1500' Cat5 video loss

[SEANHAWG 1]

I have a customer who installed his cameras using Cat5. His longest cable run which is 1500' is experiencing video loss. He has a run that is about 1200' that works fine. However the one at 1500' is experiencing a black picture with wavy lines. We ruled out that its a bad camera as he bench tested it, and he checked all of his connections. He is not running power over the Cat5 either. The camera powers on fine. The CAT5 is good quality too. He cant see anything that would be causing interference.

 

Is 1500' too far for CAT5? Can someone recommend a video booster that they have used in the past? I havent worked much with CAT5 so am out of the know.

[griffonsystems 0]

i assume he is using passive baluns on each side if this is a analog camera with coax going out to the camera and dvr -- you will have to move to active baluns to boost the signal on a run this long

[SEANHAWG 1]

Would I need active's on both ends? Is there a good one that you can recommend that you have worked with?

[Soundy 1]

You can probably do it with active at one end (I would guess the sending end would be preferable... frankly, I've never done a run long enough to require active). GEM, GVI, MuxLab and NVT are all brands of passive baluns I've used and trust...

[SEANHAWG 1]

Cool, right now he is using Gem Passives. I will take a look at their actives.

 

Thanks.

[CCTV_Suppliers 0]

Give it a try for this passive baluns - http://videobaluns.com/ - we use them all the time and most cases stretching the cable more than 1,500' without any problems. Since you confirm that your customer used a good quality CAT5E, then this could be the most cost effective option... they run roughly $30 per pair... works very well.

[thewireguys 3]

How is the cable spliced together?

[SEANHAWG 1]

Its just one long Cable run, no splicing apparently.

 

Right now he is using a Gem BLN-PVRJ45-1 Balun

 

 

But he is not running the power over the Cat5 as said before.

[survtech 0]

1,500 feet is quite a stretch for passive-passive. My balun tests indicated a substantial amount of signal loss at that distance. I would suggest active at one end.

 

Active Receivers: The advantage of active receivers is that they can be located at the recording/monitoring end of the chain, where there is usually easily-accessible power outlets and space for additional equipment. The disadvantage is that it is usually better from a noise standpoint to amplify a signal at its source.

 

Active Transmitters: The advantage of active transmitters is that it amplifies the signal at the source; typically providing a better signal-to-noise ratio. The disadvantage is that the active transmitter has to be located at, or near, the camera; requiring space for the module and a source of power.

[thewireguys 3]

Its just one long Cable run, no splicing apparently. .

 

Interesting, I have only seen 1000ft boxes. I guess you could order longer lengths.

[bpzle 0]

Its just one long Cable run, no splicing apparently. .

 

Interesting, I have only seen 1000ft boxes. I guess you could order longer lengths.

 

I've never seen a box over 1000' either...

[Soundy 1]

We always buy by the 1000' box, but Noramco has given me the option to order larger spools. Applies to just about any type of cable that they stock in the warehouse.

[hardwired 0]

Not to mention the fun involved with pulling a 1000' run with no splices in an average building.

 

An old install we did had nine sets of RG/59 and 18/2 running about 1000'... That took five guys simultaneously feeding the cable at different spots to get it through.

 

And 1000' feet in a box/reel is only an estimated length, they can vary 10% or so, on that job we had boxes that had only three feet to spare at the headend, and others with thirty feet or more left.

 

*****Edit****

 

We have a hospital with 2500+ foot twisted pair runs, we use Nitek active baluns, works well (although we are doing all new cams as IP!)

[jeromephone 6]

I agree 1000 is the standard and unless it is a special order there probably is a splice some where I would find it and make sure that is done correctly as you could lose some video if not. We have used the active/passive combo and it works well.

[SEANHAWG 1]

You make good points about the 1000' max length spool. I'll ask him again to make sure to see whats going on.

[rnassar 0]

Its just one long Cable run, no splicing apparently.

 

Right now he is using a Gem BLN-PVRJ45-1 Balun

 

 

But he is not running the power over the Cat5 as said before.

