glassman

Rory. I think I've come to the conclusion that Cop stuff is crap.. I'll check out the ones you suggested Thanks!

Tim How large an area would these light up and hve you used them outside? I bought a cop IR that is supposed to light up 10 meters distance and it don't even go 10 feet..

Thanks all for the info! Being something totally new to me there is a learning curve like anything else. I kept tinkering with the camere and also moved it down 2 feet and 4 feet to the right so it is away from the metal halide light it was over (man you can sure burn up HD space watching the bugs going for the light!) that brought the camera down far enough to allow me to get the whole length of the drive and I kept fooling with the focus until I got it pretty darned good. Also AVconsulting mentioned the resolution and I found the video recording was set default to low end and changed it to the 640x480 . I also just added a 2nd camera to the other end of the garage to get a different angle. Its a Nuvico 480tvl bullet D/N with built in leds and a varifocal lens Looks pretty good also. Between the 2 cameras I have the whole area covered. Now onto the rest of the shops etc when I get more $$.. Byron... BTW Rory the spec sheet in the manual says its 420, the next model down the CB24 is a 380...

It's a COP 15-CB25NV-IR with a Rainbow L298AVDC4P varifocal lens. This is on the outside garage wall aprox 12' high in an enclosure. Car is parked in the middle of a 20x20 driveway. I seem to get good focus right in the center area but I'd like to get great focus on the whole drive. Seems to work fine early morning and at night. Garage is on the west side so I get a lot of washout with the sun from sy 11am-8pm. If I move the zoom to right on the car only it gives me a good picture but I am trying to get the whole drive and part of the alley. Maybe I need a different lens or a 2nd camera to get 2 different angles to help with the sun problem? BTW I'm using a dedicated P4 system with 2-160 gig drives, 512k ram, ATI 9600-128mb and a 17" monitor with a Geovision 650 8 camera card Since my 1st post I have gotten it a bit clearer using a 14" tv up on a ladder to focus it..but it's still not what I want.. I want the whole areaand good and clear... Shouldn't the auto iris keep it from washing out? Maybe I also need to move the camera down to get a better angle to take in more area? I put it that high to keep kids from smacking it with whatever.. Byron... Almost forgot. The cable I'm using is a 'plug and play' COP cable so it's not coax, it's like a rca cable with the video,audio and power all in one. It's 70 feet long

Thanks all.. It worked fine. Only problem is I still can't seem to get the quality of video I want. For instance some kid went over to the wife's car looked in and tried the door to try and get it... I got it on video but cant see it good enough to tell who it is...Maybe I have the wrong lens or something.

Hey all... I've been trying to set a variable lens with the help of my wife. It aint working! Can I hook a small tv directly to the camera at its location to make my adjustments before plugging it back into the system? This is a home sytem and I really can't justify spending $$ for a portable test monitor that will be used just for my home.. Byron

I might be to late for this install but next time try an X-10 PRO model # XPCR system coupler repeater. Works for 220 single phase or 3 phase and if I remember right I paid around $80 for it.. Byron

Hey all... I'm new here. Looks like lotsa good info in this place. I'm just now setting up a cctv system for my home and home based business (with several shops). Neighborhood is going downhill and I want to increase security. Here is what I've got to start with: Ordered the following to build a dedicated computer: P4 2.0 ghz with asus p4p800 MB 2- 160 gig HDs 512 MB ram ati radeon 9600 w 128mb Also bought a geovision 60fps 8 camera card Bought 1 swann day night camera from frys just to get something started. Now then I've been looking at hundreds of cameras until my head is about to explode in all sorts of shapes, sizes and prices. I just want to record when motion is detected. Does the camera itself need to have a motion detector or does the geo card take care of that (havent gotten the equipment in yet)? What would be good choices for cameras that are color day/night? I really cant see any reason for zoom or pan. I'll be using about 5-6 cameras to cover the front door, drive and the shops. Thanks in advance! Byron..