I have a new home security camera with a 2 ft, long power cord on it. At one end of it is the connector to the camera-the camera has a pin on it, and the cord has a cylindrical connector that goes over the pin. At the other end of the cord is a squarish box, approximately 1/2 inches and is black with the two prongs for it to go into a standard 110 outlet. These are very common for computer printers, cell phone chargers, etc… What is this cord called, and cn you tell me where to get a 50-75 ft extension for it?
Any reason you can’t just plug the suppled cord into the camera, and use a regular extension cord to get from the outlet to the transformer (black box)?
It sounds like either a 2.5mm or 3.5mm coaxial power connector on the camera end, but those connectors are for low-voltage applications, usually 3 to 12 VDC. Does this cord have a transformer built into it? If so, you’re really better off trying to plug the entire cord you have into a standard extension cord. I know you’re probably looking for an alternative to the obvious extension cord solution, but it’s difficult to extend a small gauge, 12 VDC run out to 75 feet without experiencing voltage drop problems. And voltage drop can have adverse effects on your camera.
First off, this is all assuming the ‘squarish box’ is a transformer.
You could get a barrel connecter (which is what I think is being described) from Radio Shack, but you’ll have to pick up your own transformer as well. I would suggest bringing this one to Radio Shack and having them match it up properly. THEN, you would have to splice your own wire in since I don’t think they’re going to have one that long. It shouldn’t be that difficult to do.
Now that I think about it. Instead of going through all that, you could just pick up the wire and splice it into the one you have now instead of buying a bunch more stuff.
If it’s not a transformer, then I’m not really sure what type of connecter you have and you’ll want to be careful with what your doing since you’ll be working with mains instead of ~12v.
it is a 12 volt thing, i think; it is a wireless camera that also has a connector for one of those funny house fire alarm batteries (9v?). The reason I wanted a connector rather than just using a home and garden extension cord is because I am using it for a front door security camera, and i didn’t want to do a lot of work in hooking it up (e.g. crawling through the attic crawl space, drilling, sawing, etc…). I wanted to make it as unobtrusive as possible because the camera is in a very accessible place, those cords are usually orange or yellow, and i didn’t want it to be too horribly obvious.
As noted above, what you’ve described sounds like a 110v AC to 9v DC converter. They are indeed prolific - somtimes they’re called “wall warts”. But there is little to no standardization of the output. The voltage can be anything from 3v to 18v, the power capacity anything from, say, 75ma up, and there is a ridiculous variety of plugs whose polarity is either center-plus or center-minus. So if you’re seeking a replacement, take care to get it right.
It’s probably worth noting that you may run into difficulty with 50 to 75’ of wire - the voltage drop over that distance may be more than your camera is happy with. If this is a problem you can cope by extending 110v power (though this has its own complications) or perhaps by using heavier than normal gauge wire for the low-voltage connection.
Go to an good hardware store or an electrical supply house. There are a zillion different wires and you can find something that will blend in ( not orange ) and put the plug ends on yourself. Or just splice if you want to.
Sometimes, you just have to paly in the atic if you want it done right.