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Electronics Repair (sci.electronics.repair) Discussion of repairing electronic equipment. Topics include requests for assistance, where to obtain servicing information and parts, techniques for diagnosis and repair, and annecdotes about success, failures and problems. |
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Video camera to portable TV
Good afternoon,
This message is being sent to two groups (rec.video, sci.electronics.repair) in the hopes that I can find an answer I building a remotely operated camera for the rear of my truck. It is home-made with pan-tilt capabilities and some PICs to control the RF transmitter and reciever. Basically, I have everything done, except connecting the recieved video to a small pocket LCD TV with no video inputs. This TV only has an antenna input. I know an RF adaptor can be used, but I also know that a standard composite RCA-type input can be directly wired to most such circuit boards. I just saw one done the other day, where the two camera outputs were directly soldered to the board, and the TV only recieved the camera input. [I recall him saying something about an existing S-video connection hidden somewhere on the board to which the soldered the cable.] I can't find a description of how to connect video to TVs anywhere on the web, although I saw an instructional page a few years back, that I can no longer find. Does anyone know how to attach a video input directly to a portable TV with no video inputs? Thank you for any tips or leads! Paul |
#2
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Video camera to portable TV
Paul:
The easiest and very possibly the cheapest way to do this is with an RF Modulator...... many available and inexpensive RF Modulator units utilize a "wall-wart" outlet mounted AC Adapter for their power source.... so it would be relatively easy to have it run off of your vehicle 12 volt battery instead. To modify the pocket LCD television may or may not (very likely it is not and in fact may be very difficult) be an easy task but since all makes and models of pocket LCD portable televisions do not use the same design, circuitry and parts, I am certain that it is obvious to you that without posting the MAKE and MODEL NUMBER of the television you should not be expecting any kind of specific helpful television modification suggestions. Frankly...... my very best suggestion to you is to go after the RF Modulator approach. -- Best Regards, Daniel Sofie Electronics Supply & Repair - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Paul" wrote in message Basically, I have everything done, except connecting the recieved video to a small pocket LCD TV with no video inputs. This TV only has an antenna input. I know an RF adaptor can be used, but I also know that a standard composite RCA-type input can be directly wired to most such circuit boards. I just saw one done the other day, where the two camera outputs were directly soldered to the board, and the TV only recieved the camera input. [I recall him saying something about an existing S-video connection hidden somewhere on the board to which the soldered the cable.] I can't find a description of how to connect video to TVs anywhere on the web, although I saw an instructional page a few years back, that I can no longer find. Does anyone know how to attach a video input directly to a portable TV with no video inputs? Thank you for any tips or leads! Paul |
#3
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Video camera to portable TV
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for your reply! You are of course completely right, an RF modulator is the easiest way. I already have such a transmitter, and it is sending to the recieving unit which then can only output a composite video signal--hence my desire to attach it in the manner described. I can also get a pure RF modulator which sends to a specific channel, but I would prefer to not go this route. You are also right that without a specific TV make and model, it's hard to give real information. But, as the non-TV-expert, it is easy for me to say that there may be general information pertaining to television sets, such as: "Well, first we have the tuner, which usually outputs data in such and such format, at at this stage we have the optional RCA/S-Video video inputs, and then either of these data goes into the CRT/LCD driver chip", or something similar. I'm guessing there's a most efficient way to make TV sets, and most manufacturers follow this for cost efficiency. From this info it may be relatively simple to hack into various TVs. I know that one guy did it with soldering just the two wires into the right place Am I way off base? Thank you, Paul "Sofie" wrote in message ... Paul: The easiest and very possibly the cheapest way to do this is with an RF Modulator...... many available and inexpensive RF Modulator units utilize a "wall-wart" outlet mounted AC Adapter for their power source.... so it would be relatively easy to have it run off of your vehicle 12 volt battery instead. To modify the pocket LCD television may or may not (very likely it is not and in fact may be very difficult) be an easy task but since all makes and models of pocket LCD portable televisions do not use the same design, circuitry and parts, I am certain that it is obvious to you that without posting the MAKE and MODEL NUMBER of the television you should not be expecting any kind of specific helpful television modification suggestions. Frankly...... my very best suggestion to you is to go after the RF Modulator approach. -- Best Regards, Daniel Sofie Electronics Supply & Repair |
