Rear View Cameras Revisited -- Update, you may need a power regulator

[rv_safetyman]

There have been a ton of threads on this subject.  The most recent one was mixed in with several other subjects in one thread:

http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=9788.msg99080#msg99080

In that thread, I talked about some previous threads:

http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=8903.0
http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=7295.15

In the mixed thread, I mentioned that my latest camera (http://www.supercircuits.com/Security-Cameras/Inline-Cameras/PC221) seems to have failed.  This is a reasonable camera in terms of quality and field of view, but it is not much good in low light.  It is my most recent step up in quality.   I have written Super Circuits asking them for warranty replacement (6 months into a 1 year warranty).

Since this camera is rather poor in low light conditions, I thought I would see what else is out there.  SilverLeaf loaned me their demonstration unit for the last two trade shows we went to.  It has a Weldex WDRV-7057C camera from what I can tell (no labels on the camera, but the camera seems to fit the description for that model).  The camera states that it is a day/night camera with infra-red.  Tonight I decided to see how good the camera is in very low light conditions. 

I fired up the demonstration unit and began observing the video monitor as the sun set and darkness arrived.  I was AMAZED at the results!!!  With no ambient light, I could see significant detail several feet from the camera!  All of the attributes for this camera are good.  The picture quality is good, the field of view is good and the low/no light is great!  It is now on my wish list.

I have found the camera for as low as $176 and I did not do a lot of searching.

Jim

[niles500]

Not the WDRV - but might work - nothing to do but watch the Rays blowing it - HTH

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-WELDEX-CAMERA-WDDC-7057C-WEATHER-PROOF-DAY-NIGHT_W0QQitemZ310095377001QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item310095377001&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1418%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

[rv_safetyman]

That sure looks like the same camera.  A bit of research would sort out the differences, but too tired to do that tonight {grin}.

Jim

[Hartley]

All you need for the good low light camera's is a red led marker or tail light to illuminate the area that you want to watch. That is if you don't care about having a light lit up.

The IR leds don't seem to work as well for more than a few feet immediately in front of the cameras has been my experience.

There seems to be some differrences in the spectrum of the IR emitters and the sensitivity regions of the camera optics and CCD sensors. The IR emitters are a very narrow band and the CCD image sensors are a wide band so some loss creeps in.

I found that the RED tail lights have a broader illumination spectrum so the camera seem to pick up more usable images.

Dave...

[belfert]

Interesting about red light and IR LEDS on cameras.  My rearview camera is great during the day, but the image is all blurred at night.  I am almost always towing a small utility trailer that has red lights partially visible to the camera.

RVcams.com said he would look at the camera if I sent it in.

[Dreamscape]

I bought ours from RV Cams, great people to deal with. Came with a broken monitor and he shipped one the same day I notified him. I would buy from him again before anyone else.

Mine is a B/W with night vision and I think it works pretty darn good, considering I only paid about 125 bucks for it. And I can hear my wife screaming at me through the speaker. 

I'm Happy!

Paul

[johns4104s]

Paul,

Sounds good and something I may want, Do you have a site address, not that it matters but Is it wireless?

John

[Dreamscape]

Hi John,

It is not wireless, the wireless does not work good according to what I have read on this board.

I must add that I bought ours about 4 years ago, the prices have gone up some.

Here is the link. http://www.rvcams.com/

Lots to choose from, have fun!

Paul

[rv_safetyman]

OK folks, got some important information today.

As noted above, my camera has failed.  I contacted Super Circuits and the first question they asked is how I powered the camera.  When I told them it was with the house battery bank, they told me that was probably the problem.

It turns out that some (but not all) cameras have a plus/minus voltage tolerance of 10%.  When the alternator is charging, it is well over the 10% range.  They said that these cameras should be supplied power from a regulated supply.  His suggestion was:  http://www.supercircuits.com/Power-Supplies/Single-Camera-Power/DC12-1000R.  That has enough current capacity to power three of the cameras.  They do not carry a regulator which can be driven by 12V, but told me he thinks Radio Shack type stores would have one.

Since their website did not say that the camera required a regulated power supply (indeed, the current wording suggests that it is built in -- they are changing that), they will repair or replace the camera.

I had mentioned that I had other cheap cameras fail.  My guess is that it was the same problem.

Bottom line, the safe bet  is to feed your camera power from a regulated power supply.  Now that I think about it, the cameras in the SilverLeaf demo box had some sort of voltage regulator built in (powered by 12 V).  I will try to find out what they use.

Jim

[PP]

Thanks Jim, I think you just explained why mine failed on the second trip after installing it. I was also experiencing battery overcharging due to a failed battery in the house bank at the time. I forgot to disconnect everything before I started pulling batteries. The camera didn't work the next time I fired up the bus but had been working fine prior to that episode. Explains a lot. Maybe I should have put this reply in the 2 seconds of stupid equals lost dollars and time thread 
Thanks again, Will

[niles500]

Jim - I was going to start a thread about power regulators (so I'll just hijack yours) My Kenwood dash stereo was cutting out (4 channel 50watt RMS per) and I couldn't figure it out (almost trashed it and replaced it but it is too nice) I then realized that when I was shore powered I had no problem - Turns out the stereo was wired to one of the house banks and not the chassis bank as I had assumed - Well the unit evidently has low voltage protection and resets itself when the voltage drops below the set point -

I seem to remember someone having similar problems (though I can't find it in the archives) and they solved it with an inline volatge regualtor/booster - If you know of any such (there are many available) that can handle THIS MUCH power (most are small low amp models) I'd be obliged - THANKS

[rv_safetyman]

I had kissed off the cheap cameras that I had tried before (less than $20 on Ebay), since they did not last very long.  With the knowledge of the need for a power regulator, I am willing to go back and try them again for the side camera.

I can no longer find the units I bought before, and the seller may be out of business.  I did find some new "night" cameras for less than $25 (straight from Hong Kong  ) that I might think about (reference ebay  320302286327 and a bunch more).  Anybody buy from off shore via Ebay?

I did talk to SilverLeaf and the cameras in the display box came with the power regulators.

Niles, there are lots of good 120V power supplies that would run off your inverter.  Since you need to do some rewiring anyway, you might think about that.  That would address both low and high voltage.  One example is:  http://www.supercircuits.com/Power-Supplies/DC12~10000.  That is 10 amps and may not be enough for what you want.

[prevost82]

I bought mine from RV Cams and installed it 5 yrs ago, haven't had any problems. It's hooked up to the coach power, not house power.
Ron

[niles500]

Thanks for the help Jim - but I don't want to rewire, and just need 12 volt booster - I'll keep looking -