Front Remote Camera - a cure for parking anxiety

10415 Views 32 Replies 11 Participants Last post by hasarad, Sep 26, 2021

Min Pin

Discussion Starter · Mar 19, 2019

7

Ever since I started to drive (and park) Insight since last September, I began to develope this fear of smashing the front fender into a concrete parking block. I was parking my car about 2 feet away from the front curb. My other car is Jeep Wrangler so I have no problem when I park that car.

I finally installed a remote camera, and now I can see.

It's not easy to tap into the fuse box and bring the wire out without drilling some hole into the box, so I used a separate 12-volt Lithium-Ion Battery I had for RC toys. The camera I used is made for a backup viewing so it is not made to stay on all the time. Also, the image is left to right reversed, but that does not matter in this usage.
I used remote control switch to turn on/off from inside the cab without drilling any holes through the bulkhead wall.
Insight has layers of sound insulation so I did not want to damage any of that.

Digital RF Remote switch, iMBAPrice 12v Car and Boat Remote, $14.79
Camera, Yada Wireless Backup Camera, $78.99
Battery, Thunder Power, LI-Polymer 3 cell rated at 25A continuous. about $50.00 a few years back.

The usage of this battery is temporary test case. The remote switch draws .005A at standby and .1A with camera on, so I will need to recharge my small Lipo battery every 2 weeks or so. I will need to look into a better way to tap into the 12V Insight battery for more permanent solution.

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insightfully

· #2 · Mar 19, 2019

min pin said:
ever since i started to drive (and park) insight since last september, i began to develope this fear of smashing the front fender into a concrete parking block. I was parking my car about 2 feet away from the front curb. My other car is jeep wrangler so i have no problem when i park that car.

I finally installed a remote camera, and now i can see.
[...]
the usage of this battery is temporary test case. The remote switch draws .005a at standby and .1a with camera on, so i will need to recharge my small lipo battery every 2 weeks or so. I will need to look into a better way to tap into the 12v insight battery for more permanent solution.

Cool idea and application! Maybe once @geiser figures out how to connect an upsized horn to the 12V battery, the same connection approach can be used for your front-end camera.

It's too bad that the parking sensors don't have a wider (hi/lo) reading range, rather than being for 'straight ahead' objects. I've been backing into MANY more parking spots lately (or intentionally looking for spots without parking blocks) to avoid the risk of front fender grinding...

Wifey'sInsight

· #3 · Jul 28, 2019

andrew28 said:
I'm buying 2 similar white silicone frames from another brand on Amazon. Good excuse to replace the dealer frames and have them match the color of my license plate/car. :grin:

(Picture from an Amazon reviwer)

I saw a SUV with the bumpshox and told myself I would rather risk damage than have that ugly box protruding out the front bumper. lain:

Honestly shocked no one has come out with a front plate cover aftermarket add-on with some sort of audible sensor to indicate that you are getting close to the vehicle in front of you. I mean a camera would be the ideal solution, just no good way to add it to our infotainment screen yet.

Verdier

· #4 · Jul 28, 2019

I can't remember the name but there are systems that do exactly that. Aftermarket stuff that usually fits on the lp and offers parking sensors, camera, and cross traffic.

andrew28

· #5 · Jul 28, 2019

Wifey'sInsight said:
Honestly shocked no one has come out with a front plate cover aftermarket add-on with some sort of audible sensor to indicate that you are getting close to the vehicle in front of you. I mean a camera would be the ideal solution, just no good way to add it to our infotainment screen yet.

https://www.gen3insight.com/forum/9...erships-tomorrow-7-16-2019-a-3.html#post19276

Honda actually made a front camera system for the Japanese Insight discovered by @insightfully here.

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Wifey'sInsight

· #6 · Jul 28, 2019

Question #1, does it use the infotainment screen?

Question #2, do we think it's something we could add, or would we need to have Japanese insight software?

Verdier

· #7 · Jul 28, 2019

Wifey'sInsight said:
Question #1, does it use the infotainment screen?

Question #2, do we think it's something we could add, or would we need to have Japanese insight software?

