rory

No they only have the DVR and 1 PC which is only on once in a while, and they only check email or browse the web, nothing sensetive though. I suppose I will have to turn it off then.

ok thanks. I just read the instructions for setting up a port forwarding etc. seems easy enough. One thing it doesnt say is whether I need to disable the router firewall or not. Rory

Most PTZ's are pretty expensive, and you will need controllers for them also. Kalatel's CyberDomes start at $1300 approx, the keypad at $430 approx (wholesale). A cheaper method would be a Pan Tilt Weatherproof Mechanism, a Zoom Camera like the Samsung SCC-412A, and a regular weatherproof housing, using the controls that come with the camera, and the PTZ mechanism. There may be a controller device that will allow you to tie in the cables from those to it, so you can use them both from one. I have tried this but seen it floating around the web. Rory

I knew alan would know that stuff! I guess I need to start studying the manuals that come with this stuff some more so Id know the technical specs some more! But still you have years of experience which is why you are very useful Hey, why dont you write a book on CCTV or something, like to do with DVRs etc. I think it would sell. You have a vast knowledge of alot of different types of products which would be very useful. On another note, that dual power supply i used for the UF500's had a 12 volt power output for a camera, which i used, but went through 2 cameras using it, dont know what happened but they just went bad, (picture went all glossy and florescent in both cases). SO far the 3rd one is powered seperately and working fine. ANd those UF500 LEDs can really do some hurt on the eyes, i wore shades and still they were bright in that though you cant see the light, it is there in full force! But they definately work, i imagine the UF100 light is much less painful on the eyes though.

I know what you mean, i used to be the one laughing when I lived in NY for 3 years, then came back here and saw everyone wearing thick 'down jackets', scarfs, and woolly hats in 60-70 degree weather! I guess the bloods to warm now! I would come there if I could, but i cant get a work permit or green card, not that easy. I actually just sent in my application for the US Green Card Lottery, but that doesnt come through (if i am picked) until the end of next year.

im ready to leave. are you hiring...? tired of the 3rd world!

Sorry, just checking again, if your are using a multiple 24VAC power Supply, with enough ampage it will work, In not 100% great with power, ampage etc, Maybe Allen (AVCONSULTING, been in electronics for years) can help on that, or email Extreme Direct from their web site to double check. Remember Warranty can be affected if using the incorrect power supply, sometimes.

Yes you could, but the Extreme Power Supply comes with a photo cell, so the IR will only be on during the night, instead of all day and night. This saves on the lifetime of the IR LED. And you dont want to look at these LEDs during the day, or night, they can hurt your eyes as they did mine, though the ones I were using were the 600 foot ones, much stronger, I wore shades and my eyes still hurt. Main thing is the photo cell and life of the IR LED. They do sell replacement bulbs also for like $40. I would keep the power supplies seperate either way as I lost 2 cameras to using the Extreme CCTV UF500 LED power supply, also for the camera, now i use a seperate power supplyfor the camera. You could always buya photo cell for the 24VAC power supply for the IR LED, using a standard 24VAC power supply. I think they are cheap in Electric Stores. Keep them seperate either way. Just buy an extra 24VAC power supply if you want, and a plug in photocell/timer to turn on that power supply. I would email ExtremeCCTV first to verify this, but should work, as I am using a regular 24VAC power supply for the EX82 IR Cameras, and have even tested using a 16VAC temporarily. The Extreme Power Supplies, (at least for the UF500), is a weatherproof plastic box, with a power supply, HighVoltage inputs, LED 24VAC outputs, and a PhotoCell mounted on the casing. Thats why they cost so much. Rory

nope, havent seen one yet. If you right it ill be the first to buy a copy! I think alot of people who know the stuff probably feel they dont have the time to do this, or that it will take away their business as most do this on a per quote basis. Id still like it if there was one available, something that would actually make it easier for us, less explaining so less work in the long run, and then we can just sell sell sell I bought a CCTV installation/service manual book from LTC training out of the US, very detailed book, but it is pretty old though selling as new ( a few years). Technology has changed since they wrote it, but still it is very useful a its good to know old school tech and methods, so new technology is then so much easier

