Who's running a backup camera?

The Green Goat

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And what kind? I looked on Amazon, and of course, there are 2000 different Chinesium models to choose from. Anyone got one they really like?

Wireless video would probably be preferred.
 
Alan_Vander

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Alan_Vander

Alan_Vander

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Definitely NOT Chinese, at all. lol.
its been on 2.5 yrs and i dont own a garage. lol.
IMG 20200109 120900280


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Killroy720

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I have an old Garmin 30 wireless backup camera that I'm going to use. It hooks up to the reverse lights
 
DRZRon1

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I wired mine from battery to a switch to the camera - it comes on with key on power and stays on until I turn key off
 
906UP

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And what kind? I looked on Amazon, and of course, there are 2000 different Chinesium models to choose from. Anyone got one they really like?

Wireless video would probably be preferred.
Good luck finding one that isn't Chinese, even the so-called name brand.....Garmin, etc are gonna be made in China.

I have a wireless model on the Talon, I connect it to the tablet I use for trail maps, it works OK-ish
 
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dweber23tr

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Did you wire it through the harness harness meant for back up lights?
To power and turn on the camera yes, if you only want it as a backup camera. This is how I did mine. The harness from the club store makes it super easy
 
Alaska350

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im running a wired one. it does good small screen on it though

LeeKooLuu Backup Camera and... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XKPQ6YZ?tag=sxsweb24-20

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Did you wire it through the harness harness meant for back up lights?
To power and turn on the camera yes, if you only want it as a backup camera. This is how I did mine. The harness from the club store makes it super easy
that is what I got along with the camera listed from Amazon above.
 
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Scoop

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I installed a $25 Blue Elf WiFi camera under the roof on the back of the Pioneer. Ran 12V power back to it from a switch on the dash. When you power the camera up, it broadcasts it's SSID (like a home wireless access point) and the tablet can connect directly to it.

I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.7" tablet in a RAM mount on the ROPS that I run Agama Car Launcher 'dashboard' on. Agama is typically used as a 'front end' for double DIN car stereos that run Android, but clearly can work on an Android tablet or phone, too.

I've customized Agama so that all my various software is available from it (e.g., Lifetime Trailmaps, music player, etc.). One of the apps is the software for the backup camera.

So if I need the backup camera, I just flip the dash switch to power the camera and open the camera app on the tablet. The tablet is set up to automatically reconnect to the camera via WiFi SSID. When it does, you'll see what's behind you:

1698378145914


There's a couple second delay between hitting the power switch and the camera being ready to accept the connection from the tablet, but not too bad.

I thought about powering the camera from the reverse backup light circuit but figured that would NOT be a good idea if I had to switch between reverse and forward several times while backing up -- the power would get cut off whenever you shift out of reverse, so I'd have to wait a few seconds after shifting into reverse each time. Hence, the manual switch.

Link to Agama Car Launcher software

1698377722908

Link to Blue Elf WiFi camera
1698377460028
 
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Tramguage1

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I would like to have a rear camera, but I want one that has an app that I can run split screen with Lifetime maps at the same time.
 
Scoop

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I would like to have a rear camera, but I want one that has an app that I can run split screen with Lifetime maps at the same time.
Like this, @Tramguage1? Many Samsung Galaxy tablets do that natively.

20231102 223411

That's LTM on the left and my camera app (for the Wifi camera on the P1K5) on the right. I'm not connected to the camera right now, but if I was, it would be there in place of the pic on the right.
 
Scoop

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You can also run one app in a resizeable, moveable pop-up window on top of another.

20231102 225623
 
Tramguage1

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Like this, @Tramguage1? Many Samsung Galaxy tablets do that natively.

View attachment 408429

That's LTM on the left and my camera app (for the Wifi camera on the P1K5) on the right. I'm not connected to the camera right now, but if I was, it would be there in place of the pic on the right.
Exactly! Which camera and app you using?
 
Scoop

Scoop

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Exactly! Which camera and app you using?
With the Samsung tablet, it doesn't matter which app you run. It will run any two apps split screen (or pop-up overlay). So any camera app for your Android tablet will work. I think they started the split screen on Samsung devices back in 2018 with Android 9.0.

The camera I have is just a $25 WiFi 12V camera from Amazon. I think the name was Blue Elf. It claims IP67 waterproof, but I installed it on the underside of the OEM roof so it doesn't take direct rain. I have it on a Carling switch - some hook to reverse power, but I wanted to avoid the few seconds of delay between powering it up and when it starts broadcasting the SSID. I have my tablet set to auto-connect to that SSID only. So basically, I flip the switch, wait a couple seconds, then open the app and it connects to the camera.

The exact listing for the camera I bought is gone, but I'm pretty sure this is the same camera from another seller:

The app is MRT-Camera. The instructions that came with my camera said to use that app.
 
Scoop

Scoop

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@Tramguage1, here is a pic of my tablet showing the split screen of LTM and my backup camera software.

2023 11 05 114949


After I sent you the link to the camera, I actually ordered one for the Talon (I only have one on the P1K5 right now).
 
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eolesen

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I run a backup camera when I'm towing.... hadn't considered it on the 700 but everything is portable, so why not?

Only wired cameras for me because I found the latency from a wireless camera to be more than I'm willing to tolerate operating a vehicle. We had a wireless one for a while with our motorhome, and a few times I would see a car out my left driver's window before it appeared on the camera display.

Having a half second to 1 second delay while backing up could kill somebody or cause a wreck.

I run power from the 12 volt accessory plug which allows my camera to stay on at all times.

Definitely a bigger issue when I'm towing the 29 ft RV, but it's nice to be able to have a clear view behind the gate of the utility trailer as well.

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