Camera on Power-Line Adapters

Hey guys, This a follow up to my sign camera challenge looking at a roof line.

As you may remember I first started out considering looking at a convex mirror at the sign but when that was determined not a good choice, I then shifted gears to placing a camera at the sign.

With E D's suggestion of using a Power-Line adapter, specifically the TP-Link AV2000. I got the kit and set up in my house from one receptacle to another and got excellent speed on my laptop.

Working with an electrician that was going to run the CAT5 cables for this project, we worked out a plan to modify the sign wiring by moving the time clock from the closet to the sign, and install receptacles at both the sign and the electrical closet for the power-line adapters.

At the sign I used a PoE injector for the camera and then connected to the adapter and at the closet a Ethernet cable to the NVR.

Put it all together and set up this past Wednesday. Had to play a little at the NVR to get the video up on a channel but when done the picture is............. EXCELLENT!!!

Needless to say I was V-E-R-Y happy. So E D, this was a very appreciated suggestion on your part. THANKS!!!

So at the end of the day I returned to my office an pulled up the NVR on my computer to look at and do so final tweaking of the settings. All looked great!!!

End of story.................... well no.

Later that evening I decide to take another look and much to my surprise the sign camera was missing.

I looked back on the video playback and the camera went off line at 5:03pm. I then check another camera playback that looks in the direction of the sign and at exactly 5:03pm the sign turned on. Oh CRAP!!! The electrician wired it wrong and killed power to the receptacle when powering the sign.

Checked in the morning and the video came back at 7:00am exactly when the signed turned off.

Went to the job site that day and started by checking voltages with the sign off and then on. Only difference was that sign off the voltage was 122vac sign on it was 117vac. Makes sense with a little voltage drop when on.

Rather than boring you guys with all the various things I tried to isolate the problem with a lot more reading I will bring it down to what I suspect is that the fluorescent ballast is causing some kind of signal sucking or RF noise that effects the power-line adapter.

So for now I have a daytime camera working great on this setup.

Talked to the electrician and we have a plan to modify the wiring to the sign to provide a dedicated 120vac to the sign for video and install a 208vac to 120vac txfmr from a close light pole power to feed the sign time clock and sign with 120vac.

Hopefully that will be the trick and I can get night time video as well.

Thanks for reading all this and hope that the above will help someone when facing a similar challenge.

Les

Reply to
ABLE1
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Hi Les,

Glad to hear that it worked for you except for when the sign is on...minor details.

I found this link:

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ue titled "The influence of fluorescent lamps with electronic ballast on th e low voltage PLC network. The PLC being the PowerLine Channnel.

It appears that the PLC can be easily affected by the lamps. That is not so mething that I was aware of, nor have experienced before. I even found an a rticle about an illegal pot grower who was using high power fluorescent lam ps for growing and had the "Interference Police" (the local internet compan y's Interference Tech) knock on his door. His growing operation was affecti ng Internet communications for the neighborhood!

Quoting from the article, "In the (3kHz-150kHz) the interference level from fluorescent lamps is significantly below the allowed maximum PLC signal le vels. In the 150kHz-30MHz band however, PLC signals compete with Electromag netic Compatibility (EMC) levels.

Basically, fluorescent lamps on- PowerLine Channel compromised.

It should be possible that by having an isolated 120vac line for the video and powerline adapters, that this would provide enough isolation for the er rant and unwanted interference. There may also be a possibility that the fl uorescent "radiation field" could still interfere with the PLC channel, but that should be to a lesser extent. If this happens, you could isolate eith er the ballasts or your equipment at the sign, or both, with an EM shield. Much like shielded CAT5 wiring that is wrapped with foil, you could outer-w rap your wiring and anything else that you deem fit, making sure that you w ill not be causing any heat-accumulation to any wiring or equipment.

You would also want to look at any interference being caused at the other e nd of the line, where the other powerline adapter is- in relation to the wi ring that goes out of the building to power that sign. Just because a/c pow er is flowing out to the sign, interference is not limited to one-way. The EM field of the power wiring could carry an interference wave and also be a ffecting the other adapter. A radiation shield could be also needed there. Also, if there is any type of power-switching equipment at the building end for any other sign, I would take a look at that also.

