Pole Mount Camera Installation Guide

IPVMU Certified

For the ground rod, instead of beating the rod with a sledge and killing yourself, start by hammering into the ground a few times then pull the rod out and pour some water down the hole and then repeat. You will have the ground rod into place in a fraction of the time and energy as compared to the brute force of just a sledge hammer.

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Craig Mc Cluskey

In reply to Shannon Davis

You can also use a fence T-post driver (which will contain the ground rod in a steel tube) to do the driving. That way you will have less chance to hurt yourself.

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Jim Elder

In reply to Shannon Davis

IPVMU Certified

An electrician showed me this trick 30 years ago and bet me that he could drive a ground rod without a hammer. I was gobsmacked when i lost the bet.

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Shannon Davis

IPVMU Certified

In reply to Jim Elder

I too lost a bet over 25 years ago. Amazing the difference between displacing material and compacting material.

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Craig Mc Cluskey

You still have the picture of the ground rod with the coiled wire in it and, like the first time it appeared, I'll say that's the wrong way to do it. The wire should be uncoiled (straight). A coil introduces impedance which get higher the higher the frequency is -- exactly where you want a low impedance ground!

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Shannon Davis

IPVMU Certified

I agree if you install these on a regular basis but I would venture to say most integrators aren't. I could never do it this fast but the guy who showed me could put on in the ground with a 32 ounce cup of water and just his bare hands.

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Brian Rhodes

IPVMU Certified

I'll swap the image out. Is there a code reference that applies?

I'm also wondering how much impedance this practically creates in a ground utility?

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Craig Mc Cluskey

In reply to Brian Rhodes

Is there a code reference that applies?

Not that I know of, though someone else may.

I'm also wondering how much impedance this practically creates in a ground utility?

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Undisclosed Distributor #5

•Sep 14, 2022

how much impedance ? It would be negligible

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Cary Menage

•Apr 15, 2019

IPVMU Certified

I'm curious if the coil also adds length, which in turn adds resistance, and though that resistance is small, doesn't every amount count?

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Craig Mc Cluskey

In reply to Cary Menage

It does add length and resistance, but it also makes an inductor.. The impedance of an inductor increases with frequency, being greater at higher frequencies. A lightning bolt has a very great amount of high frequencies, which would be more of a problem with an inductor in the ground wire.

You are right, though, every small amount does count.

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Robert Peters

IPVMU Certified

Try to remember that electrical current will take all possible paths, not exclusively the path of least resistance (impedance). Greater impedance in the lightning protection system means more of the current from a lightning strike goes through other conductors.

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Undisclosed Distributor #5

•Sep 14, 2022

In reply to Cary Menage

resistance of soil would likely be much greater

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Undisclosed Integrator #1

We use 4" Square poles all the time and we just mount the camera to the pole, no straps, etc. Just like it was a wall. We get very little overhang from the camera base, depending on the camera.

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Ty Mullen

•Apr 13, 2019

COR Security, Inc.

What type of material is the pole? Where do you get them?

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Kyle Folger

•Apr 15, 2019

IPVMU Certified

If the pole is square we will also mount directly to the pole. This would be for steel or aluminum. However, we don't treat it just like it's a wall as I can't drill tap drywall, brick, concrete, etc. If I want threaded connections on a wall, I'll use double expansion anchors. They get used on larger mounts. Smaller mounts get the Toggler AF6.

I will generally always drill tap the holes with something generally around 1/4-20. Then I will generally use stainless steel fasteners to keep the look clean. The only time this won't work is when the mounting holes would be wider than the pole width. Attaching directly to the pole provides a much cleaner look but only applies to square poles and not round poles.

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Undisclosed Integrator #1

•Apr 15, 2019

I need to organize our "After" photos but here are a couple examples. The one with the dome is from 2-3 years ago and we no longer do that. If we use a dome, we use a gooseneck but we usually do bullets due to the IR bounceback, range of motion on a bullet, and we get no overhang off the pole. The other image is fairly recent. Tags in and out, and 1 overview camera. Plus the radio

The poles are 1/8" steel I believe. They are pretty heavy duty. Its been a while since I put one up but I believe we have to pre drill the holes, then use self tapping screws to secure the camera to the pole. We trench to the pole, dig a hole, insert pole, run conduit to pole, and wires up through the pole. Then fill hole with concrete.

Poles come from a local fence supply company. We usually order 5 at a time and store them at our office as it takes 2-3 weeks to get them powdercoated etc.

