Analogue (co-ax) Hikvision ColorVu cameras flickering only at night

[Alistair1980]

Installed system all way good but now Having issues at night time with the colour vue cameras they keep cutting out going all pixely flickering only at nighttime and have a strange line at the top of the image on all cameras even during daytime

can anyone help or knows what’s wrong?

Hikvision 8 Channel 8MP 4K Turbo Audio HD-TVI, AHD, IP, CVI, 4.0 H.265 Pro+ DVR DS-7208HUHI-K1(S)

4X Hikvision 2.8mm 5MP Full Time ColorVu Turret Dome 4 in 1 Camera IP67 Weatherproof DS-2CE72HFT-F28

2x Securicam® 12 Volt 5 Amp Adapter (2 cameras per )

30m cables

 

[JB1970]

That's a power issue. I had the same on a system I installed a couple of weeks ago. The issues ranged from flickering and interference as you're describing, to the cameras rebooting frequently. I could improve the situation by connecting remotely and disabling the white LED's in each camera but some interference persisted. Daytime images were completely unaffected.

If you look at the spec sheet for the HDTVi ColorVu cameras that you have it actually states that it's recommended to have "one power adaptor per camera". Even though the cameras draw very little power and the spec states 12V DC + or - 25% (9-15V DC) you'll have these problems. You can prove it by temporarily disconnecting one camera from each of your PSU's - the problem will dissapear.

To resolve it - either add two more PSU's (1 Amp will do rather than 5) or better still, replace the power adaptors with a boxed 4 channel power supply unit. They have separated outputs for each camera - some models allow you to increase the regulated output voltage in order to allow for volt drop on your cables.

 

[astonben25]

Hi JB1970
Please could I contact you regarding a similar issue and for the life of me I can't figure it out. Kind regards

 

[JB1970]

Hi JB1970
Please could I contact you regarding a similar issue and for the life of me I can't figure it out. Kind regards

@astonben25 just make a new post with the issue and I’ll chime in if I think I can help.

 

[Alistair1980]

Turns out it was the size of the power cables they weren’t big enough strands, got a thicker cable and now working fine

 

[b3magic]

Turns out it was the size of the power cables they weren’t big enough strands, got a thicker cable and now working fine

Hi,

I’m having the same issue as you did. When you say power cables, do you mean bnc cables or the power supply unit itself?

I’ve just put in a brand new bnc cable in and ran the camera fine during the day for about 4hrs.

Night mode hit and the camera started to flicker and instantly went to ‘no video’.

I waited for morning and thought day mode will bring up the video once replugged back in but now the video flicks on and back off again.

My camera is colorvu.
I’m using a 3amp power supply unit.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated!

Many thanks!

 

[JB1970]

My camera is colorvu.
I’m using a 3amp power supply unit.

If you have multiple cameras, disconnect all but one from the power supply. Some Hikvision HDTVi (analogue HD) cameras require a separate power adapter per camera. Thats regardless of the size of supply that's in use. If you find it's ok when connected to the supply alone, you'll need either individual adapters or a multichannel boxed 12V DC supply.

 

[b3magic]

If you have multiple cameras, disconnect all but one from the power supply. Some Hikvision HDTVi (analogue HD) cameras require a separate power adapter per camera. Thats regardless of the size of supply that's in use. If you find it's ok when connected to the supply alone, you'll need either individual adapters or a multichannel boxed 12V DC supply.

Hi, thank you for your reply.

I run 3 cameras including the one in question, all three are powered separately as below..

Camera 1 - 1amp psu
Camera 2 - 2amp psu
Camera 3 - 3amp psu

I have ordered a bnc ground loop after some research but not arrived yet, failing this I’m out of options.

I’m just hoping (praying) it’s not the new cable after I just ran it through the conduit.

 

[JB1970]

Hi, thank you for your reply.

I run 3 cameras including the one in question, all three are powered separately as below..

Camera 1 - 1amp psu
Camera 2 - 2amp psu
Camera 3 - 3amp psu

I have ordered a bnc ground loop after some research but not arrived yet, failing this I’m out of options.

I’m just hoping (praying) it’s not the new cable after I just ran it through the conduit.

Ok if the cameras are already separately powered I'd be looking at a few things:

1 - Cable - have you used good quality RG59 cable? There's a lot of rubbish cable around. Is each camera fed by a separate coax cable or are they fed by CAT5E and baluns?

2 - The termination. A poor connection. If the BNC connection is not fitted correctly you'll have issues as the cable will be more susceptible to interference from electrical noise.

3 - Ground loop. This would be unusual on a domestic installation as the usual cause is the DVR and cameras being on different supplies and a potential difference being present between the ground on the DVR and that of the camera supply. I have known it occur when the camera body or BNC connection is in contact with steelwork physically connected to earth.

