Power Line Ethernet Adapter to Power Over Ethernet IP Camera

[LittleScoobyMaster 0]

Has anyone tried this yet? (Powerline Ethernet mixed with Power Over Ethernet IP cams)

 

I have a pair of these Netgear powerline adapters (AV500's) extending my home network to a room I could never get cable to, and would rather not go wireless.

 

http://www.netgear.com/home/products/powerline-and-coax/

 

 

Now, I want to get either a POE hub, or a POE adapter to hook up an IP camera. I can run the Powerline adapater (Av500) with a regular IP cam and it works fine, but I have never tried using a Power Over Ethernet IP cam with these AV500 Powerline ethernet adapaters before. I hope it doesn't send me back in time.

 

Can anyone see any issues this might cause? Anyone here using this type of a setup presently?

 

Also, who makes the most reliable Power Over Ethernet hubs or switches \ adapters? Is there a Number 1 player?

[Soundy 1]

No reason it shouldn't work fine, just remember that the PoE injector goes between the remote powerline adapter, and the camera.

 

As far as switches and injectors, I've used a fairly wide range with no problems, from cheap $15 DealExtreme injectors to enterprise-grade switches.

[LittleScoobyMaster 0]

No reason it shouldn't work fine, just remember that the PoE injector goes between the remote powerline adapter, and the camera.

 

As far as switches and injectors, I've used a fairly wide range with no problems, from cheap $15 DealExtreme injectors to enterprise-grade switches.

 

Thanks. I almost wish I had a cheaper POE ip cam to test out on. I've never used the POE feature of POE capable cams before. This would be my first.

 

Which would you choose to hook up a single Panasonic WV-SC385? It would need to be 802.3af compliant. Would you trust that somewhat expensive camera (over $1k) to one of the cheaper DealExtreme injectors, or would you fork over a little more $ for a higher quality brand injector?

[mike_va 0]

Newegg just had the TRENDnet TPE-S44 Switch - 8 ports (4 poe) for $40 shipped.

[LittleScoobyMaster 0]

Newegg just had the TRENDnet TPE-S44 Switch - 8 ports (4 poe) for $40 shipped.

 

thanks. I was looking at that switch today. Some local Microcenter's also have them in stock for only $49.

 

I think I will try this solution. Anyone think of any reason this wouldn't work for the Pano WV-SC385?

 

The WV-SC385 user manual states that the POE watt usage is approx. 12W:

Power source: 12 V DC, PoE (IEEE802.3af compliant)

Power consumption: 12 V DC*: Approx. 1 A, PoE: Approx. 12 W (Class 0 device)

Anyone know if it uses more than 12 watts when panning or zooming?

 

The Trend TPE-S44 states the following:

Power over Ethernet: Power budget: 30 watts (max); Up to 15.4 watts per Port

 

That way, I could add an additional POE camera or two in the same general area in the future.

 

Also, this would be my first POE switch. Can you safely plug a POE switch into a surge supressor power strip?

 

I know that the Netgear AV500 Powerline adapters can not be plugged into surge supressors, however, I have no idea about a POE switch. Regular switches I always plug into a surge supressor or a UPS, but I have no idea when it comes to POE switches.

 

I notice that NewEgg has the black version of this switch and Microcenter has the blue version. I wonder which hardware revision is newer or if they just happen to come in multiple colors.

Edited March 29, 2012 by Guest

[camera-newbie 0]

I've heard good things about the Trendnet stuff and their corporate headquarters are here in town (good for me should something fail ). I just visited the local Fry's last weekend and picked up one of the Trendnet PoE injectors and it works great with my new Basler camera. I've also received but haven't yet used my 8-port passive PoE injector from WifiSoft -- that's up for this weekend.

[Soundy 1]

Thanks. I almost wish I had a cheaper POE ip cam to test out on. I've never used the POE feature of POE capable cams before. This would be my first.

It's really nothing magical or super-hi-tech. In its simplest form, it's just using the two otherwise-unused pairs in the UTP cable (standard 10/100 ethernet uses only the orange and green pairs). Spec says 44VDC but devices must be able to accept anything up to 48V or more. In fancier incarnations, the power source (switch or injector) can detect whether there's a PoE load attached and turn the PoE on when appropriate, and beyond that, some devices will report how much power they need, allowing a similarly compliant switch to manage how much power is allocated to that port. *Complete* PoE spec also allows "phantom power" to be sent over the data pairs (also necessary for use with gigabit, which uses all four pairs itself), which means load devices must be able to ACCEPT power on any of the pairs.

 

There really a lot of safety built into the spec to protect devices.

 

Power consumption: 12 V DC*: Approx. 1 A, PoE: Approx. 12 W (Class 0 device)

Anyone know if it uses more than 12 watts when panning or zooming?

12W *should* be referring to the *maximum* required. Panasonic being a reputable brand, this should apply. Consider your average non-IR dome camera only draws 2-4W.

 

The Trend TPE-S44 states the following:

Power over Ethernet: Power budget: 30 watts (max); Up to 15.4 watts per Port

 

That way, I could add an additional POE camera or two in the same general area in the future.

Yes, although you could only add one more PTZ like that. 802.3af specifies that ports should be able to provide up to 15.4V; however, it doesn't say that they have to ALL do that ALL the time. In this case, you have a maximum of 30W available to all the PoE ports.