These are going up in apartment communities and they are the same style as their fence, and posts for the vehicles gates. There have been discussions with a few clients about fancier poles but everyone has chosen this pole. Considering we see trees, 4x4's, 2" EMT, round chain link fence post, etc used as camera poles, I feel pretty comfortable with these.

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Undisclosed Integrator #4

•May 24, 2020

In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #4

Would these poles you are using hold a weight of about 150LBs? Say we wanted to add Solar etc. We are in dire need of finding a pole that can handle the weight and any help or vendors you can point us to would be appreciated!

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Undisclosed Integrator #1

•May 24, 2020

Absolutely. These poles are steel.

We get them from a local fencing supply company.

You can also try a metal supply house.

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Ty Mullen

COR Security, Inc.

The poles that you use, do they have mounting plate? Also do they have hand hole?

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Undisclosed Integrator #1

You mean a base plate? No. We usually bury them in the ground. We find that much easier than pouring a pad, anchor bolts, coming back etc. By burying the pole, we can literally stage the pole on the ground, dig the hole, insert the pole, and pour concrete. At that point the pole is stable enough to hold its own position/level etc. We can carefully aim cameras or just come back in a day or 2 (we are still usually on site) and re aim the cameras.

However we can get the supplier to weld a 8x8 base plate on, and we have done that a few times when in a concrete island. Now we have an in-house gate tech with a truck mounted welder so the last couple, we have welded ourselves.

No hand holds but that has never been an issue. Our wire enters the pole from under the ground and goes up the pole.

If you want an idea of how heavy they are, 2 poles slid off the ladder rack on an HHR and smashed the roof.

IPVM Image

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Undisclosed Integrator #1

In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #4

Also we do multi family, and these poles look exactly like the fence posts and gate lanes so they fit in. On a commercial property with different styling, they may not blend in as well.

We typically buy these and keep 5 to 10 on hand at our shop, so we go through quite a few of them.

Here are the two that fell off the HHR and got road rashed. They need to go back to powder coating.

IPVM Image

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Ty Mullen

•May 24, 2020

COR Security, Inc.

We have used Commercial Grade Light Poles & Light Fixtures | LightPolesPlus.com a few times. Great poles but expensive.

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Undisclosed Integrator #4

•May 25, 2020

I spoke with a rep at lightpolesplus last week, they recommended I don’t use 150LB weight at the top of any pole. Im just stuck between whether I should just pull the trigger and test a 11g steel pole, say like the 16ft 4.5” 11g anchored steel pole they have on their site. If you don’t mind me asking, Which one exactly have you used that supports close to that 150lb weight?

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Ty Mullen

In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #4

COR Security, Inc.

We have NOT installed anything on the poles other then cameras. So can't help out with the 150lb weight issue.

I do know on one project they got an engineer involved who was looking at wind calculations as well as trying to determine the weight applied when a tech was leaning a ladder against the pole. Point being is you can have an engineer do some calculations to determine pole thickness, bolt length and diameter, as well as footing diameter and depth based on weight of the static load and height of the pole.

Another thought is to lower the batteries and other equipment for the solar. This will dramatically help when considering wind loads.

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Undisclosed Integrator #4

Sounds great, thank you!

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Undisclosed Integrator #1

In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #2

As far as code, I believe code dictates ground rods should be 8', straight down, with some special rules if rocky, horizontal placement etc.

Not sure a camera pole is required to be grounded by code, as this seems to be more of an equipment protection issue, so not sure the 8' rule would apply.

We do not ground our poles, and have not had any issues. We do use a cable with a ground wire to absorb any ESD, Any direct lightning strike is going to blow the cameras regardless

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Undisclosed Integrator #2

•Apr 12, 2019

For ground rod installation, chuck the rod into a hammer drill like a bit (make sure the chuck is set to not spin) and drive it into the ground. This technique works very well if you have a good hammer drill (Bosch Bulldog etc).

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Ty Mullen

•Apr 13, 2019

COR Security, Inc.

They also have this tool so you don't damaget the chuck.

SDS rod tool

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Undisclosed #3

Some questions: What if this is an existing light pole

1. Can you use 600V rated CAT 6 cable inside the the pole along with the 240VAC?

2. How do you calculate the additional wind loading created by the camera? Do you need to?

3. Is there an issue with drilling holes in an existing light pole?

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Undisclosed Integrator #1

In reply to Undisclosed #3

No. You can not mix low voltage and high voltage in the same conduit or race way. At least one would have to be in its own conduit.

