CCTV long range

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slowworm

Full Member
May 8, 2008
2,025
976
Devon
I would like to install a couple of CCTV cameras but one needs to be 300m from our house and I'm trying to find out what options I have.

I have a trail camera but I want to be able to check real time. I am aware of trail cams that use mobile phone signals but there's no signal where I want the camera and even a tall aerial would not work.

Looking at Cat 5 or 6 LAN cables their range seems limited to 100m without a repeater, so I would need two repeaters and possibly some form of power supply so things get complicated. Fibre could be an option but I do not know anything about it.

I'm sure this requirement is fairly common so does anyone have any suggestions of what to look for? Also, can anyone recommend a site that could be useful to a novice, ideally one that explains things without relying on videos? Thanks
 

Jared

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 8, 2005
3,422
660
51
Wales
WiFi HaLow (802.11ah) should be able to do that.
Need EU specific access points, where the allocated band is 863-868 Mhz.

Eg

 
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slowworm

Full Member
May 8, 2008
2,025
976
Devon
WiFi HaLow (802.11ah) should be able to do that.
Need EU specific access points, where the allocated band is 863-868 Mhz.
Thank you, not something I was aware of. I wonder if it would cope with transmitting up a slope and through woodland?
 

kard133

Full Member
Mar 20, 2010
779
175
Bath
If you have local power, line of sight to the place you want the camera and you are using IP cameras, I would use a wireless bridge and a POE switch or injector at the camera end. I install CCTV for a living and I have a few systems where the customer has two to three buildings on site, one NVR and multiple cameras per building. For preference I like the Ubiquity Nanostation M5, one at each end and you can get ranges of up to 10km.
 

slowworm

Full Member
May 8, 2008
2,025
976
Devon
Thanks for the replies. I have been thinking about the power supply as there isn't any at the two locations I have in mind. I did think a run of armored cable to one area would be just as cheap as a lan cable in a conduit so have considered using the cable to transmit on.

However, the 300m location would be tricky and expensive to route the cable. It isn't line of sight either and in a shady, wooded, place so solar power wouldn't be much use.
 
Apr 19, 2024
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Kent
A lot of cameras now are PoE Ethernet (power over Ethernet) iv installed cameras with a good 100m if not more in cable lengths (normally only 40m away but extra cable to keep all the cables hidden and tucked away) and these systems work perfectly fine all go back to a central box witch also allows you to check up using a mobile even the tapo cameras are PoE so you can use a single cat5+ cable to power and that's plugged straight to your wifi so can view on phone
 
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Jared

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 8, 2005
3,422
660
51
Wales
PoE injectors (puts power down the cat cable) and splitters (gets power off the cat cable) are pretty cheap too.
 
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slowworm

Full Member
May 8, 2008
2,025
976
Devon
Thanks for the replies. I'm still after a simple guide, I can search for terms etc but would prefer something that gave a good outline. For example, I know you can send power down a lan cable (having search on the terms injector and splitter) but is there a limit? I gather there's a 100m limit on cat5 cable, does this also apply to the power you send down and if not why can't you get something that'll work without having to add extra bits?
 

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