 

Also, this would be my first POE switch. Can you safely plug a POE switch into a surge supressor power strip?

Of course. Most of them simply use an external adapter that outputs 48VDC.

 

I know that the Netgear AV500 Powerline adapters can not be plugged into surge supressors, however, I have no idea about a POE switch. Regular switches I always plug into a surge supressor or a UPS, but I have no idea when it comes to POE switches.

That's only because the filtering in a surge suppressor or UPS will interfere with the data signal that it's modulating on the power line. That's not a factor with the switch.

[LittleScoobyMaster 0]

There really a lot of safety built into the spec to protect devices.

 

That's good to know. Knowing my luck, I always find the weird things when it comes to electricity. Like when I was little and found out you could touch a penny to the glass of a plasma bulb and then touch the penny which could arch electricity to your fingers. Strangest thing.

 

 

12W *should* be referring to the *maximum* required. Panasonic being a reputable brand, this should apply. Consider your average non-IR dome camera only draws 2-4W.

 

Thanks. I was hoping it wouldn't use more than 12W. I thought maybe it meant average and that panning would send it over. Glad to know that isn't the case.

 

Yes, although you could only add one more PTZ like that. 802.3af specifies that ports should be able to provide up to 15.4V; however, it doesn't say that they have to ALL do that ALL the time. In this case, you have a maximum of 30W available to all the PoE ports.

 

I was wondering about that 3rd camera only getting 6W, and which types of camera's. For instance, it doesn't sound like the 3rd camera could be a nice 5MP IR cam because the extra W it needs for the ir could send it past 6W. Guessing they require between 6 and 12?

 

That's only because the filtering in a surge suppressor or UPS will interfere with the data signal that it's modulating on the power line. That's not a factor with the switch.

 

Yeah, I've run into the same problem with my X10 devices as they work in a similar fasion to the AV500 powerline adapter. The supressors would always clean up the 'noise' that was the x10 trying to communicate on the line.

 

I really wish it wasn't like that though because I like to surge supress all electrical devices I hook up to an AC outlet and the ones that keep me up at night are my x10 devices, and the av200 and av500's. I'm always thinking there will be a close lightning strike outside that will hit right there and those outlets go straight into my networking gear.

[MaxIcon 0]

Does this switch do any reporting? That can be handy in figuring out POE loads.

 

My old SRW2008P managed POE switch has a screen that shows the current power draw of each port, which is useful for troubleshooting power issues and measuring how much each camera actually uses.

[Soundy 1]

Yeah, managed switches are great - we've used several of the SFE1000P, which is similar to the SRW2008P. Not only can you monitor the power usage on each camera, you can toggle the power remotely, in case a troublesome cam needs a quick power cycle

[LittleScoobyMaster 0]

Does this switch do any reporting? That can be handy in figuring out POE loads.

 

My old SRW2008P managed POE switch has a screen that shows the current power draw of each port, which is useful for troubleshooting power issues and measuring how much each camera actually uses.

 

I don't think this one is managed but I haven't confirmed it yet.

[Soundy 1]

http://www.trendnet.com/products/proddetail.asp?status=view&prod=145_TPE-S44

 

Doesn't appear to have any management features.

[LittleScoobyMaster 0]

There really a lot of safety built into the spec to protect devices.

 

Speaking of safety. I hope I am being safe enough.

 

I have everything hooked up now.

 

The thing is, I should post a photo of the current setup because I am concerned about electrical and fire hazzards. But also, I'm concerned about longevity of the camera.

 

 

So, to recap, this is how I have it setup presently.

 

In the kitchen, I have a standard 2 port AC outlet that contains a built in GFI protector because it is in the kitchen near a sink (but not that close to the sink - about 2.5 feet away).

 

Connected to 1 of the AC ports is a surge supressor. Connected to the other AC oulet is 1 Netgear AV200 powerline network adapter.

 

Connected to the surge supressor is 1 Microwave oven, and 1 Trend TPE-S44 POE switch, 1 power pack for a Geo GV-CB220 cube 2MP cam. The trend TPE-S44 is connected to the Pano WV-sc385 which is using a POE port, and a regular port is connected to the AV200 powerline adapter network jack. So far, everything seems to be working. The microwave is used on average about twice a day for up to 3 or 4 minutes tops, it's a Panasonic about 2 years old. Does having the microwave on cause any noise on the line or cause any issues anyone can think of?

 

Presently, the Trend switch and the Netgear AV200 are stacked on top of the microwave with a 2 inch plastic container separating the switch from being directly on the stainless steel microwave itself. The SC385 is about 2 feet from the microwave. I have the option of raising it about 5 feet higher so it is 5 to 6 feet away if needed.

 

So, does this scenario present any immediate safety hazzards anyone can think of?

 

Planning on uploading a photo of the mess this weekend. But, for instance, when the microwave is on, and the switch is on top of it (separated by the 2 inch plastic container), and the powerline adapter is on top of the switch, is that cause for concern? I know this setup is not optimal, and I'm hoping to change it once I can find better locations for the gear, but I really wanted to test out this camera so I've kinda just thrown everything together quick. So far, I really like the SC385, I just don't want to wreck it. Any tips on what not to do with it, or what I can do to keep it functioning for many years?