mike_va

Thanks! Short answer is that I design satellite power systems and this is a hobby. Made those as I could not buy what I wanted: something that would not look out of place on the house (and I've spent a lot of time staring at the house trying to figure out where to put that big Raytec where it would not stick out like a sore thumb) AND be high quality (i.e. having an appropriate thermal design and derating for long life (rules out ebay units) AND provide telemetry AND level adjustment AND have a decent coverage angle.

I had a 484 and a BBM24F in the same spot for a while. Much better low light (and IR sensitivity) on the CNB. I would say by at least a factor of 2x if not more. 484 is great with backlighting, much better colors (especially blacks and reds) and nicer overall picture. Plus you get the auto back focus when it switches over. The 484 feels like a more solid camera.

If it was not proprietary wiring I might play with it. Just not worth it with the Revo since it was a lousy camera.

Another approach I'm playing with, made this myself for ~ $25. 105 LED's, run them at a fraction of rated current for low junction temps and long life.

I run a combo of fluorescent spots and IR (Raytec and CNB), on all the time. Depends if you think you can count on the motion detect to work reliably, in all conditions.

I have a few Flukes. I blew one up (my own fault) years ago and they fixed it free of charge. The only subtlety is that if you are using it to check sensitive low level circuits, some Fluke models can generate excess voltage (e.g. >5V) in the resistance mode.

I know someone at work that uses internet notification of alarms for his house, and was worried about someone cutting the cable (thus losing internet). He wired up a cable (completely accessible) that was hooked to the alarm system. I wonder if you could do something similar with the camera, wired into the alarm so if it was removed it would go off. Yep, in the city they would not care about a $50 camera. Don't go overboard on the booby traps or the idiot may sue you...

In addition to what was mentioned, transformers do not wear out. I have transformers that are 80 years old and work fine. Nor do they fail in a manner that takes out a bunch of cameras like a 12V PS made from questionable parts in some cases.

If you absolutely cannot move you can use a IR pass filter to block the visible light

I have a ton of autoiris lenses here, and I have a Watec camera that does not do autoiris. I bought one of the sockets from digikey, and put a resistor in series with the 12V supply to prop the iris open. I think I used 2 200 Ohm resistors (I can check if there is interest), easy enough to try with a pot though. Probably only good for setting it open, I doubt if it would be stable over temp at some intermediate setting. If you already have a good auto iris lens and you're trying to get a camera to have a higher shutter speed it can be useful also.

Someone can probably get you the pinout for that assuming you are happy with the DVR so that you can use other cameras.

Yep, that's what we've ended up doing. A few years back I realized I could not make out a license plate with the Lorex we had and we said what is the point. This forum has been invaluable, and Vlado's book also. Thus began the journey and still a work in progress: 3x megapixel front of the house (Axis P3344, Arecont 3135, Pan 502), 2x Axis P1344 back and 11x analog (mostly Bosch 495's) into Axis 241/243 encoders...all crunched by Vitamin D on a quad core i7 (all that and still only ~20-25% processor at about 1A of draw). Pan 502 is also recorded at 3MP on a Synology, just do 640x480 on that with Vitamin D. No problem making out plates at 3MP. The i7 does an even better job than the Athlon quad core we started with at less power draw. At some point as an experiment I may try running some NVR software at the same time on the i7. I think we are still under your top number but have not added it up lately. Still waiting for a better low light IP camera though... Anyway we just needed a decent bullet for the corner of the house where there wasn't a mounting spot (and I did not want a big camera or enclosure there). The DVR that came with the box system has been deployed as backup to the main rig if the computer dies (the Axis 241's have a buffered video out). You know, if one wants an inexpensive system and can live w/ B&W buy some used Bosch LTC0355 for $5 ea on ebay, a few CNB MIR illuminators and a cheap DVR (there have been recommendations already on this forum). Actually that Qsee camera I tested has a better picture during the day than the CNB (not hard, the CNB's DSP seems to get tricked sometimes if there is a large range of light and dark in the same picture). However, the CNB I at least felt was sturdy and had the potential of lasting longer (in addition to being reasonably priced and having good IR sensitivity). I do wish they would design in a little bit of soft start on their internal DCDC converters on those cameras though, huge inrush current. The Qsee longevity will remain to be seen, but Costco has a very good return policy on them.

FWIW, I've tried 3 different Lorex camera systems over the years and they are easily surpassed. Here's the latest one, including comparison to some more expensive cameras. One of the inexpensive Qsee cameras was not too bad. viewtopic.php?f=5&t=26653 The one DVR I had of theirs since returned to Costco (this was a few years ago) was pretty marginal.

I only see one Samsung at Costco where the specify the lens angle at 3.6mm on 1/3" sensor which is only good for an overview. With analog cams you only have so many pixels to play with. The Qsee I played with had a 5mm on 1/3", there are calculators online that allow you to figure out what lens to get. Pretty unusual to see more than 5mm on the box systems.

They carry Qsee which has one camera that is not too bad viewtopic.php?f=5&t=26653 Also has some comparisons to more expensive Bosch cameras. Qsee has a bad reputation for having some/many poor models. The smaller bullets are however a lot easier to deploy around the house aesthetically. I've not played with that DVR.

Was not quite sure where to post this. Flood light is on the second story of the house, interior lights are off (except possibly one light in the basement). Camera is a CNB BBM24F into an old Axis 2400. 11W LED: Phillips Ambient LED 3000K indoor flood model 11E26PAR30L $50 (418 Lumens) 8W LED: Ecosmart 3000K dimmable PAR20 (866623) $25 (350 Lumens) normal 65W PAR (enough light to keep in color with IR filter) darkness (next post)

Nope, seems to be about the same. Bumped the lens adjustments so not an exact comparison.

Found inside a camera C-CS adaptor on a Tamron IR lens. Seems to block a lot of the light at night.

Adam: nice post, thanks

Another way (if you like tinkering) is something like this: http://www.arcfn.com/2009/11/controlling-your-stereo-over-web-with.html I've done this (before I had any Axis 241S) and then used a IR relay board (around $50) which I've interfaced with the house lighting (Lutron RadioRa). Lastly, if you search around there are also other recommendation for IP based relay boards that have been mentioned on the forum in the past.

If you can't get the DVR to work, I think you can do it with an Axis 241S (used around $100 ea). Here is a diagram from the manual, and I've added one of the four switches to the livepage in the second pic (upper left "output 1"). Disclaimer: I've not tried it...

And lastly, the Bosch with the flood and using the various cameras as IR "filler". Does a nice job of getting light back to that oak.

For these three the flood is off. The distance to the oak is 45ft. The results are very similar to the first test, with Cam2 having the best picture (compared to Cam1 and Cam3).

Some more pics, starting with a baseline of a Bosch LTC0495 (I can't remember if it was set to 2x sense up or not) lit by a 23W fluorescent flood. This one is mounted under the deck...

I think it depends on the model. I noticed your previous post, and you're right that's pretty bad viewtopic.php?f=5&t=26231 There is quite a lot of variation in most of these inexpensive cams, and it sounds like you bought a not so good Qsee model (CMOS is usually not a good sign for low light). Qsee and Lorex as you've pointed out are not OEM's and just put their labels on other manufacturer's cameras etc. I don't know what the story on Gadspot is, it's not a brand I am familiar with. Specs need to be taken with a grain of salt. Still it's always fun to read what the manufacturer says, as a starting place. For it's intended purpose the Qsee QSM5265C (cam2) does a really good job keeping an eye on the tomatoes, over 5 feet tall this year