We don't calculate wind load but if using someone else's pole, especially a utility pole, there is a whole new rule book. The first usually being, don't touch our pole.

If this is a public utility pole, see rule #1. I would ask the owner of the pole but I would not even try to drill into it. We would strap/band and surface mount conduit. The pole may have certain structural certifications that are lost when it is drilled into.

I heard about a forklift that a tech drilled into the cab to mount a gauge, accessory etc. Well the manufacturer of the forklift would no longer certify the cage would support xx weight in an accident and the whole cab had to be replaced over a screw hole.

I have good insurance, and this is one instance where I will trust but not verify

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John Scanlan

In reply to Undisclosed #3

IPVM • IPVMU Certified

To add to what UI1 stated, it needs to be in a separate conduit to mitigate EMI.

ANSI/TIA/EIA-569-A section 10.3.1 states that the co-installation of telecommunications cable and power cable is governed by applicable electrical code for safety. For minimum separation requirements of telecommunications cable from typical branch circuits (120/240V, 20A), Section 2 of Article 800-52 of the ANSI/NFPA 70 1999 National Electrical Code specifies the following:

"Communications wires and cables shall be separated at least 2 in. (50.8 mm) from conductors of any electric light, power, Class 1, non-power-limited fire alarm, or medium power network-powered broadband communications circuits."

If you run them together there is a risk of it being against code as well as the possibility of low level problems associated with EMI which can be a troubleshooting nightmare. Below is an example of EMI affecting video:

emi impact on video

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Undisclosed Integrator #1

In reply to Manfred Fichtl

DoorKing teaches electricity takes the path of least resistance. Duh! but they preach ground wires should be as absolutely short and large as possible when grounding telephone entry systems. Basically the wire has a certain discharge capacity, and once full, the remaining voltage/joules/current etc goes to the equipment.

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Manfred Fichtl

•Apr 25, 2019

Very interesting thanks.

any suggestions or guidance on how to erect a cable tray ?

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John Scanlan

•Apr 27, 2019

IPVM • IPVMU Certified

Manfred - I hope this helps you. We recently installed a few hundred feet at the new office. We bought tray, joiner brackets, and mounting brackets, then attached to the building steel using beam clamps.

We had the tray installed for our main runs, but used j-hooks, and bridle rings for smaller amounts of cables and single runs. They make bridle rings with saddles, which have a wider support surface than than just the metal ring alone:

Image result for bridle ring with saddle

There were a couple of obstacle above the steel. To drop the tray down, it can be cut and bent and landed on the lower mounting surface, and to lift it up over obstacles it was elevated with threaded rod.

We also ran some vertically to/from the backboard with a return to the racks. The materials were purchased from a local electrical supply house.

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Kendall Addison

We have had some pretty good luck working with Pole Manufactures... When we could get their attention. This one is set up for a future camera on the other side of the pole...

IPVM Image

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Kendall Addison

IPVM Image

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Undisclosed Integrator #7

In reply to Kendall Addison

Why are they mounted so low on the pole? Aren't they subject to vandalism that way?

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Kendall Addison

IPVM Image Pop Rivet Capture Nut

IPVM Image

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Undisclosed Integrator #6

•Sep 14, 2022

Have you ever seen these? Ran into an aluminum version at Harbor Freight working on a stripped out cooler bolt where the other side was inaccessible.

You drill the right size hole in the metal and insert it like a pop rivet. That collapses the retaining nut and you now have a strong capture but for bolts. I have seen them in aluminum, steel and stainless.

Harbor Freight Discount Starter Kit

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Undisclosed Integrator #7

In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #6

Rivet nuts, been around for ages. Don't know why you'd want to use one on a pole versus a band clamp.

The disadvantage with rivet nuts is they don't give you a flush surface to mount to. The "head" always sits proud of the surface it's installed into.

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Undisclosed Integrator #6

In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #7

They don’t slide and images above show simple box mounting of small cameras and accessories.

It’s not the end all, but frankly something after years of installing I had never seen.

Also handy when you don’t want a large pole mount kit:

Strap adapters

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Undisclosed Integrator #7

In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #6

I've never had a camera slide down a pole when it was mounted correctly. Frankly I think the article is exaggerating that potential scenario.

The problem with rivet nuts or strap adapters is they only give you one or two central mounting points. I don't know of any mounts off the top of my head that are secured only with two bolts down its centerline unless you drill new holes for it. Not saying it wouldn't work, but it just seems like a solution searching for a problem in this application.

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Undisclosed Integrator #7