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Table of contents for the manual
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netcam User ’ s Manual www.stardot-tech.com[...]
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T able of Contents Chapter 1 Conguration .......................................................................... 5 1.1 Before Y ou Start ....................................................................... 5 1.2 What’s Included and What’ s Required ..................................... 5 1.3 Parts of NetCam ............................[...]
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Page 4 NetCam[...]
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NetCam Page 5 Chapter 1 Conguration Congratulations on your purchase of a StarDot NetCam network camera with integrated web server . NetCam provides the highest quality live still images in a remote camera that can be connected to a network or a modem. W ith proper usage, NetCam will provide many years of quality remo te imaging. W e recommen d [...]
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Page 6 NetCam 1.3 Parts of NetCam netc am w w w . s t a r d o t - t e c h .c o m S0 (Modem) External Modem Connection For Internet ISP Dial-Out S1 (Aux) Configuration of NetCam via PC Serial Port, Auxilliary Device Control NET (Ethernet Port) Used to Connect NetCam to a Network Network Activity LED PWR (DC Power Jack) 8-15VDC, 1A I/O AUX and (Input[...]
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NetCam Page 7 DB9-DB9 Null Modem Cable (Included) Used to connect NetCam to a PC Serial Port for Configuring Camera Combo Ethernet/Power Cable (50 ft., Included) Used to connect NetCam to Network and Power Supply 12VDC Power Supply (Included) Plugs Into Combo Ethernet/Power Cabl e T o Internet/LAN netcam ww w . st a r d o t - t e c h . c o m Router[...]
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Page 8 NetCam If you are installi ng NetCam on a company netw ork, you will probably want to get this information from your system administrator . The easies t way to congu re NetCa m manua lly is to conn ect Net Cam to a serial port on your computer . Plug one end of the null modem serial cable into the S1 port on the back of NetCam and the oth[...]
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NetCam Page 9 1.6 Connecting NetCam to a Modem In order to use NetCam with an analog phone line, you will need the Dial-Out NetCam package (CAM-NETx2, which comes with an external modem and cable), a dial-up ISP account, and an analog phone line. Install the StarDot T ools software by inserting the included CD-ROM and running setup.exe . [...]
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Page 10 NetCam Chapter 2 Installation Bef ore insta llin g Net Cam in its nal loca tion, it is impo rtant to co ngu re and test it rst (see Chapter 1). 2.1 Installing NetCam Ethernet Connection If NetCam will be connected directly to an Ethernet network, measure the distance from NetCam to the nearest Ethernet hub or switch. This distance [...]
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NetCam Page 1 1 2.2 Installing NetCam Outdoors NetCam is an outdoor-capable camera, but two important steps must be taken before NetCam can be used in an outdoor environment. NetCam’ s lens must be adjusted for daylight imaging, and NetCam must be enclosed in an outdoor enclosure. Lens Adjustment NetCam ships with a manual iris lens (if you order[...]
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Page 12 NetCam Chapter 3 Accessing NetCam 3.1 V iewing NetCam’ s Images An y Jav a- en abl ed br ow ser c an be u sed t o v ie w the l ive i mag es . T ype NetCam’ s IP address in your browser ’ s address bar (example: http://192.168.1.5 ). 3.2 Accessing NetCam’ s Conguration Menus V irtually any web browser can be used to access NetCam?[...]
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NetCam Page 13 Auto Exposure Enabling Auto Exposure causes NetCam to automatically adjust the image exposure based on the overall brightness of the image. The following functions are only implemented when Auto Exposure is enabled. • Brightness - The higher the number , the brighter the picture. The default value is 60 . • Sensitivity - This val[...]
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Page 14 NetCam (click the V iew Grid button to see the grid over the image). Conversely , if you ’d lik e the exposu re to be det ermin ed by the for egrou nd, se lect only those squares. This is comparable to the spot exposure on a traditional camera. The default is the center 9 squares. PROCESSING Resolution Resolution is the dimensional size o[...]
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NetCam Page 15 Haze Haze is a factory setting and should normally not be changed. Default: 10 JPEG Quality The JPEG Quality is a balance between lossy image compression and image quality . The higher the number , the less compression artifacts in the image, but the bigger the le size. A value higher than 90 is not recommended, as it greatly incr[...]
