Hikvision cameras at <100ft distance not working

[glocklt4 0]

I cannot figure out what is going on with the wiring I'm doing for my IP cameras. Seems like I'm having issues with long runs, but I'm no where near the maximum for Cat5e.

 

I have a Hikvision DS-7608NI-SE/8P with 5 Hikvision cameras total, 3 that are working fine on wiring that is less than 50ft, however 2 strings I have run that are longer (one about 60, another about 80-90) cause the camera to come on but not reachable with my NVR or recognized at all with Hikvisions SADP (camera search software) when directly connected to computer. Lights on NVR and computer port are solid and show communication. When I use shorter cables with the exact same cameras, they all work fine.

 

I don't suspect issues with the cable itself because my cable tester confirms all 8 wires are working. Also my longest run was an existing cable from a previous install, and the new camera DID work initially for a while but was not acting right. Delayed video, lost packets, couldn't set motion detection zones. So I reset the camera and put on a new RJ45 connector in case there was corrosion, but now the camera is not recognizable at all. When I added another camera I put the brand new camera on that line and it never recognized it at all, so I don't think I did anything to the camera.

 

Confirmed all connectors are wired correctly, and I've even plugged alternate 12V power directly into the camera on the long runs. Has to be a signal issue and not power due to this, but I just don't know how to test that. Being no where near the max length has me puzzled regardless.

 

Any suggestions? Thank you!

[Securame 0]

Try a better quality cable.

 

POE also does have a maximum length; which also depends on the quality of the cable.

[MaxIcon 0]

Power drop can be an issue across longer cables, though the length of yours shouldn't be causing problems unless your cams draw a lot of power or the cable/connector resistance is high. Cat 6 has slightly larger gauge wires than Cat 5, so that may make a difference.

 

You may want to verify cable quality, as MindTwist suggests, to make sure you don't have copper clad aluminum (for instance).

 

Also, whenever I suspect cable problems, I remake both ends to make sure the crimp is good.

[glocklt4 0]

Power drop can be an issue across longer cables, though the length of yours shouldn't be causing problems unless your cams draw a lot of power or the cable/connector resistance is high. Cat 6 has slightly larger gauge wires than Cat 5, so that may make a difference.

 

You may want to verify cable quality, as MindTwist suggests, to make sure you don't have copper clad aluminum (for instance).

 

Also, whenever I suspect cable problems, I remake both ends to make sure the crimp is good.

 

Thanks. The first runs were possibly with a lower end cable but I certainly don't see any aluminum coloring when cutting. I just bought nicer Cables2Go stuff from Amazon for the latest run that also has the issue. Really baffles me. I will try remaking the connectors on the ends again. I'll double check the old wiring to see if anything on it says AL.

 

Yeah, power drop really cannot be an issue since I hooked 12V directly into camera and cannot see it still on either device.

[MaxIcon 0]

12Vdc can be tricky if you're still connected to POE, depending on how the firmware handles it.

 

The POE spec allows for using external power as a make-up power source, but I'm not sure if it requires it. That is, if you plug in POE and 12Vdc at the same time, it can be hard to say which it uses (or if it uses some portion of both) unless you measure the power draws on both.

 

When I run 12Vdc for testing, I like to use a non-POE port to make sure it's only using the 12V.

[glocklt4 0]

12Vdc can be tricky if you're still connected to POE, depending on how the firmware handles it.

 

The POE spec allows for using external power as a make-up power source, but I'm not sure if it requires it. That is, if you plug in POE and 12Vdc at the same time, it can be hard to say which it uses (or if it uses some portion of both) unless you measure the power draws on both.

 

When I run 12Vdc for testing, I like to use a non-POE port to make sure it's only using the 12V.

 

True, that is a good point about which power source it uses. I did a test that eliminates this however. Ran POE through NVR (all 8 channels are POE) with and without external 12V directly into camera with long and short cables. Same result either way. Also ran camera directly into router (with no POE abilities) with 12V directly into camera. I could only get the software to see the camera if I used a short cable. Tried with both new good Cables2Go and my old reel that would have been more questionable.

 

Without a scope, is there any way to test signal strength?

[buellwinkle 0]

Try plugging the long cable into a laptop to see if it work and plug the other end into your router to see if the cable is bad or the switch/NVR has issues.

[glocklt4 0]

Try plugging the long cable into a laptop to see if it work and plug the other end into your router to see if the cable is bad or the switch/NVR has issues.

 

Tried this earlier tonight already actually and confirmed that longer cables did NOT work from my router to desktop computer, so obvious issue with the cable and nothing to do with NVR or POE. This test was with about 75-80ft.