Cool to have, but the front parking sensors could help you out too.

andrew28

· #8 · Jul 28, 2019

Wifey'sInsight said:
Question #1, does it use the infotainment screen?
Question #2, do we think it's something we could add, or would we need to have Japanese insight software?

Yes, if you watch that video on the website.

The Japanese Insight's display audio tablet does run a different user interface compared to ours. Not sure if it runs on the same OS and if the front camera system requires it.

Wifey'sInsight

· #9 · Jul 28, 2019

Verdier said:
Cool to have, but the front parking sensors could help you out too.

Honestly more for my significant other. The added utility of the front camera set up, is enticing for me though. Given the cost of the parking sensors, it made no sense for us. The back-up camera has been more than sufficient for parallel parking.

Wolverine51

· #10 · Nov 11, 2019

One feature I would dearly like to have (surely not expensive, but still very rare on any vehicle), is a front view camera that would let me safely park close to something ahead of me (like a wall, a tree, another vehicle, etc.)

Where can I best place this post in the forum that might get the most attention ?

insightfully

· #11 · Nov 11, 2019 (Edited)

Wolverine51 said:
One feature I would dearly like to have (surely not expensive, but still very rare on any vehicle), is a front view camera that would let me safely park close to something ahead of me (like a wall, a tree, another vehicle, etc.)

Where can I best place this post in the forum that might get the most attention ?

Added your question/mention to this thread on 'front remote camera' which offers one suggested solution that works.

In Japan, Honda offers an OEM license-plate mounted front camera, which has a view that is integrated with the infotainment screen.

https://www.gen3insight.com/forum/19276-post28.html

andrew28

· #12 · Nov 11, 2019 (Edited)

Wolverine51 said:
One feature I would dearly like to have (surely not expensive, but still very rare on any vehicle), is a front view camera that would let me safely park close to something ahead of me (like a wall, a tree, another vehicle, etc.)

Where can I best place this post in the forum that might get the most attention ?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TC1H7K7/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A36E1YBFSPUNWD&psc=1
^Possible aftermarket solution.

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Wolverine51

· #13 · Nov 13, 2019

That camera sure has good reviews for its price. But for me personally, I'm not into smart phones yet.

I'm really interested in promoting the front view camera as a feature on all new cars. I've never understood why this hasn't been asked for by more buyers.

Verdier

· #14 · Nov 13, 2019

Wolverine51 said:
That camera sure has good reviews for its price. But for me personally, I'm not into smart phones yet.

I'm really interested in promoting the front view camera as a feature on all new cars. I've never understood why this hasn't been asked for by more buyers.

My guess is more manufacturers in the US are opting for front parking sensors instead.

dtusia

· #15 · Nov 13, 2019

Min Pin said:
Ever since I started to drive (and park) Insight since last September, I began to develope this fear of smashing the front fender into a concrete parking block. I was parking my car about 2 feet away from the front curb. My other car is Jeep Wrangler so I have no problem when I park that car.

I finally installed a remote camera, and now I can see.

It's not easy to tap into the fuse box and bring the wire out without drilling some hole into the box, so I used a separate 12-volt Lithium-Ion Battery I had for RC toys. The camera I used is made for a backup viewing so it is not made to stay on all the time. Also, the image is left to right reversed, but that does not matter in this usage.
I used remote control switch to turn on/off from inside the cab without drilling any holes through the bulkhead wall.
Insight has layers of sound insulation so I did not want to damage any of that.

Digital RF Remote switch, iMBAPrice 12v Car and Boat Remote, $14.79
Camera, Yada Wireless Backup Camera, $78.99
Battery, Thunder Power, LI-Polymer 3 cell rated at 25A continuous. about $50.00 a few years back.

The usage of this battery is temporary test case. The remote switch draws .005A at standby and .1A with camera on, so I will need to recharge my small Lipo battery every 2 weeks or so. I will need to look into a better way to tap into the 12V Insight battery for more permanent solution.

How did you mount that extra monitor in your car?

andrew28

· #16 · Nov 13, 2019

Wolverine51 said:
That camera sure has good reviews for its price. But for me personally, I'm not into smart phones yet.

I'm really interested in promoting the front view camera as a feature on all new cars. I've never understood why this hasn't been asked for by more buyers.

