We are about to become owners of an 8 metre long caravan.

It would be good to have decent rear view for normal driving, overtaking
on dual carriageways, and of course reversing.

From the rear of the van to the front of the hitch is 8 metres (plus a bit
more for negotiating corners etc,) and from the hitch to the dashboard is
at least another 3 metres.

Allegedly that is a bit far for wireless to work reliably so I am
considering a hard wired unit.

Next question is, what kind of wire to use?

There must be a minimum gauge to compensate for signal loss over distance;
or perhaps using Ethernet style UTP?

Anyone with any experience of this?

I assume it is a specialised version of CCTV.

Cheers


Dave R



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Depends on how you are doing it, analogue or digital. From the point of view
of wireless, don't bother too prone to interference etc.
Brian

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"David" wrote in message
...
We are about to become owners of an 8 metre long caravan.

It would be good to have decent rear view for normal driving, overtaking
on dual carriageways, and of course reversing.

From the rear of the van to the front of the hitch is 8 metres (plus a bit
more for negotiating corners etc,) and from the hitch to the dashboard is
at least another 3 metres.

Allegedly that is a bit far for wireless to work reliably so I am
considering a hard wired unit.

Next question is, what kind of wire to use?

There must be a minimum gauge to compensate for signal loss over distance;
or perhaps using Ethernet style UTP?

Anyone with any experience of this?

I assume it is a specialised version of CCTV.

Cheers


Dave R



--
AMD FX-6300 in GA-990X-Gaming SLI-CF running Windows 7 Pro x64

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
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On 2/2/2017 3:14 PM, David wrote:
We are about to become owners of an 8 metre long caravan.

It would be good to have decent rear view for normal driving, overtaking
on dual carriageways, and of course reversing.

From the rear of the van to the front of the hitch is 8 metres (plus a bit
more for negotiating corners etc,) and from the hitch to the dashboard is
at least another 3 metres.

Allegedly that is a bit far for wireless to work reliably so I am
considering a hard wired unit.

Next question is, what kind of wire to use?

There must be a minimum gauge to compensate for signal loss over distance;
or perhaps using Ethernet style UTP?

Anyone with any experience of this?

I assume it is a specialised version of CCTV.

Cheers


Dave R



I think wireless will be fine at that distance, admittedly the last one
I did was on a horse trailer, but I also have a hand-held monitor and
that would pick up at 20 metres.

If you are really worried you could run standard CCTV coax to a wireless
transmitter at the front of a van. Can't see any reason not to stick
with analogue and keep the price down.

newshound wrote:
On 2/2/2017 3:14 PM, David wrote:
We are about to become owners of an 8 metre long caravan.

It would be good to have decent rear view for normal driving, overtaking
on dual carriageways, and of course reversing.

From the rear of the van to the front of the hitch is 8 metres (plus a bit
more for negotiating corners etc,) and from the hitch to the dashboard is
at least another 3 metres.

Allegedly that is a bit far for wireless to work reliably so I am
considering a hard wired unit.

Next question is, what kind of wire to use?

There must be a minimum gauge to compensate for signal loss over distance;
or perhaps using Ethernet style UTP?

Anyone with any experience of this?

I assume it is a specialised version of CCTV.

Cheers


Dave R



I think wireless will be fine at that distance, admittedly the last one
I did was on a horse trailer, but I also have a hand-held monitor and
that would pick up at 20 metres.

Motorhome forums are full of messages about the flakiness of wireless rear
view camera. I wouldn't try wireless for 11 metres distance.

Tim

--
Please don't feed the trolls

David wrote:

Next question is, what kind of wire to use?

There must be a minimum gauge to compensate for signal loss over distance;
or perhaps using Ethernet style UTP?

You're over thinking it - 11m will be fine for composite over
half-decent co-ax.

--
Scott

Where are we going and why am I in this handbasket?

On 02/02/2017 15:14, David wrote:

I assume it is a specialised version of CCTV.

If you do it with cable what sort of connector do you envisage at the
tow hitch position? 75ohm BNC for video plus something to connect the
12V, inside a rubber shroud would be a possibility.

