Any tips to waterproof wires when pole mounting?

wrybread

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I'm mounting a Dahua Starlight camera (this style) to a pole, which means I can't tick the wires into the chamber I'd get if I was wall mounting it. I'm also not crimping my ethernet cable, so I can't use the ethernet cable protector that comes with it, since it won't slip over the jack.

I was planning to just put the wires in a bag and then tape it up as much as possible, but wondering if anyone else has some clever idea that would be more reliable? This camera is definitely out in the open and exposed to weather.
 

wrybread

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Great idea but I don't think the wires from the camera are long enough. The ethernet cable, which is the longest, sticks about about 4 inches from the camera if I remember correctly.
 
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I found that using the wall mount with fabricated box worked best for me. And the wires go down the inside of pipe. The brown one is just 20 ft on black pipe. But I weld aluminum. Maybe a well painted wood box would work. The other pic is 100 ft up and the wires are external until they go in the bottom of a box-- where powered and converted to fiber.P1020923.JPG P1020924.JPG
 
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That top one looks so clean, especially with the wires running directly into the pipe - but you were able to make something custom to accomplish that.

For the OP, those arms I believe are hollow, so the wires could run through those in that case, and then a box mounted firmly to the pole would make all connection watertight enough. Probably want to stay with something metal so you can fasten securely to the box and not have your expensive camera falling off the pole due to plastic fatigue.
 

wrybread

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> I always recommend the PFA-122 box for this type of camera.

Very interesting. With a pole mount, do you mount the camera to the box, and then the box to the pole?
 

J Sigmo

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> I always recommend the PFA-122 box for this type of camera.

Very interesting. With a pole mount, do you mount the camera to the box, and then the box to the pole?
Can you describe how you plan to mount the camera to the pole? To the very top? Down somewhere along its length?

And what kind of a pole? Wooden telephone pole? Steel pipe?

How to mount the box to the pole would depend on a lot of those details.

Also, how do you plan on running the cable to the camera? Mounted running along the pole? Running through the pole (if it's a pipe)? Running up along the pole in a conduit?
 
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wrybread

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> Can you describe how you plan to mount the camera to the pole?

Currently I'm mounting the camera to a vertical steel pole using large pipe clamps.
 

tigerwillow1

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I was planning to just put the wires in a bag and then tape it up as much as possible
I once thought this was a good idea and found out the hard way it's about the very worst thing you can do. If whatever surrounds the connectors isn't 100% sealed, condensation will get in and won't be able to escape. A 99% sealed enclosure is IMO worse than none at all. I've used on a temporary basis totally unprotected connections with the male connector hanging straight down and somewhat protected from rain with no mishaps. Temporary lasted about a year in a few cases. You can wrap the whole connection in coax seal. When I do this, I put tape around the actual connection point first to make opening the connection easier if ever needed. Now that all of my temporary setup is gone, I'm using mostly the included cable protectors which are working fine. Just mentioning this in case you're every swayed to do your own crimping. I've done a little over a hundred of them, sometimes teetering on a ladder. It's not a fun job. After the first few it's just a boring nuisance.
 

looney2ns

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Use a dab of Dielectric grease in the female portion of the RJ45, connect, then wrap with Coax Seal.
Create a drip loop so that water won't follow the wire into the camera or into your connection.
 

J Sigmo

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> Can you describe how you plan to mount the camera to the pole?

Currently I'm mounting the camera to a vertical steel pole using large pipe clamps.
Is it partway up the pole, or at the top? Can you run the cable through the pole, or will it be attached to the outside of the pole?

If it's partway up a pole, and the cable will run up along the outside of the pole, I might run the cable up from the ground in conduit to protect it and then use the conduit entrance into the box.

You could mount the box to a steel plate. That plate could be welded to the pole or attached with hose clamps. I'd caulk the box to the plate and have no openings behind the box, so you have a sealed and secure area for the connections.
 
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