Let me share with you a simple way to power outdoor security cameras
Doh! It’s not really a problem to power automated security cameras, but it can be confusing when you first start. Here, we’ll tell you how to power such outdoor security cameras so that they function properly and record video 24/7.
You’ll need several pieces of equipment: a power supply box (also called a junction box), power lines (called wiring conduits or wire), and a camera.
You’ll need to know the “voltage requirements” of your camera. If these aren’t listed in the user manual, you can try searching online for a datasheet or user manual from the manufacturer’s website.
1) Connect conduit lines to the power supply box . Many security cameras have what are called back boxes, so named because they’re located on the rear side of an object being protected. In this case, that would be your security camera. These back boxes typically have knock-outs which allow you to feed wires into them from various directions, depending on where exactly around them you’ll be placing your security camera. With knock-outs, you can feed power in through the top or bottom of the security camera, so it doesn’t really matter which you use.
2) Connect wires to your security camera . The wiring is very similar to what goes inside your house. If you’ve ever done any home electrical wiring yourself, this will be familiar to you. Each wire that comes into a security camera needs its own individual rubber insulation sheath around it for protection against weather and other elements. It’s important to note here that the black wire is carrying voltage in towards the back box, while white is typically carrying voltage out from the junction box (in some cases red may be used instead). These colors are very common with most outdoor equipment but not universal, and their usage depends on who manufactured your equipment.
3) Power up the camera . Now it’s time to take a look inside the junction box. You’ll notice that there are one or more terminals here for each of your security camera wires (it may be as many as three). Each terminal has two screws, which you can tighten down with a screwdriver. Make sure that each wire is completely stripped by using a sharp knife or other tool and then wrapping the exposed metal directly around the screw post itself – do NOT wrap around any other posts in this junction box. This is very important because once tightened, if the insulation sheath isn’t properly shredded and tightly wrapped around those posts, you will have an electrical short circuit!
4) Connect the power supply box to the mains . Once all your wires are connected, it’s time to plug in your security camera. There should be a separate power cable coming from the junction box that leads to an external wall outlet or similar device. Insert this into an appropriate socket and turn on your electrical breaker to test things out. If everything was connected properly, you should have video streaming to your computer monitor within minutes! Otherwise, if you notice problems with image quality (distortion), check connections again for loose wiring and make sure there aren’t any exposed wire bits touching each other (which is grounds for another short circuit).
Now you’ve got a fully-functioning security camera! Make sure you mount it in a good location and then sit back and enjoy hours of peace of mind.
If you need help with setting up your outdoor security camera, contact us here at Security Camera King . We’re always willing to help our clients out.