Backup Camera as Ongoing Rear Traffic Cam?

[greencounty]

Originally Posted by notout86

That looks simple enough for me
re the paint on your 'stang, have you seen the latest Mazdas with a toffee apply paint job? The paint looks to be the same thickness as the toffee.

I haven't seen the paint you're talking about. Do you have a picture? I did a quick google search and was unsuccessful.

[notout86]

Originally Posted by greencounty

That looks like it should work. For my project, I just got a solderable perf board and soldered the relay to it. The solder holds the relay to the board so I don't need to glue the relay on.

I don't disagree with your method though...should do the trick.

So now I have your blessing I will go to the electronics parts place (Jaycar) tomorrow. I'll get the solderable PCB too.
I'm thinking connectors on the free ends of the wires from the board-relays eg to the switch.

Thanks to you it all looks so simple now.

Jaycar are the leaders in Australia and I believe they are considering inroads in the US too.

[notout86]

Originally Posted by greencounty

I haven't seen the paint you're talking about. Do you have a picture? I did a quick google search and was unsuccessful.

https://bay175.mail.live.com/?tid=cm...A2&fid=fltrash

The pic doesn't do it justice.

Mazda are using it on their TV ads too and we saw an actual car that was dripping water from a carwash and the sun was shining into the paint. I was quite striking.

[greencounty]

Yup, Sounds like you've got the general idea.

Here is what one of my test-boards looks like(the pins are standard header pins and the wires are dupont-style connectors that any parts store will probably have):

[notout86]

Gotcha. I even have some of those connectors that go to the pins & am already using them to the pins of the 16pin socket. Avoiding wielding a soldering iron inside the dash is good.

[notout86]

Hi gc
I thought I understood the diagram of 07-23-14 (reply #40), and have the relays soldered to a board along with the headers and connectors and wires all over the place.

I cut the green reverse wire going to pin 2 on the 28pin connector and soldered on connectors. I joined the engine end to the relay and the other end from the relay to pin 2. Oddly there are 3 green wires that converge into one going to pin 2.

I spliced into the ACC1 wire / IN going to pin 3 of the CN1 plug. That wire is red with silver patches. The wire at the splice branches into two with one to the reverse-trick relay for 12V and the other branch is for the switch.

The switch has me stumped. I ended up (long story) getting a DPDT center off toggle. It has 2 rows of 3 = 6 connections unlike your diagram which shows 8. Also, you show some joined on the output side. I know it is schematic / professional but I am confused
Searching the net has confused me even more. Looking at the connections from underneath, which wire connects to where please? http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=ST0356

To mount the switch I intend to drill a small hole in the underside of the faux carbon fibre piece that is removed to get at the h/u. The switch will be pointing down and virtually out of sight, aligned under the lower left-hand bolt that secures the h/u. The switch wiring is conveniently close to the relays there too and the back of the switch sits nicely in a cavity. I am soldering male Dupont clips to the switch and females to the attaching wires.
A rocker would be completely out of site but requires a bigger hole that is rectangular.

[notout86]

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/attac...6615203http://

I hope this pic helps

[notout86]

It's OK greencounty. At 1:40am the penny dropped and I sat up in bed, and here I am online.
By attempting to make things clear you confused me.

12V in can go to pin 2
pin 5 can be wired to pin 2 to also receive the 12V

pin 1 is connected to the reverse trick relay coil
pin 3 is connected to pin 1

pin 6 is connected to the video relay
SIMPLE

It is dark outside right now but I will be up with the birds in a few hours to connect to the switch and the job should be finished!

[notout86]

I have got it working

HUGE thanks to greencounty who made it possible and his circuitry is very clever and simple.
Thanks to him when the engine is running or Accessories are on
1)reverse camera comes on when reverse gear is selected
2) the front camera can be selected at any time
3) the rear camera can be selected at any time (even though you are not in reverse)
4) no camera is powered when you don't want it on
5) no extra harnesses were needed to be purchased
6) only one switch is used

You need to know that it requires
A) cameras that will operate on +6V but they are plentiful and that is the way the Fujitsu-10 h/u is set up.
B) one oe wire to be cut
c) one oe wire to be spliced

I'm not quite finished yet. I must have a poor connection somewhere as occasionally I get monochrome pictures with jaggies. When fixed I will be posting a Guide for Dummies. If I can do it then anyone can!

