Rugged CCTV

Stainless Steel Explosion Proof Cameras

allensp — Fri, 04 May 2012 19:08:31 +0000

Rugged CCTV is introducing two new Stainless Steel Explosion Proof Cameras to their lineup.
The cameras, machined from stainless steel pipe and blocks, are pressurized with nitrogen to 45 psi, which prevents any outside dust or gases from entering.
There are two High Resolution models being introduced, a Day/Night Camera and an Infrared model as well.

These cameras come standard with a Varifocal 5-50mm lens with magnetic adjustment, so there are no penetrations into the camera cavity and the pressurized housing.
Many other advancements were engineered into these cameras, such as 8mm thick bulletproof glass, a double sunshield design for better cooling, and high powered infrared lamps that can illuminate out to 300′ (infrared model only).
Rugged CCTV expects to have these cameras ready for release by the end of May 2012.

Correct Installation And How Not To Void Your Security Camera Warranty

allensp — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 03:59:22 +0000

In this “Tips and Tricks” section of our How-To Video Series, we want to try to help you install your wiring correctly so that you will not void the warranty. We’ve had a rash of customers calling in with fried cameras. Either caused from incorrect voltage, reverse polarity, or clipping the ends off of the video or power leads from their cameras or power supplies. These will ALL VOID your warranty. So take a look so you know what to avoid!

Run Your Coaxial Cable Carefully

allensp — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:48:11 +0000

Now most everyone has heard of table manners and along the same lines we’re going to talk about cable etiquette. For all of our end users that this is their first install, and even for our dealers that might need a refresher course on cable manners!
- DO NOT pull very hard on your cabling. The cabling you are using whether that be coax or cat5 needs to be handled with care. If you have even a slight twist in the cable – one good yank could sever the center conductor rendering your cable useless.
- DO NOT connect your cables to the DVR or to your cameras until they are fully installed. If you pull on one end you have no idea what is happening on the other end. You can damage other equipment which will not be covered under warranty.
- Wrap all attachment points with black electrical tape. This will protect the connections from corrosion as well as grounding issues.
- Make sure your connectors are terminated correctly and firmly attached before wrapping them with black electrical tape. A bad connector termination can be very hard to trace when you start having an intermittent camera signal.
- Label all cameras for polarity on both ends of the cable. There’s nothing like frying a 12V DC camera when you connect it into 24V AC. You fry it, you bought it!
- Make sure you know your cable limitations before purchasing your cabling and even more importantly when you are running the cabling. I know I am horrendously bad at estimating distances. I’ll tell you 100′ and it’s actually 250′. With limitations on power and video cable make sure you get it right the first time. And the person selling you equipment is only as good as your estimations. Nobody wants to go through an entire install and then have to jump ship right in the middle because the cabling purchased isn’t going to meet the true specs of the job.
- ASK QUESTIONS FIRST!! We have full time, unlimited tech support for the life of your equipment so if you have questions please ask them before doing something you THINK is correct. We don’t want to have to tell you that you just turned your $200 camera into a paperweight when it was connected wrong. If you are unsure about anything just pick up the phone and call 866-301-2288. A 2 minute phone call can save you money and hours of work and installation.
- READ THE QUICK GUIDES!!!! Our staff here has taken the time to put together the most asked questions about our most complicated products and created quick reference guides as well as installation guides. These are invaluable to a first time installer. I don’t know many people that really want to sit down and read a 120 page manual from start to finish. You aren’t going to retain the knowledge and getting overwhelmed can happen very quickly. So just take a few minutes to read the guides (most are on bright yellow pieces of paper) and familiarize yourself with the parts and pieces of what you are about to work with. We’ve also got how to video’s on youtube.com that can be found here. http://www.rugged-cctv.com/securitycameravideos.shtml

Any questions at all we are here to help you through from start to finish and everything in between!

Remote Monitoring Software for DVR’s

allensp — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:21:51 +0000

Along with remote access directly through an Active X codec for Internet Explorer and our smart phone app named SMART EYES we also make full Central Monitoring Software (CMS) for all of our DVRs. This software gives you multiple DVR access at one time for live views, playback access, backup copy ability and a setup interface to make changes to the DVR like you were standing right in front of it.
The newest version can be found here and is compatible with all of our H DVRs purchased in the last year and a half.

http://www.rugged-cctv.com/downloads/CMS_Install_Rugged_V2_2(20111212_136).zip

This software is FREE of charge and not copyrighted so you can download it to as many PCs as you like without having to pay an additional licensing fee like some companies charge for. The software still requires your IP address, user name, port and password to access the DVR footage so it is secure and reliable.
Check it out today!

DVR Manuals, Quick Reference Guides & More

allensp — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:17:52 +0000

Manuals and Helpful Information
Rugged CCTV has been making our own stand alone DVRs for more than a decade. Technology changes rapidly in our industry, so we are always adding new equipment, but we still support our older DVRs for technical questions, and ALL of our customers receive FREE technical support for the life of their equipment. You can find manuals, quick reference guides, remote software and more here at our downloads page.

http://www.rugged-cctv.com/downloads.shtml

Megapixel Cameras – Using the Same Wiring You Already Have

allensp — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:18:18 +0000

In just a few weeks, we will be introducing our New Megapixel Cameras and DVR’s. This new technology, much easier to implement than IP Cameras, will carry 1080p HD Video down your existing Coax cables.
What this means, is that you will be able to switch out your old cameras for HD Megapixel cameras in just a few minutes.
There is no “Networking” issues to deal with. No new wire installation. No Router, Switch or POE (Power Over Ethernet) devices to mess with. So making the switch to Megapixel 1080p (or even 720p) cameras will be as easy as hooking up an HD camera to your old wiring.

