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vmgtlexi

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Posts posted by vmgtlexi

  1. Posted

    So, here are the big results of replacing my 12VDC 5A PSU with a 24VAC 12.5A PSU....

     

    First, you should know that the camera in question in this thread worked perfectly for over 48 hours while on my old 12VDC PSU with only 3 cameras total on that PSU. In other words, when I removed 2 cameras from the load, this SCO-2080R seemed to work fine.

     

    So, today I installed my Altronix ALTV 248300UL3 PSU. It is 24VAC 12.5A 8-output.

     

    I hooked my 5 cameras up to it (all of which supposedly draw 1A or less, even with IR on).

     

    Within 5 minutes of everything being hooked back up, this SCO-2080R (the one that started this thread) experienced power loss!!! All voltage measures good on both ends.

     

    So, despite being hopeful that this was an issue of the camera being under-powered, I don't think we can say that any longer.

     

    Effing Amazing. I QUIT.

     

    And, Samsung is about to get an earful from me.

  2. Posted

    Thanks.

     

    I saw the Tapcons at Home Depot today. The instructions say to use a hammer drill. I don't have a hammer drill. I have a nice Ridgid drill/driver, but not a hammer drill. Sounds like in your experience my drill should be fine as long as on slow speed.

     

    I bought some Tapcons anyway, along with some 77-pound rated plastic anchors with #10 screws. I got the Tapcon drill bit too.

     

    My cinder blocks are hollow, I think. Seems that would provide less support for Tapcons and more support for the heavy duty plastic anchors.

     

    Anyway, this box is only 12 pounds. Probably either solution will work since I'll have 4 anchor points for the box.

     

    Not sure which route I'll go. Will need to study it some more.

  3. Posted

    Any suggestions on wall anchors to use to hang my new Altronix power supply? It weighs around 12 pounds.

     

    It will be installed in cinder blocks! And, I like to over-engineer things with more than enough support so there will never be a problem with it coming loose.

     

    In addition to anchor suggestions, should I screw it into the block itself or the mortar in between?

     

    Thanks!

  5. Posted

    True day/night cameras aren't magic. They cannot create light where this is none. They still require some small degree of ambient light to present a usable image. I agree with Soundy. If you can have a night light or something like that, a "day/night" camera might work. If you do not want to, or cannot, install any ambient light and it is basically a totally dark area, you will need IR. IR images will be in black & white; just so you know you will lose color.

     

    Also, with some powerful IR cams in smaller spaces, there can sometimes be too much reflection off the subject causing a white-out of the person in the image. But this usually only happens on very powerful IR's when the person is too close to the camera.

     

    If you absolutely must be able to see what's going on at night and reliable ambient light is not possible, get the IR.

  6. Posted

    In an effort to try to give back to this online community, I wanted to share my findings on this issue.

     

    It appears to be entirely a DVR issue. When I view the camera in "Live" mode or directly through a monitor, there is no pulsing. It is only when viewed in playback mode that this pulsing exists.

     

    The camera in question is set to D1 and 15FPS normal and 30FPS event. It is also set to record at superior (best) quality.

     

    As a test, I changed the "normal" FPS to 30FPS. In this scenario, the pulsing almost entirely disappeared. I then changed the "normal" FPS to 7.5 and the pulsing became horrible.

     

    The rendering of the image (which is somewhat of a "complex" image of my porch paver stones), probably adds to the mix a little bit.

     

    Maybe this is the nature of the beast with my make & model DVR and/or H264 compression. I am inquiring at the manufacturer's tech support to see if this is considered normal (it probably is). But, the good news is I can not blame the cameras on this.

     

    So, if anyone else later comes along and discovers this thread with similar issues, you might fiddle around with the record quality, FPS, etc. settings.

     

    I hope this helps someone, because I know this forum has been a GREAT help to me.

     

    Big thank you's all around!

     

    EDIT: The solution above refers only to the "pulsating" effect I was having; it does not refer the "wavy lines" that is the title of this thread. The wavy lines are probably due to a power supply issue. Just wanted to clarify.

  13. Posted

    PS - I looked at the other identical Samsung SCO-2080R during the same time frame as the video linked in the post just above this one. That other SCO is running in B&W IR LED's on at night. And, it ALSO shows this pulsating effect.

     

    Sean suggested I should check if the pulsating shows up in B&W IR, and it apparently DOES.

  14. Posted

    Here's last nights footage of the "pulsating". Presumably, the 24VAC dedicated power supply "solved" the "wavy lines". So, on the grand scheme of things, I am making progress.

     

    Also, I looked back into my DVR's recording for this camera and location. The pulsating has apparently been happening since the camera was installed a few weeks ago. So, even though the "wavy lines" just started last week, this pulsating symptom is not new.

     

    I wonder - I see a slight pulsing in all my cameras, though none stand out as obvious as this one. I wonder if it's just a matter of the cameras/DVR trying to render a low-light image; in other words, maybe this is just "digital cycling" of the images at night.

     

    Anyway, since the 24VAC power supply has (for 1 night anyway) gotten rid of the "wavy lines"/broken images, I am hopeful that I won't have to uninstall these cameras for repair.