[greencounty]

Sorry. I've been on vacation for the last 2 weeks...just came home and found this.

I'm glad you got it all figured out.

[notout86]

ADDING a 6V front camera to a 6V rear
The following is written by a lay person and is my amateur way. If you are lazy, just follow blindly to avoid mistakes I made along the way. Please post comments and suggestions.

It relies on cameras known to work from 6V and the one for the front should have an option to flip the pic. like http://www.dhgate.com/product/ccd-hd...61601345.html# The system applies to our FujitsuTEN h/u which outputs only 6V to the cameras..

The circuitry is a beautifully simple system provided by greencounty on ft86club.com--see post #40 a few posts back. It does not depend on buying harnesses, but splicing to 2 o.e. wires is required plus some soldering. All soldering can be done external to the car. Clip connectors are used so the system can be removed and restored to oe if desired.

Features : the reverse camera works automatically when reverse is selected
the reverse camera can be operated at any time without reverse
the front camera can be operated at any time
only one switch is used
cameras are only powered when necessary to view one but both are powered at the same time
cam picture uses the h/u screen

I actually routed the cable from the front camera in thru the grille and pulled it up with a hooked piece of wire thru a hole by the grey bolt holding the top of the bumper. I had to remove the black bar at the top of the bumper and pull the bumper back. There was scarcely enough cable slack to join the cable connectors. I also had to secure the cable to the grille with a cable tie.
I believe a better way would have been to have the camera cable connectors pulled apart then poke the female connector in thru the grille up close to the underside of the numberplate mount. Then push the connector under the radiator and into the engine compartment. A likely spot is under the centre of the radiator where you can see some foam. You may be able to push the lower edge of the grille in and get your hand in to do this, else push thru with eg a bit of hooked wire. Ensure the lead cannot chafe.

Attaching the camera...... attach temporarily with eg double sided tape and check the straight-ahead aim later before permanent attachment. Consider up under the ‘plate.

Pierce a hole in one of the round blank black rubber grommets on the firewall and push the slender male connector of the camera cabling through from inside the cabin. Seal at the hole later with BluTac or silicone rubber later.
Route the cabling in the engine compartment forward to the camera's female cable connector using existing o.e. cable-routing methods as an example. Note the alignment arrows on the connectors. Hi-lite them with white correction fluid to make them obvious.
Join the connectors as follows: With the connectors apart and one in each hand, do a left-over-right-and-under then plug together. Arrange and tighten the knot to secure the connectors so they cannot part.
You may want to get your bumper or grille off sometime so ensure about 1.5metres of slack cable nearby or alternatively you can undo the connectors.
*In the cabin, on the transmission tunnel, pull off the small panel below the knee pad . It has a finger hole towards the engine, three locators along the top and a clip half way down at its rear end.

The clever circuit (Thanks again to greencounty on ft86club.com.)See his post #40 a few posts back and
See attachment 1 which is my "diagram for dummies"