 

[b3magic]

Ok if the cameras are already separately powered I'd be looking at a few things:

1 - Cable - have you used good quality RG59 cable? There's a lot of rubbish cable around. Is each camera fed by a separate coax cable or are they fed by CAT5E and baluns?

2 - The termination. A poor connection. If the BNC connection is not fitted correctly you'll have issues as the cable will be more susceptible to interference from electrical noise.

3 - Ground loop. This would be unusual on a domestic installation as the usual cause is the DVR and cameras being on different supplies and a potential difference being present between the ground on the DVR and that of the camera supply. I have known it occur when the camera body or BNC connection is in contact with steelwork physically connected to earth.

Ok, now I’m thinking could it be the cable?

Although it worked fine in daylight hours for a few hours with only a faint line running across the top and bottom of the screen (hardly noticeable).

The cable I’ve used is a Zosi branded one, stated it’s pure copper wire with copper clad.

Here’s the link to it:

[30M/100ft&4 Pack]All-in-One Video Power BNC Cables - ZOSI

4Pack 30M 100ft All-in-One Video Power Cables, Security Camera BNC Extension Cable

www.zositech.com

Not sure if the BNC connections are no good, it’s a premade cable.

 

[b3magic]

Ok if the cameras are already separately powered I'd be looking at a few things:

1 - Cable - have you used good quality RG59 cable? There's a lot of rubbish cable around. Is each camera fed by a separate coax cable or are they fed by CAT5E and baluns?

2 - The termination. A poor connection. If the BNC connection is not fitted correctly you'll have issues as the cable will be more susceptible to interference from electrical noise.

3 - Ground loop. This would be unusual on a domestic installation as the usual cause is the DVR and cameras being on different supplies and a potential difference being present between the ground on the DVR and that of the camera supply. I have known it occur when the camera body or BNC connection is in contact with steelwork physically connected to earth.

I’m thinking to renew the cable..

Are you able to recommend a good quality cable or a link of where to buy? I need 30M run.

BNC Video and DC power please

 

[JB1970]

I’m thinking to renew the cable..

Are you able to recommend a good quality cable or a link of where to buy? I need 30M run.

BNC Video and DC power please

As a professional installer I've never use pre made cables, I only ever crimp my own BNCs with RG59 coax. Again I don't use so called shotgun cables (coax and 2 core power attached), I would just run a suitable separate cable for the 12v DC power (that could be a length 0.75mm 2 core flex or just a 6 core alarm cable using multiple cores)

Without having the experience or tools for crimping your own BNCs, your easiest route would be to just install a length of CAT5E. You would connect a HD video Balun at each end to 1 pair in that cable (Readily available on Amazon. You want the ones that have a pair of terminals rather than an RJ45 socket). Then you would just use 1 pair for +12V and 1 pair for 0V (your power). You need no special tools or termination skills for that.

 

[b3magic]

As a professional installer I've never use pre made cables, I only ever crimp my own BNCs with RG59 coax. Again I don't use so called shotgun cables (coax and 2 core power attached), I would just run a suitable separate cable for the 12v DC power (that could be a length 0.75mm 2 core flex or just a 6 core alarm cable using multiple cores)

Without having the experience or tools for crimping your own BNCs, your easiest route would be to just install a length of CAT5E. You would connect a HD video Balun at each end to 1 pair in that cable (Readily available on Amazon. You want the ones that have a pair of terminals rather than an RJ45 socket). Then you would just use 1 pair for +12V and 1 pair for 0V (your power). You need no special tools or termination skills for that.

Thank you for this.

Would you recommend using these with the RJ45 sockets? Only reason although I am quite handy.. I probably will put the wire in the wrong place of the Baluns.

Also a Cat5e shielded cable or non shielded?

 

[JB1970]

Thank you for this.

Would you recommend using these with the RJ45 sockets? Only reason although I am quite handy.. I probably will put the wire in the wrong place of the Baluns.

Also a Cat5e shielded cable or non shielded?

You're more likely to crimp a bad RJ45 than you are manually connecting a balun incorrectly. There's just 2 connections + & -, use 1 twisted pair and keep + to +, - to - that's it. For the power use 1 complete pair for +12V and one for 0V. Even if you hot the wires the wrong way around (which would be difficult) it wouldn't do any damage.

Standard unshielded Cat5E cable. If it will be clipped externally/exposed to the elements you can use Cat5e/PE.

 

[b3magic]

You're more likely to crimp a bad RJ45 than you are manually connecting a balun incorrectly. There's just 2 connections + & -, use 1 twisted pair and keep + to +, - to - that's it. For the power use 1 complete pair for +12V and one for 0V. Even if you hot the wires the wrong way around (which would be difficult) it wouldn't do any damage.

Standard unshielded Cat5E cable. If it will be clipped externally/exposed to the elements you can use Cat5e/PE.

Ok thank you for all your advice, I will give this a go and revert back soon. Hoping for some dry weather fingers crossed.