Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[LarryNOTtheCableGuy]

I was going to post this mostly as a warning to potential purchasers, but I see that D-Link has now discontinued this particular model. I'm now doing it for entirely cathartic purposes, and not really looking for a response/solution.

I've had two of these cameras. The first one was broken right out of the box, and had to be returned. The second one only lasted 18 months. The problem is the mechanism which slides the filter across the lens to switch between day and night vision. Once it breaks, the filter is permanently retracted, which affects the quality of the day vision picture. Several people have posted here (including myself) regarding the issue with no solution. Using a magnet (thanks to another poster) I can get the filter to change position, but once the magnet is removed it falls back away from the lens. Either the linkage is broken, or the electromagnet coil has burnt out. Either way it's NFG and no way to fix it. I assume the same mechanism is used in similar models (e.g., DCS-5010L and DCS-5030L) which are still being sold, so I won't be buying one of them as a replacement. I have lots of D-Link product, which I've been very happy with, but this one is a dud as far as I'm concerned.

Larry ....

[FurryNutz]

I presume that this was either a bad design flaw or a problem with this kind of mechanism being used so much it may have been bound to fail at some point. D-Link may have fixed it in other models as I haven't seen any issues like this with other models you mentioned from other users.

[RYAT3]

I was going to post this mostly as a warning to potential purchasers, but I see that D-Link has now discontinued this particular model. I'm now doing it for entirely cathartic purposes, and not really looking for a response/solution.

It's still available in the US for $100 on sale.

http://shop.us.dlink.com/shop/shop-security/camera/d-link-dcs-5020l-pan-tilt-wi-fi-camera.html


It's still current.  It might not be available worldwide.

http://us.dlink.com/products/home-solutions/pan-tilt-daynight-network-camera/

[FurryNutz]

And still being supported by D-Link as well:
http://support.dlink.com/ProductInfo.aspx?m=DCS-5020L

[LarryNOTtheCableGuy]

I've just spent the past two hours disassembling/reassembling this camera. I had it right apart to the point where I had the shutter mechanism out of the camera and apart. There was nothing obviously wrong with the camera, and using a strong magnet, I could get the shutter to move back and forth. Nothing was jammed or sticking. I figured, either the coil in the shutter mechanism had burnt out (was open circuit), or something on the camera board had failed. As there didn't appear to be anything I could fix, I reassembled the camera and tested it to see if I'd gotten it back together correctly. To my surprise, not only was the camera working, so was the shutter mechanism. The camera is now working perfectly.

So, if anyone else wants to try this...

1.   All screws are #1 Phillips.
2.   Start by removing the four rubber feet.
3.   Keep track of what screws came out of where (duh!).
4.   Keep track of where what cables were connected (I didn't, but managed to figure it out without too much trouble - got it in one  ).
5.   Don't bother removing the screws for the pan motor, or the bearing.
6.   The locking ring on the vertical shaft is bloody hard to get off, but not nearly as hard as it is to get back on.
      The right tool would really help here, but I managed without (getting it back on took 30 minutes  ).
7.   To get the two halves of the yoke apart, very carefully pry up on the two tabs that hook over the screw posts.
8.   To get the camera board out, you need to unscrew the lens assembly from the front.
9.   I'd simply try disconnecting/reconnecting the the shutter mechanism cable from the camera board a couple of times, then reassemble the camera.
10. When you're screwing the lens assembly back into the front of the camera, be very careful. Turn it counter-clockwise until you think you have the
      threads properly aligned. These are very fine plastic threads, and you'll bugger them good if you're not careful. Don't force them (or anything for that
      matter).
11. See note above about reconnecting cables (you took notes, right?)

Hope this helps.

Larry ....

[GavinLeigh]

I know this is an old thread but I wanted to add a little piece of advice. If you have a strong magnet (such as a neodymium from an old hard drive) you can actually reset the stuck IR filter mechanism from outside the camera without needing to open the case. I have a pair of DCS-5030L's and have experienced this issue. The same problem happened with a couple of DCS-932L's.

By slowly moving the magnet around the lens area and camera body I was able to get the mechanism to audibly click into the correct setting. After this reset it has been working correctly. In my case the filter stuck in the night vision position causing everything to look weird and washed out during the day. The only issue I noted was that it seemed to be possible to get the filter stuck in day mode at night and have it switch to night mode in the day. Which I was able to correct again with the magnet.  I did this procedure with the camera plugged in and not on any kind of long DC extension cable. I personally think the cameras might be a little sensitive to voltage drops on longer runs.

Having struggled through dismantling a DCS-5010L I have avoided going near these newer cameras, so I hope this trick may help someone.