I just read Bob Dolph’s feature, “Sensorship That Makes Sense” (see February issue) and I wanted to thank you for your kind mention of our products. I especially appreciated that our products were properly presented as event-based video instead of surveillance. Obviously, you do understand what need Videofied is attempting to fill.

You might want to look at our new outdoor product line, which is especially targeting copper theft. If you go to www.coppertheft.info, you can actually see a real apprehension if you click on “Catching a Copper Thief in the Act” button in the top left. It will show a series of five videos that are very compelling.

KEITH JENTOFT, President
RSI Video Technologies
White Bear Lake, Minn.

RESIDENTIAL ARTICLE ON THE MARK

I just got around to reading Managing Editor Rodney Bosch’s “Magnifying the Path to Residential Success” article in the January issue and really enjoyed it. It was a great job and provided really good information.

SCOTT HOLMAN, Product Manager
Security Potter/Amseco St. Louis

CASINO CCTV CABLING CONUNDRUM

I am not ashamed to say I have no experience installing an aerial RG59 cable for a parking lot p/t/z camera installation. My manager ordered and received two 1,000-foot aerial RG59 cable reels. I am tasked with finding out how to install this cable and connect it to a p/t/z camera (Pelco Spectra IV). It will be a home-run back to a Pelco CM9760 matrix system.

The cable run will only be approximately 450 feet. I am hoping you can provide me with the knowledge to accomplish this task. Thank you in advance for any assistance you can give.

SAMUEL BELL, CCTV Technician Manager
Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino
Eagle Pass, Texas

SOUND BITES

“We will diligently defend against any ordinance that significantly impacts response times to emergency fire signals.”
Stan Martin, Executive Director
Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC)

“The end users drive this [open system architectures], not the manufacturers.”
John Moss, CEO S2 Security Corp.

“We’ve never met a school administrator who thought having security was a bad idea. The challenge is finding the money.”
Bill Ford, Vice President
Education Sonitrol Corp.

CONTRIBUTING TECHNICAL WRITER ROBERT GROSSMAN RESPONDS:

Don’t be concerned about a lack of knowledge in running aerial RG59 cable for a parking lot camera. Particularly in casino installations, it isn’t done very often.

The reasons for not doing it are, first and foremost, that it can be easily sabotaged. An extendable tree-trimming saw can easily cut the wire, circumventing camera coverage. Second, if the camera is powered at the pole, you are likely to get 60Hz ground noise since the equipment in the building will have a different earth ground. Our preferred method for such cameras would be to run underground fiber-optic cable. This has the added benefit of eliminating the danger of a lightning strike taking out the rest of the equipment.

However, if you must run aerial cable, I would stay away from RG59. First of all, the aerial RG59 cable you purchased is likely designed for CATV installations, with a copper-clad steel center conductor (for strength) and an aluminum shield (for the higher frequencies found in CATV, or cable TV signals). If this is the case, it will likely be very susceptible to noise and interference.

You’d be better off using a twisted pair cable and UTP baluns, such as those provided by Nitek, NVT, Pelco, or other manufacturers. They will eliminate the grounding issue and you can use communications-grade cable (such as that used by the telephone company), which is extremely rugged and will hold up well. It is often bonded to a steel wire for strength and they make strain reliefs to support the cable.

As far as the physical installation, you’ll need to contact the cable manufacturer or an experienced phone company installer for specific tricks and tips. I suspect that a cash payment will get the job done quickly and professionally, without the learning curve.

www.securitysales.com • MAY 2008

Detailed in a recent newspaper article, the city’s 68-camera system routinely fails to provide video streams capable of being used for evidence that could lead to arrests.

City officials told the San Francisco Chronicle the cameras, many of which are deployed on high-crime street corners, achieve only 80 percent of the resolution they are capable of, and that they generate, at best, two to four frames per second because the city lacks the data storage space to accommodate more footage.

However, neither the cameras nor the data storage are likely to be the true culprits of the faulty system, says Robert Grossman, president of R. Grossman and Associates, a consulting company specializing in project-based work for large integrated systems.

Paint a bulls-eye on the network infrastructure or better yet, the person who designed the system says Grossman, who learned about the city’s video woes after reading the recent newspaper article.

Some cameras are getting decent frame rates while other cameras in other areas aren’t, which points me away from storage and more toward network design, says Grossman. To me it is clearly a bandwidth issue.

San Francisco’s beleaguered 30-month -old surveillance program is a prime example of the huge responsibility systems integrators, specifiers and consultants assume when taking on a project. While the article never discussed who designed or installed the system, Grossman says the responsible parties should have warned the city its network infrastructure would not be capable of providing sufficient frame rates.

The integrator had to know this wasn’t going to work right and should have warned the city about the repercussions of this design, he says.

The surveillance system, which so far amounts to $900,000, includes megapixel cameras manufactured by San Juan Capistrano, Calif.-based IQinVision.

Whoever integrated this system just loused it up, IQinVision President Peter DeAngelis tells SSI. They didn’t necessarily listen to the customer and determine what their needs for the system were.

The city has budgeted an additional $200,000 for 25 more cameras, the newspaper reported.

The message in all of this is if you have a problem project, then raise the red flag or don’t take the project, Grossman says.

www.securitysales.com March 2008

Several years ago, I built a mountain house and prewired for video surveillance by using RG 59 cable. The cable(s) were run to various locations where I want to install cameras to a central location in the basement. I estimate the longest run to be approximately 40 feet. I also ran electrical wiring along with the RG 59. The identification on the RG 59 wire is: “RG 59/U AWG Type CL2 75 C (UL) E100316 or CATV Ð CSA CMH FTl LL53149-SC.”

