Is there such a thing as a Low voltage or POE powered IR Illuminator?

[nbstl68]

Is there such a thing as a Low voltage or POE powered stand alone IR Illuminator?

I'm planning to set up a somewhat hidden street camera up at the mailbox. Right now I have a POE line run to power the camera but I am considering a separate IR illuminator to better light the area so I can try to capture better quality night drive by images and maybe stand a chance of reading plates, (not alpr type capture, just manual visual from the footage if ever needed.)

Problem is I only have access to low voltage power tie-in from my landscape lighting. I don't want to mess with running "real" electric out there from the house.

Also, I only have the one poe cat6 line run...So I was wondering can you split that off at the end point there somehow to be able to power both a camera and a separate IR from the one POE run?

Does anyone make a reasonably priced 940nm stand alone IR illuminator? It would be nice to not have it seen at all at night up at the street.

 

[nayr]

You can always use a PoE 12v Splitter and use a standard 12v Illuminator.. this is how my birdhouse plate cam works.

940nm sucks, dont bother with it.. up the street any passing traffic will think the red glow is a reflector on your mailbox, and nobody will put any more thought into it, so dont worry about that at all..

here is what I am using for LPR, they go on sale from time to time and drop to ~$55:

http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/iibEel2

 

[nbstl68]

Cool thanks. I'll Google the PoE 12v Splitter thing now that I know what is is called.
I was kind of picturing something flat mount though so I could just mount it to the side of the box's post and at least be a little less obtrusive \ more reflector looking. Ever used one of those?

Would you use this add-on IR IN ADDITION to the IRs on your camera or only use this and turn off the cam's IRs (if that is possible)?

(p.s. I've been following your LPR and home automation threads...very cool detailed but out of my league stuff!)

 

[nayr]

http://www.amazon.com/iCreatin-ethernet-Splitter-Adapter-Compliant/dp/B00SM196AE/

there's a whole bunch of various IR spotlights you can find on Ali now that you know how to run them off the PoE run.

I would disable/shutdown any onboard IR and use the external, just to keep spiders away from the lens.

I too was worried about mine being visible, but then I drove by it the other day looking right at it and realized there were a half dozen red reflectors in my FOV litup from brake lights, mailboxes, etc and it was identical looking to all of them.. nobody would ever think it was anything different, and while it might be odd to put a reflector on a birdhouse, it is not out of place on a mailbox.

 

[nbstl68]

Thanks for the link...you did everything but buy it and ship it to me!

Should I assume the 15.4W would be shared btw devices? Pretty sure a typical camera would not use 15.4W, esp if the onboard IRs were not running.

 

[lowpro]

You guys just gave me a new project as well. Thanks!

 

[nbstl68]

Hmm...Looks like that poe splitter is not going to work for th is unless I'm misunderstanding something.
Reading specs it appears it truly "splits" the P power away from the POE, not sharing it with both connections as I'd need.
I need one end point where I can power my POE camera and provide power to the separate IR. This item makes the rj data only.


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[nayr]

your misunderstanding that your your camera runs off 12v without the POE just fine.. split it

http://www.amazon.com/uxcell-5-5x2-1mm-Splitter-Security-Camera/dp/B007Q8IKRE

 

[nbstl68]

Oh I think I get it now...I just needed another piece...split the power off the RJ, then connect the data RJ o the camera, AND then split the power that was just split off and plug both into that?
I of course was thinking it was simpler and someone would MFG a splitter ot share the power with the RJ and the power cable...why wouldn't they just do that so I don't have to buy another th I ngy to split data off power then split power in two separately?


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[nayr]

I typically cut it all off and use a soldering iron, but thats nice and easy to take apart if needed.

 

[user101]

thanks for posting this question cause i asked this very question to a friend last week...is there a POE ir light out there?...well....my situation is different. My camera will be run all the way at the end of the driveway so it can monitor the street. That doesn't sound too bad until you consider, to the nvr, its about 200ft. Now there are plenty of IR 12v plug in lights on amazon to choose from but i dont really wanna run 200ft of romex and slap a 12v outlet out there so i thought running a second run of cat cable would be simpler. Problem is, i never found a POE IR light. To accent the Built in IR's i thought i would just run a few solar lamps along the road to make sure it at least gets some ambient light to pick up. The reflector idea i had thought of cause im gonna be putting this cam in a birdhouse. The reflectors would be on the fence post about 6 to 8 ft below it

I shouldn't have assumed that there were POE IR lights out there...can't see why they wouldnt make em though

 

[nayr]

oh they exist, but they are several hundred dollar industrial pieces not worth anything what they want.

