Wired Rear-View Camera/Monitor - any (current) recommendations or cautions?

[KeyserSoSay]

Title says it all, I've been researching these, have found some old threads with the search, but technology changes so fact. I'm looking for a good-quality, good-value rear-view camera that will serve as a full time replacement for a rear-view mirror. Hard to know which Chinese E-bay item is good or bad. Any thoughts from those who've used them?

 

[VanWilder]

I've been using this camera and display for the last year and they are still working well. Had to buy an extra long video cable because the one that comes with the camera was too short for my rig.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GSFIJS6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JDFVBVK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cheers,
E.

 

[KeyserSoSay]

Thanks, had seen that camera recommended here before, but several years ago- much of the discussions on these is obsolete as the market has expanded and these get (potentially) better and cheaper, but also flooded with junky stuff that's hard to discern.

I'll look hard at that one, for $20 it's hard to lose. Can you alter the angle of the camera relative to that mounting bracket?

 

[zuke]

The bracket on the Esky is actually designed to be bent so you can alter the angle, but don't get too carried away with bending it, it will fatique and break if you do it too much...

I Recently put a Yada 3.5 inch on my Ambo, no frills, but easily available at most auto parts stores. It's a wireless setup though...

https://www.amazon.com/Yada-BT53872M-2-Digital-Wireless-Monitor/dp/B00MWPC7F2

Had a freind build a buggy for his son recently, and he put an RVS system on it, Lots of options with RVS, and they have really nice monitors and cameras;

https://www.rearviewsafety.com/safe...1x2CKwwn0xuISj8r3TdHRqPa9Zylpj_LdQaAjTE8P8HAQ

 

[KeyserSoSay]

I appreciate it guys, are the connectors from these cameras to these monitors pretty universal? I had purchased a small flat screen a few years ago for a CCTV night vision project and found it pretty worthless unless you had the skillset to identify each of the individual wires in the harness connector as it did not match up to anything I had or had seen before. I'm thinking about going with the Esky camera and just getting a good 7" or larger screen/monitor - My van is an old school bus and interior-wise I'd be mounting the rear view monitor up high and would want a large screen. I assume all of these monitor/screens are pretty easily connected to 12v power through a dash mounted on/off toggle switch, and the wired cameras receive their power through their connection with the monitor, is this the case? These cameras should have at most two wires for power, and two wires for video out, is that right?

 

[Bikersmurf]

X2 on RVS

Bought mine through Costco. Install super easy. Lots of flexibility. 7" display. Excellent quality. Can be a tad bright at night in the dark... easy enough to hit the power button.

 

[ripperj]

I have the Hopkins Smart Hitch. It's great. The screen is smaller than some, but totally fine in use. They stand behind their products too.

Sent from my Passport

 

[zuke]

The connections are standard on some, and not on others, Many of them use a standard RCA type video cable (Esky) And some use proprietary hookups with break out cables (Hopkins)...

Most have separate power connections, even the wireless setups (Yada) still have wired power connections for the camera and monitor, Most want you to tap the camera power into the Reverse light power, but that means the camera is on only when you are in reverse.

 

[Raul]

I just got this Rearview camera

The mirror part works well. I have not hooked it up yet. Still trying to como up with a way to secured around the roof brake light.

 

[KeyserSoSay]

The connections are standard on some, and not on others, Many of them use a standard RCA type video cable (Esky) And some use proprietary hookups with break out cables (Hopkins)...

Most have separate power connections, even the wireless setups (Yada) still have wired power connections for the camera and monitor, Most want you to tap the camera power into the Reverse light power, but that means the camera is on only when you are in reverse.

Thanks to all who took the time to comment here- I will likely work to find and build a system using the RCA type cables from camera and monitor (These cables will all be inside my campervan and sealed at the camera hole). I have found the Esky camera in both regular and night vision, I'm not sure if the night vision is a two mode camera that will work as well during the daylight, but have also found several of these monitor screens have two channels, so my current thinking is I might buy a 7" or larger screen capable of two channels, and potentially have both a day vision and a night vision camera mounted in the back that I can toggle on the monitor from the drivers seat. (assuming that having both a day and night vision camera is a feature that is worthwhile)
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I plan to have a single toggle switch at the dash to power on and off the whole system, and have the camera on constantly while driving as a digital rear-view mirror since the existing rearview mirror is more about looking at your passengers and offers no help in seeing traffic behind the vehicle. Even better would be to have some way for the device to be powered while the engine is running, but to power down when the engine is off, but I'm not sure if that is even possible in this old of a rig (1983- there are very little electronics on this vehicle- which is something I love about it). I'll be looking into finding a special power switch that might turn the system off after a certain amount of time or some other solution, so that I don't have to worry about battery drain if I forget to turn it off. I may be able to find a switch that is activated by motion (if I turn the steering wheel for example) or activated when I shift out of "Park" and shuts off when it goes into "Park". Not sure if any of that that will be an option yet, and need to find something that is a relatively simple solution.
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here is something I found after 3 minute search, turns on 12v device after sensing motion within 6 inches of it- so basically, anytime you're in the driver's seat with your hands on the steering wheel- the back-up camera is on, but when you park it and get out, it powers down.... many similar options I'm sure but don't want to add additional headaches to what should be a simple and maintenance free system.
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https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...cDr3IHFEWNeS2vFCpBq9tm01w9ss-DvRznRoCZhbw_wcB

 

[patoz]

Even better would be to have some way for the device to be powered while the engine is running, but to power down when the engine is off, but I'm not sure if that is even possible in this old of a rig...

