Power over Ethernet (PoE)

OV Spark can be powered over Ethernet using an adapter supplied by Overview, so a single cable run carries both power and network to the camera. That removes the separate 24 V supply and the second cable run to each camera position.

What you need

Item	Detail
Overview PoE adapter	Part number CB-POE25-RJ45F-M12A12F-1
PoE source	A switch or injector supporting IEEE 802.3af or 802.3at

How the adapter is arranged

The adapter is a splitter, not a simple cable. It has one connection on the network side and two on the camera side:

Side	Connector	Carries
Network	RJ45 female	PoE in, power and data on one cable from your switch
Camera	Power connector	The DC the adapter extracts from PoE
Camera	Network connector	The Ethernet data, passed through

So a single cable leaves your switch, and two short leads land on the camera: one into the Power & I/O connector, one into the Ethernet connector. The camera sees an ordinary DC supply and an ordinary network link, which is why nothing changes in the camera's own configuration.

The pinouts for both camera-side connectors are on the Pinouts page.

Will 802.3af carry it?

Yes, in normal operation.

Figure	Value
Datasheet maximum power	17 W
Measured peak draw	about 12 W
802.3af delivers at the device	12.95 W
802.3at delivers at the device	25.5 W

A real OV Spark peaks around 12 W, which fits inside the 12.95 W that standard 802.3af guarantees at the powered device. That is why plain PoE works.

Specify 802.3at where you have the choice

802.3af works, but it leaves under a watt of headroom against the measured peak, and no headroom at all against the datasheet's 17 W rating. On a new installation, an 802.3at (PoE+) port costs nothing extra on most switches and removes the question entirely, particularly if you run the built-in LEDs at full brightness.

Reserve 802.3af for retrofits onto switch capacity you already have.

Budget the switch, not just the port

A switch rated for PoE rarely delivers full power on every port at once. An 8-port switch may advertise 802.3at but carry a total budget well below 8 x 30 W. Add up every powered device on the switch, not just the cameras, before committing.

Installing

1. Power down the camera before changing how it is powered
2. Connect the adapter's power lead to the camera's Power & I/O connector
3. Connect the adapter's network lead to the camera's Ethernet connector
4. Run a standard Ethernet patch cable from the adapter's RJ45 to your PoE switch or injector
5. Confirm the switch port reports the device as powered, then check the camera's status LEDs
6. Browse to the camera as described in Connect to the interface

Both camera-side leads are needed

The power lead alone gets the camera running but leaves it off the network. The network lead alone leaves it unpowered. Connect both.

Do not power from both sources at once

If the camera is already fed 24 V through the M12 Power & I/O connector, remove that supply before connecting the PoE adapter to the same connector. Feeding both is not a supported configuration.

When to stay on DC

PoE is a convenience, not an upgrade. Stick with a local 24 V supply when:

• You are driving loads from the digital outputs. The output current still comes from your wiring, not from the PoE budget, so a separate supply is often already present for the reject valve or stack light
• The cable run is long and the switch budget is tight. Power is lost in the cable, and a marginal budget shows up as an intermittent camera rather than a clean failure
• Your plant standard is DC. Consistency with the rest of the cell is usually worth more than one fewer cable

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause
Camera does not power up at all	Port is not a PoE port, or PoE is disabled on it in the switch configuration
Camera boots then restarts under load	Switch power budget exhausted. Move to a less loaded port or an 802.3at source
Link comes up but no power	Passive PoE injector rather than an 802.3af/at compliant one
Camera powers up but is unreachable	The adapter's network lead is not connected to the camera
Works on the bench, not in the cabinet	Check the full cable run and any patch panels between the switch and the camera

Back to the getting-started pathInstall the camera

Step 1 of 13. Mount it, wire power and I/O, and confirm the status LEDs.