My $260cdn or ~ $206usd 4 Camera System

[Jim Blackwood]

I think it's a function of money but I sort of like the systems that allow you to easily switch from several small squares to full screen on one camera and I also really like the ones with the lines that show your back-up path. This will all get much better I expect but as it is it ain't too shabby.

Jim

[chessie4905]

there are many possibilities for smal, wireless cameras nowadays. Just check Amazon or Especially Alixpress. Hundreds there and very reasonable. Only downside so far is usually about 30 days to receive. But I  have purchased several different items over last couple of years and have been satisfied with quality and reliability.

[richard5933]

I think it's a function of money but I sort of like the systems that allow you to easily switch from several small squares to full screen on one camera and I also really like the ones with the lines that show your back-up path. This will all get much better I expect but as it is it ain't too shabby.

Jim

That's great for a security camera or possibly when starting from a standstill, but there's no way a driver should be futzing with changing screen displays while driving.

I personally like the camera system which has monitors mounted on the inside of both A pillars to replace/augment the outside mirrors, and another top center of the windshield to mimic what would be seen if there was a rearview mirror. For driving purposes, those three should get you the views you need and put them where decades of driving have programmed our minds to expect them to be.

In my opinion, there is way too much going on with screens on a modern vehicle which distracts a driver's attention, and anything that requires touching a screen is an unneeded danger potential.

Buttons are commonly built with a tactile feel to them to help a driver keep his/her eyes on the road and not a screen.

[ktmossman]

Many of the camera systems use triggers to change the display, to minimize the need for manual intervention.  For example, they wire to the reverse lights so when you put the vehicle in reverse, it changes the screen to show that image larger.

[richard5933]

Many of the camera systems use triggers to change the display, to minimize the need for manual intervention.  For example, they wire to the reverse lights so when you put the vehicle in reverse, it changes the screen to show that image larger.

That works for putting it in reverse, but the system in this thread appears to have a 9" display with up to four images in it. That's a pretty small image to be of any use, so my guess is that there is going to be a need to swap from one image to another while in motion.

That monitor is also not in a great place, requiring the driver to cock his head pretty far up to see anything. I've got a mirror in about the same position which is used to see what's going on inside the coach, and I can say that it takes considerable concentration to be able to use it for more than a split second if I have any hope of keeping my eyes on the road. That monitor would be much more useful mounted on top of the dash.

If the 9" monitor was being used as a rear camera only, I'd be okay with it. If it's used as a side view camera as well then not so much. To properly see traffic on the side, you must be looking out the window AND at the mirror. With the monitor centered above the windshield there is no way possible to pay proper attention out the window and at the monitor.

[Jim Blackwood]

It's pretty obvious anything menu driven is just wrong for automotive use but if you have a large touch screen within arm's reach that can work just fine if it were properly set up. I would prefer a 3 camera view with the rear in the center and the sides on the sides and then if you want to make one view full screen you touch it and touch it again to go back.


Additional views could be on a select bar under one of the enlarged views, probably the rear one, as you wouldn't usually be selecting those while driving.

To me this makes sense, is easy to use, not distracting, and conveys more information in a compact area than mirrors and at about the same cost, maybe less. Location is driver's choice but as more drivers get used to console center that location begins to make more sense. And you can usually position a larger screen there.

Jim

[richard5933]

...To me this makes sense, is easy to use, not distracting, and conveys more information in a compact area than mirrors and at about the same cost, maybe less. Location is driver's choice but as more drivers get used to console center that location begins to make more sense. And you can usually position a larger screen there.

Jim

Except for one thing...You still need to look out your two side windows as you're going down the road or when you're about to switch lanes or make a turn. The mirrors themselves are only part of the equation - looking out the window at the real world and not just a reflection of it is vital to knowing what's going on around you while driving.

I don't care where you put the monitor(s). Even the system I was talking about with the side-view monitors on the A-pillars doesn't replace looking out the windows.

Frightens me to know that there are some people that use their center-mounted left & right cameras when changing lanes and never bother to look out the window. Not even once.

[Jim Blackwood]

Sorta depends on your field of view. If you can see everything beside the bus just as well in the monitor as you can by looking then there's really no difference. Granted that's hard to achieve, at least on the driver's side, but on the other side not really hard at all. And in the back it's no contest.

