camera-newbie 0 Posted June 7, 2012 Hi all.. So I've got my Raytec Vario's sitting at the house ready to be installed.. I know what wires need to be used and now it's just down to doing the wiring & mounting.. However, the cable that powers the illuminators is about the size of an RG6 cable give or take (but has individual wires inside the sleeve obviously).. I could do wiring the easy way and just attach it to the eaves using wire holders with those small nails.. However, I want something that looks professional and not..umm.. hackish.. One thing I was thinking was that perhaps there's a single gang box cover that the cable from the Illuminator can pass through (perhaps with a rubber seal) and then it can be connected to power/tlm inside the box.. The box would then be cabled to have EMT or similar into the attic where it can be fed back to the offending power supply et-al. Another thought is finding a cover that has a multi-pin connector and having the IR cable plug-in.. Are either of these more or less what you professionals do for things like illuminators that don't have EMT/conduit holes directly in their boxes? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
camera-newbie 0 Posted June 7, 2012 One other question.. I can power the illuminator with either 24V AC or DC per the specs.. I'm assuming I'll get less voltage drop using AC -- correct.. If that's the case I'm assuming I can hook this up to the existing power supply for my two analog cameras since it's 24VAC.. With that in mind, I'm thinking I can probably use my existing supply of CAT5 cable to power this -- even with it consuming 12W max, I'll probably just split the cable equally and have 4 conductors for one side of the 24VAC and the other 4 conductors for the other side.. Is 12W too much to pull in this configuration? Thx! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soundy 1 Posted June 7, 2012 I can power the illuminator with either 24V AC or DC per the specs.. I'm assuming I'll get less voltage drop using AC -- correct. You'll get less drop using 24V vs. 12V... AC vs DC will make no substantial difference. With that in mind, I'm thinking I can probably use my existing supply of CAT5 cable to power this -- even with it consuming 12W max, I'll probably just split the cable equally and have 4 conductors for one side of the 24VAC and the other 4 conductors for the other side.. Is 12W too much to pull in this configuration? Thx! How long is the run? 12W at 24V is about 500mA current draw... going by this calculator (http://www.netkrom.com/voltage_loss_over_cat5_calculator.php), if the run is 100', you'd have only 0.1V loss. If you used 12VDC instead, that would be 1A draw, and you'd get 0.3V loss. Since it can also accept 12V, it should have no problem running at 23.9V. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
camera-newbie 0 Posted June 7, 2012 Thanks Matt.. In this case none of my runs are more than 100' max.. So even at 100' and 24v, I doubt a .1v loss is going to cause any problems in this case (for a light).. In terms of bringing the cable in to a single gang box, I was surfing around and found these.. namely cable glands -- something I'd NEVER heard of before but are exactly what I was looking for! Now I just need to find the right size for the job.. I think this one might be about right if my cable size is about the same as a quad RG6 in diameter (~.27" or ~7mm).. Then I can just screw it into one of the single gang box ports or right into the cover if I want.. Am I off-base here from what you pro's do? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soundy 1 Posted June 7, 2012 In terms of bringing the cable in to a single gang box, I was surfing around and found these.. namely cable glands -- something I'd NEVER heard of before but are exactly what I was looking for! Oh yeah, we use those all the time... Pelco outdoor housings come with them... so do a number of outdoor-rated cameras I've used. They work great, just make sure to get one that will clamp down enough to make a solid seal on the cable. I recommend a little vaseline (petroleum jelly) smeared on the cable where it goes through as well, for a better seal (also a good idea to put some on rubber grommets and gaskets to maintain the seal and prevent them from drying out). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
camera-newbie 0 Posted June 7, 2012 Cool.. Now I just need to buy some.. I'm assuming these are more or less mail order only? I wonder if the local electrical supply house might carry these.. I might have to wait if I can't find any locally.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soundy 1 Posted June 7, 2012 Pretty sure I've seen them at Home Depot up here... most electrical suppliers and building supply places should have them. I never heard them called "glands" before so you may need to search under another name. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thewireguys 3 Posted June 7, 2012 These will work just fine and you can get them at any hardware store. Just make sure you use these on the bottom of the box where they are not exposed to direct rain. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
camera-newbie 0 Posted June 12, 2012 Thanks all. I visited my local electrical supply place after visiting Home Depot -- which had more or less what I was looking for but was for a wide flat cable -- similar to old style UHF cable (rectangular).. So, over at Walters wholesale electric I was able to get a set of these guys : which is a Crouse-Hinds "Cord Grip" in 1/2" size (part#CG-50350) for use with 1/2" conduit. Luckily I was able to put the Raytec cord through easily and when this is tightened down the cable does not move so it ought to be water tight.. Unfortunately I've not had the time to do the install but now have all the pieces.. I did jury rig the light using a 12VDC 1A power supply and my cameras were happy -- albeit the images were blown out a bit since the raytec was on full-blast mode as the default.. I'll take some photos and post them once I'm done.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
