CCTV Accessories

We stock most of the accessories you will need for a typical CCTV installation, all in one place: cables, connectors, power supplies, junction boxes, brackets, monitors, hard drives and network switches. If it sits alongside your cameras and recorder, the chances are we have it.

The best time to think about accessories is while you are choosing your system, not after it arrives. If you are still deciding, start with our CCTV Buyers Guide and our CCTV systems. Once you know which format you are buying, scroll down for a step by step run through of exactly what else you are likely to need.

This is the question we get asked more than any other, so here is how I would work through it. The trick is to think about your accessories while you are choosing your system, not once the boxes have landed on your doorstep. Get this part right and the install goes smoothly. Get it wrong and you are waiting on a second delivery before you can finish the job.

1. Decide on your system first

Everything else follows from the format you choose, so start there. If you have not picked a system yet, have a read of our CCTV Buyers Guide. It explains the difference between HD over Coax and IP, which is the single decision that drives almost every accessory you will need. Once you know what you are ordering, the rest of this list will make sense.

2. Cables

Your format decides your cable. For an HD analogue (HD over Coax) system you would typically run coaxial cable such as RG59. You can run these systems over Cat5 instead, but only if you add a pair of Cat5 baluns at each camera, which convert the signal so it will travel down the twisted pairs. For an IP system you would run Cat5e or Cat6 throughout. If you are not sure which you have, check the format of the kit you are buying.

3. Junction boxes and weatherproofing

Here is one that catches a lot of people out. Your camera is weatherproof. The cable connections behind it are not. You have to weatherproof those joints yourself during the install, every single time.

I have had customers ring me with a "faulty" system, and when we got to the bottom of it the installer had simply left the connections sitting in the gutter, open to the rain. Shocking. Needless to say, not one of our installers!.

The general rule on junction boxes is straightforward. If you are mounting the camera on a brick wall that is open to the elements, you want a junction box, simply because you would not want to drill a one inch hole through brick just to feed the camera's fly lead inside. If you are mounting under the eaves of a house, it is easy enough to drill a small hole up into the loft and feed the fly lead and its connections inside, where they are already protected. A bit of common sense goes a long way on an install.

4. Connectors

Now you know your cable, do you need to fit connectors to it? That depends on whether you are buying plug and play cable or reels.

Plug and play cables come in set lengths with the connectors already fitted, so you just plug them straight in. Reels are bought by length, usually 100m or 305m, and you fit your own connectors as you go. If you are buying coax on a reel you will want BNC connectors for the video, plus DC jacks if you are running power down the same route. If you are running Cat5 you will want RJ45 connectors, and possibly baluns as well, depending on your format.

5. A monitor

Most of our kit recorders have both HDMI and VGA outputs, so they will work with most modern TVs and monitors. If you already have a spare screen in the house you do not need to order one from us at all, just plug it in. If you do not, we stock a range of monitors to suit.

You do not have to keep a monitor connected once the system is set up, but having one to hand during the install makes life much easier, unless you happen to be a bit of a network wizard. In my opinion a screen plugged in while you are lining up cameras and dialling in settings saves a lot of head scratching.

6. Anything else for a bigger system?

The more involved your system, the more you may need beyond the basics. Larger IP installs often need a network switch to power and connect cameras beyond the recorder's built in ports, and if you are running PTZ cameras you may want a PTZ controller for proper pan, tilt and zoom control.

If you are at all unsure what you need for your particular setup, give us a call on 01902 213 999 or use our Find My System tool. We would much rather spend five minutes helping you get the order right than have you stuck halfway through an install.