Will this setup work? (Newbie in need of some help)

[cameraguy7 0]

I'm completely new to CCTV cameras and am looking for some help. Specifically, I have a setup in mind and I'd like to know if it will work or not. My goal is basically to set up a camera outside in my backyard and have the ability to view and record the feed as necessary. My only requirements for the camera are that it needs to be weather proof, as it will be fully exposed to rain, snow, wind, freezing temperatures etc and that it needs to have a fairly wide angle view.

 

I already have Elgato Video Capture (link: http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/products/Video-Capture/product1.en.html) which records video from analog sources to my Macbook, so that's what I plan to use to view and record the camera feed with.

 

For a camera, the VideoSecu IRX5 outdoor wide angle CCTV camera (link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003DZ6PQ2/) seems like a good and inexpensive choice, and I was planning on getting two 100 foot Video/Power BNC/RCA cables (link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P8X65S/) to stretch from the camera through the backyard and into the house where it would plug into the Elgato video capture adapter. I'd connect the two 100 foot cables to each other using a BNC Female to Female coupler (link: http://www.amazon.com/BNC-Female-Coupler-Adapters-Pack/dp/B002A6CWCQ).

 

That's my plan, I'm just not at all sure that it'll work; like I said, I'm very new to this. So will that setup work? Would I need any additional adapters, cables etc in order to make everything connect and function properly? It's connecting the two 100 foot cables to each other and connecting the camera to the Elgato video capture adapter that I'm the least sure about. Thanks in advance for any help!

[Soundy 1]

Aside from that camera being cheap junk, the main problem with your plan is that your cable will be too long and the camera will drop out when the IR kicks on at night, as the extra current draw will likely cause excessive voltage drop over that distance.

[cameraguy7 0]

Aside from that camera being cheap junk, the main problem with your plan is that your cable will be too long and the camera will drop out when the IR kicks on at night, as the extra current draw will likely cause excessive voltage drop over that distance.

 

I don't really need the camera to perform amazingly well, just well enough so that I can see what's going on. I raise a few types of exotic birds and the purpose of this is to keep an eye on them as well as to hopefully find out what's been killing some of them off.

 

How long would be too long for the cable? If I managed to make the connection in 100 feet with just one 100 ft cable should I be alright as far as voltage drop is concerned?

[DogCatcher 0]

How long would be too long for the cable? If I managed to make the connection in 100 feet with just one 100 ft cable should I be alright as far as voltage drop is concerned?

 

I am a newbie to the security camera arena, but not to electronics. For 100-ft, I would suggest you look at a better camera that has a separate 24VAC power supply.

 

The AC travels distances with very little loss compared to DC which loses lots fast. One of the factors that got Edison to light New York City instead of Tesler.

 

Check the "Nelly's Surplus" link to the left of this conversation for a starter idea.

[Numb-nuts 1]

IF your birds are valuable to you, and you are only buying the one camera, it doesn't make sense to skimp on the cost of that camera. By the way, I have had so called weatherproof IR cameras and they too can leak. Far better to get a proper low light camera and lens in a (12v DC or 24V AC)heated housing.

 

Most of these body or box cameras have the option 12v DC or 24V AC so you could go for the AC camera and your loss will as you say be minimized.

[Soundy 1]

I am a newbie to the security camera arena, but not to electronics. For 100-ft, I would suggest you look at a better camera that has a separate 24VAC power supply.

 

The AC travels distances with very little loss compared to DC which loses lots fast. One of the factors that got Edison to light New York City instead of Tesler.

I don't think AC "travels" any better than DC, but it IS very easy to step up or down with a transformer... so long-distance transmission can be done at much higher voltages, which definitely do have lower losses, and then stepped down to the necessary voltage when you get to local circuits. Stepping DC down involves a lot of loss in itself (or did, until the advent of PWM switching power supplies), and stepping it up is far more complex (or was, until the advent of PWM switching supplies).

 

24V should see the same loss over a given wire at a given distance, whether it's AC or DC... 12VDC and 24VAC are the *most common* two supply voltages in CCTV, but not the only ones (I've seen some models of cameras that support 12VDC or 24VDC but not 24VAC).

[DogCatcher 0]

(I've seen some models of cameras that support 12VDC or 24VDC but not 24VAC).

 

 

We will have to agree to disagree on the effective transmission of DC v AC.

[Soundy 1]

(I've seen some models of cameras that support 12VDC or 24VDC but not 24VAC).

 

Yes, there are also lots of cameras that operate on ONLY 24VAC. This particular one looks suspiciously like a National Electronics NLC-5700.

 

The point was simply that 12VDC and 24VAC are not the only voltages used for CCTV cameras; the example I sited was an IQEye IQ-A11 dome.

 

In fact, many "dual-voltage cameras", by virtue of having internal regulators, will actually accept anything from 10 to 30V, DC or AC.

 

We will have to agree to disagree on the effective transmission of DC v AC.

Maybe we're both wrong: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-voltage_direct_current

 

A high-voltage, direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system uses direct current for the bulk transmission of electrical power, in contrast with the more common alternating current systems. For long-distance transmission, HVDC systems may be less expensive and suffer lower electrical losses. For underwater power cables, HVDC avoids the heavy currents required by the cable capacitance. For shorter distances, the higher cost of DC conversion equipment compared to an AC system may still be warranted, due to other benefits of direct current links. HVDC allows power transmission between unsynchronized AC distribution systems, and can increase system stability by preventing cascading failures from propagating from one part of a wider power transmission grid to another.

HVDC can carry more power per conductor because, for a given power rating, the constant voltage in a DC line is the same as the peak voltage in an AC line. The power delivered in an AC system is defined by the root mean square (RMS) of an AC voltage, but RMS is only about 71% of the peak voltage. The peak voltage of AC determines the actual insulation thickness and conductor spacing. Because DC operates at a constant maximum voltage, this allows existing transmission line corridors with equally sized conductors and insulation to carry more power into an area of high power consumption than AC, which can lower costs.

 

In any case, capacitance aside, I still don't see how DC vs. AC would make even a measurable, let alone functional difference at 24V over a couple hundred feet.... unless you have a multimeter that's accurate to a half-dozen decimal places.