Surveillance camera 1200ft wire run

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haywire

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Milpitas, ca
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Electrician
I have 23 cameras running from a building to 23 light poles in a parking lot. The longest being about 1200ft away. The trench is laid out already, making it 1200ft plus the 14ft and 18ft light poles . They want to run it up inside of the poles (with the 120v going to the lights). I've done some small camera set ups, mainly homes and warehouse' s but not at these distances. I could use some advise on wire type and size even pricing. This has been a nightmare job and now this idea is suddenly most important. I don't know type of cameras yet.
 
Well, you're not running wired IP cameras at that distance without multiple active switches (max 330' for TP ethernet) or pulling fiber. Before you go further, you need to know about the cameras and how they'll communicate with the base station. Wireless or wired? IP over CAT5 or video over coax? Is the camera power from each pole or from the base station (that affects the cable size for the farther cameras)?

Sounds like the client is supplying the camera hardware, so they probably ought to spec the cable. But as Reagan said "Trust, but verify"- check the specs on the cable.
 
In the box at the base of the pole, install a media converter (that will convert it to fiber)(Comnet is the manufacturer that I use, but there are others, such as Kramer and Voscom. Kramer makes good stuff. Just do a search for video to fiber or BNC to fiber converters). At the other end, of course, there will need to be a receiver to convert it back to video. If you go with analog cameras, don't do anything less than 600TVL. The higher the TVL number, the sharper the picture.
 
egnlsn hit it on the head with the fiber. The cost of fiber, terminating and converters can be less than a single lightning strike. Yeah, lightning may take out a camera and both converters but that's still cheap. Also eliminates the possibility of ground loops. :D
 
Ethernet over DSL. The termination adapter would be a couple hundred per pair. The adapters go on both ends and the long run in the middle runs as a private point to point DSL and 1,200 ft should be no problem. It is functionally equivalent to a very long LAN cable.

https://www.amazon.com/Tupavco-TEX-100-Ethernet-Extender-Broadband/dp/B01BOD8C9W

I don't have any experience with this device and can't vouch for it so you have to do your own research in choosing the unit. Needless to say, you need to come up with equipment cabinet that resists tampering from ground level.
 
Back when I was doing CCTV, it was shorter runs (<400') with RG59/18-22/2 siamese cable. Cameras were never powered locally. I imagine it is possibly to get 1200' from RG59/12-2 if you cannot power the cameras from the poles. Following this topic...
 
If it's a long run from the building but the poles are clustered together enough to allow a home run to a point that can be designated as equipment cabinet, you could run ethernet over DSL to the equipment cabinet from the building and connect all the cameras to equipment cabinet by power over ethernet.
 
hbiss said:
Anybody here see the problem with this?
Click to expand...

Just a few. To paraphrase an old friend, "Either we don't know enough, or if we so, this was not well thought out."

Video/data transmission signal/technology/media
Camera power source
Media converter power source
Environment for media converters
Code compliance for the above

For instance, is there a 24-hour power source for the cameras & media converters at the pole? Is it 120v, 240v, or 277v?

Once way of dealing with this, and it wouldn't necessarily be my way, is to ask the client what they want installed and do just that with no guaranty of suitability.
 
Comnets have an operating temperature range of -40 to +185 degrees Fahrenheit, so as long as they're in environmental enclosures, they're good. There's also a 24VAC unit, which can be powered off the camera's transformer.

I inherited a site that has 105 such setups, and I have never had any issues.
 
a2b1807c7918f90c2091072aba042cac.jpg


This is what we have onsite. You can see the pvc box is recessed into the pole base. There is a fiber media converter and transformer to support the camera. I believe this is the standard setup for these types of installs.
 
Ultrafault said:
a2b1807c7918f90c2091072aba042cac.jpg


This is what we have onsite. You can see the pvc box is recessed into the pole base. There is a fiber media converter and transformer to support the camera. I believe this is the standard setup for these types of installs.
Click to expand...

Looks like an Art 725 nightmare.. was it inspected ?
 
I installed power and enclosures for cameras at two transit authority Park and Rides. The power was 480/120 transformers at each pole base (mounted on strut adjacent to an enclosure.) Primary and secondary fuses were in the pole base. The transformer fed a duplex receptacle in the enclosure.

All the XFMRs were on one breaker except one pole that we could not pull through the existing conduit. That camera was fed from the pole light circuit (lights had photocells at each head.)

Another contractor pulled new fiber to each pole. These conduits were installed at the original construction. The camera contractor inadvertently burned up several of our transformers by plugging their scissor lift into the converter enclosure duplex recept.
 
Thanks everybody. Im gonna have them figure out the cameras they are going to use first. Then run from there. There are 23 poles with 120v running up to lights won't that cause some interference with the low volt running next to it. It's a 4 inch square pole.
 
haywire said:
Thanks everybody. Im gonna have them figure out the cameras they are going to use first. Then run from there. There are 23 poles with 120v running up to lights won't that cause some interference with the low volt running next to it. It's a 4 inch square pole.
Click to expand...

You can't run your camera wiring within the pole with the line voltage wiring!!

And that box that ultrafault posted is real nice BUT illegal the way it is configured. Like somebody said, an Article 725 nightmare.

-Hal
 
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