By Christian M Gillman

For many people wireless surveillance is the magic solution that solves all problems and makes installing a surveillance system much easier. There are some downfalls to this type of surveillance however and It’s a good idea to know the ups and downs of wireless surveillance before purchasing any equipment.

Wireless Range

Wireless ranges on surveillance equipment varies from product to product, but whatever range is advertised on the product; it is generally the absolute optimal range it will perform at when conditions are perfect.

What I mean by perfect conditions pertains to the line of sight rule and good weather. If you have a straight line of sight with no obstacles in your signals way, you are more likely going to able to achieve the advertised wireless distance. Now if you take the clear distance and stick a brick wall, a steel door, and a fireplace in between; you are going to be hard pressed to get a wireless range anywhere near that distance with any form of decent quality.

Basically the thing to keep in mind is that when you put obstacles between your receiver and transmitter, they will have to circumnavigate them and it will diminish your signals quality and strength as the distance increases.

Not Always True Wireless

Wireless surveillance equipment doesn’t always mean it’s void of any and all cabling; in fact most wireless equipment is still going to require a power source, and that usually means a power adapter that is going to be near a plug. So even removing the video cabling from the equation doesn’t mean you’re completely cable free.

One way to supplant the need for a power adapter is to use a battery pack if your equipment doesn’t come with one, but this will lead to more involvement as the battery packs will have to be recharged and replaced regularly as they run out of power.

Lower Quality To Extremely Expensive

Wireless equipment in general tends to occur at both ends of the price spectrum and is less prevalent in the middle of the pack.

To begin with you have all of the consumer grade wireless equipment that usually has some decent features and is acceptable for use in small systems, but nowhere near competent enough to use in large scale surveillance applications.

On the other hand when a wireless surveillance solution is needed for a sophisticated surveillance system, it is generally very expensive as it will need to be a very powerful piece of equipment to compete with a wired solution that has the same uses. Wireless CCTV equipment that uses WIFI and individual IP addresses is generally the type of equipment that costs a lot more than a similar wired counterpart.

Frequencies

This topic could span multiple articles of its own, but we will cover a very small portion of information related to wireless surveillance transmission frequencies.

Digital Transmission

Digital transmission of wireless surveillance equipment is somewhat new and far less prone to interference than analog transmission.

Analog Transmission

Analog transmission was the standard for a long time when it came to wireless surveillance equipment and it is still used partially today, but it suffers from a lot more interference issues than that of a digital counterpart. In fact interference is common with digital phones and other household wireless devices; especially if they are 2.4GHz devices.

Finally it should be noted that as of the last few years law enforcement and government agencies have taken over a few of the analog wireless transmission frequencies, and made them no longer available for public use. These include both the 1.2Ghz and 900Mhz frequencies.

Christian M Gillman has worked in the surveillance industry for over 6 years. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, learn more about surveillance, and find great products at http://www.cu1.com

- CU1 – Your CCTV Products and Surveillance Equipment Source

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christian_M_Gillman

By Christian M Gillman

This article is for CCTV dealers and distributors looking for an edge on how to sell their surveillance equipment and other CCTV products. We will go over a few quick tips that can help turn a potential customer into a bonafide sale.

Tip 1 – Show Off Your Network DVR

Nothing can help impress a customer as much as having the ability to quickly show off the bells and whistles of your top of the line DVR. Capabilities such as networking and being able to remotely view your surveillance cameras are a great marketing tool, and you should strive to show this off.

To do this make sure you have a demo DVR setup either at your home or business that is networked and attached to a couple security cameras. By doing this you can quickly have the customer log into the DVR and view it from home, or if you use the correct cell phone application you can even demo it to them on your phone (this is a great way to impress).

As a bonus this is also a great way to demo a few of your security cameras as well.

Tip 2 – Relate To The Customer

Most customers looking for surveillance equipment aren’t going to necessarily have the same technical expertise that you have, and it is always a good idea to be able to explain what your equipment can do in a simplistic manner and in a way that can relate to what the customer is looking to do. This is useful in making the customer feel at ease and not overwhelmed with technical jargon.

As a side note you should also make sure you’re not talking down to the customer or making them feel like an idiot. You should simply try to make them feel comfortable and on the same level as you.

Tip 3 – Customer Service

Customer service is a great way to maintain and keep customers coming back for more of your CCTV products. By offering the technical expertise to troubleshoot equipment problems, or by at least knowing of resources to help the customer with their problems is a sure way to keep them happy.

Other great ideas for good customer service include making sure to package your product safely and in good condition for shipping, making follow up calls to ensure their equipment is functioning and working properly (also a good way to possibly make additional sales), and just being available to answer questions the customer might have about the product down the road.

