Soundy

Is that all-copper RG6? Foil or braided shield?

RDeSmet is correct - 568A or B both use only the green and orange pairs for data for 10/100Mbit, so the other two pairs can be used for power - it's cheesy and ghetto-fab, but it should work. 12VDC should be fine over two pairs for only 20M. (The difference between A and B, BTW, is in the orientation of the two pairs - 568A puts green on pair 1 and orange on pair 2; 568B reverses those... a cable with A on one end and B on the other is effectively a crossover cable.)

What is the make and model of the camera?

No idea what "T3000" means (can you provide make and model of this lens?) but in both cases, the second number refers to the smallest aperture of the lens, and as far as CCTV cameras go, f/22 means it's effectively closed... anything higher just means it's more closed. It would be very rare you'd want the lens closed down that much anyway, so ultimately, I don't think that factor would make a difference in your lens choice.

If you're using an NVR, I assume that means network cameras... meaning Power-over-Ethernet is the preferred way to go. Pick up a small PoE-capable switch, plug your cameras in, and you're good to go!

Sounds like the DVR is failing, which kind of negates everything else you're trying to do.

That link requires a login - how about just a make and model of the unit you're referring to? For an analog service monitor, I just use a portable DVD player with an A/V input - similar to this: For IP cameras and remote access, I carry a netbook (Asus EEEPC model) - small, light, great on battery life, easy to read even in bright sunlight with an LED screen.

Well, you CAN (at least in the current version) right-click the plan and go "Save image" - skips the clipboard step. But you're right, export functions are extremely limited, and if you're working on a smaller screen (netbook), you end up with a very small picture.

Here, this might do the trick: http://www.bomara.com/WTI/rps10hd.htm This looks even better: http://www.remotepowerswitch.com/rps2.htm

Back in the day, when I ran a dial-in BBS, I had a high-speed modem that locked up on occasion... had a little box that I could phone into and punch a code to trigger a switched power outlet and cycle power to the modem. Couldn't tell you for the life of me now, what it was called or who made it... let alone whether it's still available outside of a museum. Something like that would do the trick, though - assuming the door is using an electric strike or maglock, just plug the power supply for the lock into the box. Just googled "remote dial-in power switch" and got a whole buncha stuff that looks promising... give that a try

That camera won't even come close. If you want to get plates *reliably*, you're going to need to zoom in to an area no wider than 6' (maybe 10' at the outside). Going by this lens calculator(http://www.isorainbow.com/lens_calc.htm), at a distance of 30m (100'), you're going to need an 80mm lens to get a 6' width of view. Even at 10', you'd need a 48mm lens. Extend that distance to 40m (130'), you're looking at a 62mm lens to get a 10' wide area; 104mm to get it down to 6'.

Yes... although you need models with screw terminals of some sort for different wire types. Internally though, they are the same.

The traveller cable is made up of an assortment of wires, some for communication, twisted pair on the newer travellers and an assortment of whatever on the older ones. Basically it is considered UTP and you would use a passive balun on each end. Even the older ones from the 80s and earlier work remarkably well. ^This. The traveler cable is typically either a bundle, or a single multi-core cable, that contains wiring for the in-car emergency phone, controls, alarm button, and so on. There are usually extra pairs available in this bundle, and baluns will work over just about any pair you can find (twisted or not). Almost all cars will have AC power available on the car as well, primarily for lighting, but some will have an outlet on the roof, that can be used to power a camera... if they don't, an electrician can probably install one for you.

Here's where I'll inject a common piece of advice I give: consider standard (non-IR) cameras coupled with motion-activate flood lights in the key areas. If someone is lurking around in the dark, the last thing they want is to be discovered. If a bright light snaps on, chances are good that it's going to scare them away. At the very least, the natural reaction is to look for the source of the light (to see if there's someone there), which then nicely illuminates the prowler's face... and with white light, which will give nice, clear, COLOR images. If you mount the cameras and lights near each other, it also means they're looking at the camera, and you have a greater chance of getting a good straight-on face shot. But like ilk says, this is only good for evidence afterward - if someone does actually start a fire, it does nothing to actually protect you or your family.

