Power Over IP Dongles

I received my 6 5V regulator kits a few days ago. Boy, the components on the board are going to be REALLY close together. I'm going to have to really practice my soldering!
 
A little update on this project.

I was finally able to install a couple of my IP cameras over the weekend. Looking at the walwarts that come with the cameras, they are rated to output 5VDC at 2.5A, and the cameras require 900mA. Given that I decided NOT to use a single hi-amp PS with VR's on the camera-end. I tested the voltage after connecting one of the wallwarts to nearl 50' of CATg (using the blues and browns) and I was getting 5.19-5.22VDC consistently, the same reading I was gettting without any CAT5 in the way. I think the hi-amperage of these powersupplies result in the long run of small wire having minimal impact on them... heck, I could probably power two cameras off of one powersupply.

The technique works like a charm. I run my wire, install RJ45's on eith end, then cut a ring around the CAT5 sleave with a razor, fish out about 1" of blue & brown wires (with a 1" slit in the CAT5 sleeve), cut at the RJ45 ends (so that only the green and orange pairs have continuity all the way through) and connect my PS to one side and PS connector to the other. It makes for a very neat and tidy package - much nicer than having to put regulators on the camera end would have. The two that I made worked right the first time - no having to go back and fix anything. I think I can churn-out about 2 cameras a night, and still have time to hang out with my family and watch some TV. This will allow me to get all the cameras installed before the Au Pair gets here on Friday. My homeplug adapters that I'm going to use on a couple of the cameras should also be here by Wednesday.
 
jrfuda said:
I tested the voltage after connecting one of the wallwarts to nearl 50' of CATg (using the blues and browns) and I was getting 5.19-5.22VDC consistently, the same reading I was gettting without any CAT5 in the way. I think the hi-amperage of these powersupplies result in the long run of small wire having minimal impact on them... heck, I could probably power two cameras off of one powersupply.
Hi, John.

Did you have the camera attached when you measured the voltage?

Voltage drop is directly proportional to the current drawn. If the camera was not drawing any current (because it was not hooked up), there would be no voltage drop.

Also, the amount of current a power supply is capable of providing will not have an effect on the voltage drop. However, there is no reason why you couldn't run two cameras from one supply.
 
rocco said:
Also, the amount of current a power supply is capable of providing will not have an effect on the voltage drop. However, there is no reason why you couldn't run two cameras from one supply.
Correct the amount of current a power supply is capable of providing will not have an effect on the voltage drop. But depending on the actual voltage drop the cameras may still run but will draw more current. With that in mind I beleive the cameras would shut off before it draws anywhere near 1.3X the amount of current it normally draws ..... so even with a slight voltage drop I think 2 camera is safe. One thing you could do is add 2.25 amp fuse on the output of the power supply just to protect it in the future.... (this will also protect for future accidental cuts, nails or screws through the wire...
 
Thanks guys.

I wired-up two more last night. I'm still sticking with one camera per PS - so I should have power to spare.

I also uncovered something interesting about the DCS900 cameras. I originally bought 6 refurbs over a year ago for $50 a pop. I liked them, so for this project I ordered two more... the best I could get was $79 with free shipping, but I bought them any way.

These new ones are new-in-box and revision B of the hardware.

It's night and day between revision A and B. The web server is 10-times faster. The pictures are better quality, and the cameras have the ability to ftp and email built in to them (I'm using ActiveWebCam to handle FTP/email for the cameras on a dedicated PC). Very nice cameras. If you can get you r hands on some, they're a great value for $79 each... I need to see if they're any better in low-light than the revision A hardware is....
 
Hi John;

Interesting observation on the DCS900 cameras. I remember reading a few negative reviews on them a while ago. If they have improved this sounds like a good price for an IP camera.

Let us know how they perform in low lighting scenarios.

Good luck to you also, :)

BSR
 
mustangcoupe said:
I wonder if they would RMA them for the newer version
That would be nice, but since I bought them over a year ago, and they were refurbs, I doubt it.
 
Thanks Chuck.

I already have the latest firware version on my revision A cameras. There must be significant hardware differences since the A/B revision firmwares are not interchanegable, and the performance and features of the B revision are so much better. I suprised they did not "re-label" the revision B cameras as a new model.
 
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