nilla 0 Posted October 28, 2011 Moved from the member intros forum... http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=27735 I have a Q-See 485-5 8ch DVR costco bundle with 4 QSM5265C cams (I haven't gotten it yet) I currently have NO lighting on my driveway. For some reason the house didn't have any and it's pretty new (6 years). I think I need to add some motion lighting under the eaves of the driveway at least. Should I mount my cams below the light or above? (seems to be some back and forth on this?) Is it better for the cameras to have a motion light or should I be more stealth and get some kind of IR floodlight or just simple more decorative non-motion lights that stay on? Or Just a day/night light that stays on constantly? I recall issues in the past where motion lights 'blind' the camera temporarily until it can adjust it's brightness/white balance back, and that could be crucial time to catch the perp. I was thinking 2 motion lights(or day/night ones) under the eaves on each side of the garage, and then maybe a cam under/over each? I am a bit budget constrained at the moment but next year I'll have better funds for some nicer cams. I have gotten the installer code for my ademco vista20p. It seems to have rev4 roms on it. Curious to see what people have done out there with alarm inputs/outs on the dvr. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shockwave199 0 Posted October 29, 2011 Hi and welcome. I have a q-see dvr, the 408. I have some vids in my signature that may be helpful to you. Best of luck setting up your system. Dan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nilla 0 Posted October 30, 2011 Hi and welcome. I have a q-see dvr, the 408. I have some vids in my signature that may be helpful to you. Best of luck setting up your system. Dan Wow great system, I hope I can set mine up as good. Did you have to move cameras around a lot as you built it? Also did you just use any of the included cables or power adapters for the cameras, or wire them with cat5e or anything like that? I don't want to over-think this I have lots of experience doing network cabling but none doing cctv stuff. I however have some sound mic wiring experience for remotes for live audo broadcasts from many local music venues. Thanks for the doing those videos, that gives me some ideas. I see the motion lights don't seem to mess with the cameras too much when they turn on - that was one concern of mine. I've done some stuff with low end vga webcams in the past, to catch someone stealing deliveries at another place I used to live. I had the problem where quick light flashes blinded the camera for several seconds. I never did catch them, mostly because they must have noticed the camera and nothing ever went missing again Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shockwave199 0 Posted October 30, 2011 Hey- thanks for watching and commenting. I didn't move the cameras around a lot. Where they are is where I wanted them from the start. What I did do was upgrade the cameras fairly quickly, which made double work. But live and learn- put the best cameras you can afford at the moment up first. I used the stock 60' lines and got a few 100' lines for longer runs. Here again I should have put up quality cable right off the bat, but the budget was low and I took a shot. So far the stock cables have been fine. I also have all cameras running on their own power adapters as opposed to a four/eight way power supply or cctv power box. That will change soon, to a power box. Next spring I may move the cameras providing the wide shots down to give tighter views. I may also try another camera on the driveway. It's always a work in progress- usually upgrading quality when funds provide. All in all I like the results, it's been very stable, and remote viewing- which for me is paramount- has been excellent. Best of luck getting your system up and running. Dan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nilla 0 Posted November 22, 2011 I got my front 2 motion lights installed this weekend. I found some pretty nice onces at local costco that are LED powered (3 leds per side) that are VERY bright. That's my step 1 to deterring the vandals. I found a 10 unit power supply box (that can use cat5/straight wire) I can wall mount with a locking cabinet on amazon, and I bunch of video and power baluns so I can wire my cams up with cat 5e. I got all the baluns (20 of them) plus 1000' cat5e solid, and the power box for a little over 100 bucks. So I'm definitely in budget territory here I'm thinking of getting 3 of the GS741E gadspot cams you got sockwave, they seemed pretty decent for the money. I still have yet to get an affordable PTZ cam for my baby's room monitor. The best I could find was 150 for an indoor one - and just wire a mic separately. http://www.securitycameraworld.com/Cameras/Pan-Tilt-Dome-SONY-420-TV-Lines-Infrared-Illuminator-Night-Vision-IR-Remote-Controller-PTD-208.asp anyone have opinions of that ptz cam? from lack of finding much it seems like the ip cams are the way to go for that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shockwave199 0 Posted November 23, 2011 I'm thinking of getting 3 of the GS741E gadspot cams you got sockwave, they seemed pretty decent for the money. It's a decent camera, but I may replace it with a GS4007CF, available in white or black. That's a TDN camera and I find I favor that feature. If your budget is tighter, try a GS637B. Not a TDN, but still a good camera I would think. It's not that I don't like the GS741E you mention. I still have mine in place. But a varifocal TDN camera with WDS exview such as the GS4007CF is so darn reasonable there, it's a no brainer not to go with that if you can. Good luck with your system! Dan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
