sethbru 0 Posted January 19, 2014 Hi, I have a problem with the quality of the images of 4 of the 8 cameras in my home security system. The 4 bad cameras all have a haphazard pattern of horizontal or diagonal "trails" constantly streaking across the display. It appears to be some sort of signal interference. There is a pattern among the 4 bad cameras as they were the 1st set of 4 cameras I had installed. I later added a 2nd set of 4 cameras which work great. All of the 8 cameras are the same model since the 2nd installer replaced the 4 old cameras when he installed the 4 new cameras - only the old cables remained from the 1st group of 4, so I suspect the cables may be bad. The 4 cables producing the bad images have "RG59 18 1/2 Copper CCTV Combo" stamped on the side while the cables producing the good images have "RG59/2 Coaxial 75 Ohm" stamped on them. In each case, the cable from the camera has been split just before reaching my DVR so that 1 of the paired cable "threads" terminates at the common 12V power source patch panel while the other terminates at my DVR. My DVR is a GenIV G4-DCX8 and the installer described the cameras as Sony HAD CCD. The problem does not lie with the display or the DVR port, as I can swap the ports used by a good and bad camera, and the bad image moves to the new port. I am not aware of any electromagnetic interference at my home, nor is there much difference in the home environment when comparing the good and bad cameras (in 1 case, a good and bad camera are 2 feet from each other). So, the problem is likely with the 4 original cables. Do I need to get new cables installed? Any other advice? Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
varascope 0 Posted January 20, 2014 Are the cameras 4 in a row? 5-8? Could be a bad dsp or least likely a ground loop. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kawboy12R 0 Posted January 20, 2014 Swap good cam with bad cam? If bad picture doesn't follow the camera then swap power supplies. Probably 4 cams run from one power supply via splitter? It is more likely that one power supply fails than 4 cables at once. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sethbru 0 Posted January 20, 2014 Are the cameras 4 in a row? 5-8? Could be a bad dsp or least likely a ground loop No. The new (good) and old (bad) cameras alternate. So, every 2nd camera in the physical sequence exhibits the problem. Swap good cam with bad cam? If bad picture doesn't follow the camera then swap power supplies. Probably 4 cams run from one power supply via splitter? It is more likely that one power supply fails than 4 cables at once. The bad picture does not follow the camera when swapped. The problem seems to stay with the cable. All 8 cameras share the same power supply, but the 4 new (good) cameras were added to the shared power patch panel at a later time and they use slightly different cables as noted in my problem description. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shockwave199 0 Posted January 20, 2014 Try a single separate 12v power adapter on one of the bad cameras. I'd guess a 12v-1.5a adapter would be fine. You just take one of the known bad camera power lines out of the panel and put a barrel adapter on the end of it, being mindful of polarity, and power that run from the separate adapter. If it clears up, put three more adapters in line and power those four cameras like that. Not an elegant solution, but probably the easiest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sethbru 0 Posted January 20, 2014 I am not an installer or electrician, so I may need to hire somebody to try what you suggested. Also, after further scrutiny, I can now see that the 4 new (good) cameras also exhibit a very low degree of the problem. So, I might have a bad power supply which affects the 4 old cables more than the 4 new cables (perhaps the different cabling used for the latter is more resistant to the problem). Given these symptoms, is the power supply the likely cause? Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shockwave199 0 Posted January 20, 2014 All of the 8 cameras are the same model since the 2nd installer replaced the 4 old cameras when he installed the 4 new cameras Hello Mr. Installer, I need service please. Have him resolve the problem. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kawboy12R 0 Posted January 24, 2014 I am not an installer or electrician, so I may need to hire somebody to try what you suggested. Also, after further scrutiny, I can now see that the 4 new (good) cameras also exhibit a very low degree of the problem. So, I might have a bad power supply which affects the 4 old cables more than the 4 new cables (perhaps the different cabling used for the latter is more resistant to the problem). Given these symptoms, is the power supply the likely cause? Thanks! Most likely, and possibly made worse by lower grade cables installed with the first 4 cameras. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sethbru 0 Posted January 24, 2014 Thanks for the replies. I intend to have the power supply and/or power patch panel replaced soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sethbru 0 Posted January 25, 2014 I just had the power subsystem replaced, and all 8 cameras look great now. You guys were right on. We deduced the 4 old cameras looked worse than the 4 new cameras as the power supply degraded due to inferior cabling on the old cameras. All is good now with the new power supply. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
