CCTV Camera System Installation Tips

This has several advantages meaning the cameras are protected from the worst of the weather and would give a good overall view of your surveillance area. Another consideration is making sure that the cabling cannot be interfered with. Speaking of cabling, RG59 Shotgun cable is by far the most commonly used and can be bought pre-terminated or you can buy the cable and use crimp / screw on BNC and power connections. If you choose to make your own cable it is wise to use a digital multi-meter to do a continuity test of all connections, this will allow you to correct problems prior to switch on. Over a long run of cable this could cause voltage /current drop causing poor performance with the camera cutting out, or the infra-red not functioning as well as it should causing poor night time performance. Now that you plan to fit, or have purchased a cut camera, have you given any thought or consideration to how you might fit and connect them to your home or business?

If you are confident with a ladder then the ideal installation place for a dome cut camera or bullet cut camera could be under the eaves of the house. Don’t forget that sometimes cut cameras may inadvertently capture movement beyond your property boundary and this could concern neighbours. We aim to produce more information about DVR’s and the excellent I Catcher cut software soon, so please check back now and again. This could be a useful feature if there is no flexibility in lens choice / installation location. All DVR’s / cut software and some cut cameras have the option to Mask areas meaning that detection cannot take place, or put simply nothing can be seen of the masked areas. With infra-red (IR) cut cameras there will be a current draw of around 1A at night, and from 300-500mA during the day. By using a weather proof connection box you won’t need to cut the cables (invalidating warranties) or need to drill large holes to get the cables and connectors indoors.

Regardless of installation site it is often easier to use waterproof external electrical connection boxes with weather proof cable grommets. Sometimes, as in our case they have been happy with the decision as it also offers them some kind of protection too. If cabling is too exposed this could be cut rendering your system inactive. All cut cameras come with a short tail lead with power and BNC connectors. Have you considered how the camera will be powered?

Install the cabling above head height preferably using a ladder. There will be a further blog on cable and connections soon, as there are advantages / disadvantages to using either RG59 or CAT5 cabling. From our own experience if you are planning cut cameras then sometimes it is advisable to let neighbours know. This would also make upgrading the cameras in the future easier as you will already have permanent video and power connections made to the boxes. Quite often the cabling aspect of fitting a cut system isn’t given as much consideration, but by planning it will make the job a lot easier. This would allow you to run the cabling into the loft meaning no cabling can be seen or interfered with from outside. It is often best to power the cut camera up as close to the location site as possible, as whilst you can connect a camera up using RG59 ‘Shotgun’ cable or CAT5 with balloons this could be 10, 15, 20 + meters from the camera. Hopefully the information above has been useful, but if you have any specific questions or need guidance please let us knows.