Help identifying PTZ domes

[joecctv 0]

Hi, I am currently running a geovision system at home on a 6ch GV750 card and have recently aquired some second hand outdoor ptz domes. I have searched all over the net and cannot find any way of identifying them.

 

 

 

The reason I need to identify the cameras is that I am looking to hook these up to my geovision system and don't know what protocol etc to use. I presume that these will work using a RS485 connection and all I would need to buy is a GVNET card? Also the units look to be mains powered?

 

Any help would be much appriciated..

[kensplace 0]

Is there no model numbers/identification on the inside, on the pcb/camera etc?

 

It looks similar to the old VCL/Honewell orbiter type outdoor domes

 

[joecctv 0]

Yes pcbs have serial no's but I have googled them and none marry up to cctv equipment. However one of the camera's had what I thought was VPL very faintly left on an external sticker so I think you have hit the nail on the head, must have been VCL. I have had a look around and it seems honeywell/vcl use their own protocol that doesn't seem to be supported by geovision?

 

Do you think I am right about the protocol and should I see if I can salvage the controller aswell?

 

Many Thanks

[tomcctv 187]

Yes pcbs have serial no's but I have googled them and none marry up to cctv equipment. However one of the camera's had what I thought was VPL very faintly left on an external sticker so I think you have hit the nail on the head, must have been VCL. I have had a look around and it seems honeywell/vcl use their own protocol that doesn't seem to be supported by geovision?

 

Do you think I am right about the protocol and should I see if I can salvage the controller aswell?

 

Many Thanks

 

hi joe.

yes you need the controller with those vcl cameras. if you need the manual let me know.

[joecctv 0]

Hi Tom,

 

Thanks if you could send the manual it would be a great help. I see that these cameras support both rs422 and coaxial control, are there any simple third party controllers available that will work? I'm only looking to use two of these cameras and dont really want to go down the route of a massive control board and matrix.

 

I was thinking of buying a USB to RS422 interface, configuring it as a com port in windows and seeing if I can use the pelco protocol in geovision to control the camera because apparently I can set the dip switches on the dome pcb to pelco D and P protocols. Do you think I'm wasting my time?

 

As you have probably guessed I'm looking for a cheap way to control these cameras and could live without the ability to remote control them through geovision.

[Soundy 1]

If your computer has serial ports, you should be able to just use those.... if not, simple USB-to-serial adapters should do. You also shouldn't need to spend extra on RS-422 adapters; RS-232 should be fine, as the two protocols are functionally identical.

 

For protocol, Pelco D or P or both should work. Remember that you'll have to match up baud rate and comm parameters, and each camera needs to have a unique ID (there should be DIP switches in the camera for this).

 

One other thought, if you look at the PCB boards in the camera, is to look for an FCC ID number (usually silkscreened to the board, but may be on a sticker or printed on something). With that, you should be able to look it up at www.fcc.gov and at the very least, find the manufacturer.

[joecctv 0]

Hi Soundy,

 

I got a bit bored last night so decided to have a play around using the 232 port after reading your post. Firstly I wired the Data+ and Data- to RxD and TxD on the 232 port, I then set the camera address to 01 using the DIP switches then set the protocol to Pelco P.

 

Next I fired up Geovision and went to Sytem configuration and the PTZ setup section, I set the protocol to Pelco -P then set the baud rate 9600, com port 1 and PT Speed to 1. I tried several different settings, protocols and addresses all to no avail. Any ideas?

 

Also I don't understand why all the 422 pinouts I find online show a Rx+ Rx- and Tx+ Tx- yet the camera only has connections DATA+ and DATA- used with a GND and SYNC left unterminated? What should I be wiring to what?

 

It would be good to get these working as I've seen on a couple of other forums people asking whether Orbiter domes are supported.

[survtech 0]

The difference is that RS-232 is a protocol that uses one pin for Tx+; a second pin for Rx+ and a common ground pin. That is a prime reason for its distance limitations: it is basically an unbalanced signal.

 

RS-422/485 has separate pairs for transmit (Tx+/Tx-) and receive (Rx+/Rx-). It is a balanced signal and, as such, is far more immune to noise and grounding issues and therefore able to travel much farther.

 

Most PTZ functions only require one-way data - control signals going from the controller (Tx +/- port) to the PTZ (Rx +/- port), so that would be all you would need. Connect the (+) at one end to the (+) at the other and the (-) at one end to (-) at other.

[joecctv 0]

hi survtech thanks for explaining that, it all makes sense now but are you saying that you think RS232 would work over a short distance? For example if i connected Tx on RS232 to Data + on the camera and Gnd on RS232 to Data - on camera because they share a common ground?

[Soundy 1]

RS-232 should be fine for the first few hundred feet.

 

Connect TX+ on the RS232 to RX+ (or RX(A)) on the camera... GND on the RS232 to RX-/RX(B) on the camera.

 

I've found that SOMETIMES you need to do thing in a particular sequence - like, powering up the camera after the DVR is up. And sometimes, you need to hot-swap the polarity of the wires (TX+ to RX-, GND to RX+) AFTER that camera is powered up.

 

BTW, make sure the camera's baud rate matches the serial port's - many cameras will display the communication settings on-screen briefly after power-up. The data bit/parity/stop bit settings must match as well, although on both ends they normally default to 8N1 (8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit).

[Tailbone215 0]

I've always use the RS232 to RS485 adapters myself. Black Box makes a really nice one that does two or four wire RS485. It has internal dip switches to give you a multitude of configuration options. These are very easy to use. There's a great deal on eBay for them at $9.99. If interested do a search on "BLACK BOX DVT CON-4T2 RS485/232" There are also many imported ones out there in the same price category that work well. These are ideal for PTZ. As others have said, use two wires. I have never had the need for four wire (duplex) RS485. Good luck with your new PTZs.