CCTV Maintenance, A Chore That Has To Be Accomplished

CCTV systems are like a machine. Each different part of the machine, cameras, housings, mounts, cables and connectors, multiplexer, recorder and monitor are all individual parts of a single machine. Should any one of the parts fail, the machine is broken and won’t perform its intended job. The only way to insure that the machine will work correctly and perform the intended job is through CCTV maintenance.

Any machine needs maintenance. Cars need oil, grease clean filters, new spark plugs. This is normal preventative maintenance. When the brakes wear out, pads are replaced and rotors or drums are honed. This is an example of repair maintenance. The CCTV system is the same way. The CCTV system requires preventative maintenance. The camera housings and mounts must be inspected to insure that bolts are tight, filters clean and fans or heaters are functioning. Having a CCTV camera fall off of a pole or the side of a building can be a traumatic thing. Heaters and fans that are not functional cause the life of the camera and lens to be shortened.

Cables that are not protected from the environmental conditions can become deteriorated. The insulation on the cables can crack and let in moisture. This moisture degrades the video signal produced by the camera. Multiplexers and recorders, especially video tape recorders must be cleaned and maintained. Should the heads on the video tape recorder become clogged with the iron oxide that is on the tape, there will be no images recorded on the tape to play back. Monitors must be cleaned and free from dirt and dust. The dirt and dust that accumulates on the monitor builds up heat inside of the monitor and reduces the lifespan of the monitor.

The simplest way to have CCTV maintenance preformed is for the owner of the CCTV system sign a maintenance contract with the provider of the system. The existence of the maintenance contract will insure that if one of the components in the system fail (and like any machine CCTV systems do fail) the component will be replaced free of charge or with a nominal charge. The cost of replacing components is often far greater than the entire cost of the maintenance contract.

A CCTV maintenance contract insures that the owner of the CCTV knows that the system is functioning properly and will be functioning properly when tape needs to be reviewed after an incident. Without a proper CCTV maintenance program, the owner of the system can never be fully sure that the system is going to work when it is needed. A failure to be able to retrieve data from the system can often be far more expensive than the CCTV maintenance contract which will insure that the system is functioning properly.

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