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Page 16 NetCam 3.4 Overlay Properties The Overlay Properties allow you to edit the text displayed on the image. After making changes, click the Apply button to save the settings in the camera. TIME/DA TE/TEXT ST AMP T ext Any text entered into this eld will be stamped onto the live image. Camera location and copyright info rmation are two exampl[...]
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NetCam Page 17 Font Color The text color can be modied by adjusting the red, green and blue values. In addition, you can change the alpha level or transparency of the text. V alid ranges are in hexadecimal and range from 00-FF . Default: R: AE G: B4 B: E4 A: FF Background Color The text background color can be modied by adjusting the red, gre[...]
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Page 18 NetCam %U W eek of Y ear (Starting with Sunday) [00-53] %W W eek of Y ear (Starting with Monday) [00-53] %d Day of Month [01-31] %w Day of W eek, Numerical (Sunday=0) [0-6] %u Day of W eek, Numerical (Monday=1) [1-7] %A Day of W eek, Full [Sunday-Saturday] %a Day of W eek, Abbreviated [Sun-Sat] %j Day of Y ear (Julian Day) [001-366] %p AM/P[...]
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NetCam Page 19 $n Frame Number $u Camera Uptime $r Amount of Red in Image, Hexadecimal $g Amount of Green in Image, Hexadecimal $b Amount of Blue in Image, Hexadecimal $I Image Intensity $z Image Haze $W Image W idth $H Image Height $M MAC Address (Camera ID) $E Ethernet IP Address $P PPP IP Address (ISP Dial-Out IP) NetCam supports the much of the[...]
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Page 20 NetCam 3.5 FTP Properties The FTP Properties instruct NetCam to upload images to a remote server . After making changes, click the Apply button to save the settings in the camera. FTP Upload FTP stands for File T ransfer Protocol, one of the most popular methods for transferring les over the Internet. In addition to NetCam serving images[...]
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NetCam Page 21 Path/File This eld combines two elements, the image lename, preceded by an optional path or directory . Consult with your hosting company to determine if you need to specify a path. If you don’t, you simply put the desired name of the image le here. Example W ithout Path: netcam.jpg Example W ith Path: /html/images/netcam.[...]
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Page 22 NetCam Secondary Path/File NetCam can optionally upload the image with a separate path and/or lename from the Path/File above. This provides a very convenient way to archive images on your server while still maintaining a statically named live image. One way to do this is to include date/time markup characters as part of the lename. T[...]
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NetCam Page 23 Keep in mind that the overhead of FTP doesn’ t allow for the same update rates that you see when access ing NetCam direct ly with a browser . It is safe to say that FTP restricts 320x240 uploads to once every 3-6 seconds, even on a DSL or cable connection. 640x480 images will probably not upload faster than once every 10-15 seconds[...]
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Page 24 NetCam 3.6 Applet Properties The Applet/W eb Properties page contains information for customizing the NetCam image-viewing Java applet. After making changes, click the Apply button to save the settings in the camera. IMAGE VIEWER JA V A APPLET The live images on the main NetCam web page are presented with the aid of a Java applet calle d Ca[...]
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NetCam Page 25 Status Bar The applet contains an optional status bar displayed in the browser status bar or at the bottom of the applet. Status T ext This is the text that is displayed in the applet status bar (if enabled). Default String: Reload in %s seconds Status T ext Color This is the color of the text that is displayed in the applet status b[...]
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Page 26 NetCam 3.7 Date/T ime Properties The Date/T ime Prop erties allow you to set the date and time in NetCam . After making changes, click the Apply button to save the settings in the camera. Setting the Date and Time Automatic vs. Manual - For the most accurate date & time, having NetCam automatically synchronize with a network time server[...]
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NetCam Page 27 also manua lly modify the time and date in the Date/ Tim e box. In either case, be sure to hit the Apply button after you’ve set the time. Note: When using Internet Explorer , the Date/Time page may disappear after clicking the Apply button. If this happens, click the refresh button twice. TIME ZONE NetCam integrates your current t[...]
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Page 28 NetCam 3.8 Network Properties The Network Properties page contains all the IP configuration information for setting up NetCam on a network. After making changes, click the Apply button to save the settings in the camera. Ethernet If your network is Ethernet-based (LAN, cable modem, DSL), use the NET port on the back of NetCam to access the [...]
