Soundy

If this is a proper time-lapse type surveillance VCR, it should have trigger inputs that you can connect to the PIR as well, so that the sensor is directly triggering the VCR to start and stop recording. Then the camera can just stay on all the time. We've used the wireless Optex motion sensors for a similar purpose (in our case, to trigger a loud siren as a door annunciator for a noisy shop) - the "base" unit has a form-C relay output that can be used to switch either open or closed when the sensor is triggered; that could be wired to the VCR's trigger input (assuming it has one) to do the job. If the VCR doesn't do it, you could still use the relay to toggle the camera power - just run one side of the camera's 12VDC/24VAC power feed through the normally-open terminal.

vin2install is correct. The DNS setup only needs to point to the router's WAN address (the IP supplied by your internet provider). That tells remote systems the address to connect to. At that point, the router sends the connection to the appropriate DVR based on the port you specify. For example, say your routers use LAN IPs 192.168.0.101 for DVR1, and 192.168.0.102 for DVR2. Assume the DVRs use only port 80 for a web-based remote client... you'd set up the router to forward port 80 directly to 192.168.0.101, then you might set it so "public port" 81 is forwarded to "private port" 80 at 192.168.0.102. To access the two systems then, you'd use something like http://paparaaapa.com:80 (or with no port number, 80 is assumed) to view DVR1, and http://paparaaapa.com:81 to access DVR2: the router sees the incoming connection on port 81 and knows to pass it on to the second DVR's IP.

Does the camera have a standard BNC video out? If so, just use that for video over coax... the old fashioned way What type of connector is the serial port? If it's a DB9, try just using pin 5 (ground) and pin 2 (receive) for serial data... connect those directly to a serial port on the PC using pin 5 (ground) and pin 3 (transmit): pin 5 to pin 5; pin 3 on the PC to pin 2 on the camera. You can use Cat5 for this, or Cat3, or 18/2, or station-Z, or just about any other kind of wire you want.

I've done it with beanie crimps (both standard and gel-filled), standard butt crimps, solder-and-heat-shrink, 110 patchbay blocks, BIX blocks, and just about every other method you could think of, with no noticeable effect on quality. Plain and simple, if you have a clean, solid electrical connection, you should have no problem.

10mm will give a fairly tight shot with a 1/4" sensor... how wide an area does it need to cover at that range? More importantly, what's your budget? Take a look at CNB's Mona Lisa line of cameras - they're a vandal-resistant 600TVL dome with outstanding low-light capabilities. You'll generally find them in the $250-$300 range.

You initially said that you OPENED these ports - what does that mean exactly? Did you open them in the firewall, or did you FORWARD them to the DVR's LAN IP? If you simply told the firewall to unblock those ports, then they're not going anywhere; you have to tell it to route the traffic on those ports to the DVR. I can't think of any normal instance where opening OR forwarding ports should allow you to access the MODEM from the outside. It's entirely possible to inadvertently set it up so you access the ROUTER settings, but not the modem.

The term "balun" comes from "balanced/unbalanced". Regular composite video cabling is unbalanced. What the balun does is create a balanced connection over the wire, which allows it to better reject and/or cancel noise. When you don't have a balun at both ends, the line isn't properly balanced. Switching which end the transformer unit is on, MAY improve things, but it's still not a proper balanced line. Ideally, yes, you need the transformers at both ends.

You are right, I have no idea what you are on about, I only posted a chart which tells one the IR distances at different wavelengths for 2 particular IR Illuminators. Ive used both of them, and I can tell you they work as specked, obviously with good professional Day Night cameras, and the IR light stayed the same distances regardless of the camera I used (neither being a bullet or dome camera, but all were CCTV cameras, not IP cameras). Note on the chart there is a line that says clearly - with Extreme IR cameras. You're really not paying attention to what Chris is saying, are you? Yes, the charts are bang-on... for good cameras. What they show, though, is of limited use for other cameras, be they particularly poor quality, or of extreme sensitivity. They're useful as a rough guideline in general practice, but the numbers are only valid for the cameras they specify (or those similar), AND they're only valid for those specific illuminators. Chris's statements aren't an indictment of those specific charts; they're a comment on the industry in general and the need for specs that can be applied to ALL cameras and illuminators. If the same sort of standards existed as we have for photography, for both cameras and for illuminators, you could pull those charts out and they'd be useful for anyone's illuminators, with any cameras.

