ian_flux

I'm not going to open all my old bookmarks, but I assure you that there's too many complaints about the website for me to take it seriously or want to part with big money that way. I'd rather support a trusted distribution chain and pay a little more money. Besides, waiting up to 28 days for delivery and then having to cover return costs if there's a problem, isn't an ideal trading platform for me. Here are a couple of the first links I found. https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.alibaba.com http://andrewminalto.com/alibaba-scam-exposed/ The second link seems to be an article defending Alibaba, but just look at the comments at the bottom. This seems very much like ebay to me, where, with a careful eye, you can weed out most of the bad deals, duplicate accounts and fake goods - but unfortunately many people can't do this and make complaints. I would suggest a reputable seller would be a trusted CCTV distributor or wholesaler.

I'm unsure. It looks like the panel at the bottom is dark, so if they were lights, the light source would probably be IR behind IR Filter. But narrow beams pointing down? I wonder if they're antennas/repeaters for some kind of data transmission used on that site? Although I can't explain why three are seemingly pointing in a very similar direction, one being behind the other two

Don't know if you're still looking for an answer... Firstly, have you tested the volts on the problem cameras? Don't forget, it was suggested that you split the last pair you had, across both Positive and Negative, which could correct the problem if it was just down to volts drop. Other than that, I'm unsure of the effect of all those CCA cables running together when they're not just carrying IP data. I would suggest that to eliminate interference, you would have to disconnect every single run apart from one you are troubleshooting, not just from the DVR, but also power, and also test the possibility of disconnecting all those baluns, and even try grounding all unused cores while testing. If the signal on a bad channel is better now, you will need to add components gradually to see if a particular item, or combination of items causes it to worsen. It could be general interference, meaning you will have to create more space for the cables or work on grounding, or look at the effect of those baluns on the cable. It could be the power supply is maxed out, etc, etc. If the signal doesn't improve on the channel when it is the only one connected, test a good pair and balun of a nearby good camera if possible, by patching from good to bad. If you have bought cheaper products as you earlier suggested, a problem can be quality control, so some items are defective on arrival. Also, did you do the basic maths with power supply vs cameras requirements?

I'm no expert with DVR firmware, but have flashed a few devices in my life. Do the two devices (Lorex and Hikvision) have exactly the same components inside? The board(s) inside may have some kind of identification or may be referred to with similar ID by the manufacturer if you can get that kind of info. Details like password are often stored in NVM. The firmware is the Operating System on most DVRs. Are you attempting to get around a lack of password by flashing firmware?

Just a word of warning in case it's not already been mentioned here: Beware of trading on Aliexpress. There are a few reviews online of people ending up out of pocket when trading via the 'Ali sites'. They range from no goods sent but being billed, wrong goods sent and can't get an exchange or refund, and cards being billed by other parties shortly after transactions on the said site(s). However, I'm sure there are lots of happy customers.

Well the cable was fine, as the keyboard operates identically when patched into the DVR on a very short distance. The real problem here is that the keyboard does not repeat when pushing a key, whereas the front panel on the DVR does, and allows a basic use of PTZ control. In reality, the 2050 is a bit of a dinosaur really. The two addressing switches give you address 1 - 251 of what I read is Dennard RS485 (possibly only over twisted pair); 252 = Baxall AC; 253 = Dennard, BBV & DM Sprite; 254 = Baxall DC. These are Up The Coax keyboards/controllers, but some UTC protocol converters use address 1.... Too much info I guess. I didn't run RS485 and went for Up The Coax, because Pelco P is more useful (and the converter was cheap). I'll have the dome down at the weekend simply to see if my the BBV from the DVR works over twisted pair, but of course its the direct connection between the keyboard and camera that I need. I have a nice three axis joystick and am unable to use it

Hi folks, I have the following: DVR - Ganz ZR-DH1621NP, Keyboard - Ganz ZCA-SC201, Camera - Dennard 2050 (via BBV CTI/1). For now, the keyboard won't control the PTZ directly because the keyboard sends Pelco P @ 4800 and the protocol converter (BBV CTI/1) needs Pelco P @ 9600 - so for that I will have to use a BBV or Sennetech protocol or baud converter. But the keyboard controls the DVR perfectly, including the four directional buttons for menu commands and playback. However, when I use the DVR via Keyboard in PTZ mode, the directional buttons are not moving the camera properly - if at all. The Zoom and Focus buttons work one click at a time - i.e. there is no repeat. If I repeatedly press or hold the directional buttons for a long time, there is occasionally a very slight shift in Pan or Tilt. Any ideas?

