Soundy

Not any more. Note the ad to the left: that's a 2MP weatherproof dome. The same vendor has an NVR that will record up to 16 of them at full 1080p resolution, up to a total of 120fps, for $450 (or up to 240fps total at 720p). For $165 they have an eight-port switch, with four of the ports supporting PoE, so you just plug the cameras in, no need to run separate power to them. Once you factor in the cost of a power supply and such, it really doesn't cost THAT much more for the megapixel system... and you get the higher resolution which *in some cases* means you can use one camera in place of two.

I suspect the potential in the building was working against that from the power supply - ie. power supply was at 12VDC, but lifting the relative earth ground to 8V meant the camera was only seeing 4V when grounded. Simply applying a battery wouldn't do anything because one terminal of the battery would have to connect somehow to the camera's own power ground... doing that would require access to either the inside of the camera, or the camera's power supply... either of which makes it easy enough to disable the camera without using a battery.

Ran into something similar recently... IQA11 dome on the outside of a building would go down... came back after a power cycle... go down again a day or so later. Camera was in the sun and had obviously been running very hot (part of the plastic inside was deformed) so we figured it was hooped and replaced it with a HIK dome. That went down about two hours after I left the site... Came back to site, pulled the camera off... and it came back to life. After much fiddling, it really appeared to be a loose connection, as it would drop off as soon as I twisted the dome into its wall bracket. Then I discovered that it would drop within seconds of even TOUCHING its bracket... which was attached with 3" deck screws through the Alucobond shell, through an air gap, and into the plywood behind (Alucobond is "a light composite material consisting of two aluminium cover sheets and a plastic core"). So I pulled out the multimeter... and found a reading of 8VDC, and 4.5VAC, between the bracket and Alucobond, and the ground on my power connector. Whoa... 12VDC power to the camera is through a 1A regulator board, fed from one channel of the 24VAC power can. Tried removing the ground lug on the power supply's cord, to no avail. No idea where this potential was coming from, but it sure ain't normal. No HV power lines around like in OP's case though. Ultimately, I drilled out larger screw holes through the Alucobond (so the screws wouldn't contact it), put heat-shrink tubing over the upper shaft of the deck screws (to insulate them from the Alucobond and bracket), slipped a rubber O-ring over the screw as well (to isolate the screw head from the bracket), and cut out a cardboard gasket to go between the bracket and the Alucobond. I still had a very small (0.8VDC) potential between the bracket and power ground, but it was sufficiently isolated so the camera worked again...

What sort of "digital" camera are you thinking of? Most analog-output cameras are "digital" internally, at least in part.

Possible... but have you eliminated a power issue by upgrading the one camera's power supply? If the troublesome position's power run is longer or for some reason shows slightly higher resistance, the problem would remain with that position - again, it really sounds like a "perfect storm" of borderline power components.

^That's amazing - with the analog camera, the minivans aren't even visible. The extra detail with the megapixel really makes a difference!

Ever think about just getting a big hungry dog? You can put together a pretty good 8-camera analog setup for your budget, but you'll have to consider your placements carefully. You can do at least some megapixel if you can expand your budget to about $3000.

A couple thoughts, if you run into it again and get sick of sending it back... One, bring it inside, open it up in the driest area you can find, and give it a good clearing out with a blow dryer set on low. Scrounge a silica gel desiccant pack, like the kind that comes with many electronics, and find somewhere to fit it inside the camera body. Then when re-assembling the camera, put some Vaseline or similar petroleum jelly on all the seals and gaskets to help them maintain a solid seal and prevent them from drying out.

Well if you want to keep things REALLY clean, this is what I've been using on the last couple big jobs (28-32 cameras): http://www.easterncctv.com/accessories/ev16p-vps.htm - combined PSU and balun unit (four- and eight-channel models available as well). http://www.easterncctv.com/accessories/ev01p-vp-t.htm on the camera end - just snip the barrel off and tie the wires into the camera's screw terminals. The only other thing you need there are short BNC jumper cables to connect the VPS to the DVR: http://www.easterncctv.com/accessories/cc6200.htm Just terminate your Cat5e runs with RJ-45s (be sure to maintain proper T-568A/B wiring) and plug'em in. Note: these guys are wholesalers; you'll need to contact them about a local dealer. That aside... the other baluns we mostly use (as seen in the photos) are these: http://bit.ly/jzxBih - they fit nicely inside the VCM back-box.

Okay, well, 24V @ 24VA is 1A, over 18 AWG at 170' gives you a bit over 2V drop at maximum draw. It SHOULD be okay... but it's borderline. The behavior does sound like a power-drop issue, like it's just skirting the lowest voltage it will work with, and at times it's dropping just enough for the camera module to drop out. If you have a 20-24VA power supply, that could be the issue too, as its output will drop once you pass its capacity... and as the transformer's output voltage drops, your loss over the wire will increase exponentially. It sounds like a combination of factors, powering the thing with the bare minimum requirements, and when it hits that ceiling, you get that "perfect storm". At the very least, try increasing the transformer to a 40VA model, perhaps even one that does 28VAC output... see if that doesn't cure your problem.

