Wireless reversing camera

[SteveP]

Has anyone experience of the wireless revering cameras found on E bay, for around £70?
is the range enough for caravan in tow, with hatchback fully laden?

 

[xtrailman]

From what I've read, the wireless route is problematic.
Wired is preferred.

 

[Damian]

As Ray has said, wireless systems can be problematic.
There needs to be a clear line of sight from camera to receiver to get the best reception and they are influenced by passing vehicles, sudden loss of signal and not very good all round.
Of course , as per normal, you only get what you pay for, so a £70 system is not going to be up to much, also,l buying from EBay, is the seller just a box seller or does he have a good after sales system should anything be wrong with it?

Wired systems are far superior, but so are the prices, and th every best wired systems are the Waeco systems which is part of the Dometic Group so backup is very good.

 

[Mike_S]

I Recently bought a wired system from parkingcameras.com (in Ramsgate) which consists of a 7inch monitor that clips over the car's interior mirror and a good quality CCD camera. Between them I use a heavy duty trailer link kit. The lot cost £180 - not cheap but very good picture quality and no more blind spots. Well worth the money.
Mike

 

[SteveP]

Thanks for the input,telephone, CB or other interference may not be an issue as i purely need it to reverse, not to use as a rear view viewer (illegal anyway)
So use on my street, on a site or in a service station for a minute at a time, i cannot justify a great amount of money, but there again don't wish to to throw money away, so i'll wait for more experiences, but it doesn't look favourable at the moment

 

[Parksy]

Why not try a cheap and cheerful wired kit from Fleabay?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Car-Rear-View-Kit-7-LCD-Monitor-Reversing-Camera-Bus-/260740678656?pt=UK_AudioElectronicsVideo_Video_TelevisionSetTopBoxes&hash=item3cb55b0400

You might need an extension lead and some extra automotive cable which are readily available from any car accessory shop but for the money it should do the job if installed correctly.
There are a few wired kits from around £55 upwards.
I paid £130 for mine which is essentially the same but with a large mirror mounted monitor and inputs for 2 cameras.

 

[SteveP]

cheers Parksy, i am now thinking if i can use a redundant connection in the 7S plug, to connect through to the car?

 

[Parksy]

You could use a separate 12s plug & socket or a proper connector like This One

 

[Stuart_374401878]

I'm not quite sure what the OP is after, but I use a laptop sitting on my passenger seat and a long extension usb cable to a temporary webcam over my towbar to hitch up sometimes, usually when I'm on my own on the drive. I've never tried to extend as far as the back of the caravan with a usb connection though. I believe the maximum extent for a usb cable is 16 feet, so maybe not feasible. I see no reason why a wireless option would not work.
After looking around the internet,

Make of that what you will. 50 feet?

 

[Philspadders]

i use a wireless home system operating on 2.4ghz at 12v. I have the pin hole colour camera mounted in the rear window of the van and small tft reciever on the dash in the car. It cost £35 from ebay. I tow a charisma 565 at 7.5m and use a kia sportage at the the front. The signal is strong, clear , the image does not break up and it all works very well. I can also velcro the camera to the rear of the kia for solo hitching.
Be careful of the "fish eye" lens types as the focul point can be a bit deceiving.

If you want to pay silly money its up to you.

 

[SteveP]

Thanks for the info, i have purchased a wireless and a wired system, not silly money, i' ll try the wireless first

 

[dave8858]

I experimented with one of those baby alarms with camera and built in mic. It has the advantage that you can hear the instructions 'er indoors' gives from her position behind the caravan and completely obscured from view.

Seriously though they cost about 70quid or so and range didn't seem to be a problem for my 7.19m long caravan plus tow car.

Dave

 

[SteveP]

As an update, i purchased the hard wired system, which clips to the interior mirror,supurb quality picture, about a day to run cables through the car and van
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220707296866&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_3011wt_905
I tried the wireless system
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380322501564&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_4884wt_906
seemed to work fine, although not the panoramic view , because of the screen size
hard wired worked out at about £90 with all the add ons, whreas the wire free , £45 all in

 

[chrisbee1]

Can anyone make a recommendation on the best camera lens angle? The set up I’m interested in would be for continuous use rather than reversing only. I have the option of buying a camera with a 120 degree or 150 degree lens. Will 150 give too much “fish eye” or conversely will 120 not show vehicles about to overtake on m’ways? For the money I will be spending I want to get it right.

 

[Surfer]

I Recently bought a wired system from parkingcameras.com (in Ramsgate) which consists of a 7inch monitor that clips over the car's interior mirror and a good quality CCD camera. Between them I use a heavy duty trailer link kit. The lot cost £180 - not cheap but very good picture quality and no more blind spots. Well worth the money.
Mike

With a 7 inch monitor hanging from your interior mirror can you see where you are going?

 

[SteveP]

It is just a larger version of the rear view mirror, no obstuction at all

 

[SteveP]

Can anyone make a recommendation on the best camera lens angle? The set up I’m interested in would be for continuous use rather than reversing only. I have the option of buying a camera with a 120 degree or 150 degree lens. Will 150 give too much “fish eye” or conversely will 120 not show vehicles about to overtake on m’ways? For the money I will be spending I want to get it right.

The 170* which came with this unit, gives me good rear view, fitted under a trim , under the back window of the van

 

[Mike_S]

Hi Surfer SteveP has answered your question for me! The monitor simply clips over the existing interior mirror so instead of seeing the front of the caravan I can see what's going on immediately behind. It forms to obstruction to normal forward vision at all.
PS If you (or anyone else) is concerned about the legallity of using a rear view system (as opposed to a reversing view) can I suggest you look at page 58 of Feb edition of the Cararavn Club Mag.