In our January edition we ran some of the questions sent in to our web site (www.security-installer.co.uk) after our resident experts had finished their two-weeks stints and asked readers if they could answer them. Here are some of your replies … Ed
On the tube
Q: Can you tell me of any companies that sell a ptz camera that moves on a tube /track? I'm sure I saw one at last year's IFSEC.
Matt Allen
A: It could well be our stand at IFSEC 2003 that your reader recalls seeing the Tracam system in action. Tracam is an advanced mobile video security system that offers operators the opportunity to benefit from greater and faster controllable ground coverage.

It has a fully programmable high resolution pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera mounted on a preci-sion engineered Video Transport Unit (VTU) travel-ling along a track – ceiling or wall-mounted – hidden inside a protective housing for discreet observation.

The high speed dome camera on the VTU has 360 degree pan and 240 degree tilt and can be controlled to move to pre-defined settings – so the unit can patrol an entire area under manual or automatic control.

An Image Orientation Correction facility provides a constant upright image as the camera tilts through the vertical when following people who walk directly underneath the camera's location.

We will be at IFSEC 2004, but in the meantime if your readers require any further information please call us on 01296 611488 or email enquiries@tracamuk@aol.com
John Powell, Director, Tracam (Europe) Ltd

Monitoring queries
Q: I operate a CCTV company and I have a customer that wants his system to be linked to a monitoring station. Can you advise on what sort of questions I should ask to ensure I get the customer with a good monitoring station?
Justin Thompson
A: The one piece of advice I would offer is to stay well away from those Alarm Receiving Centres that say "Yes" to everything. It has long been our belief that traditional ARCs are not well suited to providing the degree of service required to effectively monitor remote CCTV systems.

With this in mind Group 4 Monitoring Services will only accept into our ARC, those CCTV systems specifically installed for the purpose of providing visual verification to an existing intruder alarm.

Q: If you accidently key in the wrong number on the panel, how do you start again without the alarm sounding?

For installers wishing to offer their customers the full range of facilities available through Remotely Monitored CCTV, Group 4's subsidiary company Wackenhut, operates a dedicated Remote Video Response Centre (RVRC).

This is a state-of-the-art CCTV Monitoring Centre providing coverage throughout the UK.

I can be contacted at +44 (0) 116 2789158 or steve.cooper@group4.co.uk
Steve Cooper, Business Development Manager, Group 4 Monitoring Services

Shipshape system
Q: I s there any product on the market that could be used for boats that doesn't need mains power and could send either a text message or call a mobile phone to inform the owner that their boat is being tampered with?
Keith Fryer
A: Yes there is a product on the market designed for that application.

The Wanderer is manufactured by Castle Care-Tech in a number of guises, including the Marine version. Capable of accepting hardwired or wireless detectors, it uses a standard lead-acid battery, and can run for months between charges, whilst providing SMS text messages to up to four mobile numbers.

Source

Security Installer