ssnapier 0 Posted December 7, 2011 I got a call from the local American Legion about a camera issue and when I got there I discovered a dead monitor, but this is not taking coax, it is taking some old CAT-3 UTP with an RJ-11 telephone connector on it. This thing is every bit of 30 years old and it is just a single camera on a door and a monitor at the bar. They asked me to find the absolute cheapest solution to replace either the monitor or the camera and monitor together. They said they would very much like to stay under $200 if it was possible. I am not charging them any labor, but I need to find a simple cheap solution for this. There is no DVR on this thing, it is purely to see who is at the door and buzz them in if needed. Any suggestions? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seedigital 0 Posted December 7, 2011 Crazy stuff, It could be that there was an internal Balun in the screen and the RJ-11 connection was purely there as a propriety connection, if you've put a screen on the camera and it still works then i'd look at a balun and a cheap monitor. Is the access system still working? If it doesn't well bugger it. its 30 years old by the sounds of it, it was worth every dollar they paid for it back in the day if it lasted that long. Replace the whole thing with an off the shelf system, you could spend hours on trying to put a band aid on it and while your offing free labour which is nice you could end up shooting yourself in the foot trying to get it going, and end up replacing it anyway. best of luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ken Layton 0 Posted December 8, 2011 (edited) A local tavern had one of those systems. The monitor (black & white) had a 4 camera switcher built into it and everything connected with telephone cables with telephone connectors at the monitor and at the cameras. They had problem with the monitor not switching to the cameras. Basically it was "stuck" on one particular camera and would not switch. The system manufacturer wanted the monitor shipped to them for repair. The manufacturer quoted some ridiculous high price for the repair so the tavern decided not to fix the monitor and replaced the whole system. The last time I stopped by that tavern about three months ago, I noticed they had replaced everything with an 8 camera color Swann system they bought at Costco. Edited December 8, 2011 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soundy 1 Posted December 8, 2011 Drop SEANHAWG a PM, he can probably hook you up with a used monitor and camera for well within the budget. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SEANHAWG 1 Posted December 8, 2011 Yes we can! Your better of dumping that monitor in the trash. That is a proprietary monitor to a specific camera. They used to do that alot back in the day with box systems. We have used 23" HDTV 720p flat screen TV's that will make a great monitor. Also we have used cameras and we can meet your budget for both. Drop me a PM if interested. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ken Layton 0 Posted December 8, 2011 I found the manual and the manufacturer of that old system the tavern had. It was a "Keepsafer" system made by Linear LLC. Here is a link to the manual for the 10" monitor system they had at the tavern: http://www.easyhomesecurity.com/pdf/video_observation_install_instruct_210049e.pdf Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ssnapier 0 Posted December 10, 2011 Thanks to all... and I have sent a PM to SEANHAWG Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joseph.chen0312 0 Posted December 10, 2011 It is not difficult for that just take an 17"-20" LCD monitor to change and install Balun by cat5/5e. Pls note that you monitor should support 4:3 resolution. I think it will be down 200. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soundy 1 Posted December 10, 2011 It is not difficult for that just take an 17"-20" LCD monitor to change and install Balun by cat5/5e. Pls note that you monitor should support 4:3 resolution. I think it will be down 200. Except the original monitor will also be supplying power to the camera, and if you don't wire it right, the camera could get friend... he's better off just replacing both and being done with it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ssnapier 0 Posted December 12, 2011 Except the original monitor will also be supplying power to the camera, and if you don't wire it right, the camera could get friend... he's better off just replacing both and being done with it. This is the plan... I did not even want to mess around with the old camera and they seemed quite happy to be rid of it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites