infared not working

[harrisclark66]

Hello,
I purchased the Amcrest 960 four camera model and have hooked it up and find everything to be working fine. However the first night I realized that only two of the cameras are displaying in night vision mode.
The two cameras that are not working in night vision DO have the red lights on. When I hold my hand up to the camera, the display shows my hand with the IR lights clearly shining and illuminating my hand, but objects only ten feet away are not illuminated at all. The display is nearly pitch black. It is almost as if the IR lights need to be "tuned up" if that is even possible.
The two properly functioning cameras easily light up my shed thirty feet away in pitch black dark.

My only thought is that the two cameras that are not working are both in the front of my house where there are some street lights in the distance. I thought maybe the extra light is causing them to omit less Infared light or even not switch into night mode at all, but if the red lights are on, then it should be in night mode, right? Plus the amount of light coming from the street lights is negligible. I have not switched out the working and non-working cameras yet to see if the location is affecting anything, but will do that tomorrow.
I am calling customer service when they open up to see if I can simply exchange the two cameras, but I don't see that fluing with them. We will see...
Please help! Thanks so much.

[harrisclark66]

It is almost as if the infrared lights are coming on but the camera is not switching to night mode. the lights illuminate a close object, but I can see faint colors in the picture: not black and white. Is there a way to manually switch the cameras to night mode?

[Melvin]

Hello harrisclark66,
It appears that the two cameras are not switching to night mode and unfortunately there is no way to change that. You can contact us and get the cameras replaced.

[harrisclark66]

Thanks, Melvin. I will do that tomorrow!

-

[vlei2671]

Hi Melvin, I have the same exact problem with one of the 4 cameras that came with my 960H setup. I've even ordered a replacement camera but the same problem exists. It is position near my driveway. The camera works fine in the morning. And the red infrared lights do turn on at night when looking at the camera at night. Is there any other cause that could lead to this issue? Should I order another replacement camera?

Is there a way to perform a reset on the camera?

[Melvin]

Hello vlei2671,

So the replacement camera has the same issue? Is it pinch dark on the camera at night?

Unfortunately there is no reset option on the camera. What you can do to test is swap the camera in the driveway with another one to see if the issue exists. That way we can ensure if its the camera or something else.

Also, how long is the power cord for that camera? Do you use any extension for power for that camera?

[vlei2671]

Hi Melvin,

Thanks for the reply, Yes the replacement had the same issue. I've tried what you've suggested and the IR works fine on another working camera at the driveway location at night. I've also tried using the replacement (as well as the faulty original) in another location where an existing camera with IR is working properly and both are still showing pictures with no IR.

I've tried resetting the power supply but nothing works.

The system is great and I'm really enjoying the HD, but this faulty issues is really annoying for me. Please let me know if there is anything I can do at this point other than getting another replacement

[vlei2671]

Here's a pic of what it looks like

[vlei2671]

Another thing that I noticed on the faulty cameras is that when there are cars passing by, it still shows the red color of the tail lights of cars at night. I take that to mean that the night node is not kicking in by the camera itself.

I have another working IR camera on the other side in front of the house and when cars passes by the tail lights are all white color

[Melvin]

Hello,

So it appears that the lights are turning on but somehow the camera is not getting the IR filter to come on. Unfortunately it looks like it might need a replacement. One thing you could try is to show a magnet in front of the camera and see if the cut filter can kick in. You should hear a click if it happens.