7 Apr 2013
A rugged, stainless steel CCTV camera from Bosch Security Systems has been installed on a lighthouse in Dorset to enable local volunteers to better monitor the safety of climbers, walkers and craft passing close to the cliff edge.
 
The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) team at the Portland Bill lookout station required increased visibility of the area of sea and land closest to the coast and approached Quadrant Security Group to source a suitable device. It had to be sited 40 metres above sea level on the gallery of Portland Bill lighthouse, which overlooks the outermost point of the island’s coast.
 
John Watts, Deputy Station Manager (Projects) at NCI Coastwatch, Portland Bill, quickly realised that the unique nature of the environment would necessitate a particularly robust model of camera: “Naturally, since the lighthouse is exposed to the elements, I was looking for a camera that could withstand extreme conditions and still deliver good quality images, without any need for constant maintenance.''
 
“During my search for an appropriate solution I was given the opportunity to visit the Weymouth CCTV control room and test the capabilities of a Bosch MIC camera operating in a harsh seaside environment,” he continues, “and after having seen both the resilient yet compact design and the picture quality for myself, I felt that the model met all of my requirements.” 
 
Bosch’s stainless steel MIC series, an extremely reliable and high quality ruggedized PTZ camera, has been precision engineered to

''At Portland Bill, the camera images are encoded using Bosch codecs and then wirelessly transmitted to the NCI lookout station, which is located half a mile back from the lighthouse...'' 
 exacting standards. Rated to an industry leading IP68 liquid protection, its grade 316L stainless steel housing has corrosion-resistant properties that offer the ultimate protection in harsh environments, including marine applications such as Portland Bill where the air’s high salt content can impair traditional camera units.
 
The camera at Portland Bill was installed by Quadrant Security Group (QSG), which has fitted Bosch cameras throughout the UK. Russell Kitson, Project Manager at QSG, says that Bosch is especially good at providing technical support when necessary: “The MIC series in particular is a high quality unit, and we had no hesitation in recommending it for this particular application,” Russell says, “Our engineers are familiar with it and know exactly how to set it up and maintain it, and the installation went very smoothly – even with the lighthouse’s gallery being open to the elements!” 
 
The MIC series uses brushless motor technology to enable quiet yet reliable operation, with full 360-degree continuous rotation pan and 270-degree tilt control for exceptional viewing capability. Small increment pan/tilt speeds give the user precise control, which is fundamental for tracking subjects when fully zoomed in. Furthermore, it is compatible with virtually any control equipment, and can seamlessly integrate with the vast majority of security systems. 
 
At Portland Bill, the camera images are encoded using Bosch codecs and then wirelessly transmitted to the NCI lookout station, which is located half a mile back from the lighthouse and has an approximately 270-degree view of the waters surrounding Portland Bill. Paul Wong, Managing Director of Bosch, says that the requirements of this application are exactly those that the MIC series was designed for: “As NCI is a registered charity we were pleased to be able to supply an ideal solution for the needs of the Portland Bill Coastwatch, and fully expect the camera to deliver highly satisfactory results in what is clearly a challenging environment.”
 
Permission to install the camera was kindly granted to NCI in 2011 by Trinity House, the official General Lighthouse Authority(GLA) for England and Wales, which owns Portland Bill lighthouse. A listed building, the lighthouse was automated in 1996 and is now open to members of the public.