I plugged a camera into my system, but it won’t show up on the screen. What are some basic troubleshooting steps to take?

1. First, make sure you plugged the camera into a video port, and not an audio port. The video ports are on red wires and have “VID” on the ends. Audio ports are on white wires and have “AID” on the ends.

2. If you can, either test that camera on a wire that works, or test a known working camera on that wire. This will narrow the problem down to a wire issue or a camera issue. If it is a defective camera, contact us for a replacement.

3. The most common wiring issues are:
The BNC connector was not twisted on all the way, or the cable was not stripped properly. Untwist the BNC connector and re-strip the cable, making sure that the mesh ground wire is trimmed so it won’t short on the center pin when you twist the connector back on.
Make sure the camera is getting power. If it is a 12 volt camera, make sure the polarity is correct.