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  1. smoothie

    Dahua Ultra Starlight Varifocal Bullet (IPC-HFW8232E-Z)

    I am looking forward to this review and the eventual shootout between this and the other starlight cam.
  2. smoothie

    Ground IP cam and also use lightening arrester?

    wow that was clearly directed by Michael Bay haha
  3. smoothie

    Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

    Excellent, thanks @nayr you are always making excellent choices. I was just wondering the other day how these two would compare and if the price difference would be worth it or not. I know I sound like a broken record but thanks again for doing endless research, comparisons, and above all else...
  4. smoothie

    Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

    The attic exists only along a portion of the north side of the house, most of the house is vaulted ceilings so conduit outside is way easier than patching what would ultimately be all the drywall in the house. The attic has direct access to only one camera location and 2 network drops in the...
  5. smoothie

    Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

    And of course when I actually get around to putting serious time into this project, I would think around Spring, I promise to take loads of install pics and post them here for all.
  6. smoothie

    Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

    Yeah it is going to be a ton of work. The VoIP phones are, at least initially, going to be primarily for intercom and interior/exterior communications. I have grand plans of being able to follow in the footsteps of @nayr with home automation and the VoIP phones. One of the things I am hoping...
  7. smoothie

    Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

    I am using CAT5E as it is easier to work with, cheaper, and I already have 2000ft of it available. There is nothing on my network that can even use CAT6a speeds, nor do I think there will be anytime soon. I have 45M internet and that is the fastest I can get in my area so CAT5e is plenty fine...
  8. smoothie

    Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

    All the conduit is going to be 3/4" I am planning on having the gear in the garage with the switch and patch panel etc. I am going to run the cables from the garage internally into the attic and exit the attic under the eaves on the north side of the house. From there I was going to run 2...
  9. smoothie

    Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

    I was thinking of suggesting a piece of 2x4 as a spacer but I think @nayr has the right idea, since a junction box is probably going to be part of the install anyway using as a spacer is an elegant solution, better than my piece of wood I think.
  10. smoothie

    Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

    Thanks @nayr that is sound advice. I have existing cams up, 8 of them, but they are old school D1 analogs so I hate to even call them cameras in 2017 and I am sure their FOV and view would not necessarily translate to the new Dahua IP cams.
  11. smoothie

    Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

    Thanks for posting such an extensive review and contributing so much to this site @nayr I am looking forward to owning a few of these cameras myself. First I have to run EMT conduit around the outside of my house for the cables, was waiting for the holidays and weather to pass me by. Should...
  12. smoothie

    Review-I'll be the guinea pig for the new SD59225U-HNI PTZ.

    That is such a nice camera, I am planning on buying one myself. Thanks for starting this thread and sharing.
  13. smoothie

    Cat6 & rj-45

    Ouch, I am sorry I seem to upset you deeply to warrant such an aggressive response. I was simply referring to 23awg vs 24awg cable and that there are RJ-45 connectors meant for 24awg cable and that spooled cable can be 23awg. Yes if you have the correct connectors for the cables you have then...
  14. smoothie

    Cat6 & rj-45

    Consider the gauge of the wires within your CAT6 cables. You may not be able to attach an RJ-45 directly as the wires could be too thick. Often times cables sold in large spools are meant to be terminated in either a patch panel or keystone which are made to accommodate the thicker individual...
  15. smoothie

    Anyone catch traffic from this?

    In short...yes Using the VPN with two-factor authentication and long passwords with complexity is ideal. There are certain things you can do to help mitigate the chore of it all. If you have security features enabled on your iPhone such as; a non-obvious unlock code on your iPhone, erase the...
  16. smoothie

    Anyone catch traffic from this?

    Think of network security like physical security. You want layers upon layers of protection. The more secure and capable each of those layers are the more protected your core network is. If you have good quality doors and locks on your house that is certainly good, but if you live in a gated...
  17. smoothie

    What's causing this problem?

    I have seen reports of similar effects when the iframe is set improperly. You might want to check that and see if that helps. Not at all sure that is the problem but it appears similar and might be worth checking out.
  18. smoothie

    Dahua 4MP w/IR Cannon Before.. After

    That is a profound difference indeed. The detail one image to the next is very striking. I am curious, how bright is that IR cannon to the naked eye in this situation ?
  19. smoothie

    Spider At Work

    Here is the thread in the accessories forum. https://www.ipcamtalk.com/showthread.php/13641-Inexpensive-IR-illuminator The user just replied that he bought them Oct 2012 and they are still going strong.
  20. smoothie

    Spider At Work

    I personally do not but I got those specific links to Amazon from another user on this forum who had been using them for some time successfully and happily. I just made reference to this in another thread earlier today.
  21. smoothie

    Inexpensive IR illuminator

    The most common cause of short lifespans in LEDs, such as you find in IR illuminators, is the manufacturer pushing far too much power to the LED to bolster their "specs" but at the cost of burning them out prematurely. Be cautious of IR illuminators that are "too cheap" while being "too...
  22. smoothie

    Inexpensive IR illuminator

    One of the members of this forum has had both this unit and this unit in operation for a long time without issue. I think it might haven been @bp2008 who posted this but I don't remember for sure. But these two units were definitely in good operating order for quite some time, at least months...
  23. smoothie

    Spider At Work

    Another option is to turn off the internal IR on the cams and put up separate dedicated IR illuminators such as These or These. The spiders and bugs will go for the illuminators and leave the cameras alone
  24. smoothie

    Spider At Work

    I use a Broom resting with the handle inside a Pool Pole to reach the 2nd floor cameras on my house. The broom can spin in the pool pole which I guess isn't ideal but I don't need any pressure to remove the spider webs from my cams, just a quick brushing and done deal.
  25. smoothie

    Connecting two switches

    Try to use a straight cable first, most modern switches have the ability to detect another networking device on the cable and change the way they talk into a straight cable so that it works. A crossover cable used to be for connecting two networking devices together. Since a crossover cable has...
  26. smoothie

    BI PC Network Setup

    @fenderman is correct. The vast majority of traffic being sent and received by the BI PC is between it and the cameras, as a Windows PC if unmodified it will still chat to the MS master servers from time to time for Windows Updates plus any web browsing you might do on it. Think of network...
  27. smoothie

    Changing LAN IP Address on Router

    The steps to basically follow in changing your IP schema would be something like this: 1) Decide what IP schema you want to go to (e.g. 192.168.157.x) 2) Determine which of your devices are static vs. dynamic (dhcp) addressing 3) Decide on your DHCP scope, only give out a range of addresses...
  28. smoothie

    Add audio to an ip camera via my NVR?

    Be sure to look into your States laws regarding audio recording. Some States are "two party consent" which means you basically cannot record audio with security cameras in a realistically legal way. IP cams that support audio with external or built in mics usually transmit that audio over the...
  29. smoothie

    Lightning storm last month, replacing all equiptment question

    I think the best option for avoiding lightning strike damage is to have lightning rods installed on the house such that they are the more attractive target. Lightning wants to get to ground, at all costs. If the lightning rods provide a better route to ground they will take the strike and the...
  30. smoothie

    HDW4431C-A : Doorway Camera?

    Do be careful with audio recording. Certain states require both parties consent to record audio. I would think that is an excellent camera for that application. I am planning on using that same camera also in the 2.8mm lens size for that same application.
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