Thread: dual reverse cameras

Hi team, firstly a question, or perhaps a few:

Some of the ads for the smaller cameras give the viewing angle as 135/170 degrees.
How is the change made between the two settings?

Is it a change of lens, or a zoom type movement, or do you take pot luck on which one you get, or is it an electrical switch?
If it is a change of lens, are there two supplied?

Now for an answer:
(as part of the description of my project)
I am wiring up four cameras for the 300tdi Def. plus c'van.
1. Centre of vehicle rear below spare - to help with hitching and general safety etc.
2. Up near top of door, maybe on floodlight pole- alternate view as above.
3. Rear of c'van - for reversing and general safety.
4. Front of vehicle, top of grille but below bonnet and behind bullbar - for hitching to front towbar and assisting with parking in tight spots.

All feeds will go a self wired compact rotary switch in a little box below the monitor that will sit between the rear wiper switch and cig. power socket. The switch will have two sides, one for vision, one for power.
An AV switcher is a waste of space as there is no audio involved.
A second switch in same box will then direct output of first to the two inputs to the monitor.

This arrangement will give me the ability to have both normal and reversed image on all cameras, depending on job at hand.

Using the reverse light circuit to trigger a camera is not wanted. Modern cameras can be on all the time if there is a need.

All I have to do now is implement it.

Rover4.

G'Day rovers4,

Been there done that.

You'll find that the camera over the towball is magic in lining up your c'van for hitching. So much so that you won't need a second camera on a floodlight pole as you're suggesting just for hitching. I'd suggest that instead you put this camera above the rear door and use it as a rear vision camera.

On viewing angles, 135 or 170 are only suitable for assisting reversing. They don't work well for rear vision as everything in your view of the road behind is too small to be really useful. For rear vision you need a much smaller anlge such as 45 as I've now fitted. Much, much better and similar to looking in a rear view mirror.

Regards.

I’ve put the revision camera inside the vehicle, under the high mounted stop light. With the ‘fish-eye’ lens reversing camera. It OK and it does cover a bit of the blind spots on Left and Right rear sides of the vehicle. I think I’ll move this camera down to the tow hitch and either install a non fisheye camera in its place or if I can find the white one in the attached picture, I’ll fit one of these. Anyone here seen one of these before or know where I can get one?
Monitor is from J-Car with four video inputs, so I can fit up to four cameras. I’ve removed the front interior light and temporarily fitted it upside down on the roof. Picture was able to be rotated. I intend to fit it permanently in the roof console and replace the light, once I get the doe-ray-me.
Cheers
Craig

Originally Posted by Nera Donna

Monitor is from J-Car with four video inputs, so I can fit up to four cameras. I’ve removed the front interior light and temporarily fitted it upside down on the roof. Picture was able to be rotated. I intend to fit it permanently in the roof console and replace the light, once I get the doe-ray-me.
Cheers
Craig

pics??

cheers

Originally Posted by grover7488

pics??

cheers

I'll post some when I get back home.
Next month

Originally Posted by Nera Donna

I'll post some when I get back home.
Next month

Back home Pictures attacted.

Attachment 40220

Attachment 40221

Now going for:
Medium wide 130 near towball.
Almost fish-eye AND narrow, (170 and 90) on light pole to go on spare wheel carrier. To aid in reversing and spying on small cars tailing too close.
Same twin combo on rear of caravan.
Medium wide at front, under top of bull-bar to see front clearance and front coupling.
Set of sockets at front to take c'van cam plugs, to SEE THROUGH THE C'VAN.
A 90 or narrower on each side on rear roof bar to see down side at front wheel area for clearance, wheel path.
(My mirrors have mini rotatable convex mirrors on so that I can see rear wheel area.)
That makes eight cameras in ten locations.
Using a home wired 2 bank rotary switch to select vision and supply power, mounted in a small box that will mount on dash between cig skt and rear wiper switch.
The box will support a 7inch monitor. Had to be 7inch for object size and the ability to reverse images as required.
Will need to use a 3way cig skt extension, as original will be masked behind the monitor.
Whole lot incl box etc for around $340. Plugs and switching out of stock parts.

Rovers4

Reasons for all this:
Grand children are irreplaceable.
Planning on doing a lot of touring with caravan.
Parking in the city in tight spots.
Traffic behind gets inside the mirrors.
Rear door window view is too restrictive. Spare wheel makes this worse.
Rear window is tinted. Good for headlights, bad for clarity when mixed with cargo barrier.