[Nailing Malarkey]

Good grief, yes of course what was I thinking?

When you turned the camera upside down did the left and right work out or are they flipped as I suspect?

 

[schwejo]

Actually I think ithe image is OK. A little TMI here, but I'm recovering as we speak from a little outpatient hernia patch that I had on friday. Things got too busy for me to finalize how I was going to hook it all up. I may just leave the VR3 under the seat just as a means to end to get the dispaly on the NAV. Seems like a waste of the VR3 display, but my other thought was to make a little bracket that would hold the VR3 just below the hood release. I like to keep things a little incognito. Thats still a compromise, but I had wired it to be on all the time and that would still allow me to have a view to the rear without having to put the drive selector in R. The other thought someone else posted was to mount the VR3 so you could see it when you look over your shoulder which would also be nice, but that goes against my original wish to be able to keep an eye on on anything I might be towing. Im still undecided.

But... looking at this http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=244337&postcount=16

The picture displaying on the VR3 is correct. Its a little hard to see, but the picture is the house across the street. There is a car on the left parked at the curb and the garage is the lower side of the roof line. If you compare it to the pic on displaying on the NAV it looks like the pic is simply upside dowm and that mechanically rotating the camera would produce the exact picure on the NAV that is now showing on the VR3. Of course the VR3 image would now be upside down, but of course that can be adjusted with the VR3 controls. So unless the Vicodin is getting the best of me, I think the image will be the one I want. This project was on my shortlist to complete, and still is. Hopefully in the next week. I will post progress good bad or otherwise

 

[waross]

Ok I read the whole thread; however I am not understanding one thing. How do you turn the screen to the camera and back again. Is it totally dependent on input power from camera or can you switch from the buttons on the headunit? And what is the inout plug to the right of the one you used on the back of the nav unit?

 

[ExF150Driver]

Ok I read the whole thread; however I am not understanding one thing. How do you turn the screen to the camera and back again. Is it totally dependent on input power from camera or can you switch from the buttons on the headunit? And what is the inout plug to the right of the one you used on the back of the nav unit?

The screen changes to the camera when you shift into reverse.

 

[waross]

The screen changes to the camera when you shift into reverse.

So it is a control built into the nav unit from the transmission? Or is it a voltage thing on the jack?

 

[ExF150Driver]

So it is a control built into the nav unit from the transmission? Or is it a voltage thing on the jack?

Check out the pdf wiring diagram that is linked to in the first post of this thread. The transmission select lever has a swithch that interfaces to the nav unit.

 

[waross]

Check out the pdf wiring diagram that is linked to in the first post of this thread. The transmission select lever has a swithch that interfaces to the nav unit.

Oh so based on the wiring diagram there is no way to use that video in for anything other than a backup camera; that is unless you unhook the signal coming from the transmission sensor and somehow rig that to a manual switch somewhere.......Does that transmission swtich do anything else for th enav unit though?

 

[ExF150Driver]

The factory plug on the back of the navigation unit has a pin configuration as follows:

Pin (1) is a constant 8 volts dc. I assume that is the voltage the factory camera uses but its not enough to power an aftermarket 12vdc camera.
Pin (2) is the video ground or shield
Pins (3 & 4) are not used
Pin (5) is the video line (center pin)
Pins (6 & 7) are jumpered together. I’m not sure what they do but they have to be jumpered together.

My new camera arrived today and I will be installing it tomorrow. Do you happen to know if pin 1 was always hot at 8vdc or only at 8vdc when in reverse? My camera has a wide tolerance of input voltage and if the 8vdc is switched by reverse it would be a handy spot to pickup power for the camera.

TIA

 

[BPD138]

Hi,

From what I can remember pin (1) is always hot (8vdc) when the truck is turned on. It would make more sense to get the reverse signal for power from the taillights because its a shorter distance to the camera. If you are using an aftermarket video switcher such as the soundgate VIDHOND4 it is much easier to get the reverse signal from the drivers side rear passenger rocker panel. You can get constant 12vdc power from the rear Auxillary power outlet on the back of the center console. Just pop the back off the center console and tap into the outlet wires. Its also easy and neat to run the wires to the underside of the drivers seat

Good luck,

Willie

 

[schwejo]

When you turned the camera upside down did the left and right work out or are they flipped as I suspect?

Oh well, you were exactly right, I have a beautiful but reversed image using the output from the VR3. I didnt have any real world experience with these little cameras before this and I hadnt checked the image carefully enough. At this point I will go ahead and leave it because much of my need is during parallel parking in close quarters so even a reversed image is a big help. I quite interested if a wired non oem camera displays the same. I know that many (most?) display a reversed image and rely on the NAV display to correct the image. Can anyone confirm that a standard wired camera will display correcty on our NAV systems?