no problem, i hope to open a CCTV store here in the new year, been wanting to do so for a whole now. WIll have mainly demos and a catalog, some stock on cameras etc, and maybe one or 2 DVRs, but mostly catalog order. Demos is the most important thing, myself i like to see something working before I buy it, and that is a big selling point to having a catalog store with demo equipment. Orcourse cwont carry ALL products for demos, just the most popular ones. Good luck, wish i was in Cali! Freezing cold here in the Bahamas right now actually, for us Bahamians anyway, i think its in the 50's tonight, we arent use to this, dug my ski jacket out of the garage tonight, and oh ohh, i need a blanket, but dont have one, normally we just sleep with AC or sweat the whole night out ) Everyone has a cold orflu now too, we are so soft here! :-0

no prob. go ahead. its fun also. One thing make sure you have a small 9" monitor or 13" TV as it helps with getting the best focused image, the CCTV 9" monitor would be the best, the color ones arent cheap though. Also a handheld will work, but you wont always be ableto get the best possible focus. Either way have something to focus with. And remember, Radio Shack is your new best friend, if you are like me and the elctroic stores here do not carry most of the adaptors etc that I need for CCTV, Radio Shack always has them, though at a higher cost than the distribitor. If you want to put a camera on the front door and have a monitor ceiling/wall mounted for that camera for the clients to see there is video there, make sure to get a 14" Monitor for that, or a 13" color TV will work also as a cheaper method. Wall/ceiling mounts can be purchased from any electronic store. Extra hidden cameras over the cashiers are also handy, or in areas where there is no visible camera for catching theives, though ive usd them mostly for inhouse theft here. Smoke detector cameras (view downward) are the easiest to install. I would still suggest the best way, 4 color dome cameras (no need for cleaning and can not be knocked so the lens doest go out of whack), and a 4 channel standalone DVR (built in mulitplexer) with LAN for remote video and connection to a local computer for easy searches of video and can burn to CD ect, easier than using the DVR itself. Though more expensive it will save on time consuming searches using the toggle on the VDR or VCR, and smaller and have more features. BUT, once you get the right cameras now, you could always sell the system you will have and buy the all in one at a later date. Good luck. Rory

I luv the ExtremeCCTV Ex82 cameras, they are great, just for the record. Though id only use them if there is little or no lighting at night in the area as the IR can glare when the lights are on. Other than that, great daytimg color image and sees up to 100ft or more in the pitch dark. Easy set up and very corrosive proof, i have them only a few feet from the ocean here. Not too impressed with thier domes yet though, had better results with cheaper brands, but if its Infrared you want, their domes are some of the best for that and thats what they design them for. Hey i see the UK is using ExtremeCCTV cameras all over London City now.

