rg cable or cat 5

[ayalas 0]

I will be installing 4 ptz cams with the farest one from the matrix being about 150 feet what cable would you recomend rg or cat 5 and what would be the difrents on cost or what is cheaper. Thanks

[Birdman Adam 0]

In my experience, Cat5 is the way to go:

 

-One pair for video. You must use baluns for this.

-One or two pairs for power. (probably 2 for a PTZ).

-This leaves you 1 or two pairs for your communication.

 

Plus, by using Cat5, you will be 'future-proof' (if you ever put in IP cameras).

 

Cat5 is also usually cheaper than rg6 or rg59 siamese cable. Even when you factor in the extra cost of the baluns.

[ayalas 0]

Thanks Birdman that makes sences.

[rory 0]

Careful though as some PTZ require their own power supply due to the large current draw, at least with further distances, which doubling up or even tripling up of cat5 normally cant always provide for. Personally I still stick to RG59 Siamese, guaranteed to work every time, and could still run Cat5 along with it, especially for the control.

[Birdman Adam 0]

That is a good point. I would look at the power rating of the PTZ to determine how power it will draw.

 

Also, if you are running IR lights, you'll want to check power consumption.

[jxk716 0]

In my situation the PTZ is about 200 feet from the DVR controller. RG6 was used for the original install of box camera at this location and Cat 5 was used for power. Now, with the PTZ, we needed to install a power outlet in an area close to the camera (about 15 feet away); the Cat5 is used for data. Initially we tried 3 pairs of the Cat5 for power and 1 pair for data...the camera preformed badly, cutting out etc.