Re the 12V, you might think this an odd suggestion but I use metal
bodied (NOT plastic) 180degree five pin DIN latching plug/flying socket
for all that sort of 12V and 24V vehicle stuff. Viewed from the rear of
the plug I connect the five pins as follows, going clockwise and with
the pins occupying the top half of the circle: +, +, not used, -, -.
I've found this to be an extremely reliable connection system. I've been
using it on all my vehicles since 1970.

Bill

newshound wrote:
On 2/2/2017 3:14 PM, David wrote:
We are about to become owners of an 8 metre long caravan.

It would be good to have decent rear view for normal driving, overtaking
on dual carriageways, and of course reversing.

From the rear of the van to the front of the hitch is 8 metres (plus a
bit
more for negotiating corners etc,) and from the hitch to the dashboard is
at least another 3 metres.

Allegedly that is a bit far for wireless to work reliably so I am
considering a hard wired unit.

Next question is, what kind of wire to use?

There must be a minimum gauge to compensate for signal loss over
distance;
or perhaps using Ethernet style UTP?

Anyone with any experience of this?

I assume it is a specialised version of CCTV.

Cheers


Dave R



I think wireless will be fine at that distance, admittedly the last one
I did was on a horse trailer, but I also have a hand-held monitor and
that would pick up at 20 metres.

If you are really worried you could run standard CCTV coax to a wireless
transmitter at the front of a van. Can't see any reason not to stick
with analogue and keep the price down.
CCTV cables work well. The problem with wireless is that some have very
poor range. I have one that works over 10M and another that only does 3M.

On Fri, 03 Feb 2017 03:09:27 +0000, Bill Wright wrote:

On 02/02/2017 15:14, David wrote:

I assume it is a specialised version of CCTV.

If you do it with cable what sort of connector do you envisage at the
tow hitch position? 75ohm BNC for video plus something to connect the
12V, inside a rubber shroud would be a possibility.

Re the 12V, you might think this an odd suggestion but I use metal
bodied (NOT plastic) 180degree five pin DIN latching plug/flying socket
for all that sort of 12V and 24V vehicle stuff. Viewed from the rear of
the plug I connect the five pins as follows, going clockwise and with
the pins occupying the top half of the circle: +, +, not used, -, -.
I've found this to be an extremely reliable connection system. I've been
using it on all my vehicles since 1970.

Bill

Thanks to all so far.

12v is not a problem because the caravan already has plenty of 12v via the
standard 13 pin plug/socket.

There is the option of using one spare plug pin (pin 12) but that would
imply using standard automotive wire at least for the length of the leads
between the front of the caravan and the car boot.

So perhaps using a 75 ohm BNC for the signal would be sensible.

How thick should the co-ax be?
CT 100 style TV/satellite cable is quite chunky.
Is there a smaller diameter which would be acceptable for a shorter run?

Cheers


Dave R





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On Fri, 03 Feb 2017 11:31:54 +0000, David wrote:

On Fri, 03 Feb 2017 03:09:27 +0000, Bill Wright wrote:

On 02/02/2017 15:14, David wrote:

I assume it is a specialised version of CCTV.

If you do it with cable what sort of connector do you envisage at the
tow hitch position? 75ohm BNC for video plus something to connect the
12V, inside a rubber shroud would be a possibility.

Re the 12V, you might think this an odd suggestion but I use metal
bodied (NOT plastic) 180degree five pin DIN latching plug/flying socket
for all that sort of 12V and 24V vehicle stuff. Viewed from the rear of
the plug I connect the five pins as follows, going clockwise and with
the pins occupying the top half of the circle: +, +, not used, -, -.
I've found this to be an extremely reliable connection system. I've
been using it on all my vehicles since 1970.

Bill

Thanks to all so far.

12v is not a problem because the caravan already has plenty of 12v via
the standard 13 pin plug/socket.

There is the option of using one spare plug pin (pin 12) but that would
imply using standard automotive wire at least for the length of the
leads between the front of the caravan and the car boot.

So perhaps using a 75 ohm BNC for the signal would be sensible.

How thick should the co-ax be?
CT 100 style TV/satellite cable is quite chunky.
Is there a smaller diameter which would be acceptable for a shorter run?

Additional from reading some of
www.cctv-information.co.uk/i/Transmission_of_Video_Signals_by_Cable
there also seems to be an option for twisted pair.

One suggested way is to have the video cable run into the boot where the
boot lid meets the surround, relying on the sealing rubbers to allow the
cable entry.

