Which power for a camera? Power cord or Power Panel?

[RichTJ99 0]

Hi,

 

I am wanting some opinions about if I should go for the power plug or power panel route for my home CCTV system.

 

I think I will have 8-10 cameras by the end of the project, but they will be installed a little at a time.

 

I think that Siamese wiring is the way to go & it makes me wonder if I should add a power supply female adapter & plug it in, or if I should leave the siamese power wire exposed & just run it into a power panel.

 

I see plenty of 12v 8amp power panels on ebay or our own sponsors probably carry them as well.

 

What is better or safer?

 

Thanks,

Rich

[Jasper 0]

Power Box is easier and more proffesional in my opinion.

 

You can run the raw wire ends of the siamese cable right to the box.

[RVRBOY420007 0]

Ya its looks alot better then a bunch of power strips with wall worts plugged in them.

[rory 0]

Multiple Power Supply box is much better, dont buy cheap though, get a good brand like Altronix or PThree.

[RVRBOY420007 0]

Ya I have had bad experiences with those MG's not having enough juice. Altronics and stealth my favs have heard good things about b-tron and p3 as well.

[RichTJ99 0]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5852076660

 

 

How about that?

 

Or this?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/16-Channel-Professional-CCTV-24V-AC-Power-panel_W0QQitemZ5852390072QQcategoryZ48637QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Or is ebay a no no for these boxes?

[Jasper 0]

Seven day return policy. I'm always a little leery when something comes from eBay and as I have heard so many stories about people being burned there. If you decide to buy one from there make sure that is outputting the correct power before you look anything up to it.

 

I just bought a cheap power box which outputs too much power and could have caused me problems have I not had cameras that could handle a higher voltage.

 

I personally wouldn't buy it from eBay. Too many hassles.

[rory 0]

I wouldnt use them ... altronix or Pthree, is all i use.

[Jasper 0]

Yep.

 

My next one will be an Altronix.

 

I didn't see very much info on the P3 boxes on the internet.

 

Had many more hits on the Altronix.

[rory 0]

Pthree is really nice. Geared more towards us that dont like messing with High Voltage.

[RichTJ99 0]

Rory,

 

I am aiming for a 16 port power supply box (might as well buy it correct the first time). I am planning on using bullet cameras & "hidden" motion detector cameras.

 

There are so many versions of this Altronix power supply, I cant get it straight.

 

I saw spytown had this one: Altronix ALTV615DC616

 

I think I need 12V DC for the cameras. I also see the 24v (whats that for? Is it the standard?)

 

Can you recommend a good box for a home security situation? I would like to keep it under $175.00 (plus shipping).

 

It doesnt look like video insight carries that brand at all.

 

 

 

THanks,

Rich

[rory 0]

Look at something at least 6amps for 16 channels, basically most COLOR bullet cameras and hidden cams may be around 300ma, which times 16 is 4.8a, bit its best to get more, so if you only got the 4a version you may have issues later as you add other cameras (unless most of them are BW which only draw generally arounf 100-200ma each)

 

6a - ALTV1224-DC2

 

The AC is more common in professional installations, and actually cheaper, as alot of Pro cameras, Box and Domes, are 24VAC. We normally use these over 12VDC, but if you are mostly using bullet cameras and hidden cameras then it would be 12VDC or even the mixed unit of 12VDC and 24VAC - dont get the 2 mixed up, the 12VDC versions also have 24VDC. Basically it is either DC or AC, or a mixture of 8DC and 8AC.

 

Say you had 4 bullet cameras and 2 hidden cameras that all ran at 12VDC, but also wanted to add some Box cameras or domes, then you could look at the Dual Voltage unit: ALTV1224C AC/DC.

 

In your case just you probably just need the 16 channel DC box i listed above. You could get the 4amp version if you knew exactly what all the current draws of the cameras are, such as if they were BW bullets they may be pulling 100ma each ... so 4amps would be plenty. I generally always just get the 6amp or higher versions myself for 16 cameras.

 

I had to delete the links due to adveritsing rules [sorry]