In this article, I review an outdoor wireless camera transmitter and receiver for CCTV that allows us to send the video from IP cameras over long distances.
The equipment analyzed is the cnVision Client Mini manufactured by Cambium Networks, a company specialized in this type of professional solution.
I received three pieces of equipment in my laboratory in Miami for testing.
This is not a sponsored article, and therefore I do technical analysis and express my sincere opinion about the advantages and disadvantages of the product.
This article intends to help the reader understand more about professional wireless radios for CCTV for transmitting video from outdoor security cameras over long distances (about 6 km) in medium and large projects.
Product overview
Cambium Networks has an extensive product line for various wireless transmission applications, including surveillance projects where radios are optimized and have special features for security cameras.
The image below shows an example of CCTV cameras installed in different points of a shopping center being transmitted via radio to a central location.
The market for CnVision is different from that where traditional low-cost equipment such as radio models from Ubiquiti are used.
Despite the application's similarity, a professional radio is better prepared to work in more extreme situations that require high service availability.
The CnVision Client Mini radios are recommended for projects with distances of up to 6 km with an aggregate throughput of 600 Mbps with several cameras.
It is possible to work with the equipment in client mode or hub mode, which provides versatility for practical applications.
What's in box?
When I opened the product box, I came across something simple: a compact radio that can be held with just one hand.
The antenna is integrated, which facilitates the handling and installation of the product.
Among the accessories for installation are a PoE power supply, a traditional power cable, a clamp, and a pole mount bracket.
The idea is to attach the bracket to the rear of the radio and use the clamp to fix it to a pole, connect the cables and work on the configuration.
Everything is straightforward; at the rear of the radio, there is a connection for the network cable for power via PoE, connect the other end of the cable to the source.
The power supply is a 30V/15W model specific to this product. There is no outlet available to power the cameras (it may be available in future versions).
There is an LED at the top of the power supply that indicates it is on, but there are no activity LEDs on the network cable (UTP) connection ports.
Installing the radios
The installation of this wireless radio is straightforward. I would say that any technician with minimal knowledge can get it up and running in minutes.
The configuration and use of more advanced resources must be done by a qualified and properly trained professional, however for quick installation, fix the equipment in its proper positions and connect the cables.
The radios can be installed with different configurations to work in point to point (PTP) or point to multipoint (PTMP), as shown below.
The diagram illustrates the data transmissions concept (audio and video) sent by the cameras to a central point where they can be recorded on the NVR.
The power supply is used to connect the camera and radio on one side and the switch on the other end. See a real example of this application.
I started the basic tests to see if it was easy to put everything into practice. In less than 10 minutes, I left everything assembled, as shown in the picture below.
This is an example of a point-to-point (PTP) installation with the use of only two radios, and just mount a second set like the one on the left, and we will have a multi-point (PTMP) system described earlier.
On the rear of the radio, LEDs are indicating the equipment status.
After finishing the physical installation, it is time for configuration.
Setup
Use the default IP 192.168.0.2 and username and password admin/admin to login to the radio. You need to place your PC or laptop in the same network range (192.168.0.x) or connect the radio to the router to obtain an automatic IP.
Open a browser like Google Chrome and type the address in the bar to access the main menu. See the following example.
In my initial test, I connected 3 IP cameras to a switch on the client radio.
This is the main status menu (click to enlarge) that shows the total bandwidth usage of 11 Mbps Upload, and only 156.50 Kbps Download, which makes sense since the video upload uses more bandwidth and the download is exclusively for data exchange.
Note in the image that there are the 3 IP cameras' identification and a symbol where you can read "video stream" that shows the image of the camera in real-time.
Yeah, my friend ... the information you just read is correct, the CnVision radio can display the video streaming from the camera as it is compatible with the ONVIF protocol.
This feature is awesome, that's why I said earlier that this line of equipment is optimized for video surveillance projects.
And by the way, let's now discuss the features of this product.
Features of CnVision Client Mini
There are many features on this wireless radio.