Do I need Balun for the power too?

[sinbad 0]

I see some Baluns coming with pig tails on them for power and some not.

I plan to power all cameras from one power supply. can I just connect a cat5 pair directly from the power supply to the camera or there is something going on inside the balun?

 

thanks in advance...

[survtech 0]

I'm not quite sure I understand your question but if the camera has separate connections for power, you can connect the power directly to those and use the CAT-5 and balun for just video. Or you can use 1 pair of a CAT-5 for video and run power on some or all of the other pairs.

[sinbad 0]

i'm talking about standard 24V analog box camera.

I noticed Altronix have 12VDC and 24AC baluns, so was thinking I might need to pass the power through the balun as well.

[UMDRanger 0]

Just hook up the CAT5E wires you are using for power to the power supply and camera. No need for a power balun, unless you want one. I've never used a balun for power.

[sinbad 0]

great thanks for the reply.

 

what about voltage drop in the wire? should I still use 24v for longer distance?

[survtech 0]

There are calculators for power wire length. You can run 24VAC farther on the same guage of wire than 12VDC. One chart is at Pelco's web site:

ftp://www.pelco.com/ServiceBulletinsTechTips/TechTips/5973024.PDF

[sinbad 0]

thanks survtech for the chart. So (If I read it right the chart..) the max I can go with, for example, a 0.5Amp cam on 20AWG wire is 526 ft.

I think most cat5 are 24AWG so my distance is a bit lower I guess around the 500 ft.

 

Am I correct?

and if yes what can I do to extended the distance?

Does twisting 2 pairs of the 24AWG together gives me a 12 AWG wire?

 

Thanks for the help. this is kinda new to me and want to make sure i get it right

[CollinR 0]

Use seperate wire for the power, I use 18/2 common for alarm system power.

[survtech 0]

Here is a link to a calculator that will work down to 25 gauge wire:

http://www.video-insight.com/Support/Tools/Wire-Length-Calculator.aspx

 

Also, here is a calculator that tells you the result of combining 2 or more cables:

http://home.hiwaay.net/~rgs/awgcalculator.html

 

If you plug 2x24 gauge wires into the calculator, the result is 21 gauge; 3x24 = 19 gauge, etc.

[RickA 0]

Thanks for that link to multiple wire gauge calculator, have been looking for one.

[sinbad 0]

thanks for the links, that gives me some direction