Installing a two lens camera at front door

[Virga]

What is a good way to install a two-lens front door camera (boobie-cam)?

It needs to be installed on a wall that is masonry, behind which is solid lumber framing, so no wall cavity. Between the bulk of the camera, and a box behind it to accommodate the pigtail, that’s quite a bit sticking out from the wall.
Perhaps could install a wood board flat on the masonry with a 2-3 inch diameter hole in the middle which would get covered by the camera, and the pig tail would coil in there. Ethernet feed through a hole from the inside (but drilled from the outside to locate it in a masonry joint).
For good measure a door bell button could go below the camera.

Wondering how others may have solved such a problem?

 

[wittaj]

That solution would work, as would drilling a bigger hole in the masonry and shoving the pigtail back into the wall.

 

[Virga]

Generally I prefer to retain original setup of hardware, however, in this instance ...
What would happen if I snipped off the pigtail, fed the cable through a small hole, and punched the cable into a keystone type port you would put in a wall plate in premise wiring?

 

[wittaj]

People have cut off the pigtail by accident lol so as long as you know what you are doing it can be done.

 

[samplenhold]

What would happen if I snipped off the pigtail, fed the cable through a small hole, and punched the cable into a keystone type port you would put in a wall plate in premise wiring?

Realize that there is not a great amount of 'pigtail' to work with. If you have to re-terminate it you could end up with too little to work with. Also, that is an additional point of failure you are making.

 

[Flintstone61]

I had a lady shove my pigtail back in the wall once.

 

[Virga]

Realize that there is not a great amount of 'pigtail' to work with. If you have to re-terminate it you could end up with too little to work with. Also, that is an additional point of failure you are making.

I see what you mean.

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

I had a lady shove my pigtail back in the wall once.

 

[garycrist]

When someone comes to my door, I want them to know I AM WATCHING, even if I am not.
But, plastic covers can be fixed to masonry and spray painted to "match" the wall.

I used 3 colors of plastic spray paint to match the brick work, down to the grout lines. From a short distance,
one could not tell.

 

[wittaj]

 

[Flintstone61]

When you snip the pig tail you find non-IEEE 568 color code. and not 8 wires. from what I've seen /heard in the forum.
here is one example below. from a forum search.

 

[Flintstone61]

 

[Flintstone61]

no pig tail camera with female rj45 port inside.

 

[Sybertiger]

Not sure if this might give you some ideas. Mind you, it's a thick stucco exterior on top of a steel mesh on top of plywood. I did a similar install for my parents who have a brick exterior. I'll have to check to see if I had posted pics of that. But basically, I drilled a hole large enough for the pigtail to go into. Likely, the cam in my parents' brick will be there for the life of the home so I don't worry about cam removal then seeing a hole but if you did remove the cam you can always put concrete in the hole and either paint it to match the brick or plug it with a similar brick plug.

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[Sybertiger]

Some info on install of cams on parents' brick home. I had considered cutting off the pigtail or using a cam mounting box but decided drilling a larger hole in the brick was not a big deal.

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Unfortunately, I have only one pic to get a clue as to what I did. I didn't take a pic of the outside but just visualize a hole the size of the pigtail through the brick. What you are looking at is the hole (as seen from the inside of the house) that had been drilled through the brick, then the insulation board and then the insulation. On the inside I cut out a rectangle in the drywall. The reason for that is I was unlucky enough that there's a fire break 2x4 just below my hole and unfortunately that fire break needed a hole drilled through it so the wire down could be run down to the basement where the POE switches and Blue Iris server are located. The house is framed with 2x4s then covered with insulation board before the brick exterior is layed. I know some people fret about such holes but so easy to plaster it back up, sand then paint. No one would ever know the drywall had been cut open.

 

[Sybertiger]

My boobie cam installs were both installed on the porch ceilings so they are relatively easy since they are just wood or stucco on top of 2x4 framing.

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[Virga]

Once the camera is in my hands, will have a better feel of how to proceed.
Have abandoned the idea of cutting off the pig tail.
Now less reluctant to drill a hole through the wall for the pigtail.
Will have to surface mount on the inside to transition from pigtail to ethernet, because the wall there is solid lumber.
Thank you for the great input.