Legacy PTZ Camera Connection For A VMAX A1 Plus (5 MP)

Legacy PTZ Camera Connection For A VMAX A1 Plus (5 MP)

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Affected Roles:  Administrator

Complexity:  Medium

Last Edit:  May 20, 2020

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Legacy PTZ Cameras

By default, the VMAX A1 Plus supports coaxial communication with the camera through its UTC (Up-the-Coax) feature.  However, when connecting a legacy PTZ camera with the VMAX A1 Plus, use of an RS-485 setup for communication is required.

This article will outline how to connect a legacy PTZ camera to the VMAX A1 Plus with a pair of Cat5 wiring, as well as how to configure the VMAX A1 Plus for PTZ control.

Note:  For this article, we will be using a DW-PTZ39X analog PTZ camera.

Supported/Affected Devices

• VMAX A1 Plus (5 MP)

Connection and Configuration

To connect the PTZ camera with the DVR:

1. Using one pair of twisted RS-485 wire from a Cat5 Ethernet cable, connect the wires to the camera’s RS-485 terminal.

It is important to remember which wires are connected to the positive (+) and negative (-) polarities of the RS-485 terminal.

2. Connect the other end of the RS-485 wires to the RS-485 terminal of the VMAX A1 Plus.

Make sure to match the wire polarity (+ and -) of the connection in the camera’s RS-485 terminal.

3. If you do not know the camera’s Protocol, Baudrate, or Camera ID, reboot the camera.  The camera’s boot screen will display the settings.

By default, most Digital Watchdog legacy PTZ cameras will use Pelco-D and a baudrate of 9600 BPS.

If you are using a third-party camera, please contact the manufacturer for more information.

4. At the DVR, right-click with the mouse, then select Menu.

5. Select Device, then select PTZ.

6. The PTZ menu will display.

Select the correct Protocol, Baudrate, and Address of the camera.

Click Save to apply the settings.

7. To prompt the PTZ Controller, you click the Program button for the camera channel.

Alternatively, when in Live Mode, select the PTZ camera channel, right-click with the mouse, then select Control.

8. Use the arrow buttons in the PTZ Controller to move the PTZ camera.

If the camera fails to move, check the RS-485 connections at both ends and make sure that the polarity (+ and -) is aligned correctly.  If there is more than one PTZ camera connected to the DVR, make sure that the cameras are assigned to different Dome IDs and Addresses.