Welcome, from sunny (but not quite as warm) Vancouver!

You'd have to go to either a TV, or a dedicated CCTV monitor to get composite in... either way, it won't be anywhere near this cheap and still have any level of quality (especially on the composite up-scaling). If you want the monitors to all look the same (so they line up clean and pretty o the desk) you'll need a composite/VGA adapter for the last one.

I'll second that, I like the ICM system... I just use the BNCs with my SealTite universal compression crimpers, but their kits are pretty nice, and their stripper and crimper tools seem really solid and work really smoothly. I wouldn't mind picking up a basic kit, just to have some assorted other connectors for those odd situations you run into now and then, but I don't think I could convince the boss on the cost-benefit I do have one beef with ICM though, and that's trying to get the BNCs out of those F*$#(&ing tubes!

They look pretty sexy, especially starting at $209! Only thing is, according to the specs page, they're VGA-in *only*, so your "intercom" system would have to either be computer-based, or use some sort of composite-to-VGA adapter to get a signal into it. Also, for me, I would prefer DVI at that size and resolution (assuming you run them all at native resolution - I certainly wouldn't want it any other way). I have a 22" Viewsonic running at its full 1680x1050, and there's a noticeable clarity and stability to using DVI over VGA. Not a critical thing in your case, but for guards that will be sitting staring at them for 8-hour shifts, it might be nicer. But again, you can't beat that price (plus free shipping!) for a 22", and they do look great with the thin bezel.

This is actually very common in low-to-mid-grade 12VDC cameras. You only start getting away from it in cameras that have built-in regulators, which most often means dual-voltage or 24VAC-only models. Bingo! In fact, if it's just a pair of straight-through wires, what you have isn't even a balun; it's a half-assed adapter and nothing more. If you paid more than $2 for it, you got ripped off.

It was my problem with unvc too....I just found the solution! (at least for me) On your deskttop GV-800 icon = Rightclick = Properties = Compatbility = Run in 256 colors How does reducing color depth affect the inability to display overlays??

720p isn't even megapixel resolution anymore.

Your answer is in the immediately preceding post.

So where in Canuckistan are you located?

Welcome, from Raincouver!

Any computers store will have cables, from a Best Buy to your little hole-in-the-wall shops... just check through them for the non-keyed types (the small shops are more likely to have something). I've simply drilled out the blocked hole at times (granted, that was for motherboards without the missing pin, so it may not work if your loop-through uses that pin).

Seconded for the CNB - a little over $200 but well worth the extra.

Second the recommendation on those CNB cameras; they're not IR, but really, built-in IR on perimeter cameras like that will be of limited usefulness at the range and field-of-view you're probably looking at. The CNBs are fantastic with minimal existing light.

Was it really necessary to create two different threads? viewtopic.php?f=1&t=20816&p=123972#p123972

In the days of film cameras, there was a physical shutter blocking light from reaching the film; the shutter speed was the amount of time the shutter remained open to expose the film to light. The faster the speed (1/100s is twice as fast, or half the time, of 1/50s), the less light hit the film, and the darker the photo. In terms of CCTV cameras, the "shutter" is electronic (ie. the amount of time the sensor collects data), but the concept is the same. Fast shutter = less light.

Have you checked the power consumption of a dedicated unit as well, for comparison? I doubt you'll find they use that much less than the PC. Stick with energy-efficient components when you build the PC and you should be good. Make sure to set it to turn off the monitor after a set time, and you can probably set it to spin down the hard drive after a while as well.

What sort of "VGA to composite converter" are you using? Something like an AverKey may do the job, as they're designed to display computer graphics on TVs for presentation purposes, and will take higher input resolutions.