Fiber Optic Underground Installation

[sheriffa 0]

First of all this board rocks. I used you guys to self install a analog PC based DVR running Geovision and everything worked out perfectly. I had zero experience with cameras before this.

 

Now we are building another set of storage units at my facility and I need to install more cameras. This time I'm going with IP Cameras. I decided the best thing for me to do is to run a single fiber optic line from a central point in my facility. I already have all the underground conduits and infrastructure is perfect accept I do not know which fiber optic cable to buy and I don't know how to terminate the ends. The run for the fiber is between 500 and 600 feet and at most I will be putting 40 cameras in the future. I'm sure the fiber can handle that very very easily.

 

I will be putting a environmentally hardened switch in my remote building and running POE cameras off of that. (max distance from switch to cameras is 210 feet). That switch should be able to accept fiber. The fiber will be run from that switch into my office where I have a PC based DVR. Once again all the conduits are there and there is a rope already in that line for me to pull the fiber through. This end will go into my PC and I'm going to buy a fiber optic Network interface card for this PC. I've never handled fiber before.

 

So what type of cable reel should i buy?

What type of cable?

Single or multimode? (I think single)

 

Any help would be appreciated

[johnnyviper 0]

Excellent choice on the fiber! It's usually the best solution.

 

For most fiber applications, other than rack to rack type cabling and other short runs, Single mode is often the best choice. With SM you can run longer distances and higher bandwidth. The drawback to SM is usually a equipment cost. The fiber cost may varies, certain suppliers may deal in a particular product and be able to price accordingly. We deal with a local cable distributor, and they sell mostly SM and are able to offer excellent pricing.

 

How are you planning on terminating the fiber? Are you looking for a supplier that can ship it pre-terminated?

[sheriffa 0]

Thank you johnnyviper,

 

I'm a technical person so if I can terminate it I rather but I'm not sure how. I thought the best solution would be to buy a reel of the needed length. What do you recommend?

[johnnyviper 0]

Another note, usually Loose Tube fiber would be used in applications like yours. If your interested, here's a link to a fairly good explanation of why:

 

http://ccswebapps.corning.com/web/library/AENOTES.NSF/$ALL/AEN026/$FILE/AEN026.pdf

 

Depending on how your terminating, it can be a bit of an art. You should easily be able to handle it. Stripping the fiber is probably the hardest part. It just takes some practice. A few test strips and you should have it down no problem. The best way would be fusion splicing, but that cost is huge. We use the Corning Unicam kits with great success. From what I remember the kits weren't cheap though, and SC or LC ends are $30+ here in Canada. I would say the best solution is if you know someone who has the equipment that would work for rum. I'm not sure where your located, but around here there aren't any suppliers I know of that ship pre-terminated cable. Depending on how many fibers your going with, it could be difficult and risky to pull the cable and ends. Could probably be done with the right preparation of the ends, but its a situation you would want to avoid.

[sheriffa 0]

Thank you again johnnyviper

 

I decided I'm not going to terminate it myself. I'll for sure mess it up.

 

I'm going to purchase all the equipment myself. All the quotes are increasing the equipment cost anywhere from 30% to 200% of the same exact hardware I have found on the internet (ridiculous I know). The only thing the quotes don't specify are the fiber optic cable specs. So I'm wondering where online I can buy these from and what model numbers should I be looking for. A part number with a link would be appreciated. I need at least 500+ feet plus of this stuff

[Soundy 1]

The problem with getting your pricing "on the internet" is that internet sellers generally have little overhead and no requirement to provide after-sale support. Local providers are usually brick-and-mortar operations, which means they have to cover overhead, and if something goes wrong, you'll usually be expecting them to come back and fix it under some sort of warranty, so they have to build all that into their prices. Online sellers will also often just have your order drop-shipped, so they have no stocking charges, while locals often have to cover the cost of stocking the product.

 

A lot of internet sellers also bypass a lot of distribution levels, which saves them money. For example, you can get some CNB cameras from online sellers (which may or may not actually be manufacturer-authorized sellers) for around $160... but if you wanted to buy them from me (here in Vancouver, Canada), after they go from the distributor, across the border to our reseller, with duty, taxes and exchange, he adds his markup, and we add ours, I have to sell them for around $350 just to make anything on them.

