[NLRS] Tower Mounted Video Camera Immune to the sun.

KBØNLY kb0nly at mchsi.com
Fri Sep 20 19:52:33 EDT 2013


I had a tower mounted camera for years, it was a CCTV enclosure with heater 
and fan, the camera was just your basic CCTV camera with an auto iris lens. 
Served well for many years of use until I removed it.  Not that hard to do, 
you get the enclosures for under $40 on ebay now, a used camera for $20 and 
your set.

73,

Scott KBØNLY



-----Original Message----- 
From: Steve N4PZ
Sent: Friday, September 20, 2013 6:42 PM
To: Andy Furlong ; NLRS Post
Subject: Re: [NLRS] Tower Mounted Video Camera Immune to the sun.



Hello All
I put the camera inside a piece of PVC pipe abt 2 inche diameter and cap up 
both ends. On one end glue (RTV, smells like vinigar) a piece of glass on a 
hole cut in the cap. Put the glass on OUTSIDE of the cap or snow will build 
up on the edge outside and cut off part of your camera view. The relay goes 
inside the PVC pipe also obviously. Make sure to drill a small hole or two 
on the lowest part of the PVC pipe for drainage but not big enough for wasps 
to get inside, Remember, if you skip the relay inside the PVC pipe to 
isolate the camera when it is turned off you WILL, GUARANTEED, very soon buy 
a new camera as the first wild thunder storm passes. Hi Hi.
Once you have cameras on all your antennas like I have you will feel blind 
if one fails. Even on my tropo antennas. I can see trees blocking certain 
paths that I never suspected. On microwave dishes I have vertical adjust on 
my tropo dishes. You would be amazed how easily you can find your dish 
pointing into the ground or way up above the actual horizon. A level can 
lie. Trust me. Point your dish at the setting sun and with a vertical 
adjustment I’ll bet 50% of all microwave dishes aren’t on the horizon. Also 
on a 300 mile path on 5760 I found peak signal not on the horizon but 
several degrees above it. Try a camera. You will wonder how you ever did 
without it.
73
Steve N4PZ

From: Andy Furlong
Sent: Friday, September 20, 2013 9:31 AM
To: n4pz at live.com
Subject: Tower Mounted Video Camera Immune to the sun.

Hi Steve.....PLEASE SEE my questions in blue below and THANKS
for any additional info.
Andy   WA2FGK

At 12:08 AM 9/20/2013, you wrote:

  Hello All
  www.mpja.com Marlin P.Jones 1-800-652-6733 offers the best camera for an 
array. It is immune to being pointed at the sun and is NOT sensitive to IR 
light. Those that are,
  are blind and will not tolerate the sun. They also sell cables cheap up to 
150 feet long for the cameras. The camera has an adjustable lens, not a 
pinhole. It is the only one that will work. Try anything else as I did and 
you will spend hundreds of dollars learning an expensive lesson.
  The camera is model number 14248 ST for $49.95 and cables 15460-WI 25 ft 
$6.95, 15461-WI 50 ft  $9.95, 15462-WI 100 ft. $17.95, 15463-WI 150 ft 
$$22.95.
  This camera is the result of having spent hundreds of dollars only to have 
the sun destroy them or they are blind at night in  the case of the color 
one or almost blind at night in  the case of the one that has infrared LEDs 
and is used for surveillance.  The camera must be isolated completely from 
the cable when shut off by means of a 12 volt relay(coax relay?) which 
disconnects the camera from the downlead (RF Coax relay or DC leads????)and 
grounds it back to itself. If you don’t do that I promise lightening will 
blow it during the first thunder storm.  DOES THE CAMERA NEED TO BE IN AN 
ENCLOSURE?
  My camera has been on my polar mounted dish for 3 years and the sun passes 
it daily. It still works fine believe it or not!
  73
  Steve N4PZ
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