Well, we are back from our first outing with the Way Interglobal camera in service. I will report here my experience of use.
Fired up the jeep and turned on the headlights at home. Camera immediately connected. By the time I reached the end of my driveway, I got a message "no signal" showing on the monitor. As I turned, I had image, but as I straightened out, it went out again. As I worked my way through the plains towards the mountains, this behavior continued. I did notice that as vehicles passed me, or as I drove under bridges, the signal would flicker on momentarily. As I got into heavier tree cover the signal was slightly more reliable, although not consistently on. There were fewer periods of no signal, but still the greater portion was inoperable.
When we arrived at the campground, I noticed that the antenna had swiveled, and was pointing downward. During some down time on Saturday I pulled the camera down off the back of the trailer, and did a couple things. I thought maybe I pinched the antenna cord when I flipped the camera in the mount. So I disassembled the camera itself to flip the circuitry inside the camera housing itself, and to get the antenna lead to route through its prescribed slot. In its proper orientation, the green LED is to the lower right of the lens as shown below, and the antenna cord properly aligns with the slot in the mounting bracket.
I also realized upon reassembly that it's possible the antenna wasn't fully seated, but getting it seated properly was near impossible. I tightened the antenna the best I could, then added a drop of glue to the antenna where the spinning nut meets the body of the antenna. Once dry, I physically rotated the antenna to seat it. Once snug, the glue popped and I was able to realign the antenna to point upwards. Another drop of glue to hold it vertical.
Everything seemed to be working well after this, at least while parked at our site. I was able to sit for about 10 minutes without the signal dropping.
Even as we meandered out of the campground this morning, I had signal til we reached the open road. Once we were out of the trees cover, however, it was back to dropped signal except in traffic and under the bridges.
When we got home and disconnected I did some additional diagnosis. I used a jumper to keep the trailer lights on when not hooked to the jeep. I turned the jeep around and pulled in facing the trailer. No issues with connectivity. Turned around again and had shoddy reception. I was able to drive 100 yards up the street and retain signal. That direction is uphill.
I am thinking that the angle and path of the signal between the antennas is just not conducive to retain the connection. We have a metal sided trailer and a longish roofline on our TV (jeep Cherokee, vs say a single cab pickup). I just don't think things are strong enough to get a good connection.
I have ordered a 9dBi antenna with a 3 foot extension cable to try to help with the signal loss. The antenna on the monitor side is just like the external antenna on your average Linksys wifi router, so a replacement was easy to find. Should be here before our next outing this coming weekend.
I must admit I am not all that happy with this system right now. I was worried about the fact that it is wireless. That technology, in my opinion, is too flaky for a product that could be marketed as a safety product. My Camper is a short one too, an 18 foot box. I would hate to see how this camera would behave with a longer rig.