I carry an electromagnetic field apparatus that will detect any fields in t he x,y,z axis. It has been very handy in the past. There was a customer wit h a cellular radio on his alarm system, who suddenly had communication prob lems. I went to his home one evening, and sure enough, the signal strength was way down from the original installation. I took out my 'voodoo' apparat us and noticed that there was strong interference coming from around his te levision which was only about 8' from the radio. I asked him a few question s about if anything had changed in that location. He said that this was the same tv as before. I persisted and then the light came on in his head, and he admitted that he had just recently bought one of those flat antennas fo r his tv in order to get local channels. I had not noticed it since it was flat and not readily identifiable. Sure enough, he took it down and cellula r signals were restored. You just never know what could be causing interfer ence.

I am sorry that you have run into this problem, but persistence will win in the end. It appears that you have a very healthy dose of that.

...In jest, maybe you could just provide the owner with a remote app to tur n off the sign when he needs to view the camera!

E D

Reply to
E D

E D,

Thanks for the link.

The only way the EMF or RF from the fluorescent fixtures can get into the would be on the sign side where it is exposed wiring.

The Powerline adapter is inside a metal enclosure. If that is true then separating the circuits by installing a transformer will not help since the wiring for the 'now' dedicated circuit is still exposed to the EMF or RF that is inside the sign.

Did I type that correct??

Thanks!!

Les

Reply to
ABLE1

Hi Les,

If you can modify the wiring to the sign to provide a dedicated 120vac to t he sign for video, and then install an EMI filter such as ferrite beads on it, and then have your powerline adapter, you should be able to mitigate th e line interference from the sign lighting.

So the order should be from sign to building: sign fluorescent bulbs > ball ast for bulbs > wiring to ballast > several ferrite EMI filters on wiring t o ballast > main wiring line for sign lighting from building. This should i solate line EMI to stay on the sign side and not pollute the signal back to the building.

The order for the separate dedicated 120vac line to the sign for video, whi ch will have the Powerline adapters, starting from the building should be:

120vac power feed line with several ferrite EMI filters on it > dedicated s ingle outlet for powerline adapter only > line to sign as needed > dedicate d single outlet for Powerline Adapter only > short a/c line with several f errite EMI filters on it > dedicated single outlet for video.

It may help to imagine an extension cord with 2 separate single outlets at each end. One end is the power source with EMI filter on line, then a singl e outlet for the Powerline adapter only, extension cord length in the middl e as needed, another single outlet for the 2nd Powerline adapter only, shor t length of cable with EMI filter, outlet for power. This way, your powerli ne adapters are on a shielded length of cable that should not receive EMI i nterference.

Perhaps the "ham sandwich" with mustard/cheese on both sides picture might be better. So you have bread/ac, then cheese/EMI filters, then mustard/PL a dapter, the ham/wireline, then mustard/PL adapter, then cheese/EMI filters, and then Bread/whatever you are powering. As long as everything stays in t hat order, you should be able to mitigate the EMI. I can't believe I just w rote that!

Below I have included some information on interference, etc.

Ferrite beads prevent interference in two directions: from a device or to a device.[1] A conductive cable acts as an antenna ? if the device p roduces radio frequency energy, this can be transmitted through the cable, which acts as an unintentional radiator. Conversely, if there are other sou rces of EMI, the beads prevents the cable from acting as an antenna and rec eiving interference from these other devices. This is particularly common o n data cables and on medical equipment.

Ferrite chokes are also called ferrite blocks, beads, rings or cores or EMI filters. They are available at electronics stores, Ebay, Amazon, etc.

