abelm688

Control of the older models can be done using plain RS232 by wiring the RS232 pins on the camera to a standard 9pin serial cable. Pin 4 (RS232 ground) on the camera = Pin 5 on a DB9 serial port connector Pin 5 (RS232 TX) on the camera = Pin 2 (Receive Data) on a DB9 Pin 6 (RS232 RX) on the camera = Pin 3 (Transmit Data) on a DB9 I have not tried this (yet), but since RS232 is functional from the camera, I would expect you could use an inexpensive RS232 to RS485 adapter at the camera to achieve an RS485 connection.

I just finished writing a control program for Panasonic CS854s. My DVR naturally didn't support the menu functions on these particular cameras, and I found the lack of configuration options in the ZMX program frustrating. My program is very similar to ZMX, but with the added ability to change communication ports and settings as well as camera ID's. I also included the Auto-Focus command mentioned in a previous post in this thread, as well as a custom command option. http://www.abel-tech.net/view_file.php?id=15 I hope someone finds some uses for it. It is still under development, and I am open to suggestions. EDITED: URL updated on 1/11/11

My RS485 adapter came in today, and I managed to find the RS485 pins on the CS854. Back (solder point) view of the DIP switch board 1 - Alarm Input 2 2 - Alarm Input 1 5 - RS485 D/T+ 7 - RS485 D/T- 8 - Alarm Input 3 9 - Alarm Input 4 10 - Alarm Output 2 11 - Alarm Output 1 12 - Alarm Ground 13 - Video Signal 14 - Video Ground My RS485 adapter is only capable of 2 wire (half-duplex) operation, so I did not look for the other 2 pins needed for 4 wire operation. I have all three of my cameras operating using half duplex mode on the Panasonic protocol using only pins 5 and 7. To set the camera to half-duplex, set DIP switches 2,3, and 4 on the small bank to ON. I used 9600,8,N,1 to test and configure my cameras. Detailed information can be found in the CS854 manual starting at page 45. http://www.abelm-tech.net/downloads/CS854.pdf If your DVR does not support the Panasonic protocol, you can use the program at the link below to test your RS485, as well as to access the camera's OSD. http://www.zmx.com.au/software.htm I also wrote a PTZ control program for these cameras that is a little more flexible. It can be also be found at my personal website, along with more detailed information on the pinouts. Power and Video Pins: http://www.abel-tech.net/view_article.php?id=5 RS485 Pins and Mounting: http://www.abel-tech.net/view_article.php?id=6 PTZ Control Program: http://www.abel-tech.net/view_file.php?id=15 I hope this helps. Matthew Abel EDITED: Added alarm pins and updated URLs on 1/11/11

I also bought some of these cameras on E-Bay without bases, and have assembled some pinout info. It is difficult to discuss the pins on these units without the aid of pictures, but I'll give it a go here. Power is NOT supplied through the black 14-pin connector. An above poster mentioned large traces on the connecter PCB, but these are NOT power. Power is supplied via the 3 larger hooks on the bottom. Looking at the bottom of the unit, connectors at the top, the pin to the immediate right of the connector is Neutral on 24VAC models, the pin on the bottom is Hot/Line, and the other pin is a ground (you do not need to wire to this one). From this same orientation (bottom view, connector centered at the top), the top 2 pins on the right-hand column are the video output. Top pin ground/shield, next pin down is the video signal. Detailed information and photos are available on my personal web site at: http://www.abel-tech.net/view_article.php?id=5 My RS485 adapter has not came in yet, so I cannot offer any advice about control pins at this time. Hope this helps. ___________ Matthew Abel