In one of the most challenging CCTV projects anywhere in the country, one of CBC's Ganz C-Allview high-speed ruggedised PTZ cameras has been fixed to a 90ft vertical cliff-face to capture unique live images of nesting sea birds.
The camera has been installed on a cliff-face 70ft above the sea at Portland, Dorset, with images of guillemots and other birds relayed back to a visitor centre at the nearby lighthouse.
Jason Fathers, director of specialist wildlife-watching company Wildlife Windows, installed the camera by abseiling down the cliff. Two engineers helped him from industrial roped-access company Vertical Technology, who drilled into the cliff to allow the camera bracket to be securely fixed.
"I had never installed one of these cameras before but I've done a lot of abseiling and it was very straightforward, given the circumstances," says Jason. "We had a special aluminium bracket made to resist corrosion and we chose the Ganz camera because it would stand up to the very tough conditions at the site."
In this installation the C-Allview is powered via Cat 5 cable from a power source 100m away, using a DC/DC converter. One major advantage of the camera design is its in-built wiper, which clears spray and rain from its distortion-free, optically flat glass.
The Ganz C-Allviews are designed to deliver superior performance and cope with all weather conditions. With their IP67 rating, they deliver crisp, clear images in conditions where other models might struggle.