I wonder if it's technically possible for Honda to give us a live feed of the camera behind the front windshield streamed to the infotainment system. I think that would be better than a front camera on the outside because it would be prone to obstruction from ice/snow and flying rocks.

Verdier

· #17 · Nov 13, 2019

andrew28 said:
Wolverine51 said:

That camera sure has good reviews for its price. But for me personally, I'm not into smart phones yet.

I'm really interested in promoting the front view camera as a feature on all new cars. I've never understood why this hasn't been asked for by more buyers.

Click to expand...

I wonder if it's technically possible for Honda to give us a live feed of the camera behind the front windshield streamed to the infotainment system. I think that would be better than a front camera on the outside because it would be prone to obstruction from ice/snow and flying rocks.

I was looking into adding a camera to my left mirror and was hoping I could have it show up in my infotainment center like my right hand lanewatch camera. Unfortunately Adam informed me that he has tried this on several vehicles with no success. Unfortunately these infotainment connections are usually data lines rather than straight power connections and he hasn't been able to figure out how to do it. He feels that it would be more of a software hack along with a hardware hack to make it work. In other words I doubt it could be done easily without Honda's direct help. Which of course they won't provide.

Wolverine51

· #18 · Nov 14, 2019

I suppose sensors would somewhat be cheaper.

But I'd really like to see broken glass, nails, depth of holes in the road, height of curbs, etc., there in front of me.

insightfully

· #19 · Nov 14, 2019

Wolverine51 said:
I suppose sensors would somewhat be cheaper.

But I'd really like to see broken glass, nails, depth of holes in the road, height of curbs, etc., there in front of me.

Honda's parking sensors are only helpful to the extent that the object(s) ahead are within a ~1 ft vertical band/range of the sensors, and 20" (front) to 70" (back) in horizontal distance from the sensors. They definitely don't prevent curb rash.

Did you have or use something different on your prior cars? Or are you finding the Insight's hood too long to view over? Or the Insight's clearance too low for curb clearance?

jensight

· #20 · May 9, 2021 (Edited)

In case anyone is interested in a simple wireless solution with a separate display, I got this one for my other vehicle:

https://www.costco.com/type-s-6.8-widescreen-solar-powered-hd-wireless-backup-camera-2.0.product.100681295.html

[ For some reason the link is no longer working for me. Search for backup camera on Costco's website ]

At time of posting, it's on sale for $110 which is $50 off.

I bought two of them to have the front and rear views since my 2004 car doesn't have any cameras, just parking sensors. The full system is currently only $10 more than the additional camera option. That doesn't come with the display, dc adapter and has a smaller battery.

https://www.costco.com/.product.100505008.html

I paired both cameras with one display, so now I have an extra display and power adapter.

Advantages:

Simple installation.
Solar charging.
Touch screen and motion sensor. Sensor can be disabled.
Optional parking lines.
Widescreen with ability to scroll view up and down.
Split screen possible, if you have two.
160 degree view. Still not as good as the wide rear view on the Insight.
Remembers which camera you had selected last at power on.

Disadvantages:

Solar charging. A problem if your plate doesn't see much sunlight. You can manually charge the plates using the microUSB port. Some people report three to four weeks use before that is necessary when parked in a garage.
Cameras are easily stolen with just a screwdriver. You can buy security bolts for the plate for some deterrence.
720p. Not terrible, but there are 4k wired options available.
Slight delay between turning on and image appearing. Less than two seconds for me, but others have said it's longer for them.
Protrudes from license plate. A front collision or someone hitting it in a parking lot will likely damage the camera.
May cover part of your plate that is required to be visible by law. Some reviewers said they returned theirs because of this issue.

I am not using the mount. The widescreen display fits nicely on a non slip mat I put between the gear shift and the lowest row of buttons on my center console.

I have a switched lighter circuit on my car so the display turns on when I turn on the engine. It automatically times out after 45 seconds. The timeout is adjustable. There's a USB port on the display. I haven't tested whether that works with the Insight's USB ports for power.

EDIT: After a week in the garage, the battery indicators for the cameras were still full. After a shopping trip today, using the cameras about five times, the indicators were still full on return. So far, I recommend this solution

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