 

I ended up doing a lot of testing with cables and googling around about this problem and found that at longer distances (50-100ft+) it DOES matter what color order you crimp your connectors on with. I've never had issues with this on smaller cables for computers, and I guess my older non-IP/non-megapixel CCTV system didn't mind the noise. Anyway, Cisco has a specific order they go in, and I was slightly off from this despite having made all my cables before the same way with no problems. As soon as I re-crimped my longer test 75-80ft cable with the Cisco certified pinout, desktop to router connection got an immediate 100baseT! I'm confident in my connector abilities after doing it so many times the past few days, so I'm positive it was the wiring, not poor connection. So, at least I'm confident I can fix one of my cameras with this cable tomorrow. BTW, I went with 568B, and my previous pinout seems to die about 30-40ft out (I kept cutting 5ft off and re-crimp until I got it to work, determined to figure out what the deal was, haha).

 

http://www.lanshack.com/make-cat5e.aspx

 

I found another issue though. As you guys suspected, my older cable is NOT copper! The new stuff says 24awg and is clearly copper all through - and has thicker shielding. The older doesn't have a gauge listed but is probably also 24awg, however it is clearly silver in color, so probably aluminum. I didn't really pay attention to those things when purchasing this originally 8 years ago. After fixing the color wiring on my longest run of this old cable to the Cisco 568B standard, the NVR blinks a bit but does not stay on. The camera is powered up and IR working the whole time, so these blinks and then all lights going out for a few seconds (and repeat) must be failed communication and it keeps retrying. So, it seems as if I have an issue with either the length or the metal type with that older run and will replace it. I suspect metal type is probably 99% chance of the reason why it is not carrying signal well enough if just the order of wiring in the connector makes such a big difference in 100+ft cables! I am going to more accurately measure out how much I need for that replacement run and cut off the required amount with the new copper, then crimp off both ends to test it before stapling up the new run under the house eave since that is a lot of work!

 

Thanks for your suggestions here. I'll report back if I have any more problems. If anyone wants a bunch of useless 5ft cables from my testing all night, you know where to find me haha.

[Spark 0]

Sounds like you had split pairs.

 

Another thing to watch is the Cat 5 & 5e standard run length of 100m is approximately 90m of solid core with 10m of stranded for patching at each end.

A 100m run of stranded cable will most likely fail.

[glocklt4 0]

Sounds like you had split pairs.

 

Another thing to watch is the Cat 5 & 5e standard run length of 100m is approximately 90m of solid core with 10m of stranded for patching at each end.

A 100m run of stranded cable will most likely fail.

 

Yep, split pairs on the connectors.

 

The old stuff is solid aluminum with copper dip, and new is solid copper. It's off a 500ft reel so no strand at the ends.

[glocklt4 0]

While discussing wiring, does anyone have experience with using Ethernet Over Power solutions with cameras? I am still going to rerun this copper, but was just reading up about the advancements in this EOP technology (used to not be good at all!), so I ordered a TP Link 500mbps kit to try out at home for computer equipment. I'm going to give it a test to see if cameras work this way as well. Would be a great way to add a couple more cameras in the future in some other spots that would be pretty difficult to get wiring to.

[djt 0]

We've had problems with Hikvision in the past with cameras not connecting and NVR's rebooting. We're not sure what the cause was but not only did we change from copper clad to solid copper cat5, but also we changed from copper clad RJ45 plugs to solid copper. This seems to have resolved the problem. At first we didn't even realise they produced copper clad RJ45 plugs. If you look at the plugs side on you will be able to clearly see the difference.

 

Let me know if this helps

[Quantum` 0]

Problem of the OP was as others said 'split pairs'. This makes a difference because ethernet uses 'differential signaling'. Each twisted pair is intended for a function, and the two wires in the pair are referenced in relation to one another. So it matters which pairs go together.

 

Also as others said, solid wire (not stranded) is necessary for longer runs and decent speeds. Stranded is used where the cable has to flex; it lasts longer before breaking. And all-copper of course.

 

I always use ToughCable, and Ubiquiti's connectors. I always solder the cable ground wire to the shield of the connector, and use the hood. For outdoor connections I first inject silicone grease into the connector before I stick in the wires, for a gas-tight connection. (Auto parts store: "dielectric grease" for distributors. Whatever you do, don't use silicone caulk; it gives off acetic acid to cure, which corrodes copper. RTV is fine but grease is best)

 

I've had cases where a camera is on a pole, and thus is grounded; but because of the cable ground and a difference in potential between the pole ground and building ground, there is a ground loop which causes a 60Hz hum in other equipment. Most guys would cut the cable ground to fix this, but that affects the differential signaling and PoE reference, so I insulate the camera's mount to the pole.

[jazzar 0]

well done in solving your problem- at times it can be a real pain.

You can buy real cheap testers that just verify pin to pin connectivity with leds, about £5 from ebay c/w punch down tool and some with cable oscillators for a bit more fault tracing/cable identification.. Simply plug the rj45 dongle on your cable end and the tester on the other and the lights indicate if you have connection and if the pairs are crossed or broken- saved me a lot of time in the past.

Also much more proper certification units etc which do the full monty tests across all pairs etc- but pretty expensive.

You learn more from failing than when everything works straight away- look at what you have learned from simply posting your issue.

[WalkerHunter 0]

Seven years later.... and your post and responses triggered me to re-terminate at both ends even though my ethernet tester said everything was okay and Bob's your uncle.

Thank you.