What kind of microphone for Dahua Camera?

3dogpottery

3dogpottery

Getting the hang of it
Jun 29, 2015
157
26
Ohio
My third Dahua camera had to have an audio input, so I purchased the IPC-HFW5302C. It has a pigtail with an RCA input. Just to test it, I borrowed the microphone from my desktop computer that has a 1/8 in. jack. I used jumpers to connect the microphone to the camera, but get no audio. If I touch the center terminal of the RCA jack, I hear a "hum" from the speakers on the computer that is logged into the cameras web interface, so I know that it should work. So, what kind of microphone does a Dahua camera need?
 
Well, I've been doing some Googling on this problem, and I think that these IP cameras need a powered condenser microphone. A PC microphone is a high impedance low output device. I wrote to Nelly's Security technical support, and they had no clue. The gentleman told me that he only had experience with cameras that had the microphone included within the camera. So, I ordered a powered condenser microphone from CCTV. I will post how this works out when I receive it.
 
I have a few of these MICs from ebay, for about 2$ or so each, they pick up very nicely they do need 12v power but pick up audio very well.
BTW: OP, did you enable audio under the web interface on your camera?
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Thank you for your advice badmop. You have confirmed my suspicion that these ip cameras need a powered mike. And yes, I did have the microphone enabled through the web interface. The order that I placed for one of these microphones from an online security store is costing me over thirty dollars. I tried eBay, but could not find any results for "ip camera microphone". So...when you search eBay, exactly what do you type into the search window?
 
I just typed cctv mic and then sort by cheapest with shipping and buy it now. Granted it comes from China, but for a couple dollars I'll wait.
 
So if the power to the Dahua camera (hdbw4300e-as) from the NVR goes via POE directly to the camera using the cat 5 connection, how do you get power to this mic without a separate power supply? Do you need a POE splitter? I see there is a power connector on the camera cable but I believe this is for a separate power supply to the camera in case you are not running POE. I presume this mic then connects to the audio in RCA jack on the camera and the camera processes it and sends it to the NVR over the cat 5 cable.
 
tbever said:
So if the power to the Dahua camera (hdbw4300e-as) from the NVR goes via POE directly to the camera using the cat 5 connection, how do you get power to this mic without a separate power supply? Do you need a POE splitter? I see there is a power connector on the camera cable but I believe this is for a separate power supply to the camera in case you are not running POE. I presume this mic then connects to the audio in RCA jack on the camera and the camera processes it and sends it to the NVR over the cat 5 cable.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum.
Here are a few options
1) run separate power
2) Use the unused pairs in the ethernet cable for power. Not sure what method of POE the NVR's use, but with a standard poe switch, only two of the 4 pairs are used.
3) http://www.etsnm.com/pdfs/smea-1_b.pdf , its bulky though
4) Use a hikvision camera that can run a passive mic.
 
For the MIC I have in 1 location, I already had 12v power at that location so I was able to power the MIC that way, and then plug the RCA MIC into the Camera
 
I decided to just run a separate power line to the cameras and go with an inexpensive mic (PA-3) for about 4.00 each. Running a separate power line is a bit of a pain but still doable. I got one so far and it worked without any problems, and records and plays from the NVR. Sound quality seems to be acceptable.

You would think the camera manufacturers would have thought this through a little better though. Why couldn't they have a power out to supply microphone capable cameras? It would seem easy enough for them to do. I did check the power-in to the Dahua camera after it was powered on with POE and as expected there is no voltage recorded on the power-in connector. (If that was powered it would have made it too easy I suppose)
 
I purchased a 12 CCTV Power Adapter, a DC Splitter, and a Mini CCTV Microphone from eBay. The microphone needs 12 volts power, thus the splitter, and it is one of the cheap ones that cost about $2.50 a piece. So, I connected it to my Dahua IPC-HFW5202C camera, and all I get is a very loud hum. I've been dabbling in electronics for quite a long time (would you believe that my electrical courses in high school were on tube theory!). The "hum" suggest to me a power supply without enough filtering, or a poorly shielded microphone that is picking a 120 Hz. hum from the electric power. I do have a much better microphone on order form CCTV Camera Pros, so I will post whether this cures the problem.
 
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