More for the Installation Hall of Shame

[Soundy 1]

Seen at a Wal-Mart... overlooking the electronics department, no less:

 

Clerk wondered what I was taking a picture of... my co-worker and I told him what we do and that we were getting a chuckle over the install. Clerk said he'd done it because his manager wanted cameras put up with one of the box systems they were selling. D-oh!

 

(BTW, the power wire drops down to a wall wart plugged into a handy outlet... about 6' off the floor... not terribly secure.)

 

Spotted this one at a liquidation store:

 

[Numb-nuts 1]

That puts a new spin on the term "twisted pair"

 

What a nice welcoming sign too.

[Ken Layton 0]

Twisted pair? Looks more like a May pole.

[alarmitall 0]

Came across one of the worst and most unsafe installs in my 25 years recently. A private mail sorting facility had an inhouse IT guy install 2 pc based 16 channel dvrs. Ran siamese to all 32 camera. But when it came to powering the cameras, the IT guy when to his local hardware store and bought 32 pairs of extension cord ends. Ran 110v AC over the siamese cable then plugged a transformer into the extension cord end and tie wrapped the transformer to the bullet camera mount. The IT guy eventually ended up getting fired for doing something else really stupid and when he left, he was the only one who knew the codes for the pc's!!! Thanks pal, you helped me sell 2 new dvrs, and about 10 hrs labor to fix your crap...

[Numb-nuts 1]

I have to say that the standard of CCTV work I have experienced in the UK is very good in the main. I have learned

a bit from remedial works, I have seen the way other's do things and in some cases I

have changed the way I do things because I have seen a better way of doing something.

[Soundy 1]

...the IT guy when to his local hardware store and bought 32 pairs of extension cord ends. Ran 110v AC over the siamese cable then plugged a transformer into the extension cord end and tie wrapped the transformer to the bullet camera mount.

 

Man, I wish you had pictures of that!

[Sawbones 0]

...the IT guy when to his local hardware store and bought 32 pairs of extension cord ends. Ran 110v AC over the siamese cable then plugged a transformer into the extension cord end and tie wrapped the transformer to the bullet camera mount.

 

Man, I wish you had pictures of that!

 

That's incredible...

[jeromephone 6]

The Walmart guys must not know what a beam clamp is.

[Soundy 1]

Saw this gem at Ikea today, of all places...

 

 

[Sawbones 0]

Saw this gem at Ikea today, of all places...

 

 

 

 

Is that an Axis camera with double-sided tape on the bottom?

 

I'm not sure what they were trying to do there.

[Soundy 1]

That's exactly what it is... and it looks like most of the cameras around the place are mounted that way... lot of them have wires dangling down from where it runs along the tops of the ceiling beams, too. Scary.

 

It's clear what they were TRYING to do: this one is at the top of an escalators, and if it was in place, would be looking right down the escalator. As it is now, it's looking at the floor at the top of the escalator *facepalm*

[Sawbones 0]

That's exactly what it is... and it looks like most of the cameras around the place are mounted that way... lot of them have wires dangling down from where it runs along the tops of the ceiling beams, too. Scary.

 

It's clear what they were TRYING to do: this one is at the top of an escalators, and if it was in place, would be looking right down the escalator. As it is now, it's looking at the floor at the top of the escalator *facepalm*

 

*shakes head*

 

Wow.

 

I'm just a rookie... but even I know that screws > tape.

[thewireguys 3]

...

[Numb-nuts 1]

now i've seen it all

 

gotta go get some double sided before work, this could me heaps of time, NOT...

[Ken Layton 0]

I'm surprised they just didn't use spray on contact cement to hold the camera in place!

[Numb-nuts 1]

Probably di in addition to the tape

[dustmop 0]

If the metal beam was too difficult to drill into, I would have found a way to put a plate up with LARGE hose clamps to mount it on. That's just my take.

 

Also, they DO make tape more than strong enough to hold those cameras up. 3M VHB tape. It costs a fortune, and is what they use to make window curtain walls on building facades.

 

Also, no safety chain/cable? WTF...

[Sawbones 0]

If the metal beam was too difficult to drill into, I would have found a way to put a plate up with LARGE hose clamps to mount it on. That's just my take.

 

Also, they DO make tape more than strong enough to hold those cameras up. 3M VHB tape. It costs a fortune, and is what they use to make window curtain walls on building facades.

 

Also, no safety chain/cable? WTF...

 

If push came to shove, and the camera had a metal body, could you just use one of those neodymium magnets to stick it to that metal beam?

 

On second thought, bad idea... those magnets are very strong... it might screw up something inside the camera.

 

And they do have a safety chain... it's called that Cat5 cable

[dustmop 0]

And they do have a safety chain... it's called that Cat5 cable

 

You can laugh at that... we had a weather related incident where a facility--a giant tent--had the drop ceiling flex so much that LARGE parts of it fell. The cameras had safety cables, but it didn't help, because they were tied off to parts of the ceiling that also fell/failed. The same things the lights and speakers were tied off to. The camera cable kept them from hitting the floor. Except for that one PTZ that dropped 24 feet and EXPLODED about 3 feet from where someone was sitting... Had 6 cameras dangling from the cable service loop that was wrapped around the back of the enclosure.

[Numb-nuts 1]

Several times I have seen small domes simply siliconed to walls with no other means of support.

Unbelieveable

[fa chris 0]

If the metal beam was too difficult to drill into, I would have found a way to put a plate up with LARGE hose clamps to mount it on. That's just my take.

 

Also, they DO make tape more than strong enough to hold those cameras up. 3M VHB tape. It costs a fortune, and is what they use to make window curtain walls on building facades.

 

Also, no safety chain/cable? WTF...

 

I would've used a pendent mount and taken it from the structure above. Plenty of places to clamp it too.

[Erron S. 0]

The double sided tape is classic. I literally LOL'd at that one. Look an involuntary ptz!

[Soundy 1]

Look an involuntary ptz!

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[jeromephone 6]

Beam clamps anyone? clamp a piece of plywood and screw the camera down. Might look like crap but will not fall off when the oil in the paint eats up the glue in the double sided tape.

[SectorSecurity 0]

A good hammer drill and a proper metal drill bit will usually work, I mean sometimes my 18V cordless has to take a back seat while I pull out the big toys.