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