Pelco cable

[mikeloew1 0]

Hi guys, I am going to be adding another Pelco spectra/3 camera to my system. It will be about 100'-130' away from the DVR. I cannot recall, but I think I need 2 wires for power, 2 wires for the PTZ functions and of course the video feed line. My question is I have a new roll of 18ga 6 conductor wire, could I use 2 of the wires for the video path and use a Video Balun on each end or will that only work with CAT5? My thinking is I would only have to run one cable instead of 2. The cable I have is 6 individual insulated copper stranded wires in one cable but I do not think they are twisted. Does that make a difference? Thanks Mike

[brianparkes 0]

Any chance you can set it up next to your DVR and "bench test" it first to see if there is a problem with the communications. I've come across some issues with the signals for the controls when not using twisted wire, but sometimes it works just fine. Try using a small section of the cable to hook it up next to the DVR first to see. If you do end up having issues with controls (but it gets power and video feed), then you will know you have to figure something out with the cable (as long as you are sure that all your DIP switch settings match your signal and the Rx Tx connections are not crossed)

[mikeloew1 0]

Any chance you can set it up next to your DVR and "bench test" it first to see if there is a problem with the communications. I've come across some issues with the signals for the controls when not using twisted wire, but sometimes it works just fine. Try using a small section of the cable to hook it up next to the DVR first to see. If you do end up having issues with controls (but it gets power and video feed), then you will know you have to figure something out with the cable (as long as you are sure that all your DIP switch settings match your signal and the Rx Tx connections are not crossed)

 

Thanks Brian, that is exactly what I am going to do. I unrolled the spool of wire Fri, and got the 2 ends stripped. I will test it Tue. Thanks, Mike

[GrouchoBoucho 0]

Hi guys, I am going to be adding another Pelco spectra/3 camera to my system. It will be about 100'-130' away from the DVR. I cannot recall, but I think I need 2 wires for power, 2 wires for the PTZ functions and of course the video feed line. My question is I have a new roll of 18ga 6 conductor wire, could I use 2 of the wires for the video path and use a Video Balun on each end or will that only work with CAT5? My thinking is I would only have to run one cable instead of 2. The cable I have is 6 individual insulated copper stranded wires in one cable but I do not think they are twisted. Does that make a difference? Thanks Mike

that should work fine. baluns do not require utp.

 

however, spectra cameras do have fairly high current draw when the heater/fan kicks in - 130' might be a little far for 18ga. power at 24vac; you might need to step up to a 28vac power supply.

[NyCCTVTech 0]

ive tried 18gauge wire for power 200 feet from head end on a spectra 4 ...it didnt last ...when the heaters kicked in the fuses kept blowing . on both ends. over amps on wire causes things to heat up .. fuses will blow...id run the right wire ...short cuts usually give head aches...

[mikeloew1 0]

Just a heads up for anyone trying this. It worked perfectly. My run is about 150' I have a Pelco power supply, I used the 28v tap

Red and black are power, yellow and brown I used for the video to the video baluns and Blue and orange for the PTZ control. The only thing I am concerned about is when its cold enough for the heater element to start, I will find out soon, and if so I could move the power supply closer to the camera if I have to. Thanks for the help guys. Mike