Camera - Rear View

7" TFT Color LED Monitor and Camera

The B/W rear camera on my 1996 Safari Sahara 3530 was wired in the factory configuration, power to the driver-side switch, and video to the overhead television. Aside from the awful viewing angle, the camera began to cut in and out. Testing and re-tightening all the cables didn't resolve the problem.

Camera Upgrade

I used the problem as an opportunity to do a low cost upgrade of the system.  Shopping on eBay provided me a new high resolution camera, and a 7" TFT LED Monitor in 800x480 resolution.

IR illumination LEDs on the sides

One of the modifications I had to make to the camera was to tape over the infrared (IR) LEDs.  A sensor in the camera turns the LEDs on in low light to provide night vision.

Because the Safari's camera sits behind glass, the LEDs shine on the glass and blind the camera.  I wasn't able to find a method for turning the night vision feature off, so tape became my fix.

RCA to Coax

Replacing the old camera was easy.  I wired the new camera's power plug to the positive and negative wiring supplying the old camera.  The video coax from the original system was reused to send the video signal to the front of the motorhome by using a simple RCA to coax converter.

Monitor Upgrade

The monitor came with a lot of mounting options.  I decided to install it under the cabinets toward the center of the vehicle so it functioned like a rear view mirror.

Monitor mounted under the clock.

The monitor runs off of 12 volts DC, but the television cabinet only had 120 volts AC.  My solution was to use a 12 VDC power supply brick from an old laptop computer, and plug it into the same 120 VAC outlet that powers the television (the outlet runs off the inverter).

The location has worked well.  Despite being at the same height as the television, the center of the viewing area is lower, and having it off to the side make it easier on the neck.

Cable feeds into the original television cabinet.

Because my LCD television is larger than the old CRT television it replaced, I routed the cable for the monitor to the front of the cabinet and then inside, avoiding the need for any new holes.  The monitor  has a remote that I never use.  The infrared (IR) sensor in the monitor was being triggered by my television's remote, so I ended up putting a piece of black electrician's tape over the sensor.

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