Video Balun Frequently Asked Questions
In a typical solution of a few hundred feet you can use Coaxial cable to connect your camera to your monitor or DVR. The problem lies when you try to go very long distance. Baluns, whether active or passive have the potential to give you 1000ft up to as much as 6000ft. You can also run a lower cost Cat5/6 cable. Video is sent over a single Cat5 pair, since there are 4 pairs in a Cat5 you can support 4 cameras on one cat5 run. In addition you can use one pair for video and send power over a combination of the three remaining pairs. The more pairs you use for the power portion of the run the greater distance you can go with the power.
Another wiring solution is to use phone cable instead of Cat5/6. Phone cables use 3 pairs of two cables twisted. A typical phone line will use one wire for the phone number and one wire for the connection which leaves you two free pairs(4 wires). These four wires can be used to carry the video, given most building already have phone lines installed you can strip off the 4 unused wires and connect it to the balun.
Wire to Video Balun Connection
After stripping the wires, simply insert each wire into the corresponding wire slots in the video balun. A wiring diagram is included with each of our baluns.
Video Balun Connectors: We offer two types of connectors RJ-45 and Terminal Block
- The RJ45 port is a standard connector used by Cat5 cables.
- Terminal blocks, on the other hand, require wire stripping and individual wire insertion into the block wire openings. The advantage is flexibility in wiring, allowing more or fewer wires to be used for power. Terminal blocks use a spring and are easy to use.
Power Transferring Video Baluns
Monitor-side baluns or bridges that support power will input 18V-24V DC from the wall. As the power travels towards the camera, naturally, this 18V current will degrade. On the camera-side balun, a power regulator will convert the higher current to 12V DC and feed it to the camera. Some baluns can pass AC power to the camera.
Active and Passive Video Baluns
Composite video signal normally carries a 1V peak to peak signal. Passive baluns do not alter the intensity of the signal, they merely transfer it from coaxial to Cat5 connectivity or vice versa. However, for long range applications, the signal will naturally degrade. Therefore, active baluns are useful for intensifying the signal and transmitting a stronger signal to the receiving balun. An active balun on the receiving side will receive a weakened signal and intensify it before sending it to the video surveillance appliance. The longest range active balun will boost the signal up to 5V. Active baluns come in long, medium, short, and adjustable ranges. A quality DVR machine can tolerate video signals ranging from 0.3V to 5.0V
Active and passive baluns can exist in three configurations:
Camera | Monitor | Description |
Passive | Passive | No signal intensity change or amplification. 1,000 foot maximum distance. |
Passive | Active | Receiving balun amplifies weakened signal and sends new stronger signal to surveillance device. 4,000 foot maximum distance. |
Active | Active | Sending balun sends strengthened signal to receiving balun, which again strengthens the signal and sends to surveillance device. 6,000 foot maximum distance. |
Video Balun Wiring in General
Our baluns follow a standard coloring scheme. Cat5 wires are color-coded. Simply match the correct colors to each function - video, power, and RS485. This diagram will indicate which wires to use on each side. The important thing is to be consistent in the wiring.