If you plan to install IP camera over 100 meters far away from the monitoring center and worry about the distance, PoE network extender can help. The network communicating will start getting worse when Ethernet cable is beyond 100 meters. Some unexpected phenomenon like connection drop and high latency will appear. The PoE network extender is designed to resolve these issues. Rather than convenient network extender, the Power over Ethernet technology is integrated to PoE extender which allows power and data are transported through single Ethernet cable. The power will be sent from the center as well as the data pass through each extender. 4 PoE extenders together can extend 500 meters PoE network by using daisy chain setup.
A PoE switch or PoE injector is required in monitoring center to inject the power to the Ethernet cable. So no extra power source is needed for each extender. The AC outlet is eliminated. The setup process is simple – plug and play. One end of PoE extender connects the cable from the PoE switch, and the other end links to extended cable.
Somethings need to be addressed out while using PoE extender to work with IP camera.
Usually the cable can be hanged in the air or buried under the ground. If you choose to hang up the cable, it is better to add plastic tube to protect the cable. The PoE extender is waterproof and requires no extra protection, but the cable may need the protection from harsh environments outdoors. Adding the tube also can ease the electricity discharge. When power and data are being transported in long distance, it becomes more easier to absorb the ESD in the air which can be sent to the devices and damage them eventually. If cable line is buried under the ground, the PoE network extender need to be placed in some protective closure because of moisture in the soil. Placing the extender in a closure is good for future maintaining.
High quality cable should be used when setting up IP camera. Cat 5e/Cat 6 are qualified grade. Make sure pure copper cable is used. Cat 5e/Cat 6 has high speed, but it doesn’t guarantee the material of the cable. The pure copper can decrease the power loss on the cable, otherwise power loss will turn to new issues if low quality cable is used. It will be converted to heat inline and create voltage drop at the other end of the cable.
What will happen while doing the wrong connection? If the IP camera cannot be powered, first thing is to check the PoE extender. The extender has two different ports, out and in. In port should be linked to PoE switch or injector to receive power and data and out port is to power IP camera. The IP camera could not work if the extender’s port is misconnected. The next thing is to make sure the twisted pair has the right sequence. Move the IP camera to the connection before the first extender. This can help you role out the issue even you don’t have network tester. The connector always needs to be paid attention. As more connectors are created, the possible failed points increase as well. The final thing is to be sure the pure copper cable is employed in the system. As we mentioned above, low quality cable can create power loss and voltage drop. If the remained voltage is lower than the camera required, the PoE power system will never turn on.
Want to find more information about extending the network without the limitation of distance? Click best way to extend the network beyond 100m.