EMI is caused by one device inducing voltage (generating a discrete voltage without a direct electrical connection) within a second component. Induce d voltage occurs when devices are not properly shielded, are laid out impro perly (e.g. coiled around objects or run parallel for the entire distance), use high frequency AC voltage, or are grounded improperly. Because ballas ts typically generate a humming or buzzing noise ? electronic balla sts are quieter than traditional magnetic ballasts, but the hum still exist s ? remotely mounted ballasts are sometimes preferred. Remotely in stalled electronic ballasts generate substantial amounts of EMI due to thei r higher operating frequencies (magnetic ballasts operate at 60 Hz while el ectronic ballasts are typically operated at 20-60 KHz, that?s 50 to 200 times greater). If the connection cables are unshielded, the high fre quency will convert the cables into a powerful antenna, creating an electro magnetic field that can affect radios, Wi-Fi connections, and cell signals. In a fluorescent system, the fluorescent lamp itself is capable of radiat ing electromagnetic waves at frequencies of 10 KHz to 100 MHz depending on the electronic ballast connected to it.

Conducted EMI ? interference added to the local power network of in terconnected devices that do not necessarily share a direct power or signal source.

Radiated EMI ? generated electromagnetic fields inherent to electro nic devices. Typically associated with solar flares.

The simplest way to remember the difference is that conducted EMI is genera ted by physical contacts, while radiated EMI is radiated through the air.

The geometry and electromagnetic properties of coiled wire over the ferrite bead result in an impedance for high-frequency signals, attenuating high f requency EMI/RFI electronic noise. ... The ferrite creates an inductor with a very low Q factor. This loss heats the ferrite, but normally it is a neg ligible amount of heat.

These links should get you started on what the EMI filters look like and co sts-

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In your case, I believe that conducted EMI is your biggest problem. The fil ters should not be much of an economic outlay. The electrician might be oth erwise, but I am assuming that the owner/customer is footing that bill.

Have a safe and great entire New Year.

Reply to
E D

WOW!!! E D, I can't believe you wrote that as well. ROFLOL. I do have a problem with your ingredients, mainly because I don't care for mustard on my sandwiches. So I will have to change that ingredient to a spread of butter. I will make one of those in the kitchen later and have a good meal.

Thank you for all the input on the use of ferrite beads or cores. That is a great idea and maybe as you suggest a quicker fix than the electrician set up or possible solution.

I have seen at times the ferrite cores with the wire looped through once or twice. Do you think that procedure improves the filtering to any significant amount?? Or is just clamping on around hot and neutral more than adequate??

I will see if I can source some locally and give it a shot. I will report back the results.

Excellent input. Very informative.

Thanks,

Les

Reply to
ABLE1

So E D,

I thought I actually had some ferrite cores some place here so I checked. And I do, they are already fitted on some not needed (yet) VGA Cables. I can cannibalize them and put them to some use on this project.

However, I have a few questions.

Is there a relationship on size, wire, voltage that is the most effective??

Will these salvaged ferrite cores be proper for this application??

Due to the size there will likely not be enough room for a second loop. Would that be problem or not??

I will see what I can source locally but if these will work that would be great.

Thanks for any thoughts!!

Les

Reply to
ABLE1

This might help you Les.

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In your case, I think it would be much easier to just install 3 ferrite cor es at each end. Space them a few inches apart. Trying to loop them when you can just install them around a straight cable is for those who love misery . These below from Amazon might be something for you to look into, and with Amazon you will get them quickly. You would want to buy them for the exist ing type of cable that you have at the job site, whether it is round cable or flat type Romex cable or whatever. I would still want an electrician to provide a stand-alone dedicated line for video power from the building to t he sign. Then, I would superimpose my "Ham sandwich" concept on it.

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They don't appear to be expensive to me. Of course, this would be a cost pl us for me- that is not a freebie for the customer. I make sure that every c ustomer knows that it is impossible to know what interference, if any, can be engendered from a particular location or circumstance. It is simply impo ssible to predict unless you have a pair of "Interference Lens Glasses". I tend to drop hints at the point of sale, usually just after signing of pape rwork and all funds for the entire job having been exchanged. I can only gu arantee that any video system that is installed, will work 100% without any interference only in that Radio Telescope Restricted Zone operated by the US government in West Virginia. Any place else, we will have to deal with i t at the customer's cost. There are absolutely zero waves out there. They a ctually even have a Wave Police Task Force to find any slight wave action. Once, they found some interference being created by an electric blanket ins ide a dog house... a true story.

