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Wireless front parking camera with monitor for front bumper protection
- Thread starter artsci
- Start date
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- Model S User Interface
With the installation tomorrow, just for the sake of it I attached the LCD mirror to see how it functions as a rear view mirror. It works fine. Nothing will be wired until tomorrow but I'll get some photos up late tomorrow or Sunday of the mirror in front view mode. The photo was taken this am in my parking garage so please excuse the lousy quality.
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I just finished the install. But not without some trepidation. First, I went to the installation shop where I had an 8am appt. There must have been a miscommunication as they were closed. So I decided to do the job myself. Since the cabling for the DashCam would have to follow the same route along the upper windshield trim I decided to do that at the same time. I was surprised that the job took only 6 hours, and it would have gone faster if I knew the tricks for running the cable stealth and didn't have to learn as I went.
When I got everything wired up, testing as I went along, I made the final connection and nothing happened. The wireless transmitter and receiver were working but not the rear view mirror monitor. Then I realized I had reversed the polarity and blown the fuse in the monitor circuit, Replaced the fuse and all was well.
Bottom lines is that this TadiBrothers rig does exactly what I had hoped for. It gives a good picture of obstructions in front of the car and you can judge distance accurately. The quality of the image is decent but nothing approaching the Tesla rear camera. You can chose two angles from the touch screen -- a wide angle (120 degrees) and a closer view. And it does the job -- the risk of hitting a curb or other low obstruction that can't be seen from the driver's view is now gone.
I mounted the camera in the lower part of the nose cone, frankly because it was easier and I thought it would work well with the other nose cone mods I've made.
I took dozens of photos of the steps I followed and I'll post those later tonight. Bottom line is this is a very good solution to the problem of front bumper protection and it's a lot less expensive than I'm sure the Tesla upgrade will be.
Now if we could only find a way to connect the front camera to the Tesla touchscreen.
Here's how I did it. The TadiBrothers front camera and rearview mirror with LCD monitor come with a lot of cable and my concern was how to hide it all away. As I worked on routing the cable I found the solutions almost by accident. As the system is wireless, a direct connection between the camera and monitor does not have to be made. The camera has a transmitter that attaches to it and the monitor a similar receiver. Mounting the transmitter was not a concern, as there's plenty of room behind the nose cone. But the receiver was a different question -- under the dash or somewhere else? I had no idea as I started work. So I began with the easy part -- the camera. I drilled a hole in the nose cone of compatible size, cut off the metal legs/mount attached to the nose cone, and glued it into the nose cone, fill all gaps for waterproofing. Then I mounted the transmitter on the crash bar behind the nose cone -- a very convenient place and made the connections to power, ground, and the camera.
Wiring up the mirror monitor was a bigger challenge. When I began probing around the roof liner, I discovered that it could be pried away from the windshield all along the top and the wire run along the lip underneath the liner, thus completely hiding it and holding it in place. So I ran the three connecting cables for the mirror/monitor, the DASHCAM, and the connection to the dashcam rear camera that way. Where they meet the A pillar and the window, the trim there can be similarly pried away, the cables run underneath, and the rtim put back into place, thus hiding them. The photo below show the cables from the mirror/monitor and dash cam running to the roof liner, then hid away.
As you run the cable down the A pillar and under the rubber trim the right side cover on the dash becomes very handy. There are two plastic pieces that pup out, one held in with spring clips.
There's ample space there for the mirror/monitor receiver and all the the excess cable. I mounted the receiver with Velcro.
I used a Tap-A-Fuse at fuse #32 and ran the lead through the narrow opening from the frunk into the right side door frame/opening. I made a ground connection to one of the two large bolts that anchors the dash board to the frame under the right side cover. When all of the connections were made and everything tested, I snapped the covers back in place and all was hidden away.
I will post several pictures of the system at work as soon as I can take them -- in about two hours.
When I got everything wired up, testing as I went along, I made the final connection and nothing happened. The wireless transmitter and receiver were working but not the rear view mirror monitor. Then I realized I had reversed the polarity and blown the fuse in the monitor circuit, Replaced the fuse and all was well.
Bottom lines is that this TadiBrothers rig does exactly what I had hoped for. It gives a good picture of obstructions in front of the car and you can judge distance accurately. The quality of the image is decent but nothing approaching the Tesla rear camera. You can chose two angles from the touch screen -- a wide angle (120 degrees) and a closer view. And it does the job -- the risk of hitting a curb or other low obstruction that can't be seen from the driver's view is now gone.
