intermitant back up camera

[bobbrazie]

2021 Cougar 25rdswe Furrion fos48ta-bl

Just wondering if anyone has had a similar problem.
I use my backup camera when traveling down the road to see who/what is behind me.
After buying the new 2021 to upgrade from a smaller 2020 Cougar I had the dealership switch the back up camera to the new rig.
When not moving everything is working fine. When traveling it is intermittent. It stops transmitting and then searches for the camera and comes back on for awhile then does it again.
I took the camera off and inspected and re-tightened the wires and re-installed it. Didn't solve the problem.
I am suspecting a loose connection somewhere but don't know where the wires go or where they are connect to 12V.
I asked my dealer to take a look but of course the just plugged the receiver in and it was working.....
Any other ideas on where to look or something to try?
Thanks in advance. Bob.

[notanlines]

Bob, you are going to need a repeater mounted on the front of your RV. Call Furrion or look on their website and they will be easy to find. This is a very common problem with wireless cameras, of all prices!

[CedarCreekWoody]

Some camera manufacturers will provide a supplemental antenna to mount in a better location.

[bobbrazie]

Thanks, that makes sense. My TPMS comes with one.
I wonder why it didn't come with one.
It worked just fine with our 24' but the 25' is just 18" longer. Is that enough to cause the problem?
And it works just fine when standing still.

[MarkEHansen]

It works just find in most cases - that's why it doesn't come with the repeater.

Also, wireless system have a harder time when they are moving - I don't know the physics why this is, but it just is.

[RickV]

Originally Posted by MarkEHansen

It works just find in most cases - that's why it doesn't come with the repeater.

Also, wireless system have a harder time when they are moving - I don't know the physics why this is, but it just is.

Yeah mine even with an 12' antenna extension has about 2-3 seconds of delay while in motion.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by bobbrazie

Thanks, that makes sense. My TPMS comes with one.
I wonder why it didn't come with one.
It worked just fine with our 24' but the 25' is just 18" longer. Is that enough to cause the problem?
And it works just fine when standing still.

It may not be "just 18" longer" that's causing your issues... It may be the trailer structure between the camera antenna and the monitor antenna. Your old trailer may have had the "line of sight" from antenna to antenna that was clear except for an interior wood wall and the front of the trailer. The new one may have an aluminum structure, an aluminized A/C duct, the actual air conditioner, a vent fan all positioned so they "block the antennas "line of sight"... And, most of the new models have "aluminized mylar film bubble wrap" as an added insulation feature. That may be effectively working like the "lead lined walls in a radiology department"....

So, there's more to consider than "just 18 inches"...

As for the "physics of monitoring motion", when the trailer is stationary or slow moving, the background (and foreground) don't change rapidly. So the amount of "pixilation change" is minimal and the camera/monitor don't have to exchange a lot of "video information"... When on the road, towing at 65MPH, the background changes rapidly (think tar patch strips on asphalt, white intermittent lane stripes and anything behind you). That "rapid video change" saturates the changes in video and must be updated 30 FPS or 15FPS (as two examples). Those frame changes consume a lot of "broadcast bandwidth" and if there's any "interruption in signal" the video gets lost in the process, causing the monitor to "go blank"... Many "higher priced wireless systems" have software to compensate for "center screen/background information" and when the "pixel data" goes up, the software compensates by not updating the background, only updating the "center information'.... That reduces the "heavy signal changes" keeping the monitor from "going dark'...

That's a "simplified explanation" not an "in-depth electronics lesson" so it's just a "generalized way to explain the signal loss"... When you add in the "radio interference from police radar, door openers on automatic doors, other wireless camera systems on cars/trailers on the road beside your rig, there's a tremendous amount of "radio signal" that your monitor receiver has to "ignore as interference" but to do that, it has to "analyze that interference" which means "slowed monitor updates" as well as "weakened signal along with increased data transmission due to vehicle speed/video changing.....

It's not just the extra few inches of distance between the transmitter antenna and the receiver antenna.....

[flybouy]

And John's excellent explination is one of the reasons that I love my hard wired camera on the back of my unit.

[JRTJH]

My RVS Fifth wheel wired system is 10 years old, been in 3 trucks and on 2 fifth wheels and is still working perfectly. If it failed tomorrow, I'd order another one without any hesitation.

When you consider wiring the camera power, wiring the repeater and wiring the monitor, there's not much more to wiring a "wired system"...

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

It may not be "just 18" longer" that's causing your issues... It may be the trailer structure between the camera antenna and the monitor antenna. Your old trailer may have had the "line of sight" from antenna to antenna that was clear except for an interior wood wall and the front of the trailer. The new one may have an aluminum structure, an aluminized A/C duct, the actual air conditioner, a vent fan all positioned so they "block the antennas "line of sight"... And, most of the new models have "aluminized mylar film bubble wrap" as an added insulation feature. That may be effectively working like the "lead lined walls in a radiology department"....

So, there's more to consider than "just 18 inches"...

As for the "physics of monitoring motion", when the trailer is stationary or slow moving, the background (and foreground) don't change rapidly. So the amount of "pixilation change" is minimal and the camera/monitor don't have to exchange a lot of "video information"... When on the road, towing at 65MPH, the background changes rapidly (think tar patch strips on asphalt, white intermittent lane stripes and anything behind you). That "rapid video change" saturates the changes in video and must be updated 30 FPS or 15FPS (as two examples). Those frame changes consume a lot of "broadcast bandwidth" and if there's any "interruption in signal" the video gets lost in the process, causing the monitor to "go blank"... Many "higher priced wireless systems" have software to compensate for "center screen/background information" and when the "pixel data" goes up, the software compensates by not updating the background, only updating the "center information'.... That reduces the "heavy signal changes" keeping the monitor from "going dark'...

That's a "simplified explanation" not an "in-depth electronics lesson" so it's just a "generalized way to explain the signal loss"... When you add in the "radio interference from police radar, door openers on automatic doors, other wireless camera systems on cars/trailers on the road beside your rig, there's a tremendous amount of "radio signal" that your monitor receiver has to "ignore as interference" but to do that, it has to "analyze that interference" which means "slowed monitor updates" as well as "weakened signal along with increased data transmission due to vehicle speed/video changing.....

It's not just the extra few inches of distance between the transmitter antenna and the receiver antenna.....

That was a remarkably simple but detailed explanation.. I thought it was just “bad joojoo” when mine would get wonky