You can always fall back on a remote 'Kill-switch' for the sign when the cu stomer wants to view his roof at night. Personally, I cannot see why anyone would want to check on a roof at night for ice. I mean, are they going to dispatch the "Ice Police" at 2 or 3 am? ...I don't think so. I have lived i n places at the 55th Parallel where it gets -70 degrees and then some. If t here was too much ice on the metal roof, we'd just fire off some special ro unds of shot to break it up. After a few years, you'd get that special effe ct look on the roof...No... just kidding about the special rounds portion.

Have a great day!

Reply to
E D

u Les.

ld be much easier to just install 3 ferrite cores at e ach end. Space them a few inches apart. Trying to loop them when you can just install them around a straight cable is for those who love misery. These below from Amazon might be something for you to look into, and wi th Amazon you will get them quickly. You would want to buy them for the existing type of cable that you have at the job site, whether it is round cable or flat ty pe Romex cable or whatever. I would still want an elec trician to provide a stand-alone dedicated line for vi deo power from the building to the sign. Then, I would superimpose my "Ham sandwich" concept on it.

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ive to me. Of course, this would be a cost plus for me

- that is not a freebie for the customer. I make sure that every customer knows that it is impossible to kno w what interference, if any, can be engendered from a particular location or circumstance. It is simply impo ssible to predict unless you have a pair of "Interfere nce Lens Glasses". I tend to drop hints at the point o f sale, usually just after signing of paperwork and al l funds for the entire job having been exchanged. I ca n only guarantee that any video system that is install ed, will work 100% without any interference only in th at Radio Telescope Restricted Zone operated by the US government in West Virginia. Any place else, we will h ave to deal with it at the customer's cost. There are absolutely zero waves out there. They actually even ha ve a Wave Police Task Force to find any slight wave ac tion. Once, they found some interference being created by an electric blanket inside a dog house... a true s tory.

l-switch' for the sign when the customer wants to view his roof at night. Personally, I cannot see why anyon e would want to check on a roof at night for ice. I me an, are they going to dispatch the "Ice Police" at 2 o r 3 am? ...I don't think so. I have lived in places at the 55th Parallel where it gets -70 degrees and then some. If there was too much ice on the metal roof, we' d just fire off some special rounds of shot to break i t up. After a few years, you'd get that special effect look on the roof...No... just kidding about the speci al rounds portion.

Thanks E D,

I have a pack of 20 Ferrite Cores on the way and should be here tomorrow. Once instal led I will know very quickly if they do the trick.

As a side note, in talking to the electrician he infor med me that part of the sign had been converted to L ED's. ??? Did some research and it seems that some LED's are just as bad as Fluorescent's when it comes t o RFI or EMI interference. Same solution is the fix.

================================================== ================ Once, they found some interference b eing created by an electric blanket inside a dog hou se... a true story. ================================= ================================= Yes, locally a numb er of Christmas's ago all the state and local police

radios were blanked out. As I understand a bunch of g eeks showed up with special equipment from the FCC, A BC, XYZ clan and the ended up knocking on a row home in town a few blocks from a repeater tower.

They fo und a Christmas Music Box made in China (of all places ) was not UL approved and was putting out some real nasty stuff. Once it was unplugged and confiscated, life went back to normal. As I recall the little o ld lady in the house was not named. another true stor y.

Again thanks for the input. Very helpful and ed ucational.

Have a good rest of your week.

Les

Reply to
ABLE1

Hey Ed,

This is some follow up information with the camera issue being effected by the EMI or RFI lighting at the sign.

I decided to try the Ferrite Cores first before the electrician changed the wiring to dedicate or split with wiring feed.

I had purchased a set of 20 ea Split Ferrite Cores of various sizes.

Kind of a long story but I kept adding the Ferrite Cores to the hot and neutral wires feed the sign lights. First attempt was a total of 2 per wire. It had no effect. Then added 2 more per wire. No effect.