For construction you need: about $40 for
: a DPDT switch centre off 12V (on-off-on) type. I used a mini toggle which you may think is not very neat compared to a rocker type, but I mounted it in a place that is convenient for operation AND installation and virtually out of site. See below. Only a 5mm hole needs to be drilled for mounting. EXCELLENT even if I do say so myself.
: a bit of circuit board, the type with donuts of copper about 7x5cm Jaycar HP9550
: 2 12V relays SPDT 3A Jaycar SY4066
: 3 header strips type 8 pin locking 2.54 pitch Jaycar HM3418. To match my PCB photo, cut 2 pins off one end of one and mount the six pin bit alongside of the "reverse trick" relay. Cut one pin off another header and mount the remaining pins alongside the camera relay. Cut the third header into 2 pieces with 3 pins. These are mounted between the relays for the camera power connections.
: 2 power lead extensions with sockets one end and with blue lights inside the sockets to show when power is flowing. Jaycar ........ WQ7289 Lead DC 2.1mm skt - bare wires voltsense. You only use these extensions if your cameras have plugs on the end of the power leads. If your camera power leads end in bare wire, see later where you solder on "dupont" sockets, BUT you should do that soldering outside the car before installing the cameras OR the leads are probably long enough to hang them outside to do.
: 1 splice connector .e.g. Jaycar PT4637
: 1 piece of red wire , at least 30cm long
: 2 screw connectors (e.g. cut from a terminal block)
: jumpersets M-F socket-plug a.k.a. Dupont about 15 various colors
: " F-F socket " " " " " "
: 1 bit of wire 30cm long with earthing ring connector (to go under one of the h/u bracket bolts)
: 1 bit of colorless pet bottle plastic 7x16cm (to cover the back of the circuit board with the solder and wrap around over the relays and pins and connectors to insulate,secure and protect). It can be creased and shaped. When wrapped around, join with a small screw and nut through a hole.
: BluTak (genuine Bostick)


TIP : Study the headers and jumperset plugs and sockets. Header pins are flattened like blades. Female sockets connect to the blades in 2 possible ways. Look closely at the headers and you can see the locking protrusion on the vertical plastic. That should secure to the hole on dupont plugs, so there is ONE correct way to connect which is best.
Now look closely at the duponts and you can see a clip in the hole. The clip can be lifted and the metal part inside extracted and clipped back. Keep all this in mind as you can extract and re-insert.

Here I plagiarise what runny-yolk posted at http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32452 about a rear camera install

He said "Disconnect the negative terminal of the car battery by loosening the 10mm nut. This is a tight fit so use the shallowest 10mm socket you have. You don't want the car to have power while you are messing with wiring. First, you don't want to get a shock from touching something, and secondly, you don't want to fry electronics in case you accidentally short a wire.
Once you've disconnected the negative terminal, cover it with the towel and put the negative terminal connector on top of the wire. The ensures that you will not have accidental power connection."

oe wire colors referred to may differ to the ones on your car....the pins of the h/u sockets which they connect are correct as described.

Refer to the h/u diagram here for plug/socket/pin numbering SORRY I cannot find a link to this diagram that I can include that works but I have described h/u plugs and sockets with the number of pins so you can find.

Solder dupont F sockets to the two + and two - ends of the two power lead extensions (use ones with red and black wires). The wires from the duponts are flimsy at the soldered points. However It is possible to lift the tiny plastic clip and slip out the metal center and solder the stronger wire of the power lead direct to it, then slip it back into the plastic.
Have the h/u out from the dash. If you had to use power extensions, drop the female connectors on the ends of the extensions down inside the dash, put your arm down behind and poke them out the side and connect to the power plugs from the cameras. Put the cabling back over the transmission tunnel and refit the panel mentioned previously* I label the cabling "FRONT CAMERA" wherever a mystified mechanic might see it.

Pull up the video leads with the male plugs.

Make cables to connect the video signals. I used audio shielded cable and this worked ok. You need to separate the shielding braid away from the center video+ wire and ensure continuity of the braid to earth at both ends. pin 16 of the 16-pin CN4800 is the earth for one end.Keep the unshielded lengths minimal. Two cables need female RCA connectors at one end to receive the male RCA's from the cameras. The other end needs female dupont sockets for signal and shielding. A third cable needs all dupont sockets at the ends. The third cable connects to the h/u at pins 8 for V+ and 16 for V- of the 16-pin socket CN4800.

