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

[patoz]

Those RCA cables are simple two-wire cables with the RCA coaxial connectors at the ends,

This is incorrect in most cases. Audio and video cables are generally made out of shielded coaxial cable.

The braided/foil shield is there for a reason. Any wire connected to the input of an amplifier (video or audio) can act as an antenna and pick up any electronic interference in the area, such as engine noise (electronic), other equipment, computers, etc. The shield is there to block that interference.

There is cable available that is designed to carry both audio and video, as well as power. It is designed to carry both, while preventing interference from surrounding signals as well as the power leads themselves.

Some home and business security systems utilize wired cameras that are connected via a POE (Power Over Ethernet) system. These cameras are wired using CAT 5 or 6 Ethernet cable and get their power from a Network Switch.

My advice, if you want it, is to utilize the extension cables offer by the company you get the system from. If you plan on buying individual components and building your own system, then you need to use the proper cable for the job, which is shielded audio and video conductors with additional conductors for power. I would NOT try to use plain multi conductor cable to carry the audio and video signals, unless you want to have to deal with a lot of interference also.

 

[KeyserSoSay]

OK, certainly I'll have to look harder at that- properly splicing/shortening shielded coaxial cables is a pain, but still doable. I was happy to hear these were RCA cables as my experience with them has been different, was hoping for something more like below....

Regardless, I appreciate your efforts to save me from myself. Just trying to plan out this system in my head with the long term in mind. Reality will obviously dictate how I deal with it- I'm not looking to hodge-podge it together, just the opposite.

Also, I can't imagine I'm the first or last person here to be in my position, so I feel like this discussion might very well be helpful to some future me having the same thoughts. In that context it doesn't hurt my feelings to throw up fail after fail here and have you folks fix me in writing.

 

[patoz]

Trial and error is usually a pretty good instructor, but it can get expensive also. I'm a retired Fire Chief, but I also worked in communications with the FD for most of my adult life. I learned a lot the hard way also.

I just hate to see someone make an expensive mistake (in money or labor), when all I had to do is point out something to them ahead of time. Trust me, all audio and video input signals need to be run in shielded cable.

 

[derjack]

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?

Remember 90% of ALL worldwide produced products are made in China, including all Apple products. Coming from China has nothing to do with worse quality.

your requirements are different from most others here : if you want 100%rear view coverage you don't need 100 degrees angle of view, like most cams offer!

Better is an angle like the human ey: 100 degrees.

Plus you are way better off, if you choose an 7" monitor with wvga resolution. There are no quality monitors under 50 $

If you choose an infrared cam you can see in the dark, very very good. These are more expensive though.

I will choose a wide angle infrared cam for the rear plus a wide angle for the front with 2 monitors above the wind screen. But this is for MY needs

 

[KeyserSoSay]

Remember 90% of ALL worldwide produced products are made in China, including all Apple products. Coming from China has nothing to do with worse quality.

your requirements are different from most others here : if you want 100%rear view coverage you don't need 100 degrees angle of view, like most cams offer!

Better is an angle like the human ey: 100 degrees.

Plus you are way better off, if you choose an 7" monitor with wvga resolution. There are no quality monitors under 50 $

If you choose an infrared cam you can see in the dark, very very good. These are more expensive though.

I will choose a wide angle infrared cam for the rear plus a wide angle for the front with 2 monitors above the wind screen. But this is for MY needs

thanks- good info- I do understand that basically EVERYTHING is made in China, my comment was about the many super-inexpensive camera systems available on Ebay from Chinese sellers that are hard to discern a quality product from a substandard replica.
`
I'm curious, what is the benefit of having a front mounted camera?
`
I have some gen3 night vision goggles, do these infrared cameras work in a similar fashion in that an IR flood light could be employed to light the road that would not be visible to the naked eye? I could see that as being useful if you had such a floodlight on the front with a front mounted IR camera and potential drive in the dark in that manner- (keep in mind I'm a game warden by profession so such driving and general nighttime sneakyness is something I've done for decades as part of my job). My guess is they don't work quite to that level in zero light conditions or they would cost 100x more.

Do these IR cameras also work as well during the daylight?- would be nice to find a camera that functioned both night and day.
`
I'm confused by your comments about the degrees angle of view- did you mean don't bother with 180deg, 100deg is good enough?
Thanks for your input.

 

[Bikersmurf]

To answer night vision camera questions. The RVS night vision camera I've got works night and day. When it gets dark, an array of leds illuminates the area behind (up to 50'). It works seamlessmy... can always see... brightest day to pitch black.

About 130 deg.

 

[Bikersmurf]

Wired is the way to go unless you want interference.

 

[KeyserSoSay]

To answer night vision camera questions. The RVS night vision camera I've got works night and day. When it gets dark, an array of leds illuminates the area behind (up to 50'). It works seamlessmy... can always see... brightest day to pitch black.

About 130 deg.

Yeah, that RVS system is looking more and more like the do-it-right-and-do-it-once system I'm looking for. Is that main cable an all-in-one, or do you also have to run separate power feed to the camera? Do you use that primarily as a back up camera, or would it work as a full-time rear-view mirror replacement? What monitor do you have, they have a few options, a rear-view mirror type, and a shaded box type, wondering what your thoughts would be between the two if you had a do-over.

