NVR for Neighborhood Entrance

[randd0]

I'm stepping in to help my neighborhood resolve a broken NVR situation at our main entrance. The old Hikvision NVR died, and the company that installed the equipment removed it (kind of weird, I know). I'm left with 3 Hikvision cameras that all appear in working order (one bullet LPR and two turrets). I have a network engineering and cybersecurity background and have installed Blue Iris setups about four times for friends and family. The current setup includes a pretty nice Armorlogix enclosure with a fan for the equipment. I'm looking to procure a replacement NVR or VMS on a budget. I have a few questions 1) Am I limited to a HikVision NVR, or could I use another NVR that would play nice with HikVision cameras? 2) I know Blue Iris may cost a little more upfront, but I'm familiar with the software and have had a good experience overall. Is it still the best prosumer VMS solution for this scenario? 3) How can I combat overheating issues with whatever solution I choose? Being that I'm in the south, summer temps regularly go over 100 degrees F. My gut is that temperature-hardened NVRs will be very expensive.

I appreciate your time and expertise that you're willing to share.

 

[Flintstone61]

My Not very expensive 4108 Amcrest 8CH NVR and an Amcrest DVR, both sat in 2 garages the last 3 years, one was a 1 stall for 2 years, with full sun all damn day. Easily 115F at times and down to -17F in Winter.....Now they've been retired to my garage as redundancy to BI....hosting about 6 cams. Still ticking. I have 3 Hik's and 4-5 Empire Techs and 2-3 Amcrests running on them. Plays well with others.
Maybe there isnt too much to worry about heat wise. Control what you can, but I think any NVR you choose will be fine in the heat.

 

[tangent]

Is this being used for general security or to control an access gate based on license plates?
Is there internet at the location of the camera equiptment?
What general area state / city are you in / how hot is it? There's a difference between Phoenix and San Jose.

If you plug the cameras into a PoE switch are you able to access them / log in to them?

What models are the cameras? Is the LPR camera a Hikvision ANPR model with built in license plate recognition?

in general, a Hikvision NVR will work best with Hikvision cameras

 

[randd0]

-It will be used for general security, and there isn't an access gate. I don't believe they used license plate recognition before, but I wouldn't mind utilizing that feature.
-There isn't internet at the location. With the previous install, the person responsible would walk down and plug into the system to pull down footage. I will install a wireless bridge to a neighbor's house within range and use VPN for remote viewing.
-I live in southern Louisiana—highs in the high 90s to 100s with 100% humidity.

-I pulled the cameras down and into my lab yesterday. I've only had time to work on the LPR camera. I didn't know if it would be usable because of the fog and haze inside the camera housing. I took it apart last night, and it cleaned up nicely. I had to password reset the device to get in, but I got in and plugged it into POE, and the camera seems to be in working order.
-The LPR camera is model number HNC512-VBA32-LPR. I'll get more info on the turrets this evening. I do see an LPR-related config in the interface. Hopefully, that answers your question regarding ANPR.

"In general, a Hikvision NVR will work best with Hikvision cameras." This was my gut feeling too. If the budget were more flexible, I would pursue a Blue Iris setup. I normally stick to NDAA-compliant gear when I can for obvious reasons, but I'll isolate the equipment and use a firewall to control communication.

I appreciate all of the help. This forum has been very helpful over the years. Cheers

 

[randd0]

Not to take us on too much of a tangent, but moisture is present on the inside of housing lens again this morning after I removed it last night. I plan to give it another try this evening and add some silica packs inside the camera. I was surprised at the lack of a gasket between the front and back of the camera housing. Does the outer housing lens look like it needs to be removed and resealed to you guys? If so, what do you recommend for adhesive? I'm including some pictures for reference.

Lack of gasket. There's only a very small rubber bump that you can see if you zoom in.


This is what the camera looked like this morning after disassembly and clearing the moisture last night.

 

[bigredfish]

FWIW I have 2 Dahua 4208-8P NVRs in NEMA enclosures along with a router and cable modem. Installed in 2017 and still working fine in Fla heat and humidity and a couple of hurricanes. I did lose a hard drive a couple of years ago...

HOA resources/framework/toolkit

 

[tangent]

There isn't internet at the location. With the previous install, the person responsible would walk down and plug into the system to pull down footage. I will install a wireless bridge to a neighbor's house within range and use VPN for remote viewing.

You could also locate the NVR at the neighbor's house or even use a cloud based service instead of the NVR, if they had sufficient upload bandwidth and the HOA would compensate them somehow or it it's possible to get internet at the camera location.

 

[TonyR]

Not to take us on too much of a tangent, but moisture is present on the inside of housing lens again this morning after I removed it last night. I plan to give it another try this evening and add some silica packs inside the camera. I was surprised at the lack of a gasket between the front and back of the camera housing. Does the outer housing lens look like it needs to be removed and resealed to you guys? If so, what do you recommend for adhesive? I'm including some pictures for reference. View attachment 169208
View attachment 169209
Lack of gasket. There's only a very small rubber bump that you can see if you zoom in.

View attachment 169210
This is what the camera looked like this morning after disassembly and clearing the moisture last night.

One method to fix an affected camera and mitigate the situation to help prevent (but not guarantee) future moisture intrusion is as follows:

Wait until the ambient relative humidity is at its lowest point. Choose the driest environment you can for this procedure; in other words, the bathroom after someone took a hot, steamy shower or the kitchen after or during the stove has cooked or boiled anything is NOT a good place. This will be the biggest challenge but is likely the best way to not trap moisture-laden air inside the cam when re-assembling. Late afternoon, outdoors, sunny, no rain for 24 hours and out of direct sun may be your best bet.

