How do you wire all your IP cams?

[Chris83]

How do you guys hook up all your ip cams? I'm looking for a better way to do mine.

I live in a double wide so no attic only a craw space. Most of my ip cams are mounted under a deck front and rear and on a flag pole.

I have one CAT6 cable hooked to my router going into the wall and then into the craw space and under the block around the house (yes it's real cement blocks) and that one CAT6 cable goes to a waterproof plastic box mounted under the deck that houses a POE switch and all my IP cams hook to it. Most of the cables are buried under mulch the flag poll one is underground.

And then i ran a extension cord outside to the poe box to power it.

I did it this way since i did't want to bring 8 CAT6 cables up under the house though the wall because that would be a pain but now i'm thinking i should have.

Is there a simpler way?

 

[fenderman]

Welcome to the forum..running an extension permanently outdoors is not a good idea. Other than that, as long as the box stays dry under the deck its not an issue...

 

[ServiceXp]

I think I would have run the CAT6 and power in liquid tight (one line for the power and one for each of the camera's) and mount a box at each of the camera's. I don't think I would have the CAT6 cable (or an extension cord) in or on the ground without protection.

 

[David9723]

You guys wouldn't put the POE inside?

 

[ServiceXp]

Not if it's protected and is operating within it's specifications.

 

[David9723]

Not if it's protected and is operating within it's specifications.

My poe only says 32F to 104F i've been looking for a poe+ that can go lower in temps. I get -4F some nights in the winter once in a while but a poe+ that can be used in that temp probably cost more than i can afford.

 

[code2]

why not throw another switch on the POE switch and then use a injector instead of a extension cord to power it?

 

[David9723]

What switch will do that?

 

[ServiceXp]

My poe only says 32F to 104F i've been looking for a poe+ that can go lower in temps. I get -4F some nights in the winter once in a while but a poe+ that can be used in that temp probably cost more than i can afford.

I guess you need to evaluate the costs of running wire and pipe from inside the house to each of the camera's (this is how I did it because the only spot I would have to put a switch is in the attic, and I didn't want to take the chance because of the extreme temps) against ruining the existing switch and possibly your camera's and equipment.

ZyXEL switches seem to have a higher top temp. limit then most, but their low temp. end is about the same as others. This is the one I use, but its also in a conditioned space.

 

[code2]

Honestly I would be running wire to each camera and pulling it into the house. But -4 isn't that cold to be honest. Not to be mean get off your ass and do it the right way :O) and stop trying to short cut it.

 

[johngalt]

When I installed cable TV as a contractor, we simply ran coax by drilling through the floor and just laying the coax on the ground under the mobile home. It was the same coax we used indoors. No gel filling or anything. This was the large cable companies install specs. Never heard of it causing any problems and never received any charge backs for install. Did this for hundreds of mobile homes, if not thousands. Liked those jobs because the charge per run was the same for a mobile home as it was for a 3 story brick mansion.

Also, I could do 20 trailers a day, 4 runs each - so if it decides to stop working, it won't be hard to fix it. I would leave it alone if it's working.

 

[ServiceXp]

When I installed cable TV as a contractor, we simply ran coax by drilling through the floor and just laying the coax on the ground under the mobile home. It was the same coax we used indoors. No gel filling or anything. This was the large cable companies install specs. Never heard of it causing any problems and never received any charge backs for install. Did this for hundreds of mobile homes, if not thousands. Liked those jobs because the charge per run was the same for a mobile home as it was for a 3 story brick mansion.

Also, I could do 20 trailers a day, 4 runs each - so if it decides to stop working, it won't be hard to fix it. I would leave it alone if it's working.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but video coax lines don't carry any appreciable load, and certainly doesn't have ~40vdc traveling through it does it?

 

[code2]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but video coax lines don't carry any appreciable load, and certainly doesn't have ~40vdc traveling through it does it?

LOL thats funny I'm not even sure what coax for cable tv has to do with the OPS question we are talking about POE under a house with ethernet cables and super long extension cords

 

[David9723]

LOL thats funny I'm not even sure what coax for cable tv has to do with the OPS question we are talking about POE under a house with ethernet cables and super long extension cords

I thought it was interesting.

 

[johngalt]

They are both transmission lines whether they serve whatever you mean by "appreciable load" or not, coax being the much more unforgiving one. We didn't even use gel-filled cable. These were trailers with only a skirt too. So I'd imagine if it caused problems and service calls they wouldn't be telling contractors all over the country to install this way. Belittle me if you feel better, but you are talking about a dwelling that isnt designed to be permanent. Crawl under a dozen of those things and you'll realize they weren't built with horizontal cabling pathways in mind. There is no good way to attach cable. If it's not getting wet and there aren't critters chewing on it, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Ideally yes, bundle that shit up in explosion proof conduit and use augmented cat6, etc. Why draw the line there?