Actually, I just found their visor version- really digging this monitor- everything is sealed with only a single wire routed through the visor swivel mount, same price as the other ones- pretty sure I've found my camera system. Only drawback I can see is what to do with all the extra cabling, not sure I'd want to try and shorten it, nor do I want to have to hide a big loop of cable but that will likely be what I have to do.

 

[Bikersmurf]

There are three components in the RVS setup I've got. The camera, the monitor, and the Silver box (sure there's a better name for it). Everything is wired to the silver box. A single 'wire' goes to the monitor, and a single 'wire' runs to the camera. I say 'wire' but cord might be a better term (1/4" diameter with a number of wires in it).

All power connections, reverse power, ground, etc. go to the Silver box. You can wire it to switch the monitors view when power is connected to certain wires. It also has RCA jacks for input/output (if memory serves me right) depending on where a selector switch is. It does have the option to feed video output to a recording device. It appears to be well built, and is has served me well for almost three years now. There are certainly cheaper options, but I certainly don't regret spending the money.

The setup I have has a 7" dash mounted colour monitor, and a single night vision camera. It came with enough wire to reach the back of most busses or RVs. Hookup couldn't be simpler. Hardest part is finding your reverse +... I've not bothered yet. The camera has been on 24/7 and I hit the monitor power to turn the view on/off. When I hooked it up years back, I connected it to an 'ignition power' source that was nearby for the ambulance radios... turns out the labels were wrong and it is constant power. It's been way down the list to change it... always something more important to do. Someday I'll move the silver box into the electrical 'room' and wire it up fancier... I'm sure I'll end up thinking, "why didn't I do this sooner"... but for now, it's way way down a long list and doesn't seem remotely important.

 

[Bikersmurf]

Mine also had a remote... not something I can use while driving. Perhaps if I was parked and playing a movie through the monitor. It supposedly has a mike and audio, but I've never tried to get it working.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I went the easy route...I use a ipad for navigation so I went with WiFi transmitter and a small camera. Wired it hot so I have back up anytime. As a bonus it can record video or take single pictures at the push of a button. I will be adding another to the front of my Land Cruiser soon.

 

[andy_b]

I went the easy route...I use a ipad for navigation so I went with WiFi transmitter and a small camera. Wired it hot so I have back up anytime. As a bonus it can record video or take single pictures at the push of a button. I will be adding another to the front of my Land Cruiser soon.

I also use an iPad for navigation and have been looking for wifi solutions. Do you mind going into some more specifics regarding transmitter and wifi cam options? Thanks!

 

[KeyserSoSay]

This discussion has helped me a bunch- I probably seem like an idiot or a child with some of the naive questions I've been asking here, I've just had bad luck making assumptions about electronic devices.
`
I went ahead and pulled the trigger on one of these systems. I did not go with the RVS brand, I went with an E-bay knock-off of a RVS type system. I hope I don't end up regretting that, but if I do, I'll make sure to revisit this thread and let you all know.
`
The one I got has 3 cameras; a single 120* camera (which I'll probably mount high in front to help me monitor my clearance) and a double camera with a 120* and a 90* designed so one can point down to assist in backing into a spot (or hitching a trailer) and the other as a more general purpose wide angle rear-view traffic monitor. All three cameras are IR night vision. All summed it cost me about $170, which was around half or less of what a similar RVS system would have cost me. Time will tell if I've made a good decision as it was too expensive to be cheap, and too cheap to be quality- so I've either hit the sweet spot with this or made an expensive mistake.
`
http://www.ebay.com/itm/262870033881
http://www.ebay.com/itm/262544401743

 

[ihatemybike]

What about going beyond just a rear view camera? TrailVision supports up to 4 cameras. Rear, front, and both sides are common set ups. Allows you to spot yourself on the trails.

https://www.retrofitoffroad.com/trailvision-off-road-jeep-camera-system/

 

[patoz]

This discussion has helped me a bunch- I probably seem like an idiot or a child with some of the naive questions I've been asking here, I've just had bad luck making assumptions about electronic devices.
`
I went ahead and pulled the trigger on one of these systems. I did not go with the RVS brand, I went with an E-bay knock-off of a RVS type system. I hope I don't end up regretting that, but if I do, I'll make sure to revisit this thread and let you all know.
`
The one I got has 3 cameras; a single 120* camera (which I'll probably mount high in front to help me monitor my clearance) and a double camera with a 120* and a 90* designed so one can point down to assist in backing into a spot (or hitching a trailer) and the other as a more general purpose wide angle rear-view traffic monitor. All three cameras are IR night vision. All summed it cost me about $170, which was around half or less of what a similar RVS system would have cost me. Time will tell if I've made a good decision as it was too expensive to be cheap, and too cheap to be quality- so I've either hit the sweet spot with this or made an expensive mistake.
`
http://www.ebay.com/itm/262870033881
http://www.ebay.com/itm/262544401743

I need multiple cameras too, so I'm very interested in this system also. The equipment itself looks to be pretty well made and somewhat heavy duty, but the picture quality will be the real test.

Once you get it going, maybe you can post a couple (day and night) photos of the screen with a picture on it.

It looks like you got the last one, but he does have other packages available.