Tip 4 – Keeping Old Manuals

In the fast world of technology a lot of products go obsolete almost immediately it seems. A good way to provide an extra service to your customers and help with future sales is to keep old product manuals on hand that you can refer to, and possibly even send a customer if they need information about an outdated product.

By doing this you not only set yourself up as a go to business for product information, but it also provides you with an opportunity to talk to the customer about new products and the benefits they can provide over the customers old surveillance equipment.

Christian M Gillman has worked in the surveillance industry for over 6 years. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, learn more about surveillance, and find great products at http://www.cu1.com

- CU1 – Your CCTV Products and Surveillance Equipment Source

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christian_M_Gillman

Looking to get a CCTV security camera system or a good burglar deterrent, but want to be able to save money on or with your purchase? There are several options on how to do this, and we will go over 4 good ideas to help you save money.

Coordinate With Your Insurance Company

A lot of home owners insurance companies will offer discounts on their premiums if you have a home surveillance or alarm system. Before you purchase your surveillance system, you should talk with your insurance agent and find out what kind of discounts they offer for different surveillance systems.

This is a great way to pay off your surveillance system purchase down the road with your accumulated savings as well as continually draw a discount afterwards.

Locate Used Equipment

The easiest way to go about locating used surveillance equipment for a discounted price is to contact a CCTV products distributor and find out what kind of used (b-stock) equipment they have and what discounts they offer on it. A lot of the time this used equipment will be returned equipment that is basically still new and can’t be sold as new anymore.

Another possibility for locating used surveillance equipment is to scope out businesses in your area that are going out of business or are moving to new locations. Most of the time the company will want to get rid of its surveillance equipment at this point in favor of getting new equipment (if they’re moving) or to recoup some of their loses (if they’re going out of business).

It may be a good idea to have some pricing in mind before approaching a business, to make sure you get a good deal.

Invest In Dummies

Find dead or non functioning security cameras and install them as a dummy deterrent. This wont provide great protection, but it will be enough to deter some would be burglars and such.

Some surveillance distributors will have pre-packaged dummy cameras for a discounted price, and some will even have dead cameras that they may be willing to offload for great savings.

Surveillance Signs

Now this option doesn’t involve purchasing any surveillance equipment, but it still can provide a simple deterrent for the extremely cash strapped. There are many different signs out there that warn of the use of surveillance cameras and covert CCTV equipment on the premises. Buy some of these bad boys and post them around your house or business and it may be enough of a deterrent to keep your house safe.

Christian M Gillman has worked in the surveillance industry for over 6 years. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, learn more about surveillance, and find great products at http://www.cu1.com

- CU1 – Your CCTV Products and Surveillance Equipment Source

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christian_M_Gillman

By Christian M Gillman

Installing a surveillance system in your home or business, and have the urge to try and make some money with this type of equipment? There are quite a few different ways you can use CCTV products and surveillance equipment to make a little bit of extra cash or even make a living. It all depends on the amount of work you want to put into it; so we will show you a few different ways with varying difficulty that this can be done with.

Become A Dealer / Installer – Difficulty: Higher Expertise Needed

If you feel you have an aptitude for installing a running electronics, as well as a good technical know how; then this may be a great way to make a living.

To begin with you will need to set yourself up as a dealer with a surveillance distributor. By doing this you will gain access to dealer pricing schemes in which you can purchase bulk quantity of CCTV products at discounted prices. This will then allow you to mark up these products and either sell them to installers or customers yourself if you do not do the installation.

If you do decide to install the equipment as well; then you will also reap the benefit of being able to charge installation fees.

This can be a great way to make cash, but it will require a lot of hard work and research into things such as liability insurance for installations or return and warranty information for your products.

Re-purpose Old Surveillance Cameras – Difficulty: Low Level Of Experience Needed

This is by no means going to make you wealthy, but it can lead to a small side business for quick cash. What you can do to make money off of this is to search out old and broken security cameras, clean them up, and then sell them as dummy cameras to people on tight budgets who want a burglar deterrent at a cheaper price than they would pay for a fully functioning security camera.

To find these cameras you can search out businesses that are going under or surveillance installers with dead parts that would otherwise become tomorrows garbage.

Rent Out Cameras / Services – Difficulty: Medium Level Of Expertise Needed

This will require a bit of research on your part, but it can lead to a decent secondary income if you do it right.

Your first option can be to simply buy a set amount of surveillance equipment and then rent it out to customers on a daily basis or whatever time and pricing scheme that you seem fit to do. This may require getting a business license and making sure you have good policies in place to help protect your equipment from abuse.