     

    My new Altronix PSU box should be in soon. Once I install it, and have several days or more of testing to assure all of my problems are gone (or mostly gone), I will repost. I am hopeful that Tom, et al get the "gold star" on my problems for strongly suggesting power issues. Thank you for being outspoken about your analysis!

     

    Anyway, here's last night's video.

     

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7tVdoM_GSI

     

    h7tVdoM_GSI

  16. Posted

    Hi Sean,

     

    This is the original video, and the same pulsating is visible. The "lines" that you see in this first video are now gone (presumably resolved by better power supply?). However, the pulsating that you see in the middle area is what I still see (that is, the pulsating is the only remaining "concern"). I can try to get an updated video up later today. But this gives you the idea....just imagine that this image is "clean" except for the pulsating in the middle, and that gives you an idea. THANKS!

     

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKCfkLKXayk

  17. Posted

    Here's an update. As usual, I appreciate any input:

     

    For the Samsung SCO-2080R that was having the "wavy lines" as shown in the video early in this thread, here is the latest....

     

    As you recall, the problems only appeared at night. So, last night I had this camera on ITS OWN dedicated power supply (ie, it was NOT being powered by my 12VDC common power box). The power came from an Altronix plug-in transformer that runs 24VAC with 50VA (2A) output. According to the manual this is the perfect match for the camera.

     

    I DID NOT experience the "wavy lines" or broken image at all last night. The image stayed pretty much "true", with one point of concern...

     

    Generally around the center of the image at night I can see a pulsating of the image. It is almost as if you are watching someone's heart beat pattern and it's being displayed as a pulse within the image.

     

    As Tom pointed out before, he saw it in my previous video link on YouTube. But, now that I have the correct/ideal power input, why do I still have this pulsating?

  18. Posted

    Shockwave - On my main monitor, you can see the color better. But, this image was taken from my remote network access and likely degraded through that process. Also, it is a very dark red paint on the wall of the porch and the floor tiles are dark too. Probably at night they give a "B&W" feel even though there is some color.

  19. Posted

    I turned off my landscape lights. Here is what the porch looks like with the camera in "color only" mode. The very tiny bit of ambient light you see is from a powerful gas light in my yard about 20-25' away.

     

    I also looked at the lens and did not see any hint of the IR lights being on. I am convinced there is no IR usage when the camera is set by the user to be in "color only" mode.

     

    However, I hear your suggestions and appreciate the thought process. These are all great ideas, and are very helpful to me in checking all possibilities. So, I am greatly indebted for all of the ongoing discussion.

     

    CH03dark.jpg.023fb07a7ab48f78cd2321f031cb82cb.jpg

  20. Posted

    That being said, I am really HOPING that being on a dedicated power supply eliminates the problem....because putting in a more powerful PSU is much more appealing to me than trying to un-install these cameras to send them in for warranty work and/or trying to hunt down and solve a ground loop issue.

     

    Keep your fingers crossed.

  22. Posted · Edited by Guest

    The way the manual presents the info about IR, it appears that if the user sets the camera to "color" being on all the time, the IR does not ever come on. And, I have the camera set to "color" only.

     

    Also, in looking at my current night image of the camera, there is no indication of IR being on. The light on the porch is from my pretty powerful landscape lights.

     

    Here's a snapshot. If IR were on, I would expect to see the IR reflecting off the many white surface, like I do in my other cameras. I am pretty sure this camera never has IR come on. So, there would (hopefully) not be excess current draw for this camera.

     

    Anyway, the "big" test is tonight. I have this camera on a dedicated Altronix 24VAC 2A plug-in wall transformer. So, it has: 1) plenty of power and 2) is removed from my common PSU. So, if it has the "wavy lines" again tonight, I can start to feel pretty certain that it was not my PSU causing the problem, and it's more likely a camera or ground loop issue.

  23. Posted

    Thanks Sean.

     

    When I installed and set up the camera, I selected "color only". From the manual my understanding is that this necessarily eliminates the possibility of IR coming on. IR only comes on when the camera switches to B&W mode. Maybe I'm wrong about that, but that's what the manual implies.

  24. Posted

    Tonight, I may try to put the camera with the "wavy lines" on the 24VAC 50VA Altronix plug-in dedicated transformer to see if I have a repeat of the symptoms on that cam with that power supply.

     

    However, using that transformer at the camera location would be nearly impossible (no place to plug in even with extension cord).

     

    So, can I use the transformer at the end of my cable run (about 110' feet away). In other words, will that still be a good test; ie, will there be too much risk of voltage drop at that distance, or is 24VAC plenty capable of transmitting enough juice over that run?

  25. Posted

    To clarify...

     

    Last night, my system was as follows:

     

    One Samsung SCO-2080R powered by a dedicated plug-in Altronix 24VAC 50va (2A) transformer

    - did not exhibit any problems last night; this was the cam that previously was powering down inexplicably

     

    One Samsung SCO-2080R in color mode only (No IR) powered by my 12VDC 5A PSU

    - exhibited the "wavy lines" last night; this cam had been 100% fine up until when the other Samsung stopped having its power down issues; then the power "problem" on the first Samsung stopped and this wavy line problem began

     

    One Nuvico bullet IR that draws 1A powered by my 12VDC 5A PSU

     

    The other cams were totally disconnected from power.

     

    The "wavy lines" only occur at night.

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