it is trying to go beyond that at startup. I am not worried about it.

 

Any other thoughts or ideas would be helpful.

[Soundy 1]

Actually, there should be a stop switch that stops the camera from going beyond a certain point... the skipping is still a bad thing. What happened in our case, is that it started skipping just during normal movement, so the preset tours gradually went out of whack - it would go 200 degrees one way, then skip a few degrees while moving back, so it would only come back maybe 196 of the 200 degrees the motor was turning... then it would go back 200 degrees the other way, but end up 204 degrees from where it started... and so on. After a while all it was looking at was a concrete wall.

[sti2nr 0]

So the dvr I got powers up but no image is produced. I guess I am SOL on that endeavor.

 

If only there were a software to install on a dvr pc that would allow me to access the menu and start this badboy up.

 

The search continues.

[sti2nr 0]

So I found this software which is exactly what I am looking for.

 

http://www.eneo-security.com/item/5260/5260/0/101550/fastrax_config.html?setlanguage=en#Features

 

I keep getting a "no ack" from the dome.

 

I need to know the fastrax2 protocol setup for 9600 baud rate.

 

Parameters, i.e. baud rate, stop bits, number of data bits and parity setting.

 

I can get the camera to reset but yet cannot get into the menu because of the settings I need to manually configure.

 

Any ideas??