CCTVNOOB1975 0 Posted September 9, 2012 two continuos runs of cat5 cable one the black underground rated type off ebay 1000' roll the other the blue indoor rated off the shelf stuff. Using an AVTECH 16 channel DVR with 8 channels in the building the dvr is in looking fine now the run from the head end to the end with the active 4 channel balun end is probably 400 feet. when I connect the cameras up right there at the 4 channel active balun I get a basically acceptable picture now thats using those small one channel passive baluns to input the signal from the camera output into the input side of the active 4 channel balun now am I reducing the signal this way I assume so due to the impeadence matching circuit of the one channel balun ???? I am sure the blue stuff cat5 that is is of crap variety adding to the problem but anyway can I input the 1.5 to 1.75 volt video signal directly into the active 2 wire ports on the balun it also has a 4 channel rs485 port will I burn up the active balun by trying this I just feel the signal loss on the input side of the active balun is really hurting me. so I have one 8 channel passive balun head end and two active on the camera end...could use some guidance Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the toss 0 Posted September 9, 2012 am I reducing the signal this way I assume so due to the impeadence matching circuit of the one channel balun ???? I am sure the blue stuff cat5 that is is of crap variety adding to the problem but anyway can I input the 1.5 to 1.75 volt video signal directly into the active 2 wire ports on the balun it also has a 4 channel rs485 port will I burn up the active balun by trying this I just feel the signal loss on the input side of the active balun is really hurting me. so I have one 8 channel passive balun head end and two active on the camera end...could use some guidance Using a passive balun will result in a small amount of signal loss ( insertion loss ) You can insert the video signal directly into the transmit balun but the level is more likely to be 1 vpp NOT 1.5 to 1.75 V. 1Vpp is the nominal o/p level of a cctv camera. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GrouchoBoucho 0 Posted September 9, 2012 i'm sorry, but that made no sense at all. do you know what punctuation is? sentences? it's not even clear what the actual problem/question is. at only 400' you shouldn't need active baluns - i suspect you've wired something wrong. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the toss 0 Posted September 10, 2012 i'm sorry, but that made no sense at all. do you know what punctuation is? sentences? it's not even clear what the actual problem/question is. . Same here but I do like a challenge & after reading it 8 times I took a guess at what he was asking. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CCTVNOOB1975 0 Posted September 10, 2012 Sorry about the spelling grammar and punctuation a product of microsoft word and too much texting . OK I'll give you guys as much information as possible as that will most likely lead to a solution. DVR = http://www.usasecuritystore.com/servlet/the-175/16-Channel-H.264-Real/Detail no problems there as far setup and image quality on the head end with the 8 cameras that are on the building there using the same 8 channel passive balun that is not working on the other system. I used the 586B wiring standard for all my cat5 terminations. The 8 channel run to the other building with quality issues I could not get a stable signal at all using the 8 channel passive balun so I ordered and installed a set of 4 channel active baluns which helped but were not the cure all I was looking for... I may need some ground loop islolation ? The one 4 channel run is using a good quality underground rated cat5 cable for the 400'-500' link between the two buildings both run 150' up in the interior of the superstructure of the head end building then down and across buried in 200' of PVC with some coax and other cat5 for future use phone and data , the other 4 channel run is using the blue cheap cat5 from lowes. I will get the measuring wheel out and get exact distance figures as good data is important to solving any problem crap in crap out right. This system was done on the cheap so I apologize in advance, I basically learned what CCTV I know through necessity due to crime in my neighborhood. I understand mulit-channel video over distance gets to be a tricky thing I hope I didn't screw myself with that cheaper cat5 run. The way people talk you can get 1200' runs with good results on a passive balun system could the underground run with all those conductors packed tight together be coupling my video signal into the other conductors due to proximity and causing the signal loss? I notice where I work they use fiber then direct over to IP for longer runs with pelco stuff I just can't see my little run being that big of an issue. Thanks for any advice or help. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites