Audio Video and power over cat 5

Does anyone know of an inexpensive device that will allow me to run both video and power to my cameras using cat 5 cable? It would also be nice to have audio on one of the cameras as well.

Are these things really all that complicated? Can't I just wire up the connectors to a cat 5 cable myself? What would be really nice is a box with 4 RJ45 jacks on one side and 4 audio and video on the other side that would also send power down all 4 lines from one power supply. That would really make for a clean installation.

Reply to
Chris W
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Chris. Do you currently have any of the cameras you're going to use? Security Ideas, has everything you're looking for. Do you need some help in laying out the system? I'd be glad to help.

jackcsg at juno dot com

Reply to
Jackcsg

Not cheap, but a decent product:

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You could also look at Nitek, FM Systems, and Foresight.
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Reply to
cctvbahamas

Line level video (I'll assume you mean analog), audio (Line Level?) Power and ground on four wires? I'll assume you mean 4 pair? And just how far do you run this?

I tend to think that many are confused about PoE. It's designed for VERY short runs. The most 24 awg wire can handle amperage wise is about 1 amp. Now you can run Ethernet 300 feet. Can anybody tell me how much power, say

12vdc @ 1 amp, will be at the end? Not 12vdc. Short runs, yes. Line level audio should be in a shielded cable, or at least by itself. Here's a good test of what the audio will do. Use an expansion bus wire to extend your zones to a remote module, in that cable, say a six conductor, run your power, and data bus loop, and also use the other two pair for your siren loop. Only, don't use sirens, use a siren driver in the panel, and some 8 ohm speakers at the end. Enjoy your troubleshooting nightmare. Yummy!
Reply to
Jackcsg

Thats why I always power the cameras locallly. He is asking about analogue, not IP.

Reply to
cctvbahamas

Like I said....short distances. I'd rather use a Ethernet extender, which can go up to 5,000 feet, plug in my network camera at the end, and utilize a more local to the camera power source. Add a heater/blower unit to an outside camera, and your toast with PoE.

8 port Ethernet extender is about $800, and each end remote unit is about $100. One pair 24 awg wire. Two-way audio, video, PTZ, input, output, 30 fps. Oh, and you can put 12 cameras at the end of that 5,000 ft two conductor run. If it's a CAT5, 48 cameras, on one piece of CAT5, all pumping 30 fps. All being recorded through a single $23 NIC card.

Reply to
Jackcsg

I run line level video, audio, power and ground on four conductor cat3 wire, so cat5 should also work. Running the wire adjacent to ac wires might pick up hum in the audio. Get some wire and just try it out.

Reply to
Si Ballenger

Well, can't really do that easily with neither of the two components, power and video: CAT5(E) cable is designed for balanced mode transmission (symmetrical on both conductors) whereas the composite video output of a camera is a common mode transmission (one of the conductors is grounded). So, you need a balun (balanced-to-unbalanced) device for the transition between the two media. Really short distances would be fine just straight in, but if you'd be talking 100+ feet, you are going to need a balun. OTOH some cameras have balanced output with which you don't need a balun. These tend to be higher-end cameras.

On the power side you need some means of compensation for the voltage drop in the cable. Basically, just over-powering on the power supply end so that it's at acceptable lever when it shows up at the camera end.

NVT

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makes nice devices that handle video/power/PTZ control over UTP. Prepare to pay dearly for the power portion of the solution though due to that compensation circuitry.

Good luck!

DA

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Reply to
DA

My runs are about 60'. I've heard you can run composite video well over 100' before you have to resort to baluns and twisted pair wire.

You are starting to mix apples and oranges now. From what I've read, poe uses four wires of eight in cat5 cable for 10-baseT and two of the other four for power/ground. I've got an old webcam computer in the back of the house and have it connected to the router in the front of the house with cat3 four conductor phone wire. If you need to get more power down the wire, use 24vdc instead of 12vdc and put a 12vdc regulator on the end. I've got the cheap cam below and noticed it just uses four wires. Instead of cutting the ends off the supplied cable, I just ran cat3 and put connectors on the ends after the wire was run through small holes and stuff. The power requirements for this CMOS cam is small. My CCD cams use around five watts. This is all home hobby stuff and not intended to be commercial grade.

