Hi,

I'm just wondering if I could use Telephone wire to power 12v cameras? I'm using RG59 cables for transmit my video.

Thanks

yes you can. but if you have not got your cable yet (rg59) why not buy it with power in it .... in the uk its called shotgun.....or siamese

make sure you put a fuse inline, solid core has a habit of snapping etc...

Yes. We usually use four-conductor "station wire" for power alongside RG59, which is probably pretty similar to what you're looking at. You can also use 18/2, 16/2, Cat3, Cat5, or anything else with at least two conductors of thick enough gauge to handle the current needs. Heck, you could even use a separate coax run for power... just be careful not to mix them up with the video runs!

Since the telephone wire has 4 cables in it how many would I use? Just 2 one for positive and one for negative?

I'd recommend doubling the conductors, standard phone wire can be a little thin for some cameras' current requirements. We typically use the red and yellow together for positive, and the green and black together for negative.

Thanks for your help

Simply, NO!!
Buy 18awg and do it properly.
If you are dealing with cheap cameras with low power consumption it will most likely work though. I cant tell you how many jobs Ive been to where the idiots used 2 pair telco wire doubled up and were wondering why at night time the Camera was going blank ... use the right wire the first time or dont do it at all.

I have to agree with rory. Why cheap out the job? If you run siamese you will save something on labor not to mention it is eaiser to hook up single 18 ga and keep the polarity correct than messing with phone wire. Just about anything will get the volatage to the camera but does it look professional?

Does POE use one pair or multiple pairs for power?

Best,
Christopher

The OP is asking about power on multi-stranded small gauge solid core wire. POE has power on multi-stranded small gauge solid core wire. Just trying to understand the options by exploring similar techniques.

Best,
Christopher

the OP is talking about powering a 12VDC CCTV Camera using 2 pair 4 conductor solid core 24awg wire, POE has nothing to do with CCTV cameras.

PoE is also 48VDC (nominal), which means 1/4 the current draw of 12VDC (for the same power requirements) and thus less loss over an equivalent distance.

Nevertheless, the original question was whether one "COULD use telephone wire", and the answer is, simply, YES.

Whether that's a GOOD idea is a whole other question.

Thanks. I checked the IEEE specification and as I suspected the power is supplied on two pairs (4 wires). However, as you note, the current is significantly less for the same power. In any case, the recommended wire is cheap and it's falling-off-a-log easy just to do it right the first time.

Best,
Christopher

Tell you what, let him go try to power some Extreme Infrared Cameras using telco and come back and let us know how it goes.



I "COULD" jump off a 10 storey building, but I dont think its a great idea, and so I will say so when the topic comes up, if thats okay?