Is there a video surveillance system that will work using this wire? I need four cameras that I can access via Internet from a remote location. I appreciate any advice.

CHARLES ASHWORTH
Via E-mail

SSI CONTRIBUTOR ROBERT GROSSMAN REPLIES

The bad news is that you’ve pulled the wrong type of cable for a video surveillance system, using CATV (broadband, or cable TV) cable instead of CCTV (baseband or composite) cable. The good news is that, given the short distances involved, it likely won’t matter. The cable you are using is not designed to reject noise for the signals you are running, but hopefully you won’t pick up much noise beyond 40 feet or so.

There are many companies that sell low-cost systems for consumer use, ranging from Sam’s Club to mail-order firms, some of which advertise in industry magazines like SSI. You will likely want to run standard analog cameras (there are a wide variety to choose from) to a centrally located DVR in your basement. The DVR can run unattended (make sure you use a UPS), and if connected to a network or the Internet will give you remote viewing and retrieval of stored images.

I get catalogs from a company called SuperCircuits (www.supercircuits.com) that sells the kind of equipment you are looking for at reasonable prices and has a reputation for good presales advice and support. I have not personally used them, but they would likely be a good starting point.

‘BIG IDEA’ REKINDLES MEMORIES

It has been more than 20 years since I sat with Ron Davis and Dorsie Mosher in a sales seminar. It was so nice to see Mr. Davis’ picture in the latest issue of SSI (see “The Big Idea” on page 131)!

Wow, to think I still use some of the things that I learned from him. Concepts such as ask for the sale, use your existing customers for leads, live off of your customers, etc., etc. are sound strategies I have returned to again and again. Anyway, I look forward to seeing more of your columns.

JAY SOUZA, President
Diablo Area Alarms
Via E-Mail

BIG FAN OF SSI’s STATS AND INFO

I’m reading through your 2008 Top 300 Industry Resource Guide and I must say the information and data gathered are very interesting. To that point, I would like to be able to better share this data with my peers and would like to know if the information found in your magazine is available in electronic form?

PHILIPPE OUIMETTE
SimplexGrinnell (Northern Operations)
Montreal

We are a state psychiatric hospital with forensic patients. [We have ] access control, card readers, surveillance cameras, large and small monitors and viewing screens, a duress system with personal monitor transmitters, state public safety officers, contract security officers, a wide range of communication devices, and appropriate staffing of 400 to 800 with a patient population of 196 (214 capacity). Yet with all the high tech equipment and systems installed, we continue to experience glitches in our operation.

Could you provide alternate options, if there are any, for system failures? We have experienced system failures, which prevent entry or exit into a controlled area. The only current option is activating the fire alarm system to fail safe (unlock) the doors.

Please comment as [the installer] failed to install a back-up system, which is compromising health and safety. It is extremely discouraging for us to experience potential load factors leading to system failures and subsequent shutdowns occurring more often.
Name and location withheld upon request

We have asked Robert Grossman, a consultant who often contributes to Campus Safety, to respond to your inquiry:

It is difficult to respond to the specific nature of the problems the reader is experiencing without an onsite review of the system. However, we can apply some troubleshooting techniques that consulting firms typically use to resolve problems in cases like this.

First, look at the hardware. Verify that the equipment used on this project is appropriate for the application. That is, the card readers, door strikes and other electro-mechanical equipment are designed to withstand the local environment and the amount of usage. Any computers should also be in accordance with published manufacturers’ specifications.

This is relatively easy to verify, although it involves some legwork. Check the data sheets for each product and compare them to the application. If a card reader is not designed to withstand volume usage or high humidity and it is located on the exterior of the employee entrance, there are going to be problems. Likewise, an underpowered server and incorrect type of door strike will also cause issues.

Second, evaluate the software. Make sure the access control system is made by a manufacturer that has a proven track record in this specific environment and that the software is sized to the application. Find the names of other campuses that are using these products in a similar environment. If you call another hospital that is using the same system and it has the same problems, stop right there and call in the lawyers. On the other hand, if the system is working flawlessly at similar locations, make sure the version you have is the right one for you. If the system is designed for 50 users and you are approaching that number, it may be time for an upgrade.

If the software and hardware are appropriate, turn to installation quality. While you can ask an expert to evaluate this for you, often there’s someone on staff (or nearby) who can help. Look at wiring, connections and accessories. Wire should be the correct type as specified by the manufacturer, and connections should be neat and bundled appropriately. Access control panels are often messy inside, and loose wires, peeling electrical tape and lack of cable management all contribute to intermittent failures. Stick-on cable tie blocks become unstuck, and unused cable shielding are also common problems, and if touching or moving a wire harness causes a failure, you’re on the right track.

Also, it’s not enough to just wire everything and hope for the best. Surge protection, battery backup and UPS systems are critical on any application, and are even more important in your specific environment. If these were not a part of your initial system design, they must be added. Your system will fail intermittently without such protection.

Finally, look at software and training. Many strange and unforeseen problems are caused by errors in system setup or maintenance, which speaks to how well your folks are equipped to add, delete and program permissions for users. Access control systems are feature rich, and with this flexibility often comes the opportunity to program in events that are doing what they are designed to do but not what you want them to do.

The good news is that your system should be able to perform reliably over the long term. A careful systematic approach to troubleshooting and resolution of the deficiencies you find should lead to a cure.

Robert D. Grossman
President
R. Grossman and Associates, Inc.

CAMPUS SAFETY MARCH/APRIL 2008 www.campussafetymagazine.com