#4
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Video camera to portable TV
snipped:
"Paul" wrote in message From this info it may be relatively simple to hack into various TVs. I know that one guy did it with soldering just the two wires into the right place Am I way off base? -------------------------- Paul.... Yes.... you are "way off base" (your words).... you really need to post the MAKE and MODEL NUMBER so anyone trying to give you suggestions knows what kind of television you are wanting to modify. Furthermore, your pocket LCD television is probablyl not a "normal" in home television with easy to access circuitry and common discrete components.... more than likely (again, depending on the MAKE and MODEL NUMBER) the unit will not be easily disassembled, with a circuit board that is very small and cramped with a lot of subminiature surface mount components and a lot of LSI and other propriatary chips. There is no standard way of building television sets .... each manufacture does it their own way and even the various models from the same manufacturer can be significantly differerent from each other. My best suggestion (again) is to go with the RF Modulator route.... or maybe look into low cost monitors built for the purpose you are describing..... 12 volt operation..... video inputs only (no television tuner)...... rear of vehicle monitoring...... check with truck and RV parts suppliers locally and on the internet.. -- Best Regards, Daniel Sofie Electronics Supply & Repair .. .. .. |
#6
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Video camera to portable TV
It may or may not be possible to inject the video signal directly into this
TV but a more serious problem you haven't addressed at all is that, if you intend this to be a fancy rear view mirror, then the picture observed on screen will be completely reversed to that which you would expect to see. in other words without altering the scan orientation it wont work. (Overtaking vehicles for instance will be on the wrong side). It would be a lot easier to swap the scan with a CRT type display, but modifying a LCD display in this way is potentially a much more difficult problem. Sorry I can't be a bit more helpful but this may save you a lot of time in the long run. Regards, Pete "Paul" wrote in message om... Good afternoon, This message is being sent to two groups (rec.video, sci.electronics.repair) in the hopes that I can find an answer I building a remotely operated camera for the rear of my truck. It is home-made with pan-tilt capabilities and some PICs to control the RF transmitter and reciever. Basically, I have everything done, except connecting the recieved video to a small pocket LCD TV with no video inputs. This TV only has an antenna input. I know an RF adaptor can be used, but I also know that a standard composite RCA-type input can be directly wired to most such circuit boards. I just saw one done the other day, where the two camera outputs were directly soldered to the board, and the TV only recieved the camera input. [I recall him saying something about an existing S-video connection hidden somewhere on the board to which the soldered the cable.] I can't find a description of how to connect video to TVs anywhere on the web, although I saw an instructional page a few years back, that I can no longer find. Does anyone know how to attach a video input directly to a portable TV with no video inputs? Thank you for any tips or leads! Paul |
#7
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Video camera to portable TV
Hi Pete,
Thanks for your reply! Ahh, this is true. I actually hadn't intended this to be a rear-view mirror, but for the future I'll keep this subtlety in mind since it never occured to me. Do you know how to modify a CRT to reverse the scan? That's an interesting idea. One other possibility may be to use optics to reverse the image before it gets to the camera (e.g. mount the camera backwards, then have two prisms that form a miniature periscope to the forward direction). If this is getting way off-topic, someone please let me know. Thank you, Paul "Pete Culf" wrote in message ... It may or may not be possible to inject the video signal directly into this TV but a more serious problem you haven't addressed at all is that, if you intend this to be a fancy rear view mirror, then the picture observed on screen will be completely reversed to that which you would expect to see. in other words without altering the scan orientation it wont work. (Overtaking vehicles for instance will be on the wrong side). It would be a lot easier to swap the scan with a CRT type display, but modifying a LCD display in this way is potentially a much more difficult problem. Sorry I can't be a bit more helpful but this may save you a lot of time in the long run. Regards, Pete |
