Outdoor Dome Enclosure

[Chris_! 0]

I have a 4XEM/Vivotek IPCAMWPTZ (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826113002) that I'd like to place in an outdoor dome. Thing is, this is a home project and I'm looking for something on the cheap, like used dirt cheap kinda cheap. I was looking at this decent used enclosure on eBay but got outbid by $.50 at the very last second (I hate auction snipers with a passion).

 

Anyway, I can't seen to find anything used, and everything I find is several hundred dollars. Totally not worth it IMO for something I'm just playing with.

 

Anyway, 4XEM/Vivotek makes a housing for this camera (IPCAMENCLODHF) which is $263 at Sears (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM622224301P?sid=IDx20101019x00001a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=SPM622224301). That's about $200 more than I'd like to spend

 

I was looking at this cheap-o dome on eBay for dummy cameras that's $49.95 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270700378939), I contacted the seller who stated most people buy the domes to put PTZ cameras in. My only concerns are the weather resistance & the addition of a heater/cooler in this cheap dome. I've found heater/cooler kits on eBay for ~$30, but the fan would only circulate the air inside, not really vent it.

 

I'm looking for suggestions, or if someone has a used dome that they'd sell for cheap that would be awesome. I live in New England so we can see temperatures as low as -45* in the middle of January, to as high as 110* in the middle of August.

Edited February 27, 2011 by Guest

[dvarapala 0]

I was looking at this decent used enclosure on eBay but got outbid by $.50 at the very last second (I have auction snipers with a passion).

 

As an aside, the reason you lost that auction is because you didn't follow the cardinal rule of eBay bidding: bid once, for the maximum amount you're willing to spend, as late in the auction as you can, preferably within the last 30 seconds. This is what the "sniper" did, and that's why he walked away with your dome housing. If you had raised your initial bid by $1, $5, or whatever your true maximum bid was, you would have won that auction. I've had these so-called "snipers" bid against me in the last 3 seconds of an auction, yet I still won. " title="Applause" />

 

If, OTOH, you bid your true maximum price and you still don't win the item, then you can feel good about not having paid too much.

 

But I digress.

[Chris_! 0]

Fixed my spelling mistake. And yeah, I know I should have entered in a higher maximum bid.

[Chris_! 0]

So no real replies other than a smartass "you should have bid higher"?

 

Nobody has a cheap dome housing they could recommend or a used one they're looking to sell?

[bpzle 0]

What are the model numbers of the cameas?

[bpzle 0]

My gut tells me that outdoor dome housings big enough for those cameras and with heaters/ blowers.... you're going to pay more money for the housings than you did for the cameras. Not to menton, I doubt these cameras were evere designed to perform outdoors in low light enviornments. (Specifically the 4exm...still waiting to hear which vivoteks you have)

 

You'll most likely get better results selling the cameras you have, and using the money to buy something that is designed to do what you want it to.

 

That's probably not the answer you want to hear, but based on my exprience and the limited info given for the task at hand... that's the best one I can give.

 

Hope it helps!