You can get baluns that have RJ45 jacks and split out to BNC and pigtails... but I just do it like this: Heavier by a whisker 23 AWG vs 24), but not necessary. Considering these cameras can be happily powered at 12V over a single 24AWG pair, which is pretty much the lowest you can go... yeah, not needed. Certainly not worth the added expense.

16VA *minimum*, but what is the maximum? The more current the camera draws, the more voltage will drop... with the PT motors running, it's going to be drawing a lot more current than at a standstill. With 24VAC input, 16VA will be 0.67A, but if that's a MINIMUM, what's the MAXIMUM it will need? With 24VAC input, assuming 1A (24VA), you're going to see about 5.5V drop over 22 AWG, meaning you only get 18.5V at the camera. Ultimately, that wire is way too small to be powering a PTZ. You want to use AT LEAST 18 AWG, preferably 16.

You actually potentially get better noise rejection, as the twisted pair is designed to reject outside interference, and the baluns form a balanced line, which further serves to reject interference. Passive baluns allow video distances up to 800-1000m, further with active baluns; video over RG-59 is generally only good to about 300m before you start getting signal degradation. Not that you're going to be anywhere near that... Power also isn't a problem, especially since the 24VFs have very low power consumption (2.2W, or 180mA max at 12VDC; far less at 24VAC). I've successfully run two 24VFs over a single Cat5e run at around 200' - one pair each for video, one pair each for power. Of course, it's safer to use two or three pairs for power, but these cameras don't need it.

Personally, I prefer to use Cat5e with baluns - it's cheaper than Siamese, far easier to work with, and more versatile, as it allows for easy upgrade to IP cameras in the future.

You should get a few months on that, especially if you keep the framerates down. I'll have to double-check, but I think you can configure it to record constantly at a lower framerate, and kick up to a higher rate when motion is detected. If it's solid copper core and 95% or better copper braided shield, sure. If it's foil shield or copper-clad center core, I'd avoid using it if possible.

Also: http://www.panasonic.com/business/security/demos/PSS-recording-rates.html Lower framerates do start to be "choppier"... they also take a lot less space. 7fps will take about 1/4 the storage space of 30fps.

^That looks like it would do the job... far more efficiently. To do this with a multiplexer would require some sort of DVI-A or VGA to composite adapter... on every client machine. AverKey is a well-known brand for this, but they aren't cheap - anywhere from $50 to $300 depending on the exact model. 16 stations at $50 each is $800 right there.

Same camera, with motion-activated light. Think of it this way: imagine you're someone breaking into the garage... you're probably going to be prowling around with a flashlight. If a light comes on, the first thing you're going to think is, "oh crap, I wonder if I've been spotted" and you'll look toward the source of the light to see if someone's there. If there's a camera beside or near that light... you're going to be looking right at it. Better yet, for inside: put some or all of you your regular garage lighting on a motion sensor, then put the camera right above the door. Dude comes in, triggers the lights, turns around to bolt out the door... and you've got him. Something like this also means you don't have to fumble around for the switch when YOU go in the garage at night: IR may allow you to watch him skulking about in the dark with his flashlight, and you might able to watch him taking things... it won't necessarily help you identify him if he keeps his head down. A bright light coming on will make him look around, thus improving your chances of catching his face... and ideally, it simply scares him off without actually taking anything. And if he does stay and take something, you have a much clearer, full-color picture of it.

I actually have one just attached to the aluminum soffitt with sheet-metal screws... it sags a little but it's on there. You can put a wood plate behind to secure it better. Or if you're feeling ambitious, drill a 3-1/4" hole through the soffitt with a hole saw, so you can flush-mount the camera. I like to cut a 4x4" piece of plywood, drill a 3-1/4" hole in the middle, then cut it in half, slip the two halves up through the hole, an align them like a back-plate. Couple short screws through the soffitt into each piece of wood to hold it in place, then you have a solid backing to screw the camera into. They are, although if you're using motion lighting, it should rarely come on anyway, so it's not a big concern. Yeah, look at the 7th/8th posts in this thread

This camera is the one we've been talking about: http://www.cctvsecuritypros.com/1sosuhadccdu.html - same camera, they just tacked their own prefix on the model number. However, their price is insane - "regular price" $460, "your price" $240?? How about "regular price" $149 for the EXACT SAME CAMERA? http://www.123securityproducts.com/vbm24vf.html This is what I'm talking about, these BS prices that places use to make you think they're giving you some kind of special bargain (just because they like you so much, I'm sure).

So anyway... yes, those are good cameras, and will give you good picture with minimal ambient light. Adding a couple motion-activated flood lights to the area may be enough of a deterrent in itself, although if the culprit is laying his poisons too far away from the house, they may not pick him up and turn on.

Could still be a power issue, if the voltage is dropping just enough for the camera module itself to shut off but nothing else. What size wire are you running, and what's the distance? What are the power (watt) or current ratings for the cameras?

I've used external drives with Vigil before, it's worked fine... just make sure the ports and the drive are both USB 2.0 or better; USB 1.1 won't be fast enough.