Strange problem with IP PoE Camera Rebooting and EMI/RF?

[swbrains 0]

Hi,

 

I recently upgraded to a 16 channel IP NVR. I also purchased a 16 port PoE switch to power the cameras. I installed 8 new PoE IP cameras (none of these are wireless/wifi cameras); 7 work fine. One is located under the soffit at the rear of the house. Others are in the front of the house and in the garage. Another is in a screened/covered patio on the rear of the house, mounted to the ceiling right next to the house wall. The one at the rear of the house (NOT inside the screen porch) is the only one that experiences any type of problem. Specifically it wouldn't consistently boot up. It would boot, show video for less than a minute, then reboot, and repeat this rebooting process over and over.

 

I initially thought it was a low-power issue as this was the longest run (Cat5e UTP), but still only about 80 feet. I purchased a separate PoE power injector and installed it AT the camera outside. Still repeatedly reboots after restarting.

 

I then ran a new cable, new RJ45 plug and jack, tested using a LAN tester and all 8 lines passed. Still repeatedly rebooted.

 

I thought perhaps the Cat5e might be laying near a 120V line somewhere in my attic (although I was pretty sure it wasn't), but rerouted the cable to ensure it wasn't anywhere near a live 120V line. Still repeatedly rebooted.

 

Replaced the camera with a brand new one of the same model. Still repeatedly rebooted.

 

Finally, in a long day outside trying various changes to narrow down any cause, I started to notice a pattern. If I was on the ladder holding the camera (not mounted to the house), after restarting the camera it would boot immediately and stay running. If I mounted it to the soffit/house (me no longer holding it) and restarted it, it would reboot repeatedly. I also tried lowering the cable from the soffit and leaving the camera on the ladder (about 4 feet off the ground), restarted it, and it booted and ran fine.

 

It started to seem like when the camera was up high (only about 9 feet up to the soffit), it would reboot repeatedly after restarting. If it was lower (i.e. below my head height when I was on the ladder), it booted perfectly and ran just fine. I thought it was odd, but eventually noticed that even when mounted to the house wall or soffit at 9 ft high, if I kept my hands wrapped around he body of the camera and rebooted it, then it booted and ran properly. If I held the camera with just two fingers (NOT wrapping my hand around it), but held it a few inches from my chest so the camera was now between the house and my body but nothing was wrapped around the camera, it booted and ran fine. If I held the camera the same way OVER my head (at about 8 ft height), it would repeatedly reboot.

 

I wondered if my hands and/or body, when next to the camera, were providing some "shielding" from some external interference coming from behind me and behind my back yard.

 

So on a whim, I mounted the camera up at the soffit again, wrapped the camera in a couple sheets of tin foil, all except a small opening at the front where the lens is. I did not stand near the ladder/camera. I restarted it and it booted and ran fine. I removed the foil and rebooted it, and it would repeatedly reboot!

 

I repeated this test several times to ensure the results. Nothing else was changed other than adding or removing the foil around the camera. I was not physically near the camera. The foil had to cover the entire length of the camera (bullet type). If even an inch of the camera body was exposed at the end, it would reboot repeatedly. In order to keep it consistently starting and running, the foil had to actually extend past the lens end of the camera and was visible in the camera image, so it wasn't an acceptable long-term solution (nor would I want it to be).

 

So it seems as if behind my house there is some type of interference (EMI/RF/etc) coming from the back yard (or the area behind my back yard) and reflecting off the house, particularly in the soffit area (remember, the camera booted fine if it was sitting on a 4 ft stepstool about 2 ft out from the wall of the house).

 

Other factors:

 

* There are no houses adjacent to my my back yard behind me; just an open field. Houses do exist on either side (left/right). There is a treeline about 100 yds away directly behind my yard, and there is private property there with two or three older homes nestled in the woods, but they are not visible from my yard so I can't see if they have anything that would generate interference.

* There were no electrical devices in the back yard running at the time.

* There are no power lines above ground within 200 yds of my home in any direction and none below ground in the back yard.

* There were no electrical devices running in the house near the wall where the camera was mounted. The wall is a concrete block wall, if it matters.

* There are no electrical lines within 4 feet of that area of the soffit, either in the attic or the inside house wall.

* I have 3 cameras mounted to the soffits in the front of the house and all run perfectly (I was starting to wonder if mounting to the vinyl soffit mattered!).

* The nearest airport is about 30 - 40 miles away. There were no planes overhead when the problem occurred.

* The problem occurred over several days during the week of installation and was consistent from day to day.

 

Everything I read online indicated that IP cameras were LESS susceptible to EMI than analog cameras due to the digital nature of their transmissions. But my tests strongly indicate that something about this area of my house on the back wall near the soffit is experiencing some type of interference that causes this camera to have trouble booting unless my body or tin foil shields it. The source seems to be behind my yard since I could barely hold the camera in front of my chest (not touching my body, two fingers holding the base only) and it would boot properly. But stepping to the side and holding it the same way caused it to reboot repeatedly.

 

Has anyone had a similar experience with interference of some type on an IP PoE camera, or have any ideas about what types of sources might cause this type of interference?

 

Thanks!