Mysterious Camera Failure?

[SpyGuy10 0]

A homeowner was doing some rennovation construction and needed to relocate a post that supported an outdoor PTZ dome camera and IR illuminator. The camera is a Panasonic WV-CS554 and it was working prior to this incident.

 

The camera was disconnected (coax & power/ptz) and removed from the post (as was the illuminator) so not to be damaged when the post was dug out of the ground. The camera was stored inside the house.

 

After the construction was completed, the camera was re-mounted on the post and reconnected to the cables. But now it doesn't work. When connected to power, the PTZ mechanism makes a 360-deg rotation and you can hear the iris click open, but the camera is not producing a usable image: it just outputs a dull solid green screen with some stationary raster lines. To ensure it wasn't a problem with the coax cable, the signal was tested at the camera output lead using a portable display. The same green video was observed. Voltage was also checked at the camera connection power leads and is good. We cannot imagine how this camera could have failed while un-powered in storage. It certainly wasn't dropped or mishandled.

 

Any ideas what the problem might be?

[the toss 0]

**** happens. You have determined it's the camera , replace it.

[tomcctv 187]

**** happens. You have determined it's the camera , replace it.

 

 

 

i think more tests would be better than the cost of a replacement.

[tomcctv 187]

After the construction was completed, the camera was re-mounted on the post and reconnected to the cables. But now it doesn't work

 

 

 

can you give some more info on the reinstall.

 

did the coax become shorter in lenth or was it added to. also what size power supply and the total distance of the camera both before it was moved and after.

 

how was the illuminator powered ???

 

but for first test i would replace both BNCs at each end. i would also use your test monitor at camera end for testing (not dvr end) and power your dome down and watch if it goes into setup on power up via your test monitor.

[SpyGuy10 0]

i think more tests would be better than the cost of a replacement.

I agree, since I just learned that the cost of a replacement outdoor PTZ dome camera will cost over $600! If it is a bad camera, is it possible to just replace the camera part (keeping the existing PTZ mechanism)? I'm guessing that it's not (except for a direct part-for-part replacement of the defective camera from Panasonic), but it never hurts to ask.

 

 

did the coax become shorter in lenth or was it added to. also what size power supply and the total distance of the camera both before it was moved and after.

The post was only moved about 2 feet (to provide clearance for a new doorway built into an existing adjacent wall). So none of the cable lengths were significantly changed. Whoever did the original install had made a sloppy job of the cable connections to the camera and they needed to be cut off anyway to remove the cables from the post. So the cables were shortened by no more than several inches.

 

 

how was the illuminator powered ???

Actually there are two Uniflood 500 illuminators on the post. Both are powered by individual 250W 120VAC-to-28VAC drivers at the base of the post. They are completely separate circuits from the camera.

 

 

but for first test i would replace both BNCs at each end.

A bad BNC was my first thought too when the DVR monitor first failed to produce an image from this camera. So I cut off the BNC on the coax end that attaches to the camera (this was the only BNC connector that was changed during the project) and made a new BNC connection. Same problem. That is when I connected the portable monitor directly to the camera output (to eliminate the coax run to the house as a source of the problem). Same problem.

 

 

i would also use your test monitor at camera end for testing (not dvr end) and power your dome down and watch if it goes into setup on power up via your test monitor.

Thanks, I'll try that. I also want to connect a different camera at that post to see if all the cabling is good.

[Horizon 0]

Hi SpyGuy10.

I'll take a punt at this, and blame dried-out electrolytic capacitors.

How old is it? I'm guessing that the camera has been left on permanently (24x7), and has only been turned off to relocate it.

If you leave it on for 15 minutes to an hour, the defective capacitors may recover, and the camera start working. You'll still need to either replace the caps, or the camera unit. It may fail again, but you might get some further life out of it.

I have had something similar happen on some older cameras (Samsung SDC-311 - four of them!), where they needed ten minutes to "warm up" before providing a picture. I replaced the caps, and they worked fine afterwards. I tested the old caps, and they tested faulty.

[SpyGuy10 0]

I'll take a punt at this, and blame dried-out electrolytic capacitors.

How old is it? I'm guessing that the camera has been left on permanently (24x7), and has only been turned off to relocate it.

Thanks Horizon, I think you may have nailed it. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but as soon as I started to read your analysis, I got that "Ah ha, yes now it makes sense!" feeling.

 

I actually had an experience with bad caps in a Samsung LCD computer monitor a while back. The display would work fine as long as I left it running. But as soon as I powered it off, it wouldn't work again until it had gone through a power-on recovery period. The older the caps got, the longer that recovery period lasted. I finally replaced the caps and now it works like new.

 

Considering my past experience, I'm kind of kicking myself at the moment for not making the connection. But I had been worried that perhaps one of the family's young children or dogs might have knocked it around while it was being stored in the house. So I guess my mind was fixated on that possibility.

[sinbad 0]

did u try the cam locally next to DVR with another power supply?

I would do that just to make sure its really the cam and not wiring fault.

[jack in oz 0]

Which caps are we talking about? Are they the electros in the camera's power supply?

[Horizon 0]

Power supply caps are always worth checking, because they take a hammering from the switch mode power supply. They also need to be in tip-top condition (low ESR) in order to smooth out the high frequency ripple from the supply.

 

However, SpyGuy10's camera could also have faulty bulk decoupling capacitors. These are distributed around the circuit board(s) to help suppress electrical noise. Some caps fail prematurely, either through being cooked during soldering (burst seals), being poorly constructed (faulty electrolyte formula), or even by being counterfeit parts (really!). Sometimes if left on, the caps sort-of recover, and the camera will struggle back to life as the electrical noise reduces. But really it's time to get the soldering iron out.

 

It's usually only seen when electrolytics are used:

* Electrolytics dry out, leading to reduced capacitance and high ESR (equivalent series resistance).

* Tantalum caps grow dendrites (internal metal spikes) eventually causing a short circuit. They ignite with an awesome amount of smoke (like a little volcanoe) - lots of fun when it happens to someone else.

* Ceramic caps can develop cracks during soldering due to thermal stress, eventually leading to short circuit and failure.

 

Tantalum and Ceramic caps are a good reason why you must fuse each of your cameras. Don't rely on the camera manufacurer to have fused them internally. Sometimes, on some models they haven't (hello LVC-332P, why are you on fire?)