Open up the cam, noting how it is assembled and what gaskets and sealant rings are in place then dry it out. Soak up excess moisture with lint-free cotton rag, handkerchief, etc. Use a small hair dryer on low to accelerate the drying out of the cam's interior but don't overheat any of the components.

Allow the cam to cool down to room temp.

Replace the bags of desiccant with new, dry ones. If you have no new bags, take the existing ones, dry with hair dryer then bury in cup of uncooked, instant rice for several hours to absorb moisture from the bag.

Reassemble the cam (DON'T FORGET THE BAGS OF DESICCANT), insuring OEM gaskets and sealant rings are in place. Insure that the pigtail cable entrance is sealed. If any gaskets or sealant rings are missing or damaged or the cable entrance is not sealed, you'll be wasting your time and moisture will be back in sooner than later. You should use clear, outdoor-rated silicone sealant to caulk the mating surfaces before AND after re-assembly, including the pigtail cable entrance. Allow to dry overnight before placing back into service

 

[mat200]

I'm stepping in to help my neighborhood resolve a broken NVR situation at our main entrance. The old Hikvision NVR died, and the company that installed the equipment removed it (kind of weird, I know). I'm left with 3 Hikvision cameras that all appear in working order (one bullet LPR and two turrets). I have a network engineering and cybersecurity background and have installed Blue Iris setups about four times for friends and family. The current setup includes a pretty nice Armorlogix enclosure with a fan for the equipment. I'm looking to procure a replacement NVR or VMS on a budget. I have a few questions 1) Am I limited to a HikVision NVR, or could I use another NVR that would play nice with HikVision cameras? 2) I know Blue Iris may cost a little more upfront, but I'm familiar with the software and have had a good experience overall. Is it still the best prosumer VMS solution for this scenario? 3) How can I combat overheating issues with whatever solution I choose? Being that I'm in the south, summer temps regularly go over 100 degrees F. My gut is that temperature-hardened NVRs will be very expensive.

I appreciate your time and expertise that you're willing to share.

welcome and thanks @randd0 for sharing your experiences and the images .. really appreciate it.

do keep us informed how it goes .. looks like a good project

In general for NVRs try to replace with an OEM NVR that matches the cameras ..

 

[randd0]

One method to fix an affected camera and mitigate the situation to help prevent (but not guarantee) future moisture intrusion is as follows:

Wait until the ambient relative humidity is at its lowest point. Choose the driest environment you can for this procedure; in other words, the bathroom after someone took a hot, steamy shower or the kitchen after or during the stove has cooked or boiled anything is NOT a good place. This will be the biggest challenge but is likely the best way to not trap moisture-laden air inside the cam when re-assembling. Late afternoon, outdoors, sunny, no rain for 24 hours and out of direct sun may be your best bet.

Open up the cam, noting how it is assembled and what gaskets and sealant rings are in place then dry it out. Soak up excess moisture with lint-free cotton rag, handkerchief, etc. Use a small hair dryer on low to accelerate the drying out of the cam's interior but don't overheat any of the components.

Allow the cam to cool down to room temp.

Replace the bags of desiccant with new, dry ones. If you have no new bags, take the existing ones, dry with hair dryer then bury in cup of uncooked, instant rice for several hours to absorb moisture from the bag.

Reassemble the cam (DON'T FORGET THE BAGS OF DESICCANT), insuring OEM gaskets and sealant rings are in place. Insure that the pigtail cable entrance is sealed. If any gaskets or sealant rings are missing or damaged or the cable entrance is not sealed, you'll be wasting your time and moisture will be back in sooner than later. You should use clear, outdoor-rated silicone sealant to caulk the mating surfaces before AND after re-assembly, including the pigtail cable entrance. Allow to dry overnight before placing back into service

Do you think I should remove the housing lens, clean it, and reattach it using silicon? If you look at the first picture I posted, it’s crusty and it looks like the edges may not be completely sealed. I’m not sure if moisture could get in there.

 

[TonyR]

Do you think I should remove the housing lens, clean it, and reattach it using silicon? If you look at the first picture I posted, it’s crusty and it looks like the edges may not be completely sealed. I’m not sure if moisture could get in there.

I'd say so...you'e come this far might as well do it up right, IMO.

Just be aware that silicone caulk will squish out unless you let it cure completely to form a gasket before re-assembly. I would also run a bead on any outside seams and joints after re-assembly.

Don't forget the pigtail entrance into the housing!

 

[tangent]

Do you think I should remove the housing lens, clean it, and reattach it using silicon? If you look at the first picture I posted, it’s crusty and it looks like the edges may not be completely sealed. I’m not sure if moisture could get in there.

A silicone grease could also work at least for parts of it. If you use caulk, the as the solvents outgas and it cures there's chance it fogs again.

I'd do it in stages, give things time to cure before you button up totally. Not certain if RTV would be preferable to regular caulk.

 

[TonyR]

A silicone grease could also work at least for parts of it. If you use caulk, the as the solvents outgas and it cures there's chance it fogs again.

It'd do it in stages, give things time to cure before you button up totally. Not certain if RTV would be preferable to regular caulk.

Very good point. What about this? ==>> Clear Electronic Grade Silicone - 2.8 oz Squeeze Tube

 

[randd0]

Very good point. What about this? ==>> Clear Electronic Grade Silicone - 2.8 oz Squeeze Tube

I might give that a shot. Electronic Grade Silicone sounds right. The outer lens cover definitely needed to be re-adhered because I barely put any pressure on it, and it popped right out. Whatever they used during assembly had the consistency of dried superglue.

Where do you guys recommend purchasing a Hikvision NVR? I'd love to find a good reseller with whom I can partner for security camera equipment. I have a few larger projects down the road.