PoE 12v Splitter + 12V IR Spotlight is cheap and easy.

 

[pozzello]

in the 'many-ways-to-skin-a-cat' department, here's another way (maybe the simplest yet)
to power another 12V device over an existing PoE (mode A) ethernet run:

Use a passive (mode B) injector and splitter.

PoE Switch -----------> Mode B passive injector ------> Mode B passive splitter ---------> PoE Cam
............................... | ............................... | ..............................
..............12V PS >----------+ ............................... +-------------> 12V device .....


This works for 10/100mbs only, but doesn't require the ethernet splitters previously mentioned.
(those are still handy if/when you want to run 2 PoE cams on one wire, of course...)

 

[user101]

nayr, is there any way you could post a diagram of how you would do it? The way you mentioned from the start of the thread

 

[pozzello]

you have various options:
1) (what Nayr suggests and uses himself): use an active PoE Splitter at the cam, plus a 12V dc splitter cable to power the cam and the IR with external 12V
pros: - less/easier wiring.
- 48V transmission ensures regulated 12V at the cam over long wire
cons - total power limited by what the PoE switch can put out. my not provide enuf wattage for your cam + IR + ???

2) (what i just suggested): use a passive (mode-B) injector and an external power supply at the switch to multiplex
PoE (modeA) data & power with modeB power only on the same wire.
pros: - passive injector/splitters are cheaper
- not limited to wattage from PoE switch (can use any power external PS for the aux device)
cons: - voltage drop over long wire may require using a higher voltage power supply (15v?) for 12V device
- require more understanding of what you're doing...

 

[nayr]

nayr, is there any way you could post a diagram of how you would do it? The way you mentioned from the start of the thread

here are some photos of me breaking out 12v for a microphone and IR

 

[user101]

thanks nayr..thats exactly what i was hoping for...a visual...i have to see things to get it through my head

ok pozzello....so the big if with this idea is if the POE switch or injector could handle the wattage over the over 200ft length to cover the camera and the light itself...would an injector like this be enough or would if be safer to just get a little more overhead and get this one? One does 18w and the other 30w

the unit you mention in your original reply nayr, this Active POE injector, would this still work with either of the 2 models of poe injectors I list above?

my setup won't be to difficult...its gonna be 1 NVR i built myself running probably any free pc based surveillance software with 1 camera going to cover the street...which happens to be 200 ft. away...so adding extras and stuff won't happen.

any suggestions on an IR light? or will any basic one thats weatherproof and cheap do?

 

[pozzello]

The first two you linked to are 'active' injectors. They work with an active PoE 802.3af device at the far end, only.
Pick one that will provide enough power for whatever you plan to power with them.

the thing Nayr pointed out is an active SPLITTER. that could be used at the cam end with a PoE switch or active PoE injector like the 2 above.
Also needs to be able to handle as much power as the injector can.

My suggestion was to add passive modeB power injection on top of active modeA PoE on the same cable,
using a pair of passive injector/splitters...

What sort of camera are you powering? does it not have it's own IR, or do you want to use external IR to replace/supplement the cam's IR?

provide specific details if you want specific anwsers/suggestions...

 

[user101]

the camera will be a 2.1mp HIKVISION ip cam(or one of its rebrands)...not sure of the model yet..the 2.1mp or 4.1mp thread in here left an impression on me...so a 3mp is out...im still waiting to get it...the camera does have IR's but the area i live in is as dark as the darkest jungle...i thought maybe a little help from a properly placed IR light would give it some help

i've been doin some reading and it seems some of the higher count LED IR lights consume quite a bit of wattage...im not sure if that 30 watt poe injector will have enough overhead to cover the light and the camera at 200ft...but im not experienced at this stuff to really know

 

[td0g]

Bringing back an old thread to inject my 2 cents. I ran into this problem with my PTZ cameras, none of them came with IR LEDs built in. I was going to do the 12v converter method with a 12v illimunator, but then I remembered, I had bought a junk 1MP $17 camera off aliexpress one time that had a bunch of big IR LEDs in it. So I tried that and it was plenty light for what I needed, so now that's my go to for POE IR lights. They are direct 48v POE and have day/night sensing for under $20.