Wireless Cameras and Interference

If the image coming from your wireless Camera is distorted, you’ve probably discovered the bane of analog wireless technologies: interference. To help you get as much out of your RedAlert system as it’s capable of delivering, here’s a brief rundown of what interference is, and how you can try to minimise it.

The Wireless Camera transmits its images on a radio frequency of 2.4GHz. This is way over the range of the average radio, but there are some (in fact, many) devices out there that transmit data on this frequency.

Things such as wireless computer networks, cordless phones, baby monitors, car alarms and Bluetooth enabled devices communicate at and around a frequency of 2.4GHz. Other devices, such as microwaves, create radio “noise” at this frequency as well.

Placing your cameras or RedAlert near these devices, or having any of these devices in between your cameras and receiver, can cause interference and affect picture quality. This happens because the signals are so similar, that they get mixed up with one another, and your receiver will have trouble ﬁguring out which is which.

If you want to visualize how interference occurs, imagine playing two games of football simultaneously on only one ﬁeld. The players will continually collide with one another, and occasionally forget which ball is which! Naturally, when two games are played at the same time on the same ﬁeld, both games suffer, take longer to play and neither team will score as often as they should.

This is exactly what happens when two wireless devices used too close together!

To discover what might be causing your interference, we suggest disconnecting all other wireless devices one at a time to ﬁnd out which one is causing the problem, and adjusting your setup accordingly.

Bear in mind that a wireless device from nearby homes or businesses could be the culprit, and other than asking neighbors politely to turn it off, there’s little that can be done about this problem.

If you are experiencing interference or poor image quality try the following steps:

•Try moving the camera to a different location, or, if it really is exactly where you want it, changing the orientation of the antenna on the camera and the RedAlert.

•Adjust or aim the receiver antenna - a single inch can make all the difference.

•Limit the number of walls, ﬂoors between the camera and receiver as this can dramatically alter picture quality.

•Dense materials such as concrete or metal will impede the wireless signal; try moving the camera and/or receiver away from dense materials.

•If possible, keep the camera and receiver away from or move conﬂicting devices such as wireless routers, microwaves, cordless phones.

Some environments are simply not suitable for analog wireless systems.

If this is the case in your environment, consider changing to a wired system or to a digital wireless system, as these are not subject to interference in the same way as analog wireless systems.

SW242-WDV, SW242-WRA, SW244-WDS, SW244-WDW specifications

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