We installed a Sentinel camera outside a metal building which appears to be shielding the remote control signal.
We wired the video directly so that is not an issue.
Any suggestions on what we should do?
I was thinking of trying to remove the antenna from the sentinal and wiring an extension to it so that I can pass the antenna inside the hangar and have better line of sight with the remote.
If you are talking about the "paddle" antenna, that is the 2.4GHz antenna for the video I don't think that is the antenna receiving the pan and tilt comands from the remote. (Anyone feel free to help me on this).
I think the pan and tilt is handled on a seperate 310MHz RF link.
You might try a "passive repeater". If you have some coax handy (RG 58, RG 6, etc) try this. Strip 18" of shield and braid way from center conductor and postion the 18" center conductor (now an antenna) near the Sentinel. Poke the coax thu the same hole you ran the Sentinel video coax through. Now take the other end of the coax, strip back 18" of shield and braid for the "inside antenna". Hold the remote close to the "inside antenna" and see if the Sentinel responds. If it does, send me money. if it doesn't...sorry I got you back up on the ladder.
(synaps fired here)
You might be able test the use of a passive repeater by just running 36" to 40" of stiff bare wire (14ga copper from a hunk of Romex should do nicely) through any hole in the metal wall near the Sentinel. Where the wire passes through the wall, it must not touch the metal. You want approximately 18" inside the building, and approximately 18" outside the building. If that works then the passive repeater described above should work as a more permanent solution.