POE testing to see if Cable is bad?

C

CameraDudeGuy

n3wb
Mar 21, 2024
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America
Is there any testing that can be done to see if the cable is bad to have evidence?

I had a company setup outdoor POE camera with a maintenance contract on the equipment/setup.

One by one the Cameras started going offline. I have read that the outdoor cameras lifespan is 10+ years and they were installed 10 years ago.

The only way that they will work is if a powerful network switch is installed to boost the power to get to the Camera.

The NVR's own POE switch that is built in is not powerful enough to power the Camera.

The people who installed the Cameras are trying to come up with excuses oh why they should not replace the bad cable. How can I get proof that I can use that these cables are indeed bad?

Thanks.
 
wittaj said:
Is this different than your previous similar question in March?

POE Cables considered to be Good or degraded if they stop working unless a booster is added ?

ADT installed a 8 POE Camera system. The 8 POE camera are connected to the NVR which has POE ports. NVR worked fine for years, but slowly cameras stop working one by one. Until half the Camera stop working. The only way in which they can get these Cameras sort of working, is to add a POE...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
Click to expand...

Yeah, one post I am asking if requiring a additional network switches to get the Cameras working was an indication if the cables were bad. Now I am asking for hard evidence that I can bring into court and prove that a company is refusing to replace cables that are 100% bad. I need like someway to getting this hard evidence that can hold up in court. The pervious was more antidotal signs of a bad cable.

The tech they send over I am pretty sure is trying to BS me into thinking the cables are working fine even know the guy comes over to my house like 4 times a month to try to get the Camera back online but refusing to acknowledge that the cables are bad.

I think an expensive cable tester that can read volts is the only way to get the proof I need. Is this right?
 
@Teken in your previous thread gave you the most extensive answer you will get and doubt it has changed since then.

He mentions a $15k-$25k fluke tester but I am sure the cost to run 8 cables is cheaper....

They aren't 100% bad since they do work with stronger power devices. It isn't uncommon for NVR POE ports to lose strength over time and/or the cameras need just a little more juice over time. Or maybe just a bit of corrosion over time causing issues because they likely didn't use dielectric grease. Just like a 10 year old car doesn't get the same MPG as it did when it was new.
 
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IMO the excuses are probably a bunch of bunk, yet it's possible one of them could be randomly correct. If you're going to court my non-legal opinion is that you'd need a high $ cable tester run by somebody who can be considered an expert with it. If I was in this situation I'd try a newer camera at a location that isn't working, and/or a different POE switch at the other end. Not everybody is equipped to do this I realize, and if the problem is the cable you'd only be implicating it, not proving. If the cable is implicated, a new RJ45 on either end could possibly fix it. If I had 10 year old cameras failing I wouldn't weep much because several new generations have brought big improvements. That doesn't mean an outfit like ADT actually uses the newer cameras.
 
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CameraDudeGuy said:
Is there any testing that can be done to see if the cable is bad to have evidence?

I had a company setup outdoor POE camera with a maintenance contract on the equipment/setup.

One by one the Cameras started going offline. I have read that the outdoor cameras lifespan is 10+ years and they were installed 10 years ago.

The only way that they will work is if a powerful network switch is installed to boost the power to get to the Camera.

The NVR's own POE switch that is built in is not powerful enough to power the Camera.

The people who installed the Cameras are trying to come up with excuses oh why they should not replace the bad cable. How can I get proof that I can use that these cables are indeed bad?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I will tell you the common thing you should change out arbitrarily when you loose connection over time is the RJ-45 ends on the POE Ethernet cables. Its best to use the old style end than the feed through because the feed through design has a higher failure rate outside.
Long runs will shorten the lifespan of the connector and if they used the correct cable (cmx) the cable is going to outlast the connectors. So I doubt the cable itself is the issue.
But for sake of argument, can you tell us what cable did they use?
 
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