Another route you could try taking is to become your neighborhoods surveillance monitor. In fact you could setup a system that monitors your neighborhood for illicit activity and then charge your neighbors for operating and monitoring this system. You should make sure that your neighbors agree to this before purchasing your equipment however.

Finally you could create a small company that specializes in monitoring peoples businesses and homes when they are away. For this to work, the establishments you are monitoring would need to have a surveillance system installed and have their feeds piped through a network so you could monitor them from home on your monitor setup. You could even offer to setup their surveillance network for them.

Christian M Gillman has worked in the surveillance industry for over 6 years. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, learn more about surveillance, and find great products at http://www.cu1.com

- CU1 – Your CCTV Products and Surveillance Equipment Source

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christian_M_Gillman

The SM-3803 solar dummy camera has a built-in solar panel that will recycle indoor lights of 100+ Lux as a power source or it will use battery power instead. Generally, two AAA batteries could last up to three years instead of one year.

This Securityman dummy solar security camera is equipped with a flashing red LED light which enhances the presence of the camera and security. Professionally designed to purposely deter unwanted intruders and solicitors with just a fraction of a cost of a real security camera. Mix this in with real cameras or with more dummy cameras for a more dynamic presence or use it individually to increase security deterrents anywhere.

http://www.cu1.com/sm3803.html

So stay alert as we unveil our grand opening date in the next couple weeks.

By Christian M Gillman

Here are three quick surveillance tips to keep in mind when building a surveillance system for your home or business. By using these tips you can help save time, money, and simplify the process of setting up your CCTV security system.

Dummy Cameras

Dummy cameras are a great alternative to real surveillance cameras if your budget doesn’t have much room in it for expensive CCTV products. These generally are a fraction of the cost of real security cameras and can even come equipped with lights and movement to help further simulate a real working security camera.

Now if you don’t have the money for a pre-packaged dummy camera; there is one alternative that you might try.

Call your surveillance equipment provider and ask them if they have any dead or non functioning security cameras that they might be willing to part with for a small fee. Generally a company will be more than glad to offload a piece of equipment that otherwise would be thrown out and gain them zero monetary value.

By doing this you can provide yourself with a dummy deterrent for intruders and get a bargain deal that is easy on your bottom line.

Custom Wire

Buying pre-packaged surveillance wire and premade CCTV cables can be great for saving time and money, but it isn’t necessarily the best way to build your surveillance system.

If you have to much cabling in your surveillance system it can lead to video loss or signal degradation, and that is not very pleasing when you get your equipment setup; so by getting a custom CCTV cable made that fits your installations length needs without being overly long or too short you can minimize this possibility.

Furthermore a good CCTV cable length can lead to a cleaner and more professional looking installation.

Motion Detection

The biggest and most effective way to save space on your DVR’s hard drive is by using motion detection. This way your digital video recorder is only actively recording video when there is something worth recording I.E. Motion or activity in front of the camera.

Additionally you can set parameters such as recording resolution, motion detection sensitivity, and FPS (Frames Per Second) to lower settings to help with recording space.

These three tips are great simple ideas to keep in mind when setting up a surveillance system; as they can provide countless benefits when it is time to install and optimize your surveillance equipment at your home or business.

Christian M Gillman has worked in the surveillance industry for over 6 years. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, learn more about surveillance, and find great products at http://www.cu1.com

- CU1 – Your CCTV Products and Surveillance Equipment Source

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christian_M_Gillman

Help stop this act from becoming a reality.  Do some research and become active in the fight against this heinous bill.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlewaterfronthomes/2012/01/18/stop-sopa-in-seattle-microsoft-amazon-geekwire-and-a-rally/

Imagine being able to enhance your surveillance cameras by allowing them to pan and quickly adjust to whatever your surveillance requirements might be.  There is no need to go out and buy a brand new PTZ camera; when you can simply use a PT device that attaches to your current security camera and gives it the same functionality (minus the zoom capability).

If this interests you then make sure to take a look at some of our great PT capable devices.

http://www.cu1.com/pantiltturning.html

Furthermore if you want to have the ability to remotely control your PT functionality; then you might want to look at our high quality PTZ controllers as well.

http://www.cu1.com/camandmatcon.html

With this in mind lets take a look at the COP-USA MC056 5.6″ test monitor.

The COP-USA MC056 color setup monitor is unique and affordable. This high quality security monitor can be fitted to any number of cctv applications as it also has 2 audio inputs channels.

It can be used as a set-up monitor, or in any other manner. Aside from the rack mount style, there is also 1/4-20 mounts at the top, bottom and side of this cctv monitor for flexible adaptation.

Furthermore storage temperatures on the MC056 range from minus 20 degrees C to 60 degrees C as well.

Additional features can be found here: http://www.cu1.com/cop56setmon.html