Stuck IR Cut Filter

H

heffneil

Getting the hang of it
May 1, 2017
109
10
I am SOOOOOO frustrated by these cameras. I have about 4 of them waiting to ship in for RMA and then I have about 3 or 4 more that are all PINK now and no matter what I can't fix!

DS-2CD2542FWD-IS I have a BUNCH. Its bad. Anyone ever notice this? They are about 5 or 7 years old.

Thanks!

Neil
 
The IR cut filter is a mechanical device and this might correct it; you've got little to lose if it doesn't!
  • With camera powered up and video observed, pick up camera and sharply rap it's back flatly on a hard, flat surface.
  • Test by covering, then un-covering camera lens to block sensor and exercise IR cut filter.
  • If it still doesn't work properly, then step it up a notch and rap again.
  • Test again.
  • Repeat unless you're ready to float-test* the camera.
*float-test or float check: old US Naval aviation term wherein you toss the faulty device overboard and if it sinks, it's not repairable.
Also known as "BCM-9" (Beyond Capable Maintenance: Navy had only 8 official levels to decide what to do with the device, the aircraft techs 'unofficially' added the 9th level)

EDIT: I assumed the cams are POE-powered and that this occurred to the cams over a period of time and that it wasn't all of a sudden. If this IS, in fact, sudden to this number of cams I would be suspicious of the POE switch's output and/or power budget.
 
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well, I have 11' and 12' ceiling. I might take a broom stick and see if that will do it. Amazingly one of them just went back to normal. I think if the switch reboots it, vs a reboot in the software might help. So a hard reset vs soft reset MIGHT help. Now only if I know which switch and which port :)
 
I looked inside my cams to see how they work .....inside the actual lense is a small copper colour battery which switches from a seethrough filter/ lense to a Brown one at night, this may have got stuck or been put back in wrong way round.......b4 opening up camera though put your finger over the led which is not red like the rest and see if u hear a click noise...usually loud enough to hear although could be very faint.....if u dont hear a click then its stuck.....or possibly battery gone( not sure on that one though but if it is youll need to open up camera to change anyway......just make sure the filters are put back the right way as mine didnt flick when i put back wrong way, took a while to work out as cameras went black and white in dark but no night vision till i realised what i had done lol!!!!
 
Im not disassembling anything. I don't even want to take them down. The problem is with my 60ish cameras about 10 of them now are having the issue. Either part is fragile or there is a huge problem with this particular model and its longevity.
 
heffneil said:
I don't even want to take them down.
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So how do you plan to resolve "....I have about 4 of them waiting to ship in for RMA" ?
 
I owned couple of these probably 6 years ago. I also had issue with IR lights. It's amazing you got 7 years out of them. If you have to take them down for warranty get something more modern as these have been terrible for night time viewing.
 
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what would you recommend in my new home. I am seriously moving. I don't know what to do the next time around. These were purchased wholesale and on sale that month. Specifications wise they were perfect. I don't know if they are 7 years honestly. Its been some time. The were fine up until now.
 
heffneil said:
what would you recommend in my new home. I am seriously moving. I don't know what to do the next time around. These were purchased wholesale and on sale that month. Specifications wise they were perfect. I don't know if they are 7 years honestly. Its been some time. The were fine up until now.
Click to expand...
I had the one you have for a few years before started having issues with IRs but they were indoor cameras. For outdoor use I personally buy Hikvision turrets or mini bullets, I had G1s and most recently G2 darkfighter series. Actually I really like the new G2 Acusense. Just bought 4 more to replace all my G1s.
 
heffneil said:
These are indoor cameras - at leas that is where I am using them.
Click to expand...
In that case options are limited if you want compact one. When I was looking for indoor camera it was either to get same size 2CD2543G0-IS or a bit bigger but with PTZ 2DE2A404IW-DE3.

Also check out SD1A404XB-GNR. It's Dahua but pretty good size for indoor use.
 
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When I turn the lights on I hear this one camera. It sounds like a cat wheezing or trying to cough up a hairball. Another one I hit physically a couple times - no improvement.

I am so distraught because I settle on my new house soon and I really think I am going to be sucked up in the hikvision vortex again because nothing is better?!
 
Nothing like resurrecting an ancient and irrelevant thread, but I have figured out the issue. I have 3 of these cameras that have this issue intermittently. I looked 2 years ago to find a solution and came across this thread, then I put those cameras in storage.

Today I pulled them out of storage and was deciding whether to just throw them in the trash. Curiosity got the best of me and I found this thread again, and then decided to take apart the camera and see what's going on, since it seems like no one else has.

Inside the ball-shaped part of the camera, just behind the lens, is an assembly that has a shutter/filter holder that pivots back and forth to change the filter. A super small motor with a gear on the end turns another gear on a spindle, that in turn makes the filter thing pivot.
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When I tried to gently move the filter thing back and forth by hand, it kept getting stuck halfway, so I removed it, and then tried to spin the gear to see if it would move freely. It did not. About once per revolution, it gets stuck. At first, it seemed like the tolerances were too tight and the gear was getting stuck on the adjacent plastic motor housing. I shaved down the motor housing. No change. So I pulled out the motor and the gear, inspected them for damaged teeth under a magnifying glass. Teeth were fine. I put it together and tested and took it apart several times. I was really getting frustrated as I couldn't figure out what it was getting hung up on, and everything looked fine.

Finally, I removed the motor and the gear again and had them under the magnifying glass. I mated the gears and spun them around, tooth by tooth, until....... I suddenly noticed that after about 3/4 of a revolution, the teeth collided. The size/ratio or whatever you want to call it of the teeth don't actually match. The two gears are incompatible. Design flaw or manufacturing defect.

This explains why when you hit it, it sometimes fixes it temporarily. A percussive hit is sometimes enough to jostle those two gears into alignment again, but it's only temporary. So the people who've actually had these cameras working, it seems like pure luck as it appears these have been doomed since day 1.

These are not fixable.
 
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