That's probably more a matter of the power runs simply dropping too much voltage over that length, moreso than the PSU not supplying enough current. Doubling the voltage to 24VAC reduces the current requirements by about half, and thus reduces the losses by about half. But... but... it's not possible to have the whole box be bad! Or so I've been told... Actually sounds quite similar to the bottling plant we did... fortunately we didn't have to run over the operating production lines, but we did have to go over the shipping/receiving area and the constant stream of forklifts driven by complete maniacs. Been there, done that, got the (very dirty!) T-shirt!

+1 Anyone that does alot of upgrade or service work surely has done alot of solid splicing in their time. Or dealing with electricians that run the cable to the wrong spot, or camera has to be moved for whatever reason and well client does not have endless funding. Also good points. OF COURSE the ideal solution when you have a broken run, or one you need to extend, is to pull all the old wire out and pull in some new stuff. How often is that really feasible? Try dealing with gas stations where the conduit to the pumps has been sealed with 6+ inches if chico, and just see how easy it is to extract that old wire...

Huh? If you gotta go through all of that you better have enough manpower and be running pulling line till you get to the point of where you have everything figured out and can make the final pull in one shot while having the help at the difficult points nursing the cable along. "Enough manpower." Right. And what do you do when that exceeds a "reasonable" point? If I'd had to do the aforementioned bottling plant with a single pull, some runs would have required (NO EXAGGERATION!) six guys, five of them on lifts. I mean yeah, that woulda been great, zip through the whole job in no time... however, since we're normally a crew of two, that would mean hiring four subs and renting three extra lifts for the day. And don't forget the constant flow of forklifts zipping around - with two of us and a single lift, it was possible to stay out of the way for the most part... any more than that, the client would never have gone for the level of disruption. I've said it before: sometimes you have to do what you have to do to keep things "reasonable"; the ideal situation is rarely possible.

Windows backup?

What are you thinking of in the way of "testers"? Something like just a service monitor for analog cameras? Something for IP cameras? Something that tests cable as well?

Only problem with this thinking is, what happens if the DVR is destroyed in the fire? A CCTV system has lots of uses, but it's not really the most effective thing for fire PREVENTION. I don't know who you've been talking to, but this is completely backward: there is a WIDE range in quality of cameras - in design, build, features, and especially in image quality. Although there are some very good broad-use, general-purpose cameras, there is no one-size-fits-all type, and certain situations may require specific models. Probably a bit of overkill, but looks like a decent unit. Interesting, trying to find a manufacturer for the machine, I found "Tigon Security", who are a Surrey, BC-based company, but they don't list any specific products (then again, "Tigon" seems to be a pretty generically-used term). Someone else here may be able to look at the pictures of it and identify an actual manufacturer. How much are you expecting to spend for cameras? No. A typical camera will draw at most 500mA at 12V... which translates into 50mA at 120V. All told, cameras and losses, your power supply shouldn't pull more than an amp or so from your house circuit. I wouldn't worry about something else tripping the circuit (I don't think I've ever had that happen!) but if you really want to be sure, just plug the power can into a battery-backup UPS (your DVR should be on one anyway). BNC... crimp on, compression, or twist-on, whatever works for you, or whatever is readily available.

For the cost of parts and labor to repair that, it would probably be cheaper just to buy a whole new system...

Welcome! Where in BC are you?

You can use a splitter to send the same display to two monitors... it's not possible to send two different displays out of one output. If the DVR has a spot output, you could use that to send a different feed to a second monitor. Other than that, the only way to get two different displays, controllable individually, is with at least one computer with a remote/web viewer.

Holy smokes, that looks ghetto-fab... like someone built their own PT assembly and attached a standard box cam to it, then wedged the whole thing inside a pendant dome housing. Offhand, I would say good luck finding an actual manufacturer or model name for that thing - I think the manufacturer is "Joe's Workshop". Once it arrives, you might be able to get some manufacturer names off the various components...

Probably best to power the camera locally then (adapter near the camera). If you're using baluns, passive should be okay for 1/4 mile, but getting upwards of a mile, you may need to go active at both ends.