#8
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Video camera to portable TV
Hello,
Again, thank you for replying. Unfortunately I do not have a make and model number yet, because I thought I'd wait on buying a specific unit, until after I'd heard from all of you. In any case, I'll really consider your idea of just using an RF modulator. Thank you for your help, Paul Paul.... Yes.... you are "way off base" (your words).... you really need to post the MAKE and MODEL NUMBER so anyone trying to give you suggestions knows what kind of television you are wanting to modify. Furthermore, your pocket LCD television is probablyl not a "normal" in home television with easy to access circuitry and common discrete components.... more than likely (again, depending on the MAKE and MODEL NUMBER) the unit will not be easily disassembled, with a circuit board that is very small and cramped with a lot of subminiature surface mount components and a lot of LSI and other propriatary chips. There is no standard way of building television sets .... each manufacture does it their own way and even the various models from the same manufacturer can be significantly differerent from each other. My best suggestion (again) is to go with the RF Modulator route.... or maybe look into low cost monitors built for the purpose you are describing..... 12 volt operation..... video inputs only (no television tuner)...... rear of vehicle monitoring...... check with truck and RV parts suppliers locally and on the internet.. |
#9
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Video camera to portable TV
Hello,
Thanks for yoru reply! This makes sense. Yes, it is very useful information, and I'll give the connections a try. Thanks! Paul A tuner will typically produce composite video, as that is what is modulated up into UHF or VHF in the first place. An RCA jack is often used for consumer composite video interfaces. That should be enough to get started. |
#10
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Video camera to portable TV
Hi Paul,
With a CRT monitor you can just reverse the horizontal scan connections to the scan coils on the yoke but an LCD screen is a totally different thing and I wouldn't dream of trying to do it. I think these things would be driven by software and are easily damaged. Of course you could mount the monitor facing away from you and look at it in a mirrormounted on the dash. Best of luck with the project. Regards, Pete "Paul" wrote in message om... Hi Pete, Thanks for your reply! Ahh, this is true. I actually hadn't intended this to be a rear-view mirror, but for the future I'll keep this subtlety in mind since it never occured to me. Do you know how to modify a CRT to reverse the scan? That's an interesting idea. One other possibility may be to use optics to reverse the image before it gets to the camera (e.g. mount the camera backwards, then have two prisms that form a miniature periscope to the forward direction). If this is getting way off-topic, someone please let me know. Thank you, Paul "Pete Culf" wrote in message ... It may or may not be possible to inject the video signal directly into this TV but a more serious problem you haven't addressed at all is that, if you intend this to be a fancy rear view mirror, then the picture observed on screen will be completely reversed to that which you would expect to see. in other words without altering the scan orientation it wont work. (Overtaking vehicles for instance will be on the wrong side). It would be a lot easier to swap the scan with a CRT type display, but modifying a LCD display in this way is potentially a much more difficult problem. Sorry I can't be a bit more helpful but this may save you a lot of time in the long run. Regards, Pete |
#11
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Video camera to portable TV
In article , Paul
writes Hello, Again, thank you for replying. Unfortunately I do not have a make and model number yet, because I thought I'd wait on buying a specific unit, until after I'd heard from all of you. In any case, I'll really consider your idea of just using an RF modulator. If you haven't bought it yet, why not buy one with a composite video input and avoid the problem? In the UK, it's illegal to have such a display active while you are driving. They are normally wired up to the reversing lights so that they can only be activated when reversing. I don't know if this is a consideration in your part of the world. -- Tim Mitchell |
#12
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Video camera to portable TV
Parts Express has a fair number of small (3"-6") video monitors. The one I
