Outrun your rear camera?

[drillagent]

So, DW and I went to the Midwest RV Show in Kansas City yesterday and stopped by a booth run by one of the local vehicle mod shops. They said they could definitely install a new Titan fuel tank in my tow vehicle, but I would have to call for pricing. While I was at it, I asked if they could install a wireless rear view camera into my 5er. The gentleman there said they could, but they prefer to install wired cameras because at highway speeds there is the tendency to "outrun the wireless signal". ???? Is that even possible? I'm no physics guru, but I thought radio waves traveled at the speed of light? Has anyone ever heard of this before or had it happen to them?

[C_B_]

I guess you could call it outrunning the camera.

Here's what was happening to my Voyager WVOS511 mounted on my 2013 Cedar Creek 36CKTS and my friend Ike's Furrion on his 2015 Cedar Creek 36CKTS with camera antenna at rear of 5er.

The screen would lock up or show no signal. I called RV Cams and ordered an 8' extension antenna. Reception got a little better but still lost signal. I call RV Cams back and ordered a 35' antenna extension cable. This made it possible to mount the antenna on the front cap. Since doing so both of our cameras have yet to lose the signal.


C.B.

[Arcamper]

The only thing that would make sense is if they are talking about the refresh rate. Some only transmit 3 frames per second and though that sounds fast it is not and if something happened it would almost look like slow motion on the screen. Its a weak argument on their part because you are not going to out run the video signal from the camera.

[GuyM]

When I was towing with my 97 GMC or my 99 Suburban I had no problems using my wireless system even from the back of the trailer. However, when I got my new 2011 GMC I could no longer get the camera to work even from the back bumper of the truck if the engine was running. Engine off perfectly clear picture even on the back of the trailer. Engine on, nothing but garbage. I'm a retired electronics tech and I could not fine the problem, and neither could the GMC dealer. I just gave up on it.

Guy

[Water-Bug]

Jframpey wrote:

reasley wrote:
You'll out run the signal only if you can exceed 186,000 miles per second.

Well... Not exactly - if you got to 1/2 the speed of light (93,000 miles per second) the travel distance would double... Say 100' instead of 50'. That'd probably be far enough to exceed the range of most cameras!

No the source of the rf signal from the camera is moving at the same speed as the receiver. However, the picture would be distorted because of the doppler effect on light hitting the camera lense. Now we know why the viewing screens on Star Trek only showed forward images.

EDIT Actually, it gets a little theoretical here, because the image of the object you passed is moving at the same speed that you are, so all you would see is the image of the object as it appeared when you left it. You might just see a picture of your driveway. 🙂

[rattleNsmoke]

reasley wrote:
You'll out run the signal only if you can exceed 186,000 miles per second.

Then would I have to upgrade my tires? :B

[Jframpey]

reasley wrote:
You'll out run the signal only if you can exceed 186,000 miles per second.

Well... Not exactly - if you got to 1/2 the speed of light (93,000 miles per second) the travel distance would double... Say 100' instead of 50'. That'd probably be far enough to exceed the range of most cameras!

[Wadcutter]

reasley wrote:
You'll out run the signal only if you can exceed 186,000 miles per second.

Is this now going to end up being a Ford v Chevy V Dodge debate? :B

[GrumpyandGrandm]

Racine96 wrote:
Someone was talking about what they don't know. I have a wireless one which I keep on most of the time with no interruptions.

X2 and our's is on all the time.

[reasley]

You'll out run the signal only if you can exceed 186,000 miles per second.

[mike54]

I bought this back up camera from tadibrothers.com it's suppose to have 65 ft Range. I had bought another model from them to mount on my license plate for hooking up my travel trailer and was really happy with it. Now I have a 5th wheel
and want to mount it on the rear of the 5er. I'm hoping it works as well as the other one did.

http://www.tadibrothers.com/Catalog/BackupCameraKits/5-Monitor-with-Wireless-Mounted-RV-Backup-Camera

[Water-Bug]

If your trailer became disconnected then you could outrun the range of the camera transmitter. But then, the wired camera would also be useless.

[We_Cant_Wait]

Bottom line, the issue could be that the distance between the rear of the 5th wheel and the cab of the truck could well be too far for the signal to reach without some sort of signal booster, and this is what they're referring to.

[dballentine]

It's due to a combination of distance, a big metal box in the way, and the low power that wireless cameras must use to avoid being licensed. By the time the signal reaches the truck, it's too weak to be useable.

It's the same reason that Tire Minder systems come with a repeater (relay) to be installed in the nose of the trailer.

[gbopp]

I agree with Harvard, it's just a metaphor they use to explain the poor quality of the wireless camera.

I guess it's like trying to outrun the beam from police radar. It doesn't happen.

[Racine96]

Someone was talking about what they don't know. I have a wireless one which I keep on most of the time with no interruptions.