Fit the relays and headers to the circuit board as per circuit diagram. On the underside of the PCB, notice how wires are used to connect pins on one side of the relays across to the side with the headers. Notice also that only adjacent header pins are used. That way, the dupont sockets, after testing, can be glued up against each other in a row in the same order that they will be plugged on the headers and the right way around to connect correctly to the header pins (which are flattened like blades). Be careful to glue together with the holes in the dupont sockets are all the same way round AND will engage with the clip protrusion of the vertical plastic of the headers. In effect you will have made a multiplug that only be connected one way which is the right way. "Super glue" does not seem to bond very well to the duponts.

See attachments 2 and 3

Ignore the pin that will feed +12V to the “reverse-trick” relay for the time being.
Lay out the Dupont leads alongside the pins that you will attach them to, and decide which colours to use (e.g. green for the reverse signal and yellow for video and black for video cable shielding and red for power +12V and orange for +6V)
For the 3 leads to the switch you need to to extend them to a total length of around 30cm. Daisy-chain two M-F jumpersets to do this.

See attachment 4

Source of 12V accessory power
Select a M-F Dupont lead (preferably red) and cut off the F socket at the end. Splice the cut end about half way along the 30cm red wire mentioned above in the parts list. Take your 30cm red wire and solder an F dupont to one end.
Find the plug that connects to the h/u at socket CN1. Find the wire that goes to pin 3. It is an accessory power wire that sends +12V into the h/u and is known as ACC1 . Mine was a thin red wire . Splice the bare end of your 30cm red wire to it.
Attach the +12V mid-way wire to the reverse trick relay now.
reverse signal wire
Have 2 green jumpersets with F sockets. Lift the tiny plastic clip and slip out the metal center of whatever plugs or sockets are on the other ends. Find the reverse signal wire that goes to pin 2 of CN6. Cut that wire back about 4cm from the plug. Join one of the metal centers to each cut end through screw connectors. The F socket FROM the car goes to one pin of the reverse-trick relay and the other comes FROM the relay (see diagram).
Connect up the other leads to the headers by the diagram.
See attachment 5

Use the bit of pet bottle plastic 7x16cm (to cover the back of the circuit board with the solder and wrap around over the relays and pins and connectors to insulate and protect). Make holes for the bundled wired to come out. When the plastic is anchored down the plugs will be held down by it and as it is clear you can see underneath.
video into the h/u
The 4 duponts that connect to pins 7,15,8 & 16 of the 16-pin CN4800 socket can be bundled with heatshrink to form a convenient plug. Ensure the plugs are in the correct order and oriented correctly to connect to the bladed pins. Connect and push BluTak into the socket to anchor. The oe plug to CN4800 is left disconnected permanently as the wire on the plug at pin 6 is to do with the parking brake and not essential.

The switch
Notice that in the diagram two "centre" pins are bridged and so are pins 1 and 3
Cut the wire at the plug of 3 Male dupont plugs leaving about 1mm of the colored insulation. Extract the pins (lift the black plastic latch and pull out the wire end). Solder the pins to the switch as per the diagram, preferably with colours matching where they go to the relays. One is for +12V in from the 30cm wire (which was spliced to the red wire to pin 3 of CN1 for ACC1), and the other two are for +12V to the relay coils. With the black plastic covers for the pins, trim off enough below the latch to allow you to refit over the pin.
Join the plugs at the switch to the relevant leads. Insulate around the pins in case they contact the metal of the h/u.

Bring the switch and its attached wiring and the earth wire around the back of the h/u and to the front of the dash.
Run the switch wiring down the side of the h/u (cut a bit off the black plastic midway between the 2 bolt holes to make room?). Put the h/u back loosely, remembering to attach the earth wire under the lower bracket bolt (the upper will not earth). EDIT 13/9/2018 ... earth under a bolt on the h/u that holds the bracket to the h/u as it is fiddly to earth under the bolt that mounts the h/u to the car.

