How do I provide power to an Analog PTZ Security Camera using 24 VAC

by Mike

Question:

We have an STV-16 powering four 24 V AC cameras. 3 are fixed, one is a dome. Occasionally, the dome loses power, as if the SmartFuse has tripped. I especially see this at the end of the 60-second delay after manual panning, when the camera pans rapidly to the "start" position of its auto-pan scan. A meter shows about 0.85 Amps at that time, but the peak may be more and the meter's needle just cannot swing fast enough to show it. Can I parallel two of the outputs to get a little more current, or are the SmartFuses not matched closely enough and one or the other will trip? Many thanks!

Answer:

Mike,

There are some very basic things that are recommended when you are powering a PTZ Security Camera. You can try any other method you want but this one will work every time.

1. Always have a separate and dedicated power supply
2. Place the power supply as close as possible to the PTZ security camera.
3. Be sure you are providing 24 Volt AC power for the camera. This will also provide power for the housing for heaters and blowers.

Sharing power like you are doing is not recommended and will cause the problems you are seeing. There just isn't enough power a available to power the PTZ Security Camera at the same time as the other cameras on the system. Especially if some of those other cameras are IR or have high power requirements.

Hope that helps.

Peter Brissette
Security Camera Expert