 

Can you tell me which power supply you are using for the cameras for such a long distance? I want to install 4 cameras using Cat 5e and passive baluns for 600ft distance but I don't know which power supply I will require. Power specs for my cameras are:

 

The power specs of the cameras are:

2 x BNC Cameras:

Power requirement: 12VDC

 

2 x RJ11 mini cameras:

Power requirement: DC 7.5 V - 115mA

 

Thanks

[Soundy 1]

I'd avoid running power over Cat5 at that distance... I'd suggest powering the cameras locally, if possible, and run all four over a single Cat5e run, using active baluns if necessary.

[rnassar 0]

I'd avoid running power over Cat5 at that distance... I'd suggest powering the cameras locally, if possible, and run all four over a single Cat5e run, using active baluns if necessary.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. Which active balun you'd recommend?

 

Thanks

[Soundy 1]

I haven't had use for active models yet myself, but I've used passives from NVT, GEM, GVI and MuxLab, and all work just fine. GEM are probably some of the best I've seen for the price point.

[foresight 0]

I'd avoid running power over Cat5 at that distance... I'd suggest powering the cameras locally, if possible, and run all four over a single Cat5e run, using active baluns if necessary.

 

Yes, you are right, even run the AC power over CAT5 is tricky. You can try 3 pairs for power and run 24VAC power, it can reach 1,000 feet no problem. Use the regulated power step-down to convert 24VAC to 12DC for 12VDC camera.

[foresight 0]

I'd avoid running power over Cat5 at that distance... I'd suggest powering the cameras locally, if possible, and run all four over a single Cat5e run, using active baluns if necessary.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. Which active balun you'd recommend?

 

Thanks

 

For distance, you can use the Active receiver only.

 

Most of time, I recommend

 

under 1,000 feet, Passive Tx +Passive Rx

1,000 to 2,000 feet, Passive Tx +Active Rx.

over 2,000 feet, Active Tx+Active Tx

[hardwired 0]

I have been using baluns (active and passive) from Nitek for a long time, and been happy with the results.

 

We have a hospital with over 150 channels, with runs between 500 and 2500 feet, using Nitek products for 6+ years.

 

For a 1500' run, the VB37 (passive) at the camera end, and the TR515 (active) at the headend would be appropriate.

 

There are cheaper brands out there, but Nitek (or NVT) have provided the best performance and reliability, in my experience.

[survtech 0]

There are cheaper brands out there, but Nitek (or NVT) have provided the best performance and reliability, in my experience.

Sorry, but I think NVT and Nitek are hugely overpriced. I did a comparison a few year ago (it's somewhere on this board) and there was less than 1/2 db difference between brands of baluns, including a pair of NVTs. Tests were done at approximately 1,000' and 1,500'.

 

Nitek and NVT tend to be the Monster Cable of baluns.

[Soundy 1]

I ran a series of test a while back, a near-full box of Cat5e (probably about 750', still coiled in the box) and a range of passive baluns from cheap ($13/pr.) to high-end ($45 ea.) and several models in between, including NVT, MuxLab, GVI and GEM (basically, all the brands carried by ADI/Burtek), connecting a CNB camera to my Vigil bench DVR... and there was practically no visible difference between any of them.

[bpzle 0]

Here's the way I look at it...

 

Carl with his wondrous electrical theory/ engineering knowledge could whip out an oscilloscope and some kind of fancy meter I don't even know exists... I bet he could tell you without any shred of doubt what product performs better or worse than the next. I have no doubt in his ability to do this.

 

HOWEVER,

 

My customers don't own oscilloscopes... HELL, neither do I. What they do own is a couple God given eye balls. They either like or they don't. And by the way... I own a set myself and oh, over the years I like to think I've developed a pretty critical eye for what sucks and what doesn't...

 

Who's wrong and who's right?

 

Here's my answer:

Will your solution last? Is the quality good? Is the price right? Does it save you installation time and ultimately money? Is the customer happy? WHO CARES about the rest?!?! lol