 

 

It's fine to want to save money, but recognize that there are valid reasons for local suppliers to cost more.

[sheriffa 0]

I understand the warranty provided and the business model. Everyone has to make money, or else they would not exist and I respect that. Its capitalism at its finest.

 

As I mentioned above we had someone come and install the initial part of the system, and he screwed us. I haven't heard from him in 6 months and I've left over 5 messages. I've honestly given up on him. He even replaced 4 of 8 outdoor cameras just over a year ago with a new model of camera that offers a 2 year warranty. All of those 4 have gone bad since but there is a warranty. Even with that the installer is not calling me back. I've tried to bypass the installer and go through the manufacturer but they refuse to deal with me. So now i have 4 useless cameras that cost me over $2,000 plus installation. The installer is not returning my calls and the manufacturer refuses to even email me the manual. I feel so helpless and I spent a lot of money on this system that doesn't work. I feel really bad about this.

 

I am an extremely technical person, I have a degree in computer science with a focus on networking. I'm a project manager at a tech company. I don't want to depend on anyone else as I'm still bitter about getting ripped off for thousands when I am more than capable of handling the system, just not running underground cables. I've already taken the existing Speco DVR that broke twice and had to pay over $500 each time to fix in less than 3 years and replaced it with a PC based DVR with RAID and a 16 channel Geovision card and so far it is running perfectly with a lot more features.

 

So this is my dilemma. Do i pay a lot of money for someone to install the system and know I can purchase the hardware for half (The first quote I got included a lot of equipment I don't need with a surcharge of over 100%) and take the risk that my installer may disappear? Or do I do as much as I can on my own, save thousands and have the ability trouble shoot it myself.

[thewireguys 3]

I understand the warranty provided and the business model. Everyone has to make money, or else they would not exist and I respect that. Its capitalism at its finest.

 

As I mentioned above we had someone come and install the initial part of the system, and he screwed us. I haven't heard from him in 6 months and I've left over 5 messages. I've honestly given up on him. He even replaced 4 of 8 outdoor cameras just over a year ago with a new model of camera that offers a 2 year warranty. All of those 4 have gone bad since but there is a warranty. Even with that the installer is not calling me back. I've tried to bypass the installer and go through the manufacturer but they refuse to deal with me. So now i have 4 useless cameras that cost me over $2,000 plus installation. The installer is not returning my calls and the manufacturer refuses to even email me the manual. I feel so helpless and I spent a lot of money on this system that doesn't work. I feel really bad about this.

 

I am an extremely technical person, I have a degree in computer science with a focus on networking. I'm a project manager at a tech company. I don't want to depend on anyone else as I'm still bitter about getting ripped off for thousands when I am more than capable of handling the system, just not running underground cables. I've already taken the existing Speco DVR that broke twice and had to pay over $500 each time to fix in less than 3 years and replaced it with a PC based DVR with RAID and a 16 channel Geovision card and so far it is running perfectly with a lot more features.

 

So this is my dilemma. Do i pay a lot of money for someone to install the system and know I can purchase the hardware for half (The first quote I got included a lot of equipment I don't need with a surcharge of over 100%) and take the risk that my installer may disappear? Or do I do as much as I can on my own, save thousands and have the ability trouble shoot it myself.

 

What ever you do buy the equipment from an authorized dealer. If you don't you can forget about getting a manufactures warranty.

[Soundy 1]

Unfortunately, shady operators are everywhere - paying "professional" prices is no guarantee against it anymore than paying bargain-basement grey-market online prices (well, okay, USUALLY it's more of a guarantee... but there are exceptions). Heck, here in Canada, we have a long-running TV series about a contractor who fixes botched home renovations, usually by contractors who do half a job and then vanish with the money... sometimes even contractors who come highly recommended with lots of great references and charging top dollar for their work. US news channels regularly do similar reports on big-name auto repair chains ripping people off as well.

[albert 0]

I noticed that you mentioned that you are going to use your PC based DVR, i do not think it will work, NVR will be more suitable for you.