donbarry Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 We are looking to buy a wireless reversing camera kit for our Fiat Lunar Champ A511. Can anybody recommend a reasonable easy to fit kit with clear imaging. Prefably with a 5 or 7 inch monitor please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 I would recommend you go for a wired one, wireless ones are notorious for interference & picture break up. They are almost as easy to fit and a lot more reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dave Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 lennyhb - 2012-12-03 12:07 PM I would recommend you go for a wired one, wireless ones are notorious for interference & picture break up. They are almost as easy to fit and a lot more reliable. I agree. With wireless you still have to get a supply to the camera and a supply to the display unit so whilst you are at it running a cable from the camera to the display does not cause that much extra work. Ty-wrapping the cable and protecting it under the vehicle whilst a bit fiddly is not too arduous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Yep I agree, you have to run power to it, so you may as well run the video cables as at the same time, fitted a twin view camera to Horace a couple of months ago, all fairly straight forward, although I did leave connecting up to a mobile vehicle technician ;-).................he charged me £20 as I'd done all the time consuming work........a local caravan dealer quoted me £250 to install it 8-) ............but given the time involved in running cables it was probably a fair price for a commercial operation ;-) Mine is wired so its permanently on when the ignition is turned on as it acts as my rear view mirror B-) PS......forgot to add AliB a resident of this parish did me a good deal on the camera kit ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donbarry Posted December 3, 2012 Author Share Posted December 3, 2012 We were informed by a local caravan/car fitter that it would be very expensive to fit a wired kit as they would have to remove panels and it wasn't recommended due to the toilet & shower room being at the rear of the vehicle. They therefore suggested fitting a wireless unit. Sorry we are new to this and only just recently bought the motorhome(Lunar Champ A511). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliB Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Wireless cameras and monitors operate on the 2.4GHz band. This band is shared with many other wireless products such as broadband routers, cordless phones and baby monitors. The receiver within the monitor will pickup and display the strongest signal within range. This may not be the signal from the transmitting camera. Or several signals may compete against each other. The result can be a very poor picture. Sometimes wireless systems give good results and people are very happy with their purchase. Until they move the vehicle to an area of high interference. The only wireless systems which show constant results are the digitally encrypted products. These type of systems work on a pairing principle, once the receiver has found the required transmitting signal they are locked together. Hence blocking out interfering signals. This type of system is expensive £200 plus so you can easily have a wired system professionally fitted for less. Most motorhomes have a bathroom, kitchen or other obstacles on the rear wall. This does not pose a problem to professional fitters who have experience in this type of work. As Pelmetman stated the cost of fitting can varyenormously so try several places. If you tell us your location someone may be advise of suitable installers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 donbarry - 2012-12-03 2:14 PM We were informed by a local caravan/car fitter that it would be very expensive to fit a wired kit as they would have to remove panels and it wasn't recommended due to the toilet & shower room being at the rear of the vehicle. They therefore suggested fitting a wireless unit. Sorry we are new to this and only just recently bought the motorhome(Lunar Champ A511). In principle it should be significantly easier to install a wireless reversing-camera system in a motorhome than to fit a wired system. As long as it's only intended to use the system when reversing, the traditional way to provide power to the camera is to 'piggy-back' on the wiring of the motorhome's reversing-light - when the reversing-light comes on so does the camera and there's no need to run a cable between rear-mounted camera and front-mounted monitor. Difficulties (potentially) arise when it's wished to use the camera system while the motorhome is being driven forwards as well as in reverse in order to provide continuous rear-view information at all times. For this to happen the camera needs to have an uninterrupted electrical power supply that should only be 'live' when the motorhome's engine is running. For a wireless system the source of such a supply should be close to the camera and that's seldom easy to arrange with a motorhome. With a 'wired' camera system the cable linking front monitor to rear camera can be run inside or outside the motorhome (or, where convenient, part inside and part outside). If no