This is attractive in that I could have a permanent socket in the boot
which would allow connection of the caravan camera or (in future) the
addition of a camera on the rear of the car to be used when not towing (or
when backing up to hitch up).

Thin and strong would be good for this.

It might also allow a connection inside the boot protected from the
elements.

Cheers


Dave R




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---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
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On 02/02/17 15:14, David wrote:
We are about to become owners of an 8 metre long caravan.

It would be good to have decent rear view for normal driving, overtaking
on dual carriageways, and of course reversing.

From the rear of the van to the front of the hitch is 8 metres (plus a bit
more for negotiating corners etc,) and from the hitch to the dashboard is
at least another 3 metres.

Allegedly that is a bit far for wireless to work reliably so I am
considering a hard wired unit.

Next question is, what kind of wire to use?

There must be a minimum gauge to compensate for signal loss over distance;
or perhaps using Ethernet style UTP?

Anyone with any experience of this?

I assume it is a specialised version of CCTV.

Cheers


Dave R



If you look on Ebay you can find cable with screened cable/coax suitable
for video and other wire for power etc all in one outer 'jacket', used
for closed circuit tv.

The connection between the car and the caravan is another matter- at the
tow bar. I doubt there are enough spare pins in the existing
plugs/sockets, I can't recall. You could reduce the number needed by
just, for example, 'piping' the video and picking up the power in the
caravan- say from the ignition switched supply. Likewise, if you want to
switch it when reversing etc., pick that up on the caravan side
(assuming you have 13 pin or double plug electrics). If you are just
'piping' video, look for something like a small BNC connector pair you
can slip a sleeve over to protect it and tuck it away, or fabricate a
two piece shield from some heat shrink.

Tell your insurance company you have a camera, we got a discount on our
motorhome insurance.

On 03/02/17 11:31, David wrote:
On Fri, 03 Feb 2017 03:09:27 +0000, Bill Wright wrote:

On 02/02/2017 15:14, David wrote:

I assume it is a specialised version of CCTV.

If you do it with cable what sort of connector do you envisage at the
tow hitch position? 75ohm BNC for video plus something to connect the
12V, inside a rubber shroud would be a possibility.

Re the 12V, you might think this an odd suggestion but I use metal
bodied (NOT plastic) 180degree five pin DIN latching plug/flying socket
for all that sort of 12V and 24V vehicle stuff. Viewed from the rear of
the plug I connect the five pins as follows, going clockwise and with
the pins occupying the top half of the circle: +, +, not used, -, -.
I've found this to be an extremely reliable connection system. I've been
using it on all my vehicles since 1970.

Bill

Thanks to all so far.

12v is not a problem because the caravan already has plenty of 12v via the
standard 13 pin plug/socket.

There is the option of using one spare plug pin (pin 12) but that would
imply using standard automotive wire at least for the length of the leads
between the front of the caravan and the car boot.

So perhaps using a 75 ohm BNC for the signal would be sensible.

How thick should the co-ax be?
CT 100 style TV/satellite cable is quite chunky.
Is there a smaller diameter which would be acceptable for a shorter run?


RG174 is much smaller, maybe 3 or 4 mm in dia. It is 50 ohm but probably
not an issue in this application.

On 03/02/2017 12:32, Brian Reay wrote:

RG174 is much smaller, maybe 3 or 4 mm in dia. It is 50 ohm but probably
not an issue in this application.

No, use 75 ohm cable. Why make potential problems? You can get miniature
75ohm coax. Google those three words. But the connectors can be a bit
fiddly. I'd be using normal RG59 if it was me doing it.

Bill

On 03/02/2017 12:28, Brian Reay wrote:

The connection between the car and the caravan is another matter- at the
tow bar. I doubt there are enough spare pins in the existing
plugs/sockets,

You can't run video through the towhitch socket. The interference would
be horrendous. It has to be screened cable and connectors all the way.

Bill

Bill Wright wrote:
On 03/02/2017 12:28, Brian Reay wrote:

The connection between the car and the caravan is another matter- at the
tow bar. I doubt there are enough spare pins in the existing
plugs/sockets,

You can't run video through the towhitch socket. The interference would
be horrendous. It has to be screened cable and connectors all the way.

Bill


Yes, Use CCTV cables and connectors, very cheap, small size and they work.