Three Beam Patterns: Narrow, Medium, Wide UF100.X0Y ( x = beam pattern, y = filter ) Examples: UF100.401 = UF100 @ 60 o Wide Beam, 730 nm filter UF100.304 = UF100 @ 30o Medium Beam, 950 nm filter UF100.203 = UF100 @ 10o Narrow Beam, 830 nm filter x Beam Pattern 2 10 o - Narrow Beam 3 30 o - Medium Beam 4 60 o - Wide Beam y Filter 1 730 nm (5W bulb glow) 3 830 nm (0.5W bulb glow) 4 950 nm (covert) NOTE: Wide angle lenses are not generally suggested for Infrared lighting, as you would then require a much wider beam, and loose out on some of the distance, and wide angle is lower quality image and since it is IRand still dark, your image may not be as crisp as it will be with a narrow lens such as 8 or 12mm. But your camera focal lengths seem like they are pretty narrow, 4-6mm? So you should be fine. In your case I would go with the UF100.303- 30 degree Beam so you get more coverage ans still goes pretty far like around 100 feet. Pricing: For wholesale pricing it is as much as $350, and for retail as much as $656. UFPS-101 - SIngle Power Supply with Photocell - $136 from Spytown You can hang the LED right below the camera from the bottom of the housing, they do have wall brackets also, dont see them on the spytown site but they cost $20 - part# is EXMB.026 Spytown.com has it listed at the wholesalepricing of $350 http://www.spytown.com/search--by-part-number--extreme--uniflood-illuminator---mid-range.html For example (this is only going by the PDF a I havent used this IR yet): 10 Degree - 164ft 30 Degree - 100 ft (Approx) 60 Degree - 50 ft (Approx) NOTE: these distances decrease for outside use, though only by a little bit. They claim on one camera that does 150ft distance to only do 75 ft outdoor, but im getting over 100 ft with them at a location I installed them at (i know because I measured all the areas when I installed the yard beams for the alarm) The 950nm may have issues with the camera you have so Id go with the semi covert 830nm to be safe (its what I have used in the past), which still emmits a small red glow a few feet from the IR Led. Again, havent used this LED before and only going by the images and the PDF and the claimed total IR length of 164ft. The narrower one may miss out on the egdes which is why I was going inbetween using the 30 degree. The 60 degree may miss out on some images further away, especially in that camera 4. Ofcourse you could get 2 of the 10 degree ones and you would be set. I am using 2 UF 500 10 degree LEDs and it covers the entire image, like daylight, down a long driveway! With only one of them it misses out on part of the left and right edge of the image and not as bright a image, though still works good. Hope this helps some NOTE: you will also need to buy a power supply and they are not cheap also. NOTE: if using where there is alot of lighting like some of the other cameras, you may get some glare, so I would only use them if you really have to, or in very dark areas like in camera 4. NOTE: if you wanted, but would mean spending some more dollars, you could use a DAY/Night camera, which is color in the day and switches to BW at night, with the IR LEDs, im using a Sanyo High Res DAy/Night with the 2 UF500 Leds, and I can even see a car's licence plate as it is as if its day light. The UF 500's are overkill though in my opinion, at least for the app i am using it for, just didnt know which one to get in the begining and that was the first one. Then all the rest were the EX82 cameras and they work fine. A seperate LED though is nice so you can manouver it different from the camera. Rory

Hi Chuck Like allan said, IR is very expensive, if doing it right. Ive done a home here with All extreme CCTV IR cameras and some UF500s. So ive been through all the ins and outs of it. I have to go out for a hlaf hour, will take another look at your night images, and see what you will need from Extreme to Cover it. Ill get you the price also, just give me til 5.30-6pm (bahamas time)

YEah, normally the total fps divides up among any cameras connected. We buy the stand alone DVRs like a 4 channel for around $1400 wholesale. Different types of compression and all.

I had the same problem with 2 different PCI cards that I went to deal with. I wasnt there for the DVR part, just the cameras. In the highest settings they stil had pretty bad quality, especially compared to other DVRs I have viewed and used. GeoVision seems to be good also. There may be the compression thing, I think Mpeg is better, but Alan will be able to help you more on that issue. Just curious, how much did you pay, just want a comparison to a stand alone, and did you buy it retail or from a distributor?

http://imperx.com/ Take a look at this site. They have cameras and software just for this type of application. Its called machine vision, other manufacturers make these type of cameras also, like Toshiba, but this one has 1-4 Megapixel cameras, framegrabbers, and software development kits (so you can write or have someone write the exact software you want, like in your case). Rory

They are all pretty much the same, i would imagine panasonic would be somewhat better. I wouldnt take that other and put it in the panasonic though! Also, they actually like the look of panasonic cameras?? If your really want high resolution check this out from sanyo: ugly but 1.5 megapixels: http://www.sanyo.com/industrial/security/cameras/digital/index.cfm?productID=152 OR, something like a machine/medical camera, used for videa also: http://www.toshiba.com/taisisd/indmed/iktu51.htm (800 TVL)

WORK on one camera first, then when you get the settings great, then do the rest.

and if you ever want to switch to an embedded DVR system that doesnt use your PC, more stable, no maintanance etc, id suggest the GE interlogix Kalatel StoreSafe, 4 Channel, Hard Drive size will depend on how long you want to record for, built in HDs can give you 7-56 days (40Gb-160Gb) approx ( i have an 8 channel at 5pps 320gb 24 hour gas station doing 28 days, single channel DVR,so you an get double with an all in one as its all built together so you can go half the speed toget the same recording results, 2.5pps), and they have add on Digital Storage that can record for years and years. The 40Gb starts at $1495 Wholesale, so its not as cheap as the PC card, but definately worth it. Prices will drop so hopefully they will get cheaper in time They also have built in CD-RW, LAN (remote video, which you can make your own custom software for if you wanted, though comes with free software), and many many features. Anyway, there are others also but this is the 'brand' that I use and support and have had nothing but great experience with. Ok, yes im done promoting kalatel for now )) back to watching TV. And no i get no compansation from them!