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NetCam Page 29 to use. If you are setting up NetCam behind a residential gateway or cable/DSL router , your IP address will probably be something similar to 192.168.1.5 . • Subn et Mask - Find out your netma sk from you r network admin- istrator . If you’re on a private network, your netmask will almost always be 255.255.255.0 . • MAC Address[...]
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Page 30 NetCam 3.9 Dial-Out Properties The Dial-Out Properties page contains all the ISP dial-up conguration inform ation for setting u p NetCam o n a dial-u p modem. After ma king changes, click the Apply button to save the settings in the camera. Internet Dial-Out Connection (PPP) If Net Cam’ s prima ry connec tion to the Inter net will be a[...]
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NetCam Page 31 , = pause one second # = same as # button on phone * = same as * button on phone Timeout NetCam will attempt to dial up the ISP for the specied number of seconds. If NetCam is unable to connect during this time period, it will stop and start over again. Default: 180 Username The username or login assigned to you by your ISP . Pass[...]
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Page 32 NetCam 3.10 Security Properties The Security properties page contains user/password information for securing NetCam from unwanted visitors. NetCam Users NetCam has its own multi-user capable, password protected operating system. By default, the live images can be viewed by anyone and only the conguration pages are password protected. How[...]
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NetCam Page 33 Adding a New User T o add a user to the Users list, type in the desired username in the Name eld. T ype and retype a password in the Password elds. Click the Add/Modify button. New users will only have viewing rights; only the admin user can make conguration changes in the camera. Deleting a User T o remove a user from the U[...]
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Page 34 NetCam TZO Dynamic DNS If NetCam is behind a DSL or cable modem connection and the public IP address changes, you can use tzo.com as a dynamic DNS service. This maps your dynamic (i.e. always changing) IP address to a static hostname of your choice (i.e. yourc ompan y .star dotca ms.co m or yo urnam e.rem oteca m. com). Why is knowing your [...]
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NetCam Page 35 Chapter 4 Imaging T ips As is the case with any camera, whether digital or lm-based, steps can be taken that will great improve image quality . NetCam is no exception to this rule. The following tips will help you achieve the best possible images with NetCam. 4.1 Lighting Lighting is the single most important factor in quality pho[...]
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Page 36 NetCam The Sun If pos sible, aim NetC am so tha t it neve r point s direct ly into the sun. The best direction is north or south. If you must point the camera in a western or eastern direction, try to get as little sky as possible in the image. What you want to avoid is direct sunlight -- as with any camera, or your eyes for that matter , l[...]
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NetCam Page 37 both uorescent and halogen lights will illuminate the room with different color temperatures, which will be visible in the NetCam images. 4.2 Image Processing Options The images produced by NetCam are processed and compressed inside the camera. Many options that affect the quality of the image are available on the Image Properties[...]
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Page 38 NetCam Chapter 5 NetCam Lenses The Focus Ring NetCam ships with a pre-focused lens. Most lenses available for NetCam also have a focus ring which allows you to focus the lens for a closer subject. The focus ring may be marked in meters: 0.2m -- 0.3 -- 0.4 -- 0.5 -- 1.0 -- o o The o o stands for innity . When NetCam leaves the factory , t[...]
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NetCam Page 39 it from StarDot, it will be noted on the packaging. The only differ ence betwee n a C-Mount lens and CS-Mount lens is the C-Mount lens requires a 5mm spacer between the lens and the chrome back-focus ring (the spacer is included with the standard 8mm C-Mount lens that ships with NetCam). If your lens is CS-Mo unt, you do not need to [...]
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Page 40 NetCam T roubleshooting Guide The StarDot T ools softwar e does not list NetCam on my local network and/or is not accessible via its IP address. 1. Double check all cable connections and make sure NetCam’ s network cable is plugged into an activ e Ether net hub , swit ch or rou ter . Make sure Ne tCam’ s power LED is on (amber on boot-u[...]
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NetCam Page 41 Specications FCC ST A TEMENT OF COMPLIANCE This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This e[...]
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6820-H Orangethorpe Ave Buena Park, CA 90620 U.S.A. 714-228-9282 • Fax: 714-228-9283 E-mail: info@stardot-tech.com http://www .stardot-tech.com © Copyright 2001-2006 StarDot T echnologies [netcam manual 1.06.indd][...]