 

[schwejo]

Just an alternate way to mount a VR3 display. Downside is that it’s not exactly line of site, when looking forward but the wheel spokes do provide a full view and I do have the VR3 also displaying on the NAV display. (even though the image is reversed) I’ll have to see how it is to live with a reversed image. Right now I’m thinking that as long as you are aware of the situation, it’s still a pretty big help in most situations over no image.

The dash construction is symmetrical on the right side so I can easily move the camera to the right side if I don’t end up liking it on the left. That would put it a little more in the field of view when you are checking your mirror. The camera is just attached with Velcro brand “industrial” adhesive which I find works pretty well even in hot car interiors. The bracket will just hang there, but I also put a spot of Velcro between it and the dash just to attach it a little better and stop any possible rattles.

 

[djeaux]

That is a clever mount and would be good for mounting switches as well as monitors! Thanks for posting.

 

[schwejo]

The material is just some left over 12 in wide aluminum termite barrier used in construction. It’s pretty thin and easy to work with. I folded the sides over about a quarter inch first for a little added strength and to remove sharp edges and then just fastened it together with a couple pop rivets. I started out looking for something slightly heavier, but for my use this ended up to be quite strong. This isn’t going anywhere, and I can press the display controls without any back movement. I did like that using something relatively thin doesn’t separate the panels much, but ideally I think I would have started out with a little heavier material.

 

[ExF150Driver]

Here is my take on the aftermarket camera discussion..

First thanks to BPD138 for his work to provide us the pinout and wiring information. Also thanks to others in the thread and linked threads that provided answers to my questions.

I tried using the VR3 camera and for me I had too much interference for my taste. The interference combined with the fact that the image was not reversed and the night time light sensitivity was fairly weak lead me to seek another camera.

After a fair amount of research, I decided to go with a Boyo VTE100 camera that can be purchased in the $119 - $129 range. The Boyo cameras have low current draw, very good night time low light sensitivity and a wide field of view. I created my own bracket to mount the camera at the license plate. As outlined in the first post, I routed my wires down the drivers side of the bed behind the composite panels and into the cabin at the same point. I did wire the camera into the driver's side tail light to pickup power since I already had the drivers side panels removed.

A wide angle and fairly close range picture of the mounting are attached below. I did not include pictures of the install since they were well documented in the first post.

Not to bash the VR3 but I found for my taste the Boyo provides a much better image at a slightly higher cost. Night time performance is a dramatic improvement over the VR3. YMMV

I welcome any questions or comments....

 

[jds1500]

Thanks for the information ExF150Driver, your set up looks great and much better than the OEM look. I'm thinking of doing a copy cat of your job on my 07 RTL, with the same camera and wiring hook up that was supplied from BPD138into the Navagation. I'm a little concerned with the wiring without the interface, but I'm going to give it a shot. I just bought my Truck two weeks ago.
Do you think when you get a chance that you could post a picture of your image from the Nav so I can see what your seeing with that particular camera and placement?

 

[htaddict]

jds1500,

I went with the Boyo VTL-300. I have an aftermarket NAV unit, but here are pictures of the camera installed along with day/night camera views for comparison.

More details about the install and the camera field of view are in my install thread:

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18624

 

[shovelhd]

I have a Farenheit. It's a tapered plate frame that slips right into the factory slot, no cutting.

This is the best picture I have of it.

 

[ExF150Driver]

Thanks for the information ExF150Driver, your set up looks great and much better than the OEM look. I'm thinking of doing a copy cat of your job on my 07 RTL, with the same camera and wiring hook up that was supplied from BPD138into the Navagation. I'm a little concerned with the wiring without the interface, but I'm going to give it a shot. I just bought my Truck two weeks ago.
Do you think when you get a chance that you could post a picture of your image from the Nav so I can see what your seeing with that particular camera and placement?

I'll get some pictures tomorrow and post them as requested. If you are worried about the wiring the connector to the Nav unit I can solder one up for you and leave a RCA jack on the video connection. I'd only ask that you cover the parts and shipping no charge for the labor.

 

[jds1500]

I'll get some pictures tomorrow and post them as requested. If you are worried about the wiring the connector to the Nav unit I can solder one up for you and leave a RCA jack on the video connection. I'd only ask that you cover the parts and shipping no charge for the labor.

ExF150Driver

Man I'd really appreciate that....I'm pretty handy, but not so much in the electrical department. I would love to do it over the Christmas Holiday while I have some time off, plus I have an A.R.E. cap order and I need to have my camera installed prior to the cap going on. They told me two to three weeks. I was planning on ordering the parts today so I'm ready to ROCk and Roll on the installation.

I'm new to the ROC and have learned alot of info since I've purchased my truck a few weeks ago.

ExF150Driver, thanks for your help and here's my email address so we can connect about the part. jds1500@comcast.net

 

[newridger]

Great info on back up camera.
But it seems to me there would already be a wire installed for the back up cam from the factory.
is there a easier way than taking the bead line out.
I really like you camera system however I am a little unsure of myself on that install