backup camera and monitor

[Don Bradner]

My backup monitor went haywire a few days ago. Bright/Dim/Bright/Dim then
eventually just dim. Found that, with contrast and brightness all the way up I
could see a sort of ghost image, but that's all.

Pulled the monitor chassis and inspected everything visually, couldn't find
anything obvious. Put it back together and it was the same.

I think this was an original monitor, but the camera had been replaced by a
previous owner.

I wasn't in a position to order anything, and I don't like running without a
working monitor, so I hit Best Buy in Springfield, IL to see what I could put
together. They carry 3 backup items; two cameras and a wireless
transmitter/receiver. One of the cameras is a license-plate frame, and the other
a standard swivel-mount, 130-degree wide-angle, selectable normal or reverse.
Price is $99.99.

With a reversable camera any monitor would work. Looked through their assortment
of automobile DVD units and settled on one that has two screens in a
master/slave arrangement; both have A/V inputs as well. The slave is nice and
thin. Available in 7 inch for $229 or 9 inch for $339. The 9-inch would have
been too big to mount where the old monitor was, so settled for 7-inch.

Hooked up first with the old BW camera to make sure the cable wasn't the
problem, and it wasn't. I neglected to note if it was reversed or not, so I
still don't know if it was the camera or the monitor that did the reversing - I
presume it was the monitor.

Did splicing of video and power cables at each end, and now I have color backup
for $330, which looks to be a decent price. When started up the 7-inch wide
screen is in stretch mode at 16:9. There is a button on the front to take it to
standard 4:3. After running it today on the road for the first time I found that
I prefer stretched, even if it does make my Jeep Liberty look wider than a
Hummer!

I have not mounted it yet, just ran it with its own tilt stand on the dash. I
will probably mount it to the face of the old monitor's plexi cover. I may see
if I can split the video and run to the DVD Player/monitor as well, as my wife
likes to see that the car is still there and I can mount it overhead on the
passenger side.

Don Bradner
90 PT40 "Blue Thunder"
Posting today by satellite from Paducah, KY
My location: http://www.bbirdmaps.com/user2.cfm?user=1