I was turning on the sign lighting on to check and then off again.

Then again added 1 of the largest size per wire and SUCCESS!!!.

Then just for a little extra bonus I added 1 more of the largest size per wire. These larger cores had a inside diameter of maybe 3/8" to 7/16".

At this point I was a VERY HAPPY CAMPER!!!! Then at 5:03 PM the lights turned on for the evening. And the camera turned off. #*@(&$^#%*@**(#

I returned this morning and started adding some of the smaller cores. Inside diameter about 1/8". After adding 2 ea to hot and neutral and turning on the sign lights, all was good. I then added another 2 ea per wire and left the sign on for the day. For now all looks good.

So I now have a total of 9 each on hot and neutral. If it stays good I am again a HAPPY CAMPER!!!

My questions:

Do you know, how does the size of the Ferrite Core work into this blocking of EMI or RFI for something like this??

Is there a relationship between the inside diameter and the thickness of Ferrite that plays a role in the effectiveness with size of wire??

Is there a relationship in the length that has a greater effect??

Maybe you don't know the answers to the above but, I am now intrigued as to how this Magic worked for me and I am struggling to understand exactly how it did.

Either way, a big THANK YOU to you for the suggestion. I really do appreciate it. I would certainly buy you lunch if I knew where you were and I was close.

Have a great rest of your weekend.

Les

Reply to
ABLE1

links to Ferrite understanding..

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Just a few that might give an insight into how ferrites work with RFI on AC lines..

RTS

*Rocky T. Squirrel, esq.*
Reply to
RTS

Thanks Rocky!!

All printed out and will be up all night reading between dozing off.

Learn something new everyday!!!

Thanks,

Les

Reply to
ABLE1

Ok, so I have read through the papers and only dozed off once..........twice. (maybe)

I have a few more challenges now.

To do this properly I would need to know the following.

What are the frequencies of the RFI/EMI causing the problem??

What are the best composition of Ferrite that will reduce the RFI/EMI to levels that will be the most effective, #73, #43, #61, or other??

Based upon the #12 wire what is the best calculation of "air gap" and length of the Ferrite Core to be used??

What are the best properties that will give the greatest benefit based upon the ambient temperature??

Even after reading the pages of stuff, I can't even come close to guessing answers to the above, so then, it boils down to a roll of the Ferrite dice to hopefully get lucky.

That it seems what has happened here. Presently with the 9 snap-ons of various sizes per hot and neutral #12 wires are working to allow the 3mp camera video to transmit over the AC wiring approximately 220 feet to the NVR for recording.

Do I have the correctly calculated Ferrite Cores for properties and size?? Probably not.

Are they doing something that helps?? Yes

However, it is not 100% because, I checked the history log from over night and the camera dropped out about 8 times with no video. It did restore, which from what I can see after about 1 to 3 minutes.

At this point I can't be to disappointed. That is, at worst .016% failure rate. Although I don't know if the drop in video signal was as a result of RFI/EMI or something else, like maybe a gang related electron with a hissy fit. :-)

I was told a long time ago that getting with in 3% of perfection is easy. It's that last 3% that will be hardest and most time consuming.

All in all I am happy to within .016%

Thanks again to all for the assist and insight on this.

Thumbs UP!!!

Les

Reply to
ABLE1

Sorry, what was I thinking?? I misplace the decimal point. Should be 1.6%

Still good...........................

Reply to
ABLE1

My guess is that your seeing the "harmonic convergence" of the interference signal from different sources.

which is letting that 1.6 % signal get through..

which then causes your video crash..

Like I said though,  that's just my guess.. ;-)

I like to remember that only Engineers get the 100%, people in the real world have to be happy with 80-90 %..

LOL

RTS

*Rocky T. Squirrel, esq.*
Reply to
RTS

You may be right Rocky with what ever you said.

Tonight the lights turned on and the camera went off....... again.

So my 1.6% just took a dump.

Will be talking to electrician in the morning to see what his timing will be to split and dedicate a circuit.

DRAT!!!!

Reply to
ABLE1

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