Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Testing the 5th wheel back end TV colour monitoring system

White Rock beach...where we live.
I've got a story to tell but these photos bear no relevance to today's musings. They are there for the colour only.  The story is positive though.

Soon to cruise
Well there is not much to report on - nor has there been - these past few days.  Oh yes, we have been busy but mainly with trivial things that need to be done but hardly warrant writing about.  You know of what I speak.  It's the mundane stuff of every day life.

I thought that today would be a good day to test out the new colour camera and the in-cab TV monitor for the 5th wheel.  I ordered and received a high quality - hard wired - colour camera that will be mounted at the top centre of the back end of the 5th wheel.  With a seven inch (7") colour TV for in-cab monitoring, Jeanette and I will be able to keep an eye on the swivel-wheel - with motorcycle loaded - and it will come in handy when backing into parking spaces.  Although we utilize Motorola radios to communicate when backing into or driving out of tight spaces, this camera will be most helpful.  We can install a recording device - in the 5th wheel - that will continuously record the swivel-wheel and motorcycle when we are camped or simply parked somewhere.  That could keep the honest crook honest - if you get my meaning!!!
Mt. Rushmore.  Loved it there and we'll be back there again.  The Black Hills of South Dakota are a big tourist draw. This is a beautiful part of North America.
Also a beautiful part of North America.  Late Fall on the west coast of Canada
So I hooked everything up to the F-350 - plugged into the 12 volt receptacle - placed the camera about 35 ft away and was rewarded with a great quality TV image in the truck cab.  The camera lived up to its billing by the seller.  It is of very high quality.  One can also install two more cameras if required.  Examples would be to install one camera for each side of the 5th wheel.  I do not plan to do that.  A good quality image out back of the 5th suits us just fine. This TV monitor also has a USB port and and SD card port to view photos or video wile traveling.  Jeanette can always insert the SD card from her camera, while I am driving, and screen the multitude of photos she takes.  The monitor also has two mini speakers with controls. It comes with a full function remote control too.  How good is that?
One of our most favourite motorcycle rides - North Cascades of Washington State.  There are so many great rides in the Canadian and US Pacific Northwest.
I chose the hard wired monitoring system over the wireless system based on strong evidence from the serious research I put into this.  The wireless systems are OK but they tend to suffer from frequency interference - especially in high frequency areas.  Cell phone and short wave frequencies can have a negative effect too.  I read many complaints about the wireless systems and that influenced my decision to go with the tried and true hard wired system.  The signal I saw today was crisp and clear.  Incredible quality, really!
Soon to travel to.....
I did not take photos of the monitoring system today but I will post shots and thoughts when I do the complete install in the coming weeks.

That pretty much colours today's major event.

Thanks for dropping by.

1 comment:

  1. Having driven a 5'er for 5 years now, I can attest to how valuable a back camera could be in some situations. We don't have one but it's something I would be interested in some day - once all my other priority purchases are done(lol)..

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