80+ home automation applications for your iPhone and iPod Touch.iPhone photo

With many developers flocking to the iPhone platform, it's time to publish a new guide showcasing all home automation applications available, allowing you to control every aspect of your home.  We'll do our best to keep this list updated, but if you find an application which hasn't been listed yet, please let us know.  Read More


ZigBee 101: Learn more about ZigBee and what it means for Home Automation.
Review: Impact Acoustics BNC/F to RJ-45 Balun Print E-mail
Written by mustangcoupe   
Sunday, 14 June 2009 17:34

In the search of an inexpensive BNC/F to RJ-45 Balun, I came across the Impact Acoustics BNC/F to RJ-45 Balun. It seemed too good to be true, at a price of under $10 each (you need 2 per camera), but I picked up a few to try and I am extremely surprised.

BNC side of Balun RJ-45 side of Balun

They use one pair of the RJ-45 connector (the brown/brown white pair) but you could easily pass multiple signals over one cable if needed.

 

I purchased mine from CablesToGo here

 

Features:

  • Multiple signals over a single 4-pair cable
  • Video over UTP cable
  • Male and female RCA or BNC connectors available (with RCA Connectors they are almost 5X the cost of BNC)
  • RJ-45 output for easy connection into existing wall plates
  • IDC output for easy connection without tools and multiple signals over a single 4-pair cable
  • Transmit video up to 1500 feet with little visible degradation

 

The following images were taken using a Hunt CCD Camera 580 Lines resolution and a cheap capture card.

30 feet of standard RG-59 cable, direct connection from camera to capture card.
50 feet of Ethernet cable with baluns and a 1 foot BNC cable at each end.

 

They are well worth the current cost from my point of view.
Last Updated on Monday, 15 June 2009 21:17