Best Outdoor Wireless Security System with DVR Leave a comment

NVRs and IP Cameras

You might be interested in developing a wireless security system and to that end, you are trying to figure out which wireless security cameras to purchase. Then you are in the right place. The cameras discussed in this blog will be Network IP Cameras in a system that is wireless. The reason being these systems do not need to go through any conversion process when their data is transmitted as it is already in IP format. On the other hand, signals from HD Coax Security cameras and analog CCTV cameras usually have to be converted before they are sent over anywhere else as they will not be readable otherwise.

Now you might think, is that really such a bad thing? Well, the answer is, yes. The reason is, that process requires conversions to take place behind the scene. First BNC has to be converted to HDMI and then HDMI has to be converted to IP. Afterwards, the IP signal has to be decoded in its original form as well. IP cameras come in various forms and styles like CCTV cameras do. Like a lot of CCTV cameras do, IP cameras come with infrared LEDs for infrared night vision that are built into the system. NVR is a kind of DVR that is used with network IP cameras because the videos are sent over an IP network.

Outdoor Wireless IP Cameras

In order to complete that task, each of the buildings has to have the following:

• A PVC junction box used to mount the IP cameras to the exterior wall
• 1 weatherproof NEMA enclosure is mounted with power on the exterior wall
• A 110V power source is hard wired to the power supplies in the NEMA. Power has to be located near the NEMA enclosures for this process to work
• A POE-SW54 4 port PoE switch and PoE injector for the wireless transmitter is contained within the NEMA box
• CAT-5 or CAT-6 wires used to wire the NEMA box and the PoE switch
• Those wires are also used to attach the PoE injector to the wireless transmitter

What this process does is it ensures and enables video signals coming from both cameras to be transmitted by only using one antenna. The wireless receivers and the antenna connect to each other at the location of the DVR and thus creates what is known as a wireless bridge.

Point-to-Multi-Point Omni-Directional Wireless Camera Network

Now you may be wondering how you are supposed to connect the wireless receiver to the video recorder

Well, here are the steps:

• This requires a point-to-multi-point wireless receiver. For that, we use a Wifi-Omni5 directional antenna that connects to a Wifi-MR5 wireless receiver
• The receiver then mounts to the exterior of the office building. This is done by using a j-pipe wall mount that we also use for the transmitter. Usually, it is encouraged that the highest point of a building be used for this installation process
• A PoE injector is contained within the wireless receiver. This then connects to the network router. The router is usually contained in the office and a mini PC based NVR then reorders the system
• A dual monitor PC helps with the process a lot. So, a PC built with dual graphics cards is necessary. One for the office manager and a secondary one for a live footage display in the lobby
• Smartphone software that comes built-in can be used by managers and owners to stay logged in

Direct Line-of-Sight Long Range Outdoor WiFi

In order to make a 5.8 GHz long-range outdoor Wi-Fi to function as planned, a direct line of sight among all the antennas that are transmitting is necessary. The way they can be configured is that each antenna has to be configured to only one receiver. In the event of a power out, the antenna will automatically reconnect and the wireless network will be restored.

Point-to-Point Wireless Security System Network

At this point, you might be wondering how the number of buildings you are considering using the system for impacts the functionality. Many homes might need a few cameras for each building they have to depend on how big they are. For example, a few cameras in the garage area if it is sizable enough. You might also be worried about commercial applications. In those scenarios, the buildings may need to be connected over Wi-Fi. A point to point wireless network may be used in order to connect the buildings in a situation like that

The point to point set up is very close to the multiple building set up in terms of how it is set up and how it functions. However, for a point to point system, an omnidirectional antenna is unnecessary

It is important to note that cameras in one building can be connected wirelessly to an NVR in another building. The way it works is as follows:

• The building on the left has a decent amount of power but it does not have an internet connection. An example of that in real life might be a barn or a garage.
• The IP cameras might be indoors or outdoors. All the cameras have to be uplinked and transmitting to an antenna using CAT-5.
• The receiving antenna can be on the building which hosts the DVR/NVR
• The NVR/DVR has to be connected to the same network switch as the receiving antenna

Non-Direct Line of Sight Outdoor Wireless Security System

At this point, you may wonder if we need a straight line of sight for all the systems that utilize these kinds of cameras. The two systems talked about in the beginning use 5.8 GHz antennas and they are great as they have very high bandwidth. However, they are not good at traveling through objects. Which is why it is important for the antennas to have an unobstructed line of view. If something is in their way, like a tree, for example, they might not function properly  

In order to go through trees in a non-direct line of sight, 900 MHz is necessary. However, there is a trade-off that you have to consider. The bandwidth for using this frequency is going to be much lower. The maximum range is going to be much lower as well and it will also vary depending on the density of the object the signal has to pass through.