PT-4 Male DC Power Cable Lead Wiring Guide

for Analog CCTV Cameras & HD Security Cameras (HD-TVI, AHD, HD-SDI, HD-CVI)

This guide will educate the reader on techniques for using PT-4 male DC power leads for wiring analog CCTV cameras and HD security cameras (HD-TVI, AHD, HD-SDI, HD-CVI). The following topics will be discussed.

• What are PT-4 DC power leads?
• Using PT-4 Power Leads with 24VAC or dual voltage camera and pre-made Siamese cables
• Using PT-4 Power Leads with RG59 Siamese Spools and Individual Power Transformers

What are PT-4 DC Power Leads?

PT-4 power leads (also known as pigtail leads) are cables that have a male 2.1mm power plug on one end and raw power cable on the other (typically 18 gauge). PT-4 cable leads are typically used for wiring video over coax cable security camera systems using RG59 Siamese cable spools or pre-made Siamese camera cables. They assist in connecting low voltage power to cameras and power supplies in different situations that are discussed in this article. Although they are typically referred to as "DC power leads", in reality they can be used for 24VAC and other low voltage power sources as well.

Another thing to consider is that the length of pre-made cables is fixed. You can not cut the connectors off of premade cables and re-attach to shorten the length of the cable. This is not an issue in most installations where excess cable can be tucked away somewhere.

Power Leads with Dual Voltage Cameras & Pre-Made Cable

Dual voltage cameras and 24VAC cameras typically have power terminals instead of a 2.1mm plug type input.

In order to connect these types of camera to pre-made Siamese cables (which already have a female 2.1mm plug on the camera end), installers can attach a PT-4 to the camera's power terminal block. This allows the premade cable to connect to the camera's power input simply.

This is how the cable is connected to the camera's video and power leads.

RG59 Siamese Cable and Individual Power Transformer

Another use for PT-4 power leads is when using spools of RG59 Siamese cable with individual power transformers. On the right side of the above diagram, you can see how a PT-4 is attached to the 18/2 power cable of RG59 Siamese cable so that it can be attached to an individual power transformer. This can be used for 5V, 12V, 24V and and other low voltage transformer.

About the Author

This article was written by Mike Haldas, co-founder and managing partner of CCTV Camera Pros. If you have any questions about how to wire security camera systems, please email me at mike@cctvcamerapros.net.