Has anybody tried using the cameras you buy for your computer for a backup camera? Why not?
Cause that would be cheating!
Back up cameras have a reversed image like a mirror and your computer camera ( and other cheap cameras ) do not have this feature. They will work to see what is out there but will mess with your mind if you try to backup using them.
Melbo
Rig your computer up so you can watch it in a little mirror and you will be good to go Ron. ::)
Hi Ron,
I know 1 reason that rolled off the top of my head......Lol
RV cams are built rugged... Comp cams are Not!
I'm living proof of using a $375.00 stationary waterproof security camra on my bus that only lasted 1 trip to FL.... then it went screwey.... and the camra blurred out.
The mfg. asked where I installed it. and I told him, on my RV.... Then he explained what I just told you above.
Try rvcams.com very reasonable, and quality is there.
Good Luck
Nick-
I bought a green screen back up camera from NorthernTool.com that was about $165.00 at the time (a bit more now, but still under $200) and has room for two cameras, and does reverse the image. It has G shock ratings on the unit for commercial use. Good Luck, TomC
Sams Club $99, security moniter with 2 camers. 5 years old, Ist camera lasted about 4 years. Very easy to reverse image in TV.
Make sure the image can be reversed. My brother installed a camera on the back of his Class C that was not reversible. He said "no problem, I know the left is actually the right". He had not gone but a few miles down the interstate when he glance up at his camera and saw a semi moving up on his right side, so he immediately started to move to the left. Guess where the semi actually was?. Fortunately, he realized this and there was no accident. His next step was to stop and disconnect the camera until he could reverse the image in the CRT monitor. Be Careful if the image is not reversed! Jack
Hi Ron!
Cat and I have been using CRT monitors for years, first in our truck then in our buses. We've only had one go titsup on us in all that time and that was because of a bad flyback transformer.
To reverse the screen on a tv or crt monitor here is a piece I wrote a few years ago after Jack and Paula visited us in North Carolina and asked about it:
Step 1., remove the back of the television case.
Step 2. Look for the Deflector Coil Assembly... that is the coil of copper wire around the neck of the picture tube.
Step 3. There should be four wires going to this coil. Two will be the horizontal and two will be the vertical.
The two horizontal wires are the ones you are concerned with. To determine which are which, follow the wires from the coil to the circuit board and see if there is any kind of marking on the board where they attach that says something like: Horz. or Hz., or HF. If there is no marking, you must do it the hard way by snipping the wires one at a time and reconnecting them one at a time. First, clip one wire and isolate it from every thing on the tube and chassis. Now plug in the TV and turn it on. You should see a line on the screen and either it will go up and down or across. If it is a vertical line, you have clipped a horizontal field wire, which is what you want. If you get a horizontal line, you clipped the wrong wire. Either way, reconnect the wire and go on to the next wire and repeat the process. Do this until you have two wires that give you a vertical line.
Step 4. Now the fun part. Connect one wire from the circuit board to the opposite wire on the deflector coil. Repeat this process with the remaining two wires.
Step 5. Turn on the television. If you did it right, the picture should be reversed. Try watching a weather report, it won't make a bit of sense. If smoke comes out of the circuit board, you did something wrong and now you have to explain to the wife how come the new 46" HDTV isn't working any more. Just don't blame me!
To make the television switchable from normal to reversed, try installing a dual pole dual throw (DPDT) switch in line with the four wires of the horizontal circuit. Connect the wires from the deflector coil to the two common posts. Now connect the two wires from the circuit board to the 'position 1' posts. Next solder an extra pair of wires to the wires from the circuit board and connect them in reversed order to the 'Position 2' posts. Mount the switch in a convenient spot on the television case, and test it to see if you got it right.
ยท Good Luck!!!
At the risk of sounding dumb(er) what is CRT monitors? I would like to use my laptop for a monitor for everything, is there some type of program that would reverse the image? I'm sure there is. I would like to eventually have my laptop monitor all of my systems from holding tanks, electrical systems, backup cameras, security, GPS and fuel mileage. That would be cool and just click from one program to the other.
CRT is Cathode Ray Tube (AKA your standard old style TV with a "picture tube"). I do not have any idea how to reverse a flat screen (LCD, Plasma, etc) screen. Jack
Hi
There's an even simpler way to reverse the image -
just mount the camera in such a way that it needs a mirror to see the rear view
the image gets reversed - works for LCD screens when you can't reverse the yoke coils
Pete RTS/Daytona
sometimes the easy solutions works best