Start car and check pics in the 3 switch positions. The center position should not show a pic unless reverse is selected. Correct connections if necessary. Mark the switch with an arrow indicating which way to toggle to see the front cam.
See attachment 6

My spot for the switch is on the underside of the faux carbon-fibre plastic surround for the h/u, requiring a 5mm hole to be drilled. The hole is centered 17mm in from the rear edge of the plastic surround and 10 mm away from the vertical edge of the surround that goes up the side of the h/u. A little of the plastic ridge inside needed trimming. This spot allows room for stubby fingers operating the switch. A side of the switch rests on the side of the h/u I stuck some black rubber in front of the shiny metal to conceal it and also added a push on black rubber nipple, but silver looks ok too. Wife acceptance factor HIGH.
See attachments 7 and 8

Tighten up the h/u. Fit the switch in its 5mm hole in the the faux carbon fibre piece, tighten the securing nut, ensure the wires are in the cavity alongside the h/u and fit the piece into the dash.

Issues
Occasionally the pic from either cam will go monochrome and may have jaggies. In an attempt to fix I completely re-did on a new PCB and paid attention to all connections but the problem remains. It could be poor screening of the video. I may redo the video leads. EDIT 19Aug2014 ..... I am suspecting a sync problem rather than interference as if the pic is good it does not go bad and sometimes it is momentarily monochrome but "snaps" to color and then remains ok. I have no idea how to overcome this other than switching off the pic and re-trying. I had no such problems with my previous rear-camera-only system so assume it is something to do with the switch &/or relays which were not necessary then.

The idea of the jumpersets was that I could easily plug/unplug but the flimsy wires of the jumpersets meant some breakages where I had soldered. If doing it all again I would only use female dupont sockets for connection at pins 8,16 7 and 15 of the 16-pin CN4800. For the other wiring I would use thicker wires and join them to connectors like Jaycar HM3168 which have pins soldered to the back of the pcb and screws to clamp inserted wires on the top.

[notout86]

I reported an issue with the method
"Occasionally the pic from either cam will go monochrome and may have jaggies. In an attempt to fix I completely re-did on a new PCB and paid attention to all connections but the problem remains. It could be poor screening of the video. I may redo the video leads. EDIT 19Aug2014 ..... I am suspecting a sync problem rather than interference as if the pic is good it does not go bad and sometimes it is momentarily monochrome but "snaps" to color and then remains ok. I have no idea how to overcome this other than switching off the pic and re-trying. I had no such problems with my previous rear-camera-only system so assume it is something to do with the switch &/or relays which were not necessary then."
For what it is worth,I have also noticed that if I am looking at a front cam pic and toggle to the center position, I see the pic from the rear cam momentarily.

I can live with the odd monochrome pic and jaggies as it only happens rarely, but I would like a solution if anyone can suggest as in all other respects this system is great.

[BRZ-y]

This is awesome!! Exactly what I've been hunting for.
Thank you for the write up. I'll be studying up on this and ask the tech guys at my work if they have any feedback for what could be causing the breakup!

[notout86]

Recently I have asked two people who are knowledgeable about such things and they replied

" think you have incorrectly wired the power switch or relay connections. Make sure that power to each camera is disconnected fully when the other camera is powered. Either that or there is an intermittent short between the wires or connections that has both cameras on at the same time. This would cause the picture tearing and black and white picture"

and

"Sounds like one of your devices/sw or relay is leaking some kind of interference. Most likely the toggle sw. In your case test the switch with a multimeter, or alternately use two separate switches in leiu of the toggle.
ie turn off one camera, then turn on the other.
It could also be the relays, but to be 100% sure you have a clean picture, the unused camera needs to have absolutely NO power to it.... "


Since the problem is intermittent I do not think incorrect wiring or connections applies. I did have to re-solder at the toggle switch three times as the flimsy wires were breaking (solution suggested in my tips in the article) so I mean to check there.

If you get any other suggestions, please post them.

I would not go with the suggestion of using two separate switches as one of the beauties of the system is that it needs/uses only one and the very neat and convenient position only has room for one.

We welcome further comments and criticism (+'ve or -'ve) of the method and will edit it appropriately.