Pre-Wiring for CCTV Camera

[mobiledynamics]

I've NEVER felt that a home should have CCTV camera....as well, home is home, not fort knox...

Doing some pre-planning for camera locations.

For those familar, what pre-wire do you use for IR illuminators.
All camera will be POE.
I'm looking at the Illuminiar IR units as the units I would most likely use. TBD so I'd like to be prepared for any wiring I might need (assuming it may be POE of just 12V 2 wire powered)

 

[tprice14]

Not sure you would need anything outside of Cat5e/Cat6 considering it's PoE. Might be able to daisy chain depending on how much draw the illuminator has and the requirements of your cam.
You seem pretty adament about not having cameras in your house. What made you want to put them up?
I myself plan to put up 16 between inside and outside of my home. Looking for an affordable PoE solution. Spoiler alert, there aren't any!
Which cams are you looking at?

 

[Mustang51js]

Most of the time the kits come with the wire, otherwise it's a rg6 cable line with a 18-2 tstat line, then you have to buy the connectors for the ends.

 

[roscoe2000]

Stay away from daisy chain.

You want to home run each line back to a convenient location. Make sure you label (number) both end of your cable.

Do the same with all of your phone and network lines, it make cost you more now. But later you will be thankful for the flexibility in being able reroute and trouble shoot.

 

[gordon_gjs]

The POE cameras you are looking at do not come with built in IR? That would be your best bet, unless you already purchased them without.

If you are still going to go with the IR Illuminators, then I would just run an 18/2 to each camera location. Then tie them all into a powered Altronix PD8 fuse board.

I have 8 cameras currently installed at my house, a mixture of analog and POE. All the analog cameras at my house are using 18/2 to power the cameras and they tie into a powered PD8 fuse board.

 

[jeffmoss26]

What the others have said - cat5e or cat 6 to all the locations, and an 18/2 to any location that needs extra power, or an analog camera - you can use baluns with the Cat 5 for video.

 

[knobby]

Most of the time the kits come with the wire, otherwise it's a rg6 cable line with a 18-2 tstat line, then you have to buy the connectors for the ends.

You can simplify by using rg59 Siamese, still have to add ends tho

 

[mobiledynamics]

External IR's are better for outdoor camera's than ones with built in IR. Reflections, etc an appear in built in units. Best pratice is cameras that either don't have IR or if they do, you turn them off.

I'll just pull some 18/2 to be on the safe side as I've yet to determine the spec on which IR panels I'll use. Some of these panels I've considered use POE, but some may require more juice and I suspect want 12volt...

 

[gordon_gjs]

You can simplify by using rg59 Siamese, still have to add ends tho

Remember he stated all cameras will be POE, not analog.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

If the cameras will be POE, then the only thing u should need is CAT5e or CAT6....If the IRs are a problem, either turn them off or find a higher powered POE...And BTW POE/802.3af is 48v...

 

[mobiledynamics]

And BTW POE/802.3af is 48v...

I'm going to run 18/2 just in case....have not decided on which IR panel I'll be going with.

 

[Beemer533]

As has been mentioned, you can't daisy chain a POE system.. You need home runs to each location from your POE switch.

Also, separate IR lighting is a good idea as the IR light attracts spiders and they tend to spin webs in front of the camera... big pain.

Just make sure the IR light you use is compatible with the particular camera you buy.
And keep in mid that not all IP cameras allow you to turn off the built in IR LEDs; you may have to physically modify the camera..

 

[bgeery]

Unless you want to be a future victim, put up cameras now. Did you forgo locks on your doors as well? Everyone pays for alarm systems that do nothing to catch a crook, but skip the cameras that can provide the info to identify, capture and most importantly, convict the bastards. IMO.

 

[mobiledynamics]

Everyone has their own POV. I don't believe camera belong on a *home*. It's a aesthetics thing....

All my entrance doors are using Abloy locks with reinforced jambs, alarm system is communicated via broadband as primary , with cellular as backup, etc. This post was not about security....everyone has their own definition of it...or what layered approach one chooses to employ.

At the end of the day, it's just about the prewiring. I'd probably never install one unless my hand was ~forced~ but I get this may be a loaded topic, as some people just think it's ~cool~ to have camera they can view X and Y. I have a friend with a 45-52" TV in his garage showing 12-15 cameras... I'll take a pass on that.