Inexpensive Wireless Backup Camera
Wanted one, rather than "needed" so I took a chance on one of the Chinese backup cameras off eBay. It arrived today, and since we're in the middle of a blizzard, I didn't install it today.
But I did pull it out and power it up.
It works.
Surprisingly well for $80.
Obviously, we'll see about longevity, but all it has to do is last more than 1/3rd the life of the more expensive ones. :)
Initial impressions.
- Sheet of "instructions" are worthless. Not even "almost", just worthless. But it's not too hard to figure it out. 12V+ to the red wires, ground to the blacks and the blue wire goes to the backup light.
- Image quality? Hmmm. Pretty darned good for the price. Colors seem to be off, but that's common in low cost CCD cameras.
- Wireless Range? Untested. Stay tuned.
- Display? 7" display with dashmount. Looks good. There are - hmm what's the word? "Back up lines" on the display with distance indications in meters. I don't know if they can be disabled. I'll figure that out later. Also there's a mildly annoying "STOP" flashing at the bottom of the display.
- Heft? Decent. The metal on the camera looks comparable to what I saw in the stores on the more expensive ones.
As soon as the blizzard abates, I'll head out and do an installation and report back. But so far (which isn't very far), it's looking like a good deal. :)
See: Wireless Backup Camera on eBay
But I did pull it out and power it up.
It works.
Surprisingly well for $80.
Obviously, we'll see about longevity, but all it has to do is last more than 1/3rd the life of the more expensive ones. :)
Initial impressions.
- Sheet of "instructions" are worthless. Not even "almost", just worthless. But it's not too hard to figure it out. 12V+ to the red wires, ground to the blacks and the blue wire goes to the backup light.
- Image quality? Hmmm. Pretty darned good for the price. Colors seem to be off, but that's common in low cost CCD cameras.
- Wireless Range? Untested. Stay tuned.
- Display? 7" display with dashmount. Looks good. There are - hmm what's the word? "Back up lines" on the display with distance indications in meters. I don't know if they can be disabled. I'll figure that out later. Also there's a mildly annoying "STOP" flashing at the bottom of the display.
- Heft? Decent. The metal on the camera looks comparable to what I saw in the stores on the more expensive ones.
As soon as the blizzard abates, I'll head out and do an installation and report back. But so far (which isn't very far), it's looking like a good deal. :)
See: Wireless Backup Camera on eBay