bought a year or so ago (around $100--4") had a switch to reverse the image. Apparently it was designed for use as you describe--12 volt supply, composite video input. jak "Pete Culf" wrote in message ... Hi Paul, With a CRT monitor you can just reverse the horizontal scan connections to the scan coils on the yoke but an LCD screen is a totally different thing and I wouldn't dream of trying to do it. I think these things would be driven by software and are easily damaged. Of course you could mount the monitor facing away from you and look at it in a mirrormounted on the dash. Best of luck with the project. Regards, Pete "Paul" wrote in message om... Hi Pete, Thanks for your reply! Ahh, this is true. I actually hadn't intended this to be a rear-view mirror, but for the future I'll keep this subtlety in mind since it never occured to me. Do you know how to modify a CRT to reverse the scan? That's an interesting idea. One other possibility may be to use optics to reverse the image before it gets to the camera (e.g. mount the camera backwards, then have two prisms that form a miniature periscope to the forward direction). If this is getting way off-topic, someone please let me know. Thank you, Paul "Pete Culf" wrote in message ... It may or may not be possible to inject the video signal directly into this TV but a more serious problem you haven't addressed at all is that, if you intend this to be a fancy rear view mirror, then the picture observed on screen will be completely reversed to that which you would expect to see. in other words without altering the scan orientation it wont work. (Overtaking vehicles for instance will be on the wrong side). It would be a lot easier to swap the scan with a CRT type display, but modifying a LCD display in this way is potentially a much more difficult problem. Sorry I can't be a bit more helpful but this may save you a lot of time in the long run. Regards, Pete |
#13
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Video camera to portable TV
In the UK, it's illegal to have such a display active while you are driving. They are normally wired up to the reversing lights so that they can only be activated when reversing. I don't know if this is a consideration in your part of the world. -- Tim Mitchell That's silly, why would a rearview display be illegal? Are rearview mirrors illegal too? |
#14
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Video camera to portable TV
I don't know if there is a branch of Maplins http://www.maplin.co.uk/ in
your part of the world but I see they are offering a 5.5" B/W CRT TV unit with video input for just 20 GBP that's 33.43 USD I'm sure there are alternatives wherever you are. Regards, Pete "jakdedert" wrote in message .. . Parts Express has a fair number of small (3"-6") video monitors. The one I bought a year or so ago (around $100--4") had a switch to reverse the image. Apparently it was designed for use as you describe--12 volt supply, composite video input. jak "Pete Culf" wrote in message ... Hi Paul, With a CRT monitor you can just reverse the horizontal scan connections to the scan coils on the yoke but an LCD screen is a totally different thing and I wouldn't dream of trying to do it. I think these things would be driven by software and are easily damaged. Of course you could mount the monitor facing away from you and look at it in a mirrormounted on the dash. Best of luck with the project. Regards, Pete "Paul" wrote in message om... Hi Pete, Thanks for your reply! Ahh, this is true. I actually hadn't intended this to be a rear-view mirror, but for the future I'll keep this subtlety in mind since it never occured to me. Do you know how to modify a CRT to reverse the scan? That's an interesting idea. One other possibility may be to use optics to reverse the image before it gets to the camera (e.g. mount the camera backwards, then have two prisms that form a miniature periscope to the forward direction). If this is getting way off-topic, someone please let me know. Thank you, Paul "Pete Culf" wrote in message ... It may or may not be possible to inject the video signal directly into this TV but a more serious problem you haven't addressed at all is that, if you intend this to be a fancy rear view mirror, then the picture observed on screen will be completely reversed to that which you would expect to see. in other words without altering the scan orientation it wont work. (Overtaking vehicles for instance will be on the wrong side). It would be a lot easier to swap the scan with a CRT type display, but modifying a LCD display in this way is potentially a much more difficult problem. Sorry I can't be a bit more helpful but this may save you a lot of time in the long run. Regards, Pete |
#16
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Video camera to portable TV
In article gCSrb.116824$mZ5.787429@attbi_s54, James Sweet
writes In the UK, it's illegal to have such a display active while you are driving. They are normally wired up to the reversing lights so that they can only be activated when reversing. I don't know if this is a consideration in your part of the world. That's silly, why would a rearview display be illegal? Are rearview mirrors illegal too? It's a side effect of legislation about not watching broadcast TV programmes while driving. It's illegal to have a TV in the view of the driver, whatever it is showing. -- Tim Mitchell |
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