Thanks for taking time to reply. Despite my liking of Ganz products so far, I'm disappointed to say the keyboard in PTZ mode, has fixed baud rates apart from Ganz-S. So Pelco D is 2400 and Pelco P is 4800 (also Ganz-PT@9600 and Chiper@9600 but that isn't in the menu). Disappointing given how many P 9600 devices I've seen. So this is why I need to change P speed. I'm assuming that when in MUX/DVR mode, the keyboard and DVR are using some kind of proprietary Ganz protocol, but I don't have RS485 analysis yet. The RS485 is using at the most, 20 meters on Cat 5 on a single pair. I will go and connect the keyboard on a short patch while I'm next to the DVR to test that, and report back.

I don't know why I didn't think of that!... I totally agree, and found cheap KVMs with USB Keyboard and Mouse for about £20!

I'll admit, I don't have experience of generic joystick/keyboards that are available, or the claims made by the manufacturers. Many simply operate PTZ cameras, although some claim to operate certain models of DVRs: http://www.amazon.com/Joystick-control-cameras-supports-products/dp/B00NQ8SYJW%3F A good/matching/compatible keyboard offers a range of keys compatible with the DVR, such as menu, enter, and directional buttons for menus; stop, play, pause, jog control for playback; control of the main and spot/call monitor with a display button, numeric keys to call a specific camera and maybe a sequence or auto function to run through the screens. If it supports PTZ then it will have a joystick, zoom, focus and iris control and preset and/or tour/cruise/patrol options. The best option is to see if your DVR supports a keyboard that the manufacturer produces or recommends.

If you're stuck with using a USB mouse then a USB repeater (not extender) is what you may need. See http://usbandfirewirecables.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/what-are-differences-between-usb.html for an explanation, but when you look at their linked pages with repeaters http://www.usbfirewire.com/urepeaters.html (down the bottom), you will see they are quite expensive for simply extending one mouse. They may be cheaper elsewhere. I would look at the option of using an RS485 keyboard to control the DVR if possible.

I have not looked at the specs for the camera you're using, but you need to work out whether the outputs on the camera are 1) open collector (volt free) or not i.e. do they provide a +v or 0v when closed (you seem to indicate you have two pins for one output so this would suggest open collector) 2) normally open or closed and also check the current rating of the transistor/output on the camera. The safest and best way of doing this is to provide isolation between camera and gate. In other words look for a relay with a small coil/operating current (within the current rating of the camera output) and a contact/output rating that suits your needs at the gate (which by the sound of it will be small as well). When the camera output operates, the relay operates, providing a 0v to the gate controls. This way, the power supplies from gate and camera are kept separate. If the camera is providing normally closed output and you want a normally open, you can just use a relay with normally closed contacts and the switching will be reversed. Ultimately, a transistor or opto-isolator are better in the long run than a relay with much lower current rating, zero heat and no inductance, but I'm using a relay for the example because it is simpler to connect and you'll probably find many relay modules/boards/boxes for similar purposes used within the security and controls industry. If you do use a relay make sure the relay has a flyback diode to protect the transistor in the camera when it is de-energised. Ian

'Volt free' contacts is what you are looking for. There's plenty around. I understand your dilemma with the DVR and outgoing communications but as is being suggested, let the DVR do the work by connecting the PIR directly to an alarm input. Then you should use an alarm output to trigger the Pi into sending messages to your phone in whichever way you see fit. If you want the PI to send an image, then use a video out from the appropriate channel into the Pi or even your spot output if you're not using it on a monitor. I started developing a Pi based system for DVRs that don't have mobile phone app and only have ActiveX web interface which is very similar in respect to your needs. Ian

Removing the battery may only have the effect of resetting the clock. You need to look for pins, almost always just two. They may or may not be marked NVM or NV. These should be shorted in order to clear the non volatile memory and that should reset the board to default settings. Ian

You may wish to look inside for things to identify the OEM but this may be a long shot. With regards to the code, I would first try sequential and identical numeric strings, both incremental and decremental, making notes as you proceed. 1234, 2345, 3456, etc 4321, 5432, etc 12345, 23456, etc 1111, 2222, 3333, etc 11111, 22222, 33333, etc You could of course try patterns like 13579, 24680. One other thing to test or evaluate, may be the maximum number of digits permissible. Many units I've worked with will allow a maximum of 4 digits, 5 digits, etc, therefore limiting your range of codes. Also if you are using channel buttons (instead of up/down arrows) and have less than 10 channels, then your codes highest value will be limited by this. Of course it could be that it is one of the few units with a unique sequence. You could try changing the quality of the pictures you have with a picture editor, or use a lower quality on the camera or phone when you take the picture. Ian

Hello all, I'm looking for the latest/last firmware/bios for a Ganz ZR-DHD921NP. I'm running 1.11. Firmware is available (v1.50) for the ZR-DH1621NP on the Ganz website (http://ganzsecurity.com/product/433/ZR-DH1621NP) even though the model is long discontinued but I can't find it specifically for the ZR-DHD921NP. Contact with the UK office has provided an unhelpful answer that the model is "no longer supported". Can anyone get hold of firmware from a unit that they have access to, or as a last resort tell me if the DH1621 firmware would work on the DHD921? Thanks Ian