Of course it's possible, and you don't need any of that other stuff you are talking about.

All you need to do is draw power for the camera system from the 'ON' position of the ignition switch. Check your fuse panel and look for any vacant or 'accessory' slots. Test each one with a VOM or 12V tester of some type, for power when the key is turned 'ON' and disappears when the key is turned 'OFF'. If you don't have any vacant slots, look for something that comes on when the key is on like the radio, etc. Then you can use a fuse tap or splice into the wire for that item to get power. Just be sure you don't overload the fuse with the combined load of your camera system and whatever you are getting power from.

If your camera system does have a high amp draw, you can wire it up the same way, but use the power from the fuse panel to control a relay, and get power for the camera system through the relay which would be wired directly to the battery via a fuse of it's own.

 

[KeyserSoSay]

Of course it's possible, and you don't need any of that other stuff you are talking about.

All you need to do is draw power for the camera system from the 'ON' position of the ignition switch. Check your fuse panel and look for any vacant or 'accessory' slots. Test each one with a VOM or 12V tester of some type, for power when the key is turned 'ON' and disappears when the key is turned 'OFF'. If you don't have any vacant slots, look for something that comes on when the key is on like the radio, etc. Then you can use a fuse tap or splice into the wire for that item to get power. Just be sure you don't overload the fuse with the combined load of your camera system and whatever you are getting power from.

If your camera system does have a high amp draw, you can wire it up the same way, but use the power from the fuse panel to control a relay, and get power for the camera system through the relay which would be wired directly to the battery via a fuse of it's own.

Yes thanks, I had that same thought but kind of dismissed it as Amps is a concern and I also don't want a bunch of hodge-podged wiring and fuse taps into places they shouldn't be. But I hadn't thought about the fact that the radio runs through this rout (and has to be a pretty high amp draw in itself), and the fact that there may likely be an extra fuse slot built in there on the ignition loop. I certainly won't dismiss the option of just wiring through the ignition if I can do it properly. I'm obviously not an electrical mastermind, so I'll have to give it some study and maybe ask for some local help.

 

[IdaSHO]

Whatever you choose, still to a wired unit.

I installed a wireless one in my full-size Ford pickup years ago, and the distance from camera to screen was just a bit far for it to work well.

It flickered quite a bit. Once connected vie an RCA cable, no worries.


I have mine installed right above the receiver hitch. Makes hitching up an absolute snap.

 

[patoz]

Yes thanks, I had that same thought but kind of dismissed it as Amps is a concern and I also don't want a bunch of hodge-podged wiring and fuse taps into places they shouldn't be. But I hadn't thought about the fact that the radio runs through this rout (and has to be a pretty high amp draw in itself), and the fact that there may likely be an extra fuse slot built in there on the ignition loop. I certainly won't dismiss the option of just wiring through the ignition if I can do it properly. I'm obviously not an electrical mastermind, so I'll have to give it some study and maybe ask for some local help.

It's really not that hard once you locate everything. You might check your cigarette lighter socket also. I don't know what vehicle you have, but with a lot of the older vehicles those went through the ignition switch also. Plus, they usually have 10A fuse or larger because the lighter coils draw a lot of current.

And yes, do not cut corners on any wiring job you do, because it will invariably come back to bite you in the behind!

Good luck with it!

 

[KeyserSoSay]

It's really not that hard once you locate everything. You might check your cigarette lighter socket also. I don't know what vehicle you have, but with a lot of the older vehicles those went through the ignition switch also. Plus, they usually have 10A fuse or larger because the lighter coils draw a lot of current.

And yes, do not cut corners on any wiring job you do, because it will invariably come back to bite you in the behind!

Good luck with it!

Great idea, I hadn't thought of the cigarette lighter as an ignition switch item- pretty sure the lighter was removed during school bus conversion (at least I hadn't noticed one or thought about it much), so I bet there is a vacant fuse and maybe even wiring in the dash I could tie into, pop in the appropriate fuse to match the camera system, and be set.
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Sounds like of all the camera systems that are out there, not many have come across one that was just a turd to avoid. I guess for as cheap as they are I'm just going to pick one (with the simple RCA cables) and roll with it.
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I had seen some discussion on avoiding the wireless types, and had just instinctively decided against wireless since you have to run power wires to them anyway I just can't see the point.
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Those RCA cables are simple two-wire cables with the RCA coaxial connectors at the ends, they are simple enough to replace with a different connector, and I've cut and (NASA) spliced these in the past. and I'll probably build a single good cable (with both the coaxial and power wires included within- should be 6 wires total, right? ) to run the length of the truck, and then shorten the cables from the camera and monitor so that either device can be easily replaced without having to pull any wiring once installed. This should beat the heck out of running two coaxials and two power wires the lengths of the van, only to have to dismantle everything if the $20 camera craps out.

Thanks again for everyone's input, as simple as it may seem this discussion has helped me immensely.