CCTV housings

[arp]

Hi,

I have a couple of CCTV housings. One of them is in use, with my Watec 902H2 camera and Computar lens. It is an enormous box just to enclose such a small camera and lens.

Does anyone know of a supplier of much smaller CCTV housings, sufficient to enclose the camera and lens, but small enough to make it inconspicuous? Or have you made your own?

Many thanks,

Alex.

[BillW]

Hi Alex,

I bought a "Genie TPH-1500 Small Cable Managed External Camera Housing IP68 DC 12V or AC 24V". (Thats the catalogue entry!) for similar reasons however...
It is indeed a bit smaller than a standard housing but it's still not that small!
It's also built like a tank so it's not that lightweight either, finally it's bright white. Might need a lick of camoflage paint...

I also purchased some really cheap enclosures from ebay which are made of nothing more than a lightweight aluminium channel. These are NOT water proof but can be easily cut to shorten them. A touch of silicon might make them a bit more water resistant but I'd still put them somewhere sheltered.

I was planning on shortening one myself to make it a bit more compact. I'll let you know how I go when I get a chance.

Cheers,
Bill.

[stewartw]

I currently use a couple of ones from MAP Security:

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CCTV-CAMERA-ENCLOSURE-HOUSING-inc-HEATER-Professional-/350607516937?pt=UK_CCTV&hash=item51a1d62509#ht_1827wt_1139

Admitedly their not that small but they are built like a tank, have proved to be completely weather proof and facilitate internal cable routing (so no dangly wires for the vandals to swing on). Also, it has a heater for the front glass to remove condensation.

The only downside so far has been a spider that always wants to spin a web on the front - it's silhouette just after sunset causes false detections

I may be wrong but I thought the small, white ones were for internal / sheltered locations.

Best regards

William

[arp]

Hi Bill and William,

Many thanks for your replies and suggestions.

I have a couple of the housings recommended by William. I agree that they are good, it's just that the Watec and its lens are dwarfed by the housing, that is twice as long as needed.

I guess these enclosures were designed for older video cameras, which are much larger than the very compact Watec.

I have considered trying a dome, but it isn't as secure.

Clear skies,

Alex.

[BillW]

Hi,
Regarding domes the two perspex ones I've tried have not been so good , optically they're were a bit variable over the surface and one degraded really quickly even with my non permanent arrangement. It seemed to weather quickly and poorly. Check the material quality carefully.

If you're handy with the tools I'd consider making a custom case. Get some 0.7mm aluminium sheet make a U section of the desired dimensions then fit a very shallow U channel upside down for the base. Bit of overhang for extra protection and silicon in the cover glass. Drill and fit mount to suit.
One thing I did find with the cheapo's I bought is that they leaked along the side seam, I needed to drill a small hole to let the water out as the rear plastic cover actually very effectively kept the water in!
The DIY'ing is half the fun.
Cheers,
Bill.

[leolion]

Mark Vornhusen ( AKM member ) was using the 1004XA (Ex HAD) cameras that are very small.He was using PVC pipe fittings. DIY with 110 mm PVC plumbing could well do the job.My Baader solar film filter is mounted in a PVC plastic plumbing Closure plate.
The metal cased CCTV units seem to come either in a 400 mm or 250 mm length. I found some real CCTV shorties in Florida on eBay yesterday but postage was prohibitive.