| Author | Message | ||
| califbob
Rating: N/A |
I would like to know how the 6" monitors perform for rear vision. In have a 40',that is a longway to run cable. I wonder if it will work with all that resistance. I would like to put a couple on the sides and maybe one on the rear of my towed car. What kind of camera are you using? | ||
| Brian Brown (Blue_velvet)
Rating: N/A |
Hey Bob: The little LCDs we use have a fair amount of resolution. Good enough to distinguish something BIG in your rear view, which is why I put it in. We used ours very intermittently on our last trip, mostly just to check on our bikes and bike rack back there. My cam is a cheapo eBay special, keyhole size. Not a lot of resolution like you'd get in a big cam, but decent IR and wide angle, which was more important to me. If I did it over again, a cam with a mic would be a good addition for the "backer's assistant" to scream thinks like, "don't you SEE the trash can, doofus!". For the cable, get a good quality, shielded (for home theater use) composite cable from an online cable vendor (50' er would do it, for yours I think). Someplace like these guys: http://www.avtoolbox.com/cvcables.shtml Don't add any connectors or splices or you'll be adding resistance and a spot for interfence to come into the line. Don't buy cables from Ratshack or your local electronics concern, because cables have THE highest markup at these places. I'm kind of partial to a triple mirror combo on my right side view for eliminating blind spots... and would think twice about using a cam for side views at all. Unless you dedicate a bank of LCDs as "surrogate mirrors", switching of cams from left, right, rear might be too much to handle in those moments where "God, I really gotta get over NOW."  Just my $0.02, tho. HTH, bb | ||
| califbob Rating: N/A |
Brian Thanks for your advice. I will do it!! | ||
| Craig (Ceieio)
Rating: N/A |
You could hook a video switcher control lines into the turn signal, that way the monitor would flip from SpongeBob reruns to the left or the right side camera when you turn on the turn signal. (Or maybe you were looking at the rear view instead of Spongebob, but that's your issue!) Yup there is some electrical magic to be done here... I have been think of this to use with some mirror mounted cameras and/or may be some proximity detectors mounted in the side of the bus to beep if there is a small car hidden to the side somewhere. I have not started looking at components yet, who knows when this project will bubble up to the top... :-) Craig - MC7 Oregon | ||
| John MC9 Rating: N/A |
U dah Man, Craig! HAR | ||
| RJ Long (Rjlong)
Rating: N/A |
I'm gonna hijack this thread a little, and talk about mirrors. Or more specifically, mirror adjustment. IF you properly adjust your main exterior mirrors, those plus a standard 3" (ok) or 4" (preferred) convex spot mirror should eliminate the major blind spots alongside your coach, and virtually eliminate the need for additional mirrors, cameras, etc. (If you've outfitted your coach with the newer, larger Ramco or Velvac split units, all the better, and the same advice holds.) IBME that most folk do not have their mirrors adjusted for the best viewing available - generally they're turned in toward the coach too much, and pointed down too much, creating huge blind spots. So, what constitutes correct mirror placement? Lots of theories on this, but I taught a variation on the CA School Bus Instructor's Manual**, which is probably the most comprehensive bus driver training instruction book in the US. The variation was primarily an adaptation, as transit and highway coaches do not have the gazillion mirrors found on a skoolie. But this works for the main mirror and the small convex: LH: While sitting in the driver's seat, glance at the LH mirror by rotating your head on your shoulders as little as possible. From this point, you should just barely be able to see the LH side of the coach along the very RH edge of the mirror - basically just a sliver. This covers the horizontal adjustment. For the vertical adjustment, if you can see the LR tire, it's tilted too low - that's for the spot mirror to pick up. Tilt it up until you can just make out the top of the rear wheelwell in the lower RH corner of the mirror - again, just a sliver. This adjustment works best when you can bring the mirror arm close to the coach body. For 4104 and 4106 owners who have the high mount LH mirror, move the mirror arm as far forward as you can, so that the RH vertical frame of the mirror is just hidden by the windshield post. Same positioning as the low mounts, however, in terms of what you can see (tiny sliver of the LH coach side down as far as the top of the rear wheelwell in the lower RH corner). RH: For this mirror, adjust the mirror arm so that the lower RH corner of the mirror frame is just barely hidden by the windshield/door post, as viewed from the driver's seat. (A helper, armed with a small rubber dead-blow hammer, is realy handy for this, to bump the arm as necessary.) Once you get the arm adjusted, now adjust the mirror similar to the LH one, only reversed. IE: the RH edge of the coach should be just a sliver along the LH edge of the mirror for the horizontal adjustment, and no lower than the top of the rear wheelwell in the lower LH corner for the vertical. Be aware, however, that you may have to readjust the mirror arm to keep that RH lower corner just hidden by the door post. Don't hide any of the glass, just the frame. Oh, and on some coaches, double-check that the door doesn't hit the arm/mirror, sometimes they do. Both of these adjustments are going to seem weird at first, but give yourself time to aclimate yourself to the different (and better!) perspective it provides. As for the spot mirrors. . . Well, the little 3" ones stuck on the main mirror glass are better than nothing, but where you put them has a big impact on what you can and cannot see in the main vewing area. I highly suggest that you pick up some flat