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Ronald

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Posts posted by Ronald

  1. Posted

    Hi. should not be a problem. but its like everything. Maintenance keeps your system good. if its not used i would take it down (take camera out of housing) and make it part of your startup service maintenance.

     

    spending a little time is much cheaper than buying a replacement camera.

     

    Sounds good! Well, not really as I find it quite dangerous up there. I still haven't found proper safety harness in case I fall off the ladder.

     

    Regards,

     

    -Ron

  2. Posted

    My client is located some 75 km north of Montreal. The coldest temperature I've seen there is -38 degrees Celsius, but temperatures below -25 degrees is rare nonetheless, probably occurring only a few days per winter season.

     

    Well, the camera housing is sealed for the most part, but there's a fan at the back with a vent opening below it. So, no doubt humidity could get in there. When humidity freezes, God knows what can happen.

     

    Regards,

     

    -Ro n

  3. Posted

    Hi,

     

    I have a client at a campground site that has a box camera installed in a heated enclosure, but during off-season (winter), the power is off throughout the premises, therefore the camera is not longer heated, but then again the camera is OFF as well. Can humidity and cold somehow affect or damage the camera for when it is turned on again the following spring? I usually take it off, but since it is located at 20 ft high on a bending pole, I am hoping I don't have to.

     

    Can someone confirm?

     

    Regards,

     

    -Ron

  9. Posted

    I still have a problem with the RS-485 connections though.

     

    I used (it was already there) Cat5 UTP cables to run from the PTZ control keyboard to the camera, in series. The last PTZ cam is terminated via dip switches. Can't pan or tilt! I dismounted the last PTZ cama and tested it near the control keyboard, it works fine that way.

     

    Any ideas? If I were to double or triple the number of wires utilized within the Cat5 cable, would that help? I know there are high voltage (240v) power lines running nearby in a metallic pipe of its own, for a short distance of about 3m.

     

    Regards,

     

    Ronald

  10. Posted

    >^If it's a transformer-type PSU, the line and output grounds will - or SHOULD - be physically separated anyway. <

     

    Ok, I did test the small in-line power supplies. They provide more than adequate voltage (12.39v) under load. Those are not grounded to anything.

     

    Anyhow, I ended replacing those with one big 9-port 5A power supply distribution box (w/ fuses). The interference is gone!

     

    Can anyone explain how the in-line power supplies could do such a thing, especially since when I plug them to the cameras nearby (less than 2m distance) everything works fine, but when I extend the output cable to 15~25m distance then I get ghosting horizontal lines in images?

     

    Regards,

     

    Ronald

  12. Posted

    >you could also try disconecting the earth to the post and psu.<

     

    The 12VDC PSU is just a in-line adapter, can't remember if the 120v side has a three-prong plug or not, I presume it does. As for the post or pole, you mean for me to find something that is grounded to it and remove it?

     

    > i take its 24vac. most domes with heater running pull around 3to4 amp?is your psu up to the job?<

     

    The PSU is a 12vdc rated at 3.3a. It came along with the PTZ. If there is a heater, I don't know where it is. Nonetheless, the PTZ housing is rated for -35 celcius.

     

    Regards,

     

    Ron

  14. Posted

    Ok, thanks! I will check this out on-site. No screws go through the pole, so adding a round piece of plastics around the pole should not be too difficult. Not sure how thick it has to be though.

     

    As for the possibility of high voltage power lines interferring, what remedy would there be? Shielding the PTZ cables in metallic flexible pipe?

     

    Regards,

     

    Ronald

  15. Posted

    The power supply reads 3.35A. The distance between the PTZ and the power supply is roughly 12 meters. The power cable is 16 AWG.

     

    The distance between the DVR and the PTZ is about 50m via RG59 coax.

     

    I cannot pan and tilt the camera at this point. Reason? Possibly because the PTZ is set to UNTERMINATED via the dip switches. I have yet to power the second PTZ which is TERMINATED. I presume that's the cause, I don't know for sure as I really don't have much experience with PTZ's.

     

    Ronald

  16. Posted

    Are you saying I could simply put something (a plastic sheet, for example) between the mounting bracket and the PTZ camera?

     

    Also, is there a way that the power supply be causing this as well? The output voltage is 12.35 volts w/out the load. I'd have to test it with the load. Who knows perhaps it drops way too low under load which would explain the fact that the other [box] camera did not inhibit the bad video signal. But then again, that box camera was not mounted on the pole.

     

    Regards,

     

    Ron

  17. Posted

    >Just offhand, I'd suspect a ground loop.<

     

    No idea what a ground loop is.

     

    > Is this a metal or wooden pole? <

     

    Metal

     

    >Is the body of the PTZ attached to something grounded? <

     

    To the metal pole, but the bracket is painted though. I could try to ground it to the pole if needs be.

     

    >What happens if you unmount the PTZ from the pole?<

     

    That would be my next step. It's a lot of work to unmount it to the pole.

     

    >Electrical interference is possible, but you can eliminate this easily if the interference changes when the light is off vs. on.<

     

    The light was OFF when I tested the PTZ.

     

    Ronald

  18. Posted

    Hello all,

     

    Last week I installed a PTZ camera on a pole with big commercial flood light at the tip. Not sure if there are other electrical wires for other things.

     

    Anyhow, the video images do display, but with ghosting waves scrolling from buttom to top (if I remember correctly) and some flickering (video turning off for a second) from time to time.

     

    Any ideas? How can I test for interference?

     

    I took a regular box camera and connected it instead using the same cables going to the PTZ, but placed the camera 5 ft lower and sitting on a roof. That camera did not produce any ghosting stripes in the images.

     

    Regards,

     

    Ronald

  19. Posted

    >I have had ongoing problems with mine (3.0) on a dedicated PC running XP with no other apps in use. It is a pain asking a neighbor who has a key to reboot everytime it locks up. Often just the usual Windows message states that there is an error with EzWatch.<

     

    What Windows version are you using?

     

    >EzWatchIP locks if the internet connection is lost during a storm and when it locks it locks the entire PC. Their answer was to get an internet service that stays up. Sure, such a thing exists on cable service. I have a timer that turns off the router and cable modem every day to clear them and bought a 5$ IP app to replace EzWatchIP.<

     

    I've never heard of any clients with such a problem. Could it a PC hardware problem causing it. Have you checked in Event Manager?

     

    >Half the cameras have failed but were replaced under warranty.<

     

    Only a UPS can protect cameras under storms.

     

    >Perhaps I can use the board with another vendor's app?<

     

    No

     

    Regards,

     

    Ronald

  20. Posted

    When I try to send a PM to someone in this forum, I get the following error:

     

    "Sorry, but the administrator has prevented you from sending private messages, or you have under 10 posts.

    Any spam attempt will fail

    Also, please do not use the PM system to send unsolicated advertising messages to members. If you try your account may be DISABLED. "

     

    I sure have posted more than 10 replies thus far. Or, don't those count??

     

    Regards,

     

    Ronald

  22. Posted

    1400 dollar system is cheap regardless of any system you put it.

     

    The cost to be in business alone shoudl make your cost of installing systems way more than that.

    The absolute cheapest 4 camera system i ever sold was no less than $6,500.00.

    And looking back on it I should have either charged more for that one or said forget it in general.

     

    But, isn't the competition in this business fierce???

     

    Regards,

     

    Ronald

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