Compro TN4230 Outdoor PoE IP Camera Review

Installation

Setting the TN4230 up does take a little bit longer than a basic indoor camera typically would. As it comes, no wall mounting brackets are included and whilst this may seem strange, it does allow for some flexibility with how the camera is mounted. For the purpose of this review, Compro sent along their BM-100 aluminium outdoor mounting kit. The all metal arm brings the camera out by around 25cm from the wall, allowing for full 360° positioning of the camera itself and a tilt angle of 90°. There is a little confusion with the maximum load of the arm as the Compro online specs mentions a maximum load of 10kg whilst the box as we see below says 5kg.

On one side of the box we get a scale diagram with the measurements of the arm to allow for preparation of the wall for drilling and fitting.

On the end of the arm are a series of grooves, each 6° around from the next, with a hole in the middle through which a securing bolt is fitted.

On the underside of the bracket that sits between the camera and arm, tow sets of four ‘bumps’ as such match up with the grooves on the end of the arm, keeping the camera in a fixed position.

Using the two smaller bolts that come with the mounting kit, the bracket first attaches to the camera, allowing for adjustment to be made when positioned on the end of the arm.

For the purpose of demonstration I have utilised an existing screw hole that is within easy reach on the outside of my house and whilst this puts the camera in front of the downpipe, it is a good indication that the arm brings the camera out clear from any obstructions.  Additionally, any cable ties that you may see in the pictures below are purely for temporary positioning of the network cable that runs up to the core network. In a permanent position I would recommend external graded CAT5e cable be used, with a box mounted on the wall to house the terminals in a waterproof environment.

With the camera set in the desired orientation, a single bolt runs up through the case of the arm and through to the bracket which has a thread formed into the base.

For more adjustment, two more bolts on either side of the bracket loosen off and allow the camera to tip forward to look down on a the required area.

One of the big things that sets the TN4230 apart from an indoor camera is its weatherproof design. As we saw on the previous page, there are seals on every joint to prevent the ingress of water and during the review of this camera it has had its fair share of wet and windy weather along with a few warmer days (for a typically British climate). The cover that sits above the main body continuously helps to keep water away from the front of the camera, preventing water from distorting the image. In-fact the only thing which affected the image during the time the camera was mounted was a local neighbourhood spider which formed a web on the front face one night.

Looking a little further away we can get a full on view as to how the system looks when setup. Just behind the camera you may be able to make out a blue cable and a zip tie around the downpipe which I used to temporarily hold things in place to stop them getting wet and damaged.