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Reply to
Si Ballenger

I see that. I was more in tune to stating the misconceptions of PoE. Most people in the alarm industry aren't very good at calculating line load/loss.

Reply to
Jackcsg

Agreed. There are several online resources with voltage drop tables, etc., which can help but most alarm techs don't even use them. Residential alarms rarely require any calculations since most systems are small and wiring runs are short.

A wise man has often said, "This stuff isn't rocket science." :^)

Reply to
Robert L Bass

Even with calculators as aids, wire (NEC) size also eludes most. I agree, residentially, most installs are short runs, and occupy very little power for consumption, coupled with a small amount of power available to begin with. The problem comes when those same principles are applied commercially. I just visited a Car Dealership in which these residential applications were applied to a 25 acre lot. Everything, even the cameras, is powered with wall warts, which under their current load, brown discoloration, and melted plastic case, is more of a fire hazard, than a functional system. The system is 4 years old, and completely dead. I can't imagine why InterStar, the company that installed it, went bankrupt. Go figure....

Reply to
Jackcsg

How could you possibly know what 'most people in the alarm industry" do or don't do. That is a lame over generalization meant to make yourself appear better. I figured you were 'better than that'. A better analogy would have been , most diy's are not good at calculating line loss/load .. Why you ask? because they don't do this stuff for a living.

Reply to
joe

Maybe the ones you worked with. Which means you didn't either because you were unlicensed and using subs to qualify your business oh so many years ago when you were scamming unsuspecting customers in that great population center back east.

Residential alarms rarely require any calculations since

there is alot more to alarms than just those dinky residential system you sell to your unsuspecting vict er customers

Reply to
joe

sounds like a typical installer down here :-))

Reply to
cctvbahamas

Many just use "Burglar Alarm Wire" and "Fire Alarm Wire" without even knowing why they use a particular gauge, let alone what its limitations may be. The boss says to use this wire and that wire and that's all they know. Thank the so-called "authorized dealer" programs for dumbing down the industry. 28 years ago when I was just learning most installers understood the job. Now they only need to know how to get two wireless door contacts and one motion installed as fast as possible so they can get on to the next vict... er, customer.

Heh. I see that all the time, even when DIYers are taking over bad "custom" installed systems. I recently had a customer call because his "monitored" alarm wasn't working correctly. Turns out the system wasn't even connected to the phone line. The alarm company never installed an RJ31X nor even hard-wired it to the phones. There were several sensors that had not been connected to the panel either. The smokes were wired using ordinary 22/4 cable as well.

Although the alarm company never finished the installation they did send him a bill every month since he bought the new house. When the customer discovered it wasn't connected to the phone line he took it over, added some sensors and I helped him locate a monitoring firm.

The installing dealer has since sent him a notice that he can't switch monitoring services until the three-year term ends.

Reply to
Robert L Bass

No, I pretty much meant what I said. Here then "from what I've seen, most people in the alarm industry aren't very good at calculating line load/loss". I ought to know, I've been doing this for over three weeks now... I have a few hundred photos to support what I'm saying though.

Reply to
Jackcsg

That's priceless. Sounds like another ex-Westinghouse Security technician off on his own...

Reply to
Jackcsg

oh well three whole weeks. I didn't know it was that long. What have you covered, 1 part of 1 whole state?

I didn't know you took pictures, well that proves it then a photo proves that a calculation wasn't done every time. :)

Reply to
joe

I haven't been to Washington State, Alaska, or Hawaii. But if you're offering, I'd prefer to go to Hawaii first.

Exactly. A picture proves everything. Joe, have I ever told you my little birdie story? It's about some birds that stole over $4,000.00 in quarters from a car wash coin changer. Sounds pretty far fetched? A picture is worth a thousand words.... If you'd like to see the Facts, I'd be glad to email it to you. I've sent it to a bunch of guys here in the news group.

Reply to
Jackcsg

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