provision has been made by the motorhome manufacturer to fit a camera system, the simplest installation method for a wired system will often be to take the link-cable through the vehicle's floor in the cab area, route it along the motorhome's underside, bring the cable back through the floor near the rear wall, and then lead the cable up and through that wall to the camera. Details of a Lunar Champ A511 are here http://www.practicalmotorhome.com/review/motorhome/2007-lunar-champ-a511 and it's apparent that the layout (with the full-width rear washroom) may complicate routing the link-cable for a wired system. Having said that, it needs to be asked how your local caravan/car fitter plans to power a 'wireless' camera on your motorhome. More photos of an A511 are here http://www.motorhomes.mobi/Motorhomes/tabid/95/ItemID/22494/Motorhome/Lunar-Champ-A511/Default.aspx These show the motorhome's exterior rear wall, which is just a simple blank sheet of (I think) Alufiber. If the camera is to be mounted high up to obtain a good downwards view of what's just behind the vehicle, even if the power for the camera comes from the reversing-light there will still be a need to link the reversing-light to the camera. I suspect that feeding a power-cable within the rear wall would not be practicable and running the cable outside the rear wall certainly wouldn't be pretty. The logical approach would seem to be to bring the cable from the reversing-light inside the motorhome and run it up the inside of the rear wall to the camera., but to do this would be not that much easier than routing the monitor-to-camera cable for a wired system. Looking at the A511's washroom photos suggests that a cable run in trunking to the right of the washbasin and close to the shower-door should be possible and fairly unobstrusive. This company markets a wide range of systems that include cameras intended to be mounted on a vehicle's licence-plate surround. http://www.parkingcameras.com/store/home.php Wireless licence-plate cameras are also available, but I've no idea how effective a low-mounted camera would be on a motorhome, not how well such systems function regarding picture quality. I just mention them because they should simplify installation. It may also be worth mentioning that a 7" monitor takes up a good deal of room. The Waeco system I fitted to my Hobby motorhome has one (and the monitor in pelmetman's lower photo looks like 7"-er). If you opt for a big monitor you may find mounting it where it's easily viewed but doesn't produce a large blind-spot when driving may be a challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliB Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Derek, the monitor we supplied to Pelmetman is indeed a 7" monitor. This is now the most popular size of screen. This size of screen has a much smaller bezel than a 5" model so the overall size is only marginally bigger. 7" monitor case dimensions 170mm (w) x 115mm (h) 5" monitor case dimensions 150mm (w) x 110mm (h) It is usually the height that is the critical factor in people's choice so 5mm usually swings it towards the 7" monitor. Of course it all depends on where you intend to mount the monitor. You get much better results if the monitor has a dark background like the dash board. You struggle to see detail on some of the mirror mounted monitors when the sun is shining through the windscreen. They need an exceptional contrast ratio to cope with the vast changes in ambient light, which most do not have. I always likde Clive's position of fitting the monitor on the headlining above the rearview mirror. http://www.motts.org/REAR%20VIEW%20CAMERA.htm We always recommend this to customers but few seem to like that position. License plate mounted cameras are good for cars but will give blind spots at each corner of the vehicle. Especially at night when the infra red LEDs have nowhere near the angle of spread required to fully illuminate the area behind the vehicle.. You get a much better view with the camera mounted as high as possible on the vehicle. From the images of the Lunar you so kindly provided, it looks like there is a high level brake light. Therefore the same cable route could be followed for the camera cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Derek Uzzell - 2012-12-03 5:45 PM the simplest installation method for a wired system will often be to take the link-cable through the vehicle's floor in the cab area, route it along the motorhome's underside, bring the cable back through the floor near the rear wall, and then lead the cable up and through that wall to the camera. That's the route I took ;-)..............although I came back up through the floor just behind the cab and took the cables under the carpet to the dash............all in all a day and a half's work :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donbarry Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 Thanks to everyone who took the time and trouble to reply. We live near peterborough and as suggested we will be looking at other garages who might be willing to fit a wired camera unit rather than a wireless one if it is cheaper and gives clearer images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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