Does anyone here know of a supplier of an adaptor to allow me to send composite video over CAT5 cabling? Situation is I already have CAT5 installed and adding dedicated video cable would be *really* hard work. I believe CAT5 can do this, just a question of using the right pairs.
Alan.
You need suitable video balancing/matching units. Not cheap, IIRC.
Ah. I was under the impression a passive adaptor could so this. Video quality does not need to be great, as it's only for a security camera.
Alan.
There seem to be many commercial solutions for this, but
Andy
It still needs to be a video balancing transformer, though. Last I heard they were about 40 quid each, and you'd need one each end.
Google this group (groups.google.com, Advanced Search, choose "only in group:" and specify uk.d-i-y) - we've been over this ground a while ago. Bottom line: yes, it can be done, in that the Cat5 cable performance is up to the job; but it's done rather rarely and in "professional" settings that the necessary adaptors (baluns - litte transformers, essentially) cost "professional" money, like about 80 quid each. Oh, and you need a pair - one at each end.
Suppliers? (Reaches for Canford catalogue -
Now, how much "really hard work" does that 250 quid buy? ;-)
You have a point. But the cables would have to be run outside the house due to recently decorated room and SWMBO etc. And there is a suitable CAT5 socket in just the right place terminating in just the right place also!
The kat5.tv link provided by Dave Plowman looks interesting also...
Alan.
Why not use a 2.4 Ghz Video Sender System similar to the one found on here
On Wed, 08 Dec 2004 15:15:39 GMT, "Alan" strung together this:
Just flicking through one of the trade catalogues i can get convertors for £9 each for video only, or £13 for video and power. These just use a pair for TX\RX and you'll need two of each. Active transmission is £39 for a TX and RX, which will TX\RX video, audio and 12V across cat5 up to 2.4Km. All + VAT and delivery. These are professional units and are BNC\phono connections for video\audio. Not sure what type of camera you've got, if it's one of those DIY ones you might have to use a bit of ingenuity!
I'm not sure who'd be more offended. ;-)
Would it be easier to use a network camera?
In article , Dave Plowman (News) writes
He might be able to scrounge a couple of baluns used to convert coaxial (10 base 2) Ethernet to twisted pair and vice-versa. I know they're 50 ohm as opposed to the 75 ohm of RG59 coax, but it should be okay for short runs for CCTV.
Have you tried just connected direct to one of the pairs. Left unbalanced quality will be poor and interference high but if it's for a security camera it might suffice. Else get a core from Farnell and wind a balun yourself.
Cat5Blaster?
What type camera are you using? Is the CAT5 buried in the ground? Is it running close to any mains AC cables?
Composite video signals at 1 Volt peak to peak from any camera can be sent through CAT5 as long as the cable run is pretty clean from nearby outside interference. It may also have a bearing if you've used cheaper quality CAT cable, as the internal twisting on the pairs isn't always close wound enough to prevent cross talk of signals. A decent quality CAT cable has enough twisting on each of the pairs to allow composite video through though.
To check the quality of the CAT cable just look at the pairs after taking the outer sheath off. If the pairs are wound (twisted) together at around an inch separation, then the cable may not carry video to clearly over long distance. If, however, the twisted pairs are wound to a half inch wrap, the cable will carry video perfectly clear over a good 200 to 300 mtrs without to much decay at the receiver end.
One of these at each end of the CAT cable should be enough:
That device looks ideal for the job. Thanks for the link.
Alan.
How are you thinking of powering the camera?
As long as you have a signal of 1 Volts peak to peak on the video output from the camera, which is the normal signal threshold on this type of camera, you will be able to send video over an unshielded twisted pair (UTP) or CAT5 cable without any decay, as long as you keep the signal on one pair only. The device on the link is just an easy adaptor between standard BNC and RJ45 connectors.
We do these systems nearly every day and to save us using miles of separate coaxial cables to remote positions on site, we use a single multi-core unshielded twisted pair cable to one central hub point, then distribute coaxial to the individual cameras from there. We have had UTP cable runs up to 500 - 600 mtrs without problems using a powered hub as a simple amplifier to keep the signals along the UTP to the receiver end at the 1 Volts peak to peak limit.
No need to power the camera at the moment as it will have local power source. I have ordered a pair of the versions which also transmit audio as it may be useful to have the facility.
Thanks again for the link.
Alan.
In article , BigWallop writes
No it isn't. It does impedance matching; it converts from the 100 ohm of Cat5 to the 75 ohm of the coax video cable.
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