aluminum stock and make a couple of brackets to mount the spot mirrors on. These brackets can be screwed onto the main mirrors with the outer screws of the frame. Brian's pic above of his RH mirror is a good example of both the points I'm making: How the small spot mirror takes away a lot of the main mirror, and the small bracket on top to mount the spot. If you're going to be buying spot (or convex) mirrors, consider picking up the type that have an adjustable ball mount on the back. With these, once they're mounted to the brackets, you can adjust them better for covering areas not seen in the main mirror - including the rear tire, if needed. Perhaps Buswarrior can supplement these instructions with what he's been doing with his trainees up in Ian's neck of the woods. . . but these basic adjustments have worked for over 200 drivers that I trained for our local transit system. Give them a try. HTH, RJ PD4106-2784 Fresno CA ** This manual is available from the CA Dept of Education, if anyone's interested. | ||
| Craig (Ceieio)
Rating: N/A |
RJ - I agree with you. Heck, even my stocker MC7 mirrors give a good field of view (But I am going to change them to the cooler bigger ones because... well because!) I do these kids of projects "just because". Everyone has their own reasons for buying one of these contraptions... mine was to provide a framework to dream up stupid ideas and projects. Then I have to take the odd trip or two to field test it. My kids (pre-teen and teen) plus wife are test subjects for the field tests. They think it is about travel and such. Go figure. For this project I will get to cruise the wrecking yard or parts house for some of those backup sensors in the bumpers of cars. I have no idea how they work so I will get to learn that. I will likely control the whole thing with an embedded PIC microprossor that I will get to write code for so that it does just what I want (then I will change it all no doubt). I will get to hunt for a switcher I can use for the task, figure out how to integrate it and make it reliable. Then there is camera selection and hiding them. When it is all done I will probably watch SpongeBob and maybe use the RH camera when bending the bus back into a parking spot on the right side. Who knows, I may miss a car someday in the mirror and it will provide some value by beeping at me. Right now I am having to much fun making sawdust in my woodshop, but when I get in an electrical mood again I'll throw some time into this project just because. Then I'll drive with the mirrors 'cause that's what I am accustomed to! :-) Craig - MC7 Oregon | ||
| Brian Brown (Blue_velvet)
Rating: N/A |
Hey RJ, feel free to hijack a thread anytime if you're going to give such helpful and important advice as above. In fact, I'd say it probably deserves its own page in the "Articles of Interest" portion of this site. On my next pre-trip, I'm going to re-adjust my mirrors per these instructions. Sounds like I should try to get my spots mounted OFF of the main mirrors, as well. Great advice, as always! bb | ||
| John MC9 Rating: N/A |
It may have been years back, but this is what we were taught: LH: view the left side of the bus in the right 1/4 mirror's edge, and a view at the bottom right corner edge of the mirror, of the left wheel's lug nuts. RH: view the side of the bus in the left 1/4 mirror's edge, and a view at the bottom left corner edge of the mirror, of the right wheel's lug nuts. Both mirrors should be within your peripheral vision, and one glance from your normal seated position should provide enough information to provide safe maneuvering. We usually placed the spots at the top right corner (right side) and top left corner (left side), of the mirrors, since those areas were not an important information area on either side. I don't know about anyone else, but it drives me nuts if I can't see the side of the bus in that 1/4 edge. How else can an eye quickly discern the distance of an object if there is no reference readily available? To each their own....? Oh, and..... It might seem nice to have a bigger (or more), additional mirrors, but the more area you use for mirrors, the less you're going to see out the front. The first pedestrian or bicycle that is crossing the street in your mirrored blind spot, will cause you to re-think the whole thing. Bus companies like the 'Hound and Trailways would have used more if it would be safer; they used that size, because it is safest. Go ahead.... fire away. | ||
| Gary Stadler (Boogiethecat)
Rating: N/A |
'N I'll unhijack the thread and pipe in that I've got a 14" LCD monitor hooked up to my backup camera ~along with proper mirrors on the sides~ and I LOVE using the LCD as a rear view mirror! During the days it's a great augment to the side mirrors, and at night especially towing, it really helps in the confidence that the toad is ok. Mirrors: Required, and they oughta be done right Monitors: Definitely recommended! | ||
| RJ Long (Rjlong)
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John MC9 - I'll agree with you that the larger the mirrors, the less you're going to see out the front. No doubt about that - even with our cars and pick-ups! Am curious, tho, about your 1/4 comment. Using the stock MC-9 mirror as an example (which has an 8" x 8" square glass), are you saying that you adjust them so that the inner-most 2" shows the side of the coach? Please clarify. Oh, and Brian - thank you for your kind words, they are appreciated. RJ | ||
| Richard Bowyer (Drivingmisslazy)
Rating: N/A |
RJ, I am somewhat different than what I seen recommended. I adjust the mirror outward until the painted stripe on the lane away from the bus is intersecting the mirror at about a 45 degree angle. This allows me to see anything in the blind spot beside the bus and still allows a good rear view of oncoming traffic from the rear. It is a little hard to get used to at first, but I am a firm believer that it provides a better view to the rear. Try it sometime! Richard |