Do we need to recable a CCTV System after a period of time?

[chewingyu 0]

I am frequently experiencing intermittent failures in one of the few CCTV systems installed in my company. Occasionally, I get one or two cameras with the images coming on and off intermittently. My maintenance vendor checks and establishes that the camera is in serviceable condition, the DVR is okay. The only conclusion is some problem with the transmission of images i.e. cable. And tracing the source is a real headache and even off-putting. So, the usual recommendation is to recable, which is a rather costly affair.

 

So, my questions are:

 

Do I need to work in some annual budget for cable maintenance?

What is the life span of the cabling?

Does it vary with different type of cables e.g. RG, Cat 5, fibre optics, etc?

[CollinR 0]

The cables should outlast the customer if they are installed properly, if installed improperly yeah annual budget kinda thing. I personally find it easier to do it right then do it twice.

 

I'm thinking the cable is being pulled tight or broken over a tight bend, over time it will fail from the stress.

[rory 0]

also have them check the connections.

 

But since Coax is stronger than Cat5 less likely to have actual breaks in that .. cat5 .. cant say.

[chewingyu 0]

I am actually having problems with the system that uses RG cables. Those with CAT5 are relatively new, about 2 years old. Maybe the problem might crop up later! (Can't bear the thought of it!!)

 

To check through the cabling is too tedious because the CCTV system runs through a few connected warehouse terminals, with the trunking and conduits running all over the place and at high locations.

 

Just the thought of checking the cabling is alreading off-putting.

[rory 0]

could be the Connections then .. though ofcourse issues can occur with Coax also .. make sure it is RG59 and not RG56 or RG58 .. some installers use the cheaper cable only to find out it is not actually RG59 ..

[securitymonster 0]

Maybe you can get ahold of some cable testing equipment? If so, you can test each cable independently pretty easily. This makes troubleshooting a bit easier.

 

 

http://www.test-um.com/product_detail.asp?itemno=CX200

[kensplace 0]

Only problem is if its a intermittent fault the test equipment may say the cable is fine, until the wind blows the wrong way or whatever and the fault occurs again...

[jisaac 0]

intermentent transmission problems are the worst. But if you get a good multimeter and measure your resistence on the cable it should give you a good idea of the issue. How long are these cable runs? How many breaks are in them?

When measuring resistence in your cable you should be able to tell if the cable is an issue. If your somewhere around 100 ohms then your going to have problems. Try measuring the resistance first and post your results. And we can help you from there.

[dwaitkevich 0]

Check your power source. If you are running over long distances you maybe experiencing a drop in voltage that borders the acceptable limits of the cameras themselves.

[Rooney 0]

If you check the system with a checker like the one pictured above you should be able to find the problem. They also have cable testers that have a digital readout that will give you the distance to the problem. Here in Arizona I have run across systems with intermittant problems due to lightning strikes degrading the coax. We always use surge supression on both the camera end and the control end. Sometimes lightning will still take the coax to the surge suppressor them to ground. That will degrade the coax. I just thought I would throw that out there in case anyone else has had problems with systems after storms. A well bonded system will last longer than a non suppressed system.

[Secure_It_Video 0]

Intermittant images off/on is usually a good indication of a poor connection that has a make/break contact going on.

 

Building that vibrate are an extreme canidate. Of course it hardly happens when techs are on site

 

If camera and head end connections seem fine I personaly would worry about hidden splices in the great beyond...

 

At any point to answer your question cable age should not be considered a suspect. A consistant problem with a specific run would summons me to repull a cable. The time and material to repull a cable is worth the problem disolving, to me anyway. And it would elliminate the possibility of having a hidden splice if your camera and head end connections seem fine.

 

In other words, check the connections that are present.

If problem persists, repull the cable and get rid of the need for service.

 

Good Luck