Jim

[richard5933]

Sorta depends on your field of view. If you can see everything beside the bus just as well in the monitor as you can by looking then there's really no difference. Granted that's hard to achieve, at least on the driver's side, but on the other side not really hard at all. And in the back it's no contest.

Jim

Sorry, but unless the camera has an extremely wide angle lens there is no way you're going to see the same thing in the camera as you will by turning your head to the side. And if the lens has that wide of a view it will be useless for seeing things clearly.

There is just no substitute for turning your head and looking over your shoulder --- in addition to using the mirrors/camera monitor. The advantage to mirrors or a side-mounted monitor is that you get two views in one turn of the head - the mirror/monitor & out the window. If the monitor is in the center and you have to turn your head to glance out the window, it's just more time with your eyes somewhere other than on the road.

Cameras can help. They cannot replace driving skills.

I've been in a car with someone using cameras to back up - a good camera system with a very wide viewing angle. If not for my eyes actually looking out the windows he would have backed right into a tree branch which was outside the field of view of the camera. You gotta actually look.

[chessie4905]

Maybe a weather proof monitor on top of outside mirrors. Actually some type of radar on each side would be useful, like the new vehicles have.

[Jim Blackwood]

I'll stand by my statement. Yes, on the driver's side that would be a challenge and I said that. At the rear there is no possible way to see as much as a camera can see. Just can't be done while you are in the driver's seat and we all know that. On the right side it is much the same. Even with windows in the entry door there isn't much you can see except what's in the mirror. If you've sheeted off the side windows it's even worse. I think this favors the camera.

Obviously a teeny tiny monitor isn't going to work and why would you expect it to? How big are your side mirrors? So your monitor should provide at least as large a view which means anything smaller than a 12" monitor is probably a waste of time. And as for taking your eyes off the road, that sort of depends on where you put it doesn't it? I mean you wouldn't position the thing in the bathroom. It's going to be right there somewhere close by so that a quick flick of the eyes or slight turn of the head gets you there just the same as your side mirrors. I expect some people can't be retrained to do that, which is sad but I can't see that stopping the rest of us.

Jim

[richard5933]

Not sure about your bus, but I can see quite a bit by glancing out the righthand side mirror in the entry door. Lots more than can be seen in the mirror. True, the mirror shows things which cannot be seen by looking out the window on the righthand side, but by looking at the mirror you are also automatically looking out the window.

Now move that righthand camera monitor to the upper center of the windshield as it is in the example we're talking about, and you've added an extra step to look at both the camera image and out the righthand window. This is where I see the problem - people getting lazy and only looking in the monitor and not out the window, or in the extra time it will take to focus your vision on both the monitor and then out the window.

[peterbylt]

I like the OP's setup and I would like to build a similar setup.

I had installed the wiring to the back when I was building the Bus.

I installed the backup Camera when I started towing the car last year.

Originally I hooked it to the 8 inch screen that was part of the radio on the dashboard, I did not like that at all, and it was a crappie radio, I then purchased a 12" monitor off Amazon and mounted it where the radio was, that one I like.

I want to put side mounted cameras just above the mirror mounts pointed back and out to the Blind spot areas, the single back facing camera is good, I adjust it according to the circumstances.

I'd like to be able to view the back facing camera across the top of the 12" screen and the left and right cameras on the bottom half of the screen.

I do not agree with the too much distraction point of view, all the usual mirrors are there and I prefer them, but having another vantage point I can use with just a glance is safer in my opinion.

I also want to be able to view all the cameras from the TV and maybe the Iphone when parked.

The Copilot (wife) has also asked if I could add a monitor for her to view while we are driving.

The ability to record from any or all of the cameras would also be nice.

A front facing camera would be good for recording purposes.

There are some pretty good splitter Multiplexers that could accomplish most of that for pretty cheap.

https://www.amazon.com/ToughstyTM-Splitter-Multiplexer-Processor-Switcher/dp/B00WW8N5SW/ref=pd_di_sccai_1/141-9102475-1268531?pd_rd_w=hKa2a&pf_rd_p=c9443270-b914-4430-a90b-72e3e7e784e0&pf_rd_r=S674WRG6422PMJB1YJZW&pd_rd_r=ae67242a-986e-4f46-82fb-183debf3d613&pd_rd_wg=L1jfU&pd_rd_i=B00WW8N5SW&psc=1


Peter