Cameras and the "Transpareant hood "

Saw this video and it got me thinking.
Land Rover's Transparent hood" concept
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=L7j1daOk72c
While a 'heads-up' display is out of my price range, cameras and monitors keep getting cheaper and they are showing up in new cars, mounted in multiple places.
Owning both an RV and a car with backup cameras, I'm thinking about adding a monitor and two cameras to the XJ. Too many times the trail comes to a steep drop off with no sight line on what's down there so getting out a taking a look is a necessity (if you want to stay alive longer).
A wide-angle camera, on the grill, aimed downward, might just work,. It would also be useful for self-spotting. I'm sure this has been done many time before. Anyone here try it?

I have used a good quality wide-angle camera on the rear of our RV for years and like the LED illuminators for night use. You can see a good 50' rearward, nice for backing into campsites and gas stations at night.
Wonder if it is possible to use an iPhone or iPad Mini as the monitor, also serving as the GPS and Dash-Command gauge.
A WiFi GoPro camera could be used for occasional use, with an external power supply.

Sounds neat to me, I've been bouncing a camera and/or bumper mounted park assist radar for a while now. I never thought of using one on the bumper/grille for spotting.


What about one of those lisc plate mounted ones? or do you have a winch/bumper/asst. gizmos hanging off the front of the truck...lol

I recently put one on my rear hatch to Help the wife with backing up with the spare tire back there. Also awesome for hitching our small utility trailer. I used a Pyle unit, cost like $60 shipped off amazon. Hard wired camera and monitor into a switch. Haven't hooked it to reverse lights yet, but I may do that in the future. My monitor has dual inputs, so I imagine I can hook up a second camera on a switch on the front bumper (which I thought about) and then could use the switches to select between them. I think I'd have to rewire the monitor to a separate switch for it to work though. 3 switches for cameras is too much for me do I prob won't do it. Some monitors have buttons you can use to select between cameras which would make it easier to use two cameras with.

A GoPro and your smart phone will work, but if you're looking something more permanent use a cheap Wi Fi camera, and an Android tablet. i anything tablet doesn't have true GPS, and will be useless for anything GPS related. Do a quick Youtube search on using a Nexus 7, or Galaxy Tab as an in dash stereo, and you'll find all kinds of videos on doing it. Pretty slick really. I picked up a First Gen Nexus 7 8 gig that wouldn't charge off my brother for free, and ended up tossing a new (used) 32 gig mother board in it for less than $30 for the fix. My plan is to use in in my truck, and Jeep as a media center/nav/GPS unit.

someone buy this:

http://tech.woot.com/offers/4-cam-backup-camera-system-with-7-lcd?ref=cnt_wp_1_14

Since I'm already have an iPad and iPhone, I was hoping to be able to use one of them but, with further research, it isn't going to be practical.
I am planning on getting a GoPro camera, so I will experiment with it later.

The camera system, shown on the Woot Tech site, is good for an RV but the monitor is big for the XJ's dash and it can only be used for the camera.
BTW, I have a similar system in my RV and like the LED infrared illuminators for night use.
I need to find a kit with a smaller monitor that can sit on the dash without blocking the view too much. It also needs to ab able to use two or more cameras, one with the ability to reverse its image, for back up use.
The XJ's interior is already packed tight with three radios, GPS, gauges, extra switches and all the other stuff, now I need to cram in another screen.

FYI there is a delay with the gopro on wifi and you will probably want to run a usb power to it as it consumes battery fairly fast depending on recording resolution. It wil work depending on your speed.

chasdb said:

FYI there is a delay with the gopro on wifi and you will probably want to run a usb power to it as it consumes battery fairly fast depending on recording resolution. It wil work depending on your speed.

Click to expand...

Well, seeing the rock, just after you run over it, doesn't seem to the best solution to this quest. lol
Not sure if risking a $400 camera is a good idea either. I will look for a cheap monitor and two waterproof cameras and see how that works out.
I don't want to get too much money in this in case it doesn't work effectively, it's just an experiment.
I recently drove a new Nissan Rouge with 'Around View Monitor'. It has a screen which shows a bird's eye sort of view of the area around the car, using 4 exterior cameras.
Didn't like the Rouge's engine/transmission but I liked the monitor and found it to be useful when driving, not just while in reverse. The door cameras are also used for the blind spot monitoring system/alarm.
https://www.google.com/search?q=aro...or-infinitis-around-view-monitor.html;500;321
Never seen anything quite like it in the aftermarket. The front view switches to the back, when the trans is in reverse. Seeing this started me thinking about front cameras for both the XJ and the RV.

go here:

http://www.dx.com/c/car-accessories-799/car-alarm-security-709/rearview-mirrors-cameras-715

you'll find something.

XJLI said:

go here:

http://www.dx.com/c/car-accessories-799/car-alarm-security-709/rearview-mirrors-cameras-715
you'll find something.

Click to expand...

Lots of good stuff, thanks.