Our first Megapixel Cameras to be introduced will be the Defiant-HD Dome Cameras, in Infrared and Non-Infrared models.
We will also be introducing a new line of DVR’s that will be able to record these new Megapixel Cameras – as well as your old Analog Cameras – at the same time.
So upgrading will be super easy, and can be accomplished in minutes instead of days. And, you can start off with just a couple of Megapixel cameras – and leave your current cameras in place. You do not have to migrate to a new system all at once.
Look for our official announcement coming soon, and you will be able to watch your business and property with a 2.2 Megapixel HD Camera – in full 1080p.
And the best part? It’s affordable!

Rugged CCTV Reports Record Year In 2011

allensp — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:58:56 +0000

Thanks to our customers Rugged CCTV has just experienced our best year ever. Now entering our 19th year, we were not expecting 2011 to be as good as it has been.
Thanks to a host of new products and some Patents, we have seen demand go through the roof in 2011. So, we thought we would thank each and every customer for not only buying the Rugged Cams brand, but returning to us numerous times for additional cameras, DVR’s and all new systems.
Thank you, and we appreciate your business.

We look forward to serving you with some exciting, breakthrough new products and technology in 2012.

UPS Seems To Be Imploding – Reports Of War Between Union & Management

allensp — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:47:42 +0000

We ship hundreds of packages every week and we have relied on UPS for our shipping for many, many years. However, we started to see that the apparent strife within the ranks of UPS (both drivers and office workers), was starting to affect delivery, pickups and even billing. Luckily, we saw this building months ago and wisely switched to FedeX. However, some shipments still come in every day from UPS, so it is not possible to remove ourselves from the blowback entirely.

Drivers switch out regularly for various reasons, so we see a good cross section of them in the course of a normal month. Drivers have complained about management for years, and we got accustomed to listening to various diatribes about how awful UPS management treated certain drivers. No big deal we thought, they’re just blowing off steam, and I’m sure that some of their customers, including us, could provide a sympathetic ear.

However, this year seemed to ramp up to a level that borders on “going Postal”. The drivers would come in the door angry and cussing their bosses – without any prompting questions, such as “How are you today?”
Then we noticed that any conversations with office personnel or dispatch were also turning ugly. Every conversation would yield a rude, snotty, uncaring employee who would make any routine task or question problematic. It seemed normal to be put on hold indefinitely with no one ever coming back to you, or to be told they would do something and they would not.

It’s easy to be constantly angry, rude and non-helpful to someone on the phone, but when the drivers, who we have face time with every day, starts showing signs of cracking up right in front of you – you know things must be pretty bad back at their base.

This past Friday was the scariest episode yet, and has left many of our employees fearful of encountering any of the UPS drivers again.

We had an International shipment arrive with a Customs fee due. No problem, this is routine. We have recived this same shipment many times and we knew from experience that the fee is always between $30 and $40. However, this time the fee due said that it was more than $3000. It was obvious that a mistake had been made somewhere down the line. (turns out it was a mistake made by a UPS employee who keyed in the wrong information).
We told the driver that we needed the shipment pretty badly, but that we would have to refuse the shipment temporarily so that we could call UPS and get it straightened out. Well, the driver went absolutely ballistic. Yelling, cussing and generally throwing a huge fit. “there is no mistake”, he bellowed. He then proceeded to spit out that if we refused the shipment that he would not bring it back – even if he was ordered to by his bosses. Ohhhhkayyyy. How are you supposed to respond to that? We tried to coddle him as much as possible, just to simply get him out the door.

Eventually he left and we got the problem straightened out within just a few minutes of calling UPS. We also told them about their driver totally losing it.

No more than 2 or 3 minutes after hanging up with UPS, the driver came back, screeching to a halt and storming into the building yelling to speak to whoever “lied to his bosses on him”. I heard the yelling from my office and knew that we were witnessing a complete meltdown. I pocketed a gun on my way to the warehouse, because I knew from the sound of things that this guy had totally lost it and there was no telling what he would do next. I never had to pull the gun, but I fully expected this guy to pull some kind of weapon at any moment. It scared the crap out of all of us. We had seen this driver many times before and had never seen him like this, nor had we ever had any trouble or disagreement with him before this.

After we pleaded with him to calm down, he admitted that his bosses were probably lying to him, and that he had an ongoing war with them for many months. He also admitted that we didn’t do anything wrong at all, and that we were not responsible for any mistakes that were made at his company, so he should not have taken it out on us. We were just grateful that he finally left and that no one was hurt.

We have since heard from other businesses in various other states, that they are starting to see the same things we are seeing – and it’s not just around the holidays either.
So, yes, it seems UPS is imploding. Beware, and be safe.

Connecting Cameras To A Central Power Supply Cabinet

allensp — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:08:13 +0000

We’ve had lots and lots of questions about how you connect 12V DC power into our central power supplies. It is really simple as long as you remember that all 12V DC connections are polarity sensitive. Simply stated you connect the + to the + and the – to the – on your screw terminals inside your power box or you will fry your camera(s) immediately. As long as you fully label your cables at the camera end and at the power supply end you will be fine. Just keep it consistent. All red wires are hot or + and all black or black striped wires are -. We’ve made a video to explain it since a video speaks a 1000 words…or maybe more because I’m long winded!

Our Popular Defender Camera Will Have An Infrared Option

allensp — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:05:35 +0000

The Defender dome camera has been one of our hottest sellers in 2011, and we’ve gotten some great feedback from our customers on what they like and what they’d like improved. Well…WE LISTENED! Coming in January of 2012 – INFRARED DEFENDER with the same IP68 waterproof rating. Look for the release in the January Newsletter!!! Current customers will exclusively receive a lower introductory price!