These are all the essential items you will need to build a good quality CCTV security system. All too often retailers concentrate on the high margin big ticket items because they generate profit and ignore the smaller items. We aren’t going to retire from the proceeds of this page but each and every item is still selected with the same attention to detail. An ever changing and evolving selection of products.

 

The hard drives we supply to fit in our CCTV DVR recorders are a good example of our level of commitment. Outwardly one hard drive is much the same as any other and they all work. None the less we identified an industry leader, Western Digital, and looked to them for advice and technical support. Using their expertise we identified the potential weaknesses of using inferior drives in the demanding application of CCTV storage. Running 24 hours a day and constantly churning over it’s entire contents a normal computer hard drive might fail prematurely when installed in a DVR recorder. The WD drives we install feature low energy consumption design features which also reduce the amount of heat build up. Noise is also reduced when compared to inferior drives. Life expectancy, so often the Achilles heel of cheaper drives, is also increased. Given our customers are never going to see the hard drives we install and format it would be easy to let profit override quality. We don’t.

 

It’s no use specifying good CCTV cameras if you are going to throw it all away with a poor camera to DVR link. We offer a number of different CCTV cable options. Ready made leads come in a number of different lengths and offer a simple plug and play solution. We also offer traditional Coax plus 2, also known as shotgun cable in cut or drum lengths. As well as these conventional video transmission methods we also cater for customers wanting to take advantage of Cat5 cable technology. Video baluns allow up to 4 CCTV camera  outputs to be carried along a single 4 pair cable. All our Cat5 cable is pure copper rather than cheaper CCA or copper clad aluminum.  This not only improves signal transfer but also resists stress fracturing at terminal connections.

 

We offer a number of different options when it comes to powering your CCTV system  ranging from simple plug in solutions to fully hard wired solutions. We also stock CCTV specific items such as screw terminal DC plugs and sockets which can save hours when compared to traditional soldered fittings during a typical CCTV install.

 

We are always looking out for new products which either improve the effectiveness of CCTV systems or make installation easier. Sometimes this means thinking outside the box. Our set up monitors are a good example of this. Traditional CCTV set up monitors are very expensive for what they are. They also serve only one job. We managed to track down a monitor which not only had the necessary components to allow use when adjusting the position, zoom and focus settings of CCTV cameras but which could also be used as a CCTV monitor afterwards. As if that wasn’t enough it also functions as a television which can be used in the home or mobile vehicle.

 

Many items within our accessory section are included in CCTV system promotions  such as buy any 4 cameras and we will include a power supply free of charge.

 

As with all our products don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for advice by phone or email. It’s what we are here for.

Hard drive prices - Please be aware: At the moment the world hard drive market is suffering a 60% loss in production capacity following the terrible flooding in Thailand. This has had a knock on effect in prices resulting in a £20-30 premium per drive. Fortunately we have secured a good stock of drives so availability is not an issue. We are still supplying our premium WD drives.

Our Western Digital drives are designed specifically for intensive uses such as CCTV systems. We regularly see inferior drives being offered for sale in a bid to reduce cost or increase margins but this can sometimes create long term problems.

A conventional hard drive as fitted to your computer is only designed for short bursts of use, it is also only designed to be operational for 8 hours a day. Obviously a CCTV system needs to be recording 24 hours a day which places a great load on the hard drive particularly as a result of higher temperatures endured. Images are constantly being stored and replaced as the drive over-writes it`s self so there is a also a huge throughput of information compared to a standard computer drive.

With all this in mind we have worked alongside Western Digital to ensure the best possible choice of drives. As one of the foremost producer of hard drives Western Digital invest huge sums worldwide to design and develop new products. Energy consumption, life expectancy and performance are all aspects they constantly seek improve on ensuring their products remain the first choice of industry professionals.

Western Digital have developed a range of "Green Power" hard drives which have a reduced power consumption to keep the running cost of the drive as low as possible. This is achieved by Western Digital's IntelliSeek (the drive calculates the optimum seek speeds to lower power consumption, noise and vibration), IntelliPark (automatically unloads the heads during idle to reduce aerodynaic drag - yes really!) and IntelliPower (manages the spin speed, transfer rate and cache size) technologies. These three technologies and many more all result in a lower cost of ownership for the end user.

The drive has been designed to produce the least amount of noise possible. This drive produces less than 1 sone (which is a subjective unit of loudness as perceived by a person with normal hearing) which equates to an average of 25dBA. It can operate in temperatures from 0°C up to 70°C and with the humidity being up to 95% (non-condensing). This makes the hard drive ideal for use in all conditions that your DVR will reasonably experience.

Our pre-made CCTV camera to DVR recorder cables are the easiest way to wire in your CCTV camera system. The cables use industry standard connections for both the video signal (BNC connector) and camera power supply (5.5mm / 2.1mm  DC plug and socket). This is much better than using the bespoke cables supplied with many of the "CCTV kits" on the market because if you ever need to change a camera or recorder you don't face the problem of incompatible leads.

The down side to using pre-made leads is that they only come in pre determined lengths, namely 10 metres, 20 metres or 30 metres. They are also harder to pull through cable runs or holes where there is a risk the cable to connector joint is damaged. Consider using our Cat5 cable system to avoid these problems.

This is a great way to connect cameras to a DVR recorder both for the DIY and also professional installer. It has been made possible by the invention of the video balun. This clever device allows video signals to be transferred along a twisted pair of wires for a distance of up to 300 metres.

Very important - this application requires the use of very high quality pure copper Cat5 cable. CCA (copper clad aluminium) cable is not suitable. All the Cat5 cable we supply is high quality external grade pure copper and suitable for this purpose.

It is also possible to transmit 12 volt DC power to the camera using Cat5 cable for distances of up to 50 metres or so depending on the camera power consumption. When using Cat5 cable to transfer both video and power use 1 cable per camera. If you are only transferring video signal then up to 4 camera feeds can be handled by a single length of Cat5.

Using this method requires no more than a small flat head screwdriver as all the connections are made using screw terminals. For each camera you require a pair of video baluns (one at the camera, one at the DVR), a DC plug for the camera end and a DC socket for the power supply end.

Cat5 can be easily cut to length and pulling the cable through holes or cable runs is simple.

Traditionally coaxial or co-ax cable has been the preferred method of professional installers. In recent years though Cat5 cable has knocked co-ax cable off that top spot. Compared to Cat5 co-ax is bulkier and it also requires the use of specialist crimping and cutting tools if satisfactory results are to be achieved.

All the coaxial cable we supply is RG59 and suitable for CCTV installation. We supply either simple RG59 or RG59 plus 2 cores, commonly known as "shotgun" cable.

RG59 on it's own can be used to transfer the video signal from a CCTV camera to a DVR recorder or the monitor signal from a DVR to a TV / Monitor. Shotgun cable can also handle the power feed from transformer to CCTV camera as well as the Video signal from the camera to the DVR recorder.

Although bulkier than Cat5, especially when dealing with multiple camera feeds co-ax cable can still be cut to length and pulled through holes and cable runs.

As well as Co-ax cable we can supply all the necessary crimping and cutting tools. Call us with your needs.