Wed Oct 21 08:13:55 EDT 2015 Went to bed around 10:30, slept well, and woke up around 6:30. I can't believe it's nearing the end of October already! This month has flown by. High of seventy-four today, but scattered showers. Goals: Work: - Review vlan deployment plans No. - Check in with Jason at Hazel Park No. - Close old PO's Done. - Look into security camera cabling Done. Basic research, anyhow. Maximum cable run distance depends on the grade of cable: - RG59 = 600' - RG6 = 1000' (better but slightly more expensive) Note that RG59 and RG6 need different BNC connectors. Terminating BNC: 1. Strip coax down to the center/core conductor to expose 0.5". 2. Strip a further 0.25" of the outer jacket. (Dedicate coax strippers may do the above in once step.) - Fold back the metal braid to expose teh foil. - Take care not to short the braid to the inner conductor. 3. Attach the BNC connector, inserting the core/center conductor through the hole in the connector. 4. Firmly compress/crimp the connector down onto the cable to complete termination. Cameras need electrical power, typically provided by a two-wire cable (18 gauge non-shielded twisted). Most DVR's have power terminals to act as a power supply for cameras. Most power supplies power cameras up to 300' away. "HD is a standards based format governed by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) that not only guarantees resolution (720P, 1080i or 1080P) but also the 16:9 widescreen format, frame rate and color fidelity of the video. The most common standards are: SMPTE 296M or HD 720P which uses 720 scan lines and a refresh rate of 30 progressive scans per second, SMPTE 274M or HD 1080 using 1,080 interlaced (1080i) or progressive (1080P) scan lines and a refresh rate of 30 or 60 Hertz which corresponds to 30 or 60 frames per second." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_digital_interface Looks like the HD-SDI recorders are less numerous and more expensive ($500-800 for 8-channel) than the cheap Chinese SD recorders. PoE IP camera systems might end up being cheaper. It looks like 8-camera systems can be had for around $1000. There do not seem be be many PoE IP recorders with more than eight channels (not until you get to pro-grade offerings with high prices). Hmm. The Ubiquiti PoE offering are very affordable. Is there a standard for network camera recording? ONVIF https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ONVIF#ONVIF_Specification http://www.onvif.org/ Searching "onvif nvr" gives good results. Eight camera systems are readily available. Sixteen camera systems are rarer. Ubiquiti does not conform to ONVIF There's also the RTSP standard, which deals only with the streaming media portion (not camera control, etc.). Searching "rtsp nvr" gives interesting results. Apparently the Ubiquiti cameras don't support this either, but there's some talk they might in a future firmware update. Met with CEO to review Central security. I'll need to call Tom about making some repairs. Longish walk at lunch. Quite a mild and pleasant autumn day, though not as unseasonably beautiful as yesterday. Walked around an apartment complex called The Lakes. They've made excellent use of a stream that runs through the property, including several charming foot bridges (across which I walked). A stark contrast to their neighbor, Wellington Apartments, which is worse off for their stagnant and plainly artificial water features. Ducks wings... the particular sound they make in flight. Distinctive. Home: - Look into car donation more Nope. - Work on 5e encounter calculator Done. Started adding monsters. - Read more K&R Done. - Call dealership about door ding Called. Left voicemail for George. George never called me back. Stopped at Target on the way home and picked up a few things. Did a load of laundry. Took a short walk before dark. Was discouraged from taking a longer one when it started to rain on me. Checked the mail box, but still nothing from Toyota finance. I'll ask George when I should expect something, if he ever calls me back.