Qccess Optical Laser Elevator System Examined

Qccess [link no longer available] is a Korean manufacturer offering a fairly unique CCTV transmission system for elevators. This is an alternative to cabling inside the elevator shaft or using unlicensed WiFi radios.

The name of the product is the Air@-EL300 [link no longer available]. It is a pair of devices (transmitter and receiver) that connects to a single analog camera in an elevator, transmits the video across the link and outputs a coax feed connecting to the DVR or encoder of your choice. See the technical specification [link no longer available]s and User Manual [link no longer available] for details. The MSRP of the pair is approximately $2,000 USD. Also note that the product is resold through a variety of OEMs so Internet searches will return other companies marketing the same product under different names.

While the product has been widely used in Korea for more than 2 years, the product is only starting to be deployed in the US. Qccess reports that they are working on approvals to use the products in US municipalities (elevator regulations are strictly enforced as this is a life safety issue). Additionally, Qccess reports that a future release will support IP cameras.

We lack experience deploying cameras in elevators and we have not tested the product so we cannot make a strong judgement. However, the price point is fairly reasonable (e.g., a wireless system is likely to cost just as much (or more) and have reliability problems). See a good discussion on using wireless in elevators at the CCTVForum [link no longer available].

A video below shows the installation process. Perhaps the most interesting element displayed is the laser alignment steps needed.