It's installed, it's working, it's not going to explode or burn anything to the ground if the cord is on a breaker and terminated in a dry box. Maybe Put it on a GFCI. We all experience limitations in time and budget. Get over it.

Also, it's rude to talk down to people. I would suggest you not talk down to someone who has spent the last 4 months of their life developing MATLAB code that analyzes two-wire, planar, and coaxial topologies for different materials and frequencies. We can go there if you feel the need to prove something.

 

[code2]

They are both transmission lines whether they serve whatever you mean by "appreciable load" or not, coax being the much more unforgiving one. We didn't even use gel-filled cable. These were trailers with only a skirt too. So I'd imagine if it caused problems and service calls they wouldn't be telling contractors all over the country to install this way. Belittle me if you feel better, but you are talking about a dwelling that isnt designed to be permanent. Crawl under a dozen of those things and you'll realize they weren't built with horizontal cabling pathways in mind. There is no good way to attach cable. If it's not getting wet and there aren't critters chewing on it, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Ideally yes, bundle that shit up in explosion proof conduit and use augmented cat6, etc. Why draw the line there?

It's installed, it's working, it's not going to explode or burn anything to the ground if the cord is on a breaker and terminated in a dry box. Maybe Put it on a GFCI. We all experience limitations in time and budget. Get over it.

Also, it's rude to talk down to people. I would suggest you not talk down to someone who has spent the last 4 months of their life developing MATLAB code that analyzes two-wire, planar, and coaxial topologies for different materials and frequencies. We can go there if you feel the need to prove something.

So what exactly is the point of your posts? this has nothing to do with the ops post or question. No mention of coax was even brought up. Who cares about coax or your resume the op stated a he is running cat6 cable under his house to a PoE and then a long extension cord to his Ptz buried under mulch.

 

[johngalt]

My point was, it's fine. Don't worry about your cable. This is how big nationwide cable company does it (knowing coax is much more vulnerable to damage and moisture). No problems.

What was your point? To make someone look like an a-hole?

 

[fenderman]

So what exactly is the point of your posts? this has nothing to do with the ops post or question. No mention of coax was even brought up. Who cares about coax or your resume the op stated a he is running cat6 cable under his house to a PoE and then a long extension cord to his Ptz buried under mulch.

There is no mention of the extension cord going to the ptz or it being under mulch..the extension cord is only powering the poe switch...that is the only part of this setup that i would change..otherwise the ethernet will most likely be fine...The sheathing is more robust than you think...

 

[johngalt]

That's what I got. He said it's in a box underneath the deck feeding all his cameras. His concern was bringing it all into the house.

 

[ServiceXp]

They are both transmission lines whether they serve whatever you mean by "appreciable load" or not, coax being the much more unforgiving one. We didn't even use gel-filled cable. These were trailers with only a skirt too. So I'd imagine if it caused problems and service calls they wouldn't be telling contractors all over the country to install this way. Belittle me if you feel better, but you are talking about a dwelling that isnt designed to be permanent. Crawl under a dozen of those things and you'll realize they weren't built with horizontal cabling pathways in mind. There is no good way to attach cable. If it's not getting wet and there aren't critters chewing on it, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Ideally yes, bundle that shit up in explosion proof conduit and use augmented cat6, etc. Why draw the line there?

It's installed, it's working, it's not going to explode or burn anything to the ground if the cord is on a breaker and terminated in a dry box. Maybe Put it on a GFCI. We all experience limitations in time and budget. Get over it.

Also, it's rude to talk down to people. I would suggest you not talk down to someone who has spent the last 4 months of their life developing MATLAB code that analyzes two-wire, planar, and coaxial topologies for different materials and frequencies. We can go there if you feel the need to prove something.

I'm sorry you feel that way, my question was just that, a question, as there was no ill will intended.

EDIT:

What I men't by appreciable load is the POE circuit is under load from the camera and thus has a higher need to be protected. I'm HVAC/R Tech by trade, so I'm very familiar with craws and the like. If video cabling gets chaffed or chewed through or moisture permeates the jackets and shorts, the wire isn't going to possibly heat up. That is not the case with lines that carry loads, for cables that are not rated for outdoor use.

The bottom line for me is if the manufacturer of the wiring being used, has not rated the wire for outdoor use then you shouldn't do it.