I mounted the camera in the lower part of the nose cone, frankly because it was easier and I thought it would work well with the other nose cone mods I've made.
I took dozens of photos of the steps I followed and I'll post those later tonight. Bottom line is this is a very good solution to the problem of front bumper protection and it's a lot less expensive than I'm sure the Tesla upgrade will be.
Now if we could only find a way to connect the front camera to the Tesla touchscreen.
Here's how I did it. The TadiBrothers front camera and rearview mirror with LCD monitor come with a lot of cable and my concern was how to hide it all away. As I worked on routing the cable I found the solutions almost by accident. As the system is wireless, a direct connection between the camera and monitor does not have to be made. The camera has a transmitter that attaches to it and the monitor a similar receiver. Mounting the transmitter was not a concern, as there's plenty of room behind the nose cone. But the receiver was a different question -- under the dash or somewhere else? I had no idea as I started work. So I began with the easy part -- the camera. I drilled a hole in the nose cone of compatible size, cut off the metal legs/mount attached to the nose cone, and glued it into the nose cone, fill all gaps for waterproofing. Then I mounted the transmitter on the crash bar behind the nose cone -- a very convenient place and made the connections to power, ground, and the camera.
Wiring up the mirror monitor was a bigger challenge. When I began probing around the roof liner, I discovered that it could be pried away from the windshield all along the top and the wire run along the lip underneath the liner, thus completely hiding it and holding it in place. So I ran the three connecting cables for the mirror/monitor, the DASHCAM, and the connection to the dashcam rear camera that way. Where they meet the A pillar and the window, the trim there can be similarly pried away, the cables run underneath, and the rtim put back into place, thus hiding them. The photo below show the cables from the mirror/monitor and dash cam running to the roof liner, then hid away.
As you run the cable down the A pillar and under the rubber trim the right side cover on the dash becomes very handy. There are two plastic pieces that pup out, one held in with spring clips.
There's ample space there for the mirror/monitor receiver and all the the excess cable. I mounted the receiver with Velcro.
I used a Tap-A-Fuse at fuse #32 and ran the lead through the narrow opening from the frunk into the right side door frame/opening. I made a ground connection to one of the two large bolts that anchors the dash board to the frame under the right side cover. When all of the connections were made and everything tested, I snapped the covers back in place and all was hidden away.
I will post several pictures of the system at work as soon as I can take them -- in about two hours.
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Are you against the notion of installing a physical switch to toggle the "Rear Camera" display on the 17" between the OEM rear camera signal and a different camera signal that you connect to the switch?
Not at all, but I don't know how to make the connection and I haven't seen anything about how to do it. It would be even better to take a second Tesla rear camera and mount it in the front.
Pictures of the install below.
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I'll post some more photos tonight. I like the mirror better than the original as it covers a larger area. Only problem is glare for the LCD screen.
Having lived with this now for about five days it's wonderful as I can see every ground level obstacle that might do damage to the front of the car. I now have no need for parking sensors or the impending Tesla parking sensor upgrade. The camera and monitor do everything I need, so why waste the money?
simplesolar
Member
that is a huge mirror. Wondering if you can buy a spare rear view camera and somehow integrated into the center console. That would be even better than parking sensors.
Here are some more photos of the system in service. The first is a low curb I have to approach every day as I back into my office parking space. The second is a steel barrier in a shop I visit now and then. In both cases I'm about one foot from the obstacle.
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No, you have to press a button on the touch screen to turn it on and you have to turn it off the same way. I really don't know how it could be set up for an automatic forward parking situation and not be on whenever the car is going forwa
BTW, I have a new nose cone on order and so I can do a more stealth install of the camera and the laser jammers, which are now in, my view, way too visible. That will be done in conjunction with a new design of the lighted T I'm working on (to provide even brighter and more even light) -- it will use miniature LED strips instead of individual LEDs and be much easier to install.
Yes, though a speed sensor may not be necessary. The proximity sensor should be on all the time, and switch the camera on when activated. The sensor will only notice close objects. It should never come on when moving at faster speeds, unless a collision is imminent, in which case, you wouldn't give a sh*t if it comes on or not.
Morristhecat
Member
Wait a moment, are we now talking about adding a proximity sensor to turn on the camera, which in itself is supplementing the fact that we don't have parking proximity sensors???!!!
I was going to say something along those lines but I thought I'd leave the irony to someone else.
