GV-Net/PTZ Setup issue

[anchorjoe 0]

OK, I am in the process of finalizing the installation of a system that has two PTZ camera's. Here is what I have done so far:

1) Installed camera's and ran cables

2) Installed GV-Net card

3) Connected power supplies and cables

4) Mapped PTZ camera's in GeoVision

5) Activated the PTZ's on the "General" config page

6) Selected the GV-Net card on the "I/O" config page

7) Connected the GV-Net card both through Com 1 and Com 3

 

The problem I have is, I have no PTZ control (Up/Down, Side to side, Zoom). Is there something I am missing here? I have checked the GV-net connection through Com 1 and Com 3 with no luck in gaining controls. Also, is there any way to change the default port of the GV-Net card to another com port? My client has another I/O device that is currently using Com 1. Any ideas??? Thanks..

[bike_rider 0]

Com 1 and 3 use overlapping configs, so you should not have to devices on them. You can buy a USB to Serial converter that you can set to com 2.

 

Describe your wiring to the camera. What model of camera?

[anchorjoe 0]

I guess I could try Com 4. The PC I am working on has a serial adapter card (PCI) installed and I can see both Com 3 and 4 in the hardware manager. I wonder if I can recall com 3 on the card to com 2 instead. The camera's are Sony 12X PTZ setup for the Pelco-D protocol. As for cabling, I am basically using an all in one cable that has the video signal, +/- RS485 and +24V.

 

I'm pretty sure the video feed and power are working since I can get video images, just no movement which leads me to believe something isn't right with the GV-Net card.. Thoughts???

[bike_rider 0]

Try com 4.

 

Have you done a lot of these before? What connections on the GV card did you connect to the cameras - specifically which wire to what connection. You might have them backwards.

[anchorjoe 0]

Actually, this is the 1st for this type application (PTZ install that is). I have tried com4 with no luck. As for wire connections, the RS485 wires are Orange and Yellow which through the harness are matched. On the GV-net card, I have Orange going to the "+" connection and Yellow going to the "-" connection. I am starting to wonder if there is a problem with the PCI serial card, so I am going to try a USB to serial adapter and see if that gains me any control. After that, I will probably try a higher guage wire for the RS485 lines and hope that works. The cables that inter-connects to the camera's are 120' long, and one camera has two of these (240') daisy chained together in which I already had to run a higher guage wire for power since I was loosing too much voltage on the line.

 

Aside from physically taking the camera down and directly connecting it to the PC, I'm afraid I may not have any other options. Thoughts?? Thanks.

[bike_rider 0]

What is the exact model of the camera? I can't google for the manual without.

 

Remember that transmit on the card connects to receive on the camera. Did you try just reversing the wires? Did you check continuity on the cable? Did you measure the voltage at the far end?

 

I don't know much about RS485 (my PTZ install with GV worked the first time - lucky me.), but wikipedia says thousands of feet should not be a problem and the voltage tolerances are liberal, so 18-22 gauge is probably fine IF that splice is good.

 

Does the camera manual say anything about termination?

[anchorjoe 0]

Camera Model is a Sony CD51W 12X Zoom Dome. I have not attempted to reverse the wires at this point. I have wired them up per the wiring schematic from the camera manual to match that of the wiring schematic of the GV-net card. Checking the wire continuity was the next step before actually running a higher guage wire. I honestly hadn't suspected this since the one camera that I am running the single harness isn't working either, I figured the likely-hood of having three bad harnesses was slim. Also, there is no mention of wire size over distance in the camera manual, but I did experience ~12-14V drop on the 240' cable on the power side (i.e. ~28-31V at the transformer and 16-17V at the terminal connection at the camera).

 

When I get back to the site this afternoon I will be doing the following:

1) Connect through the USB-Serial adapter.

2) Check continuity through the RS-485 wires

3) Reverse the wires if no activity after first two bullets

4) Test with higher guage wire.

 

I am going to hope that after these efforts something happens....

[anchorjoe 0]

UPDATE... Removed the old com port card from PCI slot, installed the USB to Serial adapter software then plugged in the adapter. System immediately saw the adapter and loaded the drivers. I was able to set the port assignment through the adapter utilities. Once this was done, I reconfigured the GeoVision S/W on the PTZ's to use the new port and I then plugged in the GV-Net card. From that point, I opened the GeoVision software and started the PTZ control panel. Upon selecting any of the control buttons, the camera responded beautifully.

 

Now through personal experience, anyone needing a com port option in relation to PTZ control, I highly recommend the Keyspan USB to Serial adapter. It does run about $40US, but well worth it. Very easy to use and head-ache reduction is huge with this adapter. I also picked this unit up at CompUSA and also found the same adapter available at a local OfficeMax store.

 

Thanks again for all the insight through this process and I hope my findings can assist others..

[ddisher 0]

Make sure your baud rates are set properly.

 

David Disher

Advanced Digital Security, Inc.