Backup camera txmit range, antenna splice? Help?
 

I have this camera:

Its on a 24" bunkhouse travel trailer. All that I read said it should be no problem mounted that way. When I installed it, worked fine... but on the road, no signal gets to the Sequoia. I figured out that I installed it with the back of the trailer facing my house, and the signal was bouncing off the house to get to the cab, but on the open road, no joy. It works fine as we enter a tunnel. The antenna is only a few inches long. Newer models sold on Amazon have an 18" antenna.

SO... I need to lengthen this antenna or splice a new something into it for the antenna to reach the top of the trailer whereby the signal doesn't have to transmit through the entire trailer but rather "over" it. Ideally there would be an small blade (sharkfin?) antenna or something attached to the top of the trailer.

Can I just splice a length of thin copper wire? What is the small bulge with the white thread on the end of the wire... I'm sure it something sciency?

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6b0f02b84f.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...78b8b25ff2.jpg

Dude, antenna theory is crazy complex. My first real antennas class wasn't until graduate level.

This is one of those "try it and see" scenarios. Extend in the black portion on the camera side of the bulge (assuming there is only 1 conductor in that wire, if there are more, back away). Measure the length of that black portion prior to cutting so you can go back to it if needed.

Be comfortable with the knowledge that you might break this thing and have to get a new one.

You can try splicing in different lengths, I suspect you will at least want to get the white part to a line-of-sight location with the reciever. You aren't making the antenna better, you are moving it to a location where the signal isn't blocked by metal objects.

Edit: if that black wire is coax, you will eff this thing up.
Edit (again): I ~ think ~ what you have there is a 2.45GHz ISM band radio with a differential (coax) feed, a balun (black magic inside) and a quarter wavelength monopole. That looks like tiny coax, which is extremely difficult to work with.

^This is a bummer. I'm going to have many thought about what to do. I wasn't aware that coax came in wire that small. Much thinking happening in my brain.

Sure does (small coax), and is super common now with embedded wifi modules and modular regulatory radio approvals. Now, once again... gotta be comfortable with the likelihood of breaking the thing....

That stuff is standardized and such a bitch to work with that most (China is a bit of a wild-card) simply source antennas with tiny board level connectors from third party suppliers. It is a pretty big market, and you can buy antennas at this frequency from every major distributor (ie Digikey, Mouser, Newark, ...) that are finished assemblies with antenna, coax, and connector. The connector and coax dictate the impedance, so the antennas are very universal.

Crack that thing open, if it has a board level connector you may just be able to buy a compatible antenna with a longer coax feed or better radiation pattern and gain. Make sure you get the right connector polarity.

JACKPOT! More thinking prevails. I got into the truck and started messing around. So... it didn't occur to me that the camera was taking a 12v feed from the running lights on the trailer. When I originally installed it in the driveway, must have had them on, which is why it worked fine on install day... which is also why it worked inside tunnels because the auto-on darkness sensor for the headlights would engage the running lights. In the end, it had nothing to do with the signal strength from bad antenna placement... it was the damn 12v source from the running lights.

So... problem solved.

Thanks to Ted for some antenna construction education.

Easy button wins the day!

Extending the antenna by adding an 18" antenna on top of the trailer should improve signal reception. Ensure a secure and grounded installation, and test it for effectiveness.

Holy shit, Craig... way to make your first post fucking terrible. You dig up a 3 month old thread to tell me to do something Ted said likely wouldn't work in the second post and that I solved in fifth post.

And is it me, or does Craig sound like a bot. NEGCAT for sure.

Sounds like bot to me.


Says the fucckin' bot.

The internet sure is weird.