ok good. I have focused cameras at night and evening. Basically when you get the best picture you will know, as the detail will give off a moving kind of crispness, you may see on MSNBC or CNN with their cameras (theirs are obvioulsy higher res and cost WAY more), but the details of the image such as the edge of a car or leaves will actually be moving, somewhat, to the eye, like high contrast. These Sony's are some of the best cameras, at least they are 'top of the line' so they should give a great image. Note that you are not using the lowest light lenses, they recommend f1.2 for the light level they will go to, you have f1.4, but hey that is close enough! and still very good low light lenses.(i use f0.95 lenses on the low light color cameras at the night club I was talking about, so if you want to see more at night then you can always switch to lower F Stop lenses such s f1.2, or maybe even lower like the f0.95 lens from Fujitsu. It may not matter too much with BW, not sure, but it could be worth a try at least to test on 1 camera at a later date, wouldnt mess with it right now. And yes, AGC turned on will make it brighter at night also, but may mess up the day image, i always leave AGC off personally, but we have alot of sunlight here in the Bahamas )

Ok thanks, havent looked at the manual yet, but as to your settings: For Outdoors: (DC/Video): DC - GOOD (LL/INT): INT - GOOD (OFF/AGC): AGC - OFF - NORMALLY CAUSES THE IMAGE TO BE TOO BRIGHT (OFF/BLC): BLC - OFF - NORMALLY SET TO OFF UNLESS USING AT AN ENTRY DOOR INDOORS (OFF/CCD-IRIS): OFF - GOOD - USING AUTO IRIS LENS V- Phase shouldnt make a difference unless you are using line lock, not needed in your case. AI level is up to you depending on the brightness of the image during the day. If it is too bright in the day lower the level more. If you need to see more in the night, raise it more but you will/may be too bright in the day. It seems okay to me from the images. Focus it first, then adjust the AI level brightness. For instance I have a night club who is more interested in seeing in low low light at night as they tried to burn the place down a few times. So for those cameras we have the AI turned up high, so at night it is very good, for color cameras. Day time you can still see good, but can be very bright on the ground reflection when the sun is out, but the client wanted this and didnt care much for day as he has workers their during the day every day. End result is nightimt, the florecsent lights can be too bright, but the other parts of the images see everything, and as its a a low light color camera, can see in almost no light. So like i said, its up to you, light level seems fine to me from the images. You definately wouldnt darken it anymore, if anything you would lighten it, but i wouldnt, unless you want to see more at night, but could mess up your day image, test in night , THEN day if you want to do something like this. Otherwise leave the brightness as is. EDITED: Ok looked and same as i mentioned above. Also try Backfocus adjustment for crisper image when focusing, It looks like it has one at the top of it. Focus the camera to wide angle, then back focus it to crisper image, then if you want an different focal lenght (eg. if lens is 4mm and you want to see 6mm then now you adjust it to 6mm) focus to required lens focus, then use back focus again to finalize the image. Instructions should show how to do all this, though I dont see it in the manual. You can always just focus it then use back focus to finalise the image.

Adwords? I dont see the banner! ?? I think the search word 'cctv forum' is just not considered a 'company' keyword by google hence they search it the 'normal' way they used to. If you type in 'bahamas security' i come up first but I pay nothing. Its because it is not a 'company' or 'commerical' keyword, at least to them, noone else bidding on it. But with something like 'real estate' that is so that is hard to get on the first 1-10 pages on (or even more like 1-100)! Anywayz, you have a nice site, interesting also.

they cost $6+ dollars here in the Bahamas from Radio Shack, just to let you know how much things are soo expensive here!! :-0 A local electric supplier can sell me BNC connectors though for $4 each. I normally get them from my distributor for $1 each. These are standard twist on BNC connectors, nothing special.

Hi Alan, what kind of prices are (were) they please, thanks. Also, i dont see anything special on their site as far as higher resolution than others, do you have a link to it plz? Rory