In article <20MAR199209151
...@vaxa.weeg.uiowa.edu>, b
...@vaxa.weeg.uiowa.edu (Barbara Roy) writes:
> In article <10
...@tetons.idaho.amdahl.com>, g
...@idaho.amdahl.com (Greg Darnell) writes...
> > It's a Magnavox system
> >we got from Sears and it's the best $250 we ever spent.
> I'd like to know more about this system and about systems that others might
> be using. $250 sounds VERY reasonable to me. What was the model you got? How
> difficult was it to install? Is that the cost of one camera/monitor combination?
Oops, I was wrong about the price, it was $299 new. That includes one
black&white camera, 57 feet of cable, and the b/w monitor which can
sequence up to 4 cameras. A weatherproof enclosure costs $50, 100 feet
of cable is $30, and a wide-angle lens is $80. The camera has a built-in
microphone and is powered via the coax cable so there is not a separate
power cord, so you don't need an electrical outlet near the stall.
The audio is one-way like the video, i.e. you can't talk back from the
monitor to the camera.
I couldn't find the system in our new Sears catalog, nor could the local
Sears franchisee (who in general is pretty clueless), so I went back to
an old catalog to get the prices. Since it's a Magnavox, you should be
able to get a dealer to order it. I have seen similar systems from
Hyundai and others in electronics junk catalogs like Damark and DAK.
It's easy to install, just take the monitor and camera near the stall
and find a good location for the camera (using the monitor to check
your positioning, since the camera doesn't have a screen like a
camcorder), put it up with the mounting bracket (included with camera),
then move the monitor to where you want it, run the (1/4" diam) cable, and
you're done. I would recommend the weatherproof enclosure for the camera
even for indoor use if your barn gets dusty - ours sure does. Maximum
recommended cable length is (I think) 300 feet.
It is an old-technology vidicon tube-type camera, so the low-light
sensitivity isn't great, but that's one reason it is affordable.
It seems to have better sensitivity than one's own eyes and a 40-watt
bulb for a 24x12 stall was more than enough to see everything, so I put
a dimmer switch on it.
One feature I have been trying to take advantage of is that it has a
VHF output from the monitor you can set to channel 3 or 4. This means
that you can connect it to one of those "VCR Rabbit"-type transmitters
and send the output to your house if it's close enough to the barn.
Ours is 300' away so the wireless ones didn't work, and I have been
trying to use an older wired version, but the signal strength doesn't
seem to be enough to make it the whole distance.
The newer solid-state cameras have orders of magnitude better low-light
sensitivity, but they also cost a LOT more. You may be able to
buy a used tube camera setup from a security company, since many of
them are replacing the old tube style with solid-state versions.
If anyone has any more questions about the system, feel free to
email me.
Greg
--
Greg Darnell Amdahl Corporation 143 N. 2 E., Rexburg, Idaho 83440
UUCP:{ames,decwrl,sun,uunet}!amdahl!tetons!gnd (208) 356-8915
INTERNET: g...@idaho.amdahl.com
