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The first problem was that I have a pick up with a crew cab and a long box; the distance from the back of the truck to the cab seemed to be right on the limits of what this camera would do. So when I placed it within the tow-hitch receiver effectively a heavy metal tube the signal from the camera was too weak and when I got a picture on the monitor it was very a jumpy and grainy, and not really of any use.
I got an extension lead for the power cable and moved the camera to the tailgate with the aerial poking over the top of the box. This worked great, even if it ended up leaving scratches on my paintwork a price worth paying to avoid a dent in the bumper! But then I was frightened the camera would be very visible so could easily be stolen. Eventually I found a spot for it under the bumper where it worked acceptably well and was not too obvious.
Then one day I left my phone at home and discovered that as my truck's Bluetooth hands free system searched for the missing phone, so the camera stopped working. Reversing meant waiting for the ten seconds the camera was blank, and then quickly reversing into a space for the ten seconds it worked! Not practical in the average Wal-Mart.
All this would have left it at three stars, but this week the camera has given up the ghost. The wires coming out of the power cord connector had started to perish and caused a short circuit blowing a fuse in the truck. This was quickly repaired, but as I was trying to mend the broken wires I discovered the wires were broken in two more places. Again, I tried to repair it, but discovered that all this power going to the wrong place had blown the circuit board, and the unit no longer works. I got it in March and it died in June not good value. It has not been exposed to extreme conditions of heat or cold, so all I can conclude is that the quality of the materials is sub-standard. But of course, because I have taken it to pieces and tried to re-build it, I can't now send it back.
Such a shame because otherwise I loved it! Why can't they make if of better wires and plastic, then it would get five stars (or perhaps four).Purchased master lock back up camera, worked great first time even with vehicle equipped with voice command and blue tooth which I was told would be a problem. The tip to turn on the lights when using was just all that needed to be done. Backed up and hitched my trailer first try. Would highly recommend.I purchased this camera due to the ease of installation as well as the positioning of the camera inside the tow receiver. Note to anybody looking to do this... Make sure your tow receiver is open in the back or that it is deep enough to accommodate the camera and the antenna sticking out the back... The camera was slightly too long to fit my aftermarket Reese class III/IV tow receiver... The antenna had to be bent slightly so that I could fit the camera inside the receiver to allow my hitch lock to be used.
As to the use of the camera, in my driveway during the install, the camera worked great... However, as soon as I drove off, the camera lost signal and I either got a very fuzzy picture or complete static... This is caused by the camera antenna being housed inside the hitch receiver (completely metal enclosure). If you use the camera on the tail gate, the picture is fine.
I think that if you have to pay $170 for this camera, there should be a clear picture all the time or at the very least a majority of the time and a way to adjust and troubleshoot it to improve performance.
I contacted Master Lock, and their customer support did not have any suggestions or solutions to my problem. I talked to my father, who is an electrical engineer, and he made a suggestion that has worked in my case and may help anyone else who has reception issues:
What you will need: 50 ohm coaxial cable(connector should fit the antenna connector on the monitor) long enough to route the antenna to the back of the truck (mine was approximately 25'), female/female coaxial adapter (will be used to attach the coaxial cable and "monitor" antenna)
Note: This took me approximately 3 hours to completely finish, although I was figuring it out as I went in terms of where to route cable... also, I did this at night in the dark using a flashlight to see what I was doing :)
1. Attach antenna to end of coaxial cable using the female/female coaxial adapter
2. Attach coaxial cable to the monitor
3. Route cable outside the truck (outside window, along ground for testing purposes) to a spot where your antenna gets clear reception and make note of final location for your antenna (Mine ended up right behind the hitch receiver with the antenna inside one of the holes in the back of the receiver... essentially placing both the camera and antenna right next to each other.)
4 Figure out how you wish to route the coaxial cable from your cab to the back of the truck. My monitor was mounted in the center of my dashboard using the suction cup mount. I routed the cable along the bottom of the windshield and along the drivers side door jamb (I cut a small slit in the weather stripping in the crease and routed the cable through to keep the weather seal integrity) into the engine compartment, where I dropped it down and under the truck. I stayed away from the exhaust pipe and used existing electrical routing to loosely route the cable to the final location. NOTE: Keep the coaxial cable away from any
5. Starting from the monitor, I began to secure the cable, leaving a little slack at the end to allow for monitor reposition in the future. I tucked the cable into the edge of the dashboard to hide the cable. I used electrical tape at the door jamb to secure the cable to the vehicle body to ensure the cable doesn't get pinched by the door or the truck hood, as well as keeping it from moving around. In the engine compartment and under the truck, I zip tied the cable to other electrical wiring, making sure it was pulled tight enough to prevent dragging or unwanted movement.
6. Coil the extra cable (I had about 3-5' extra), leaving enough to reach the final antenna location. I secured the extra cable up inside the bumper where there was an opening with a screw hole using a zip tie.
7. I secured the antenna at the final spot behind the hitch receiver by using a zip tie anchor(stick back)and electrical tape to protect the connection between the antenna and the coaxial cable to help weather proof the connector.
This final setup has yielded a completely clear picture that has no static.
I realize that some people will probably say: "If you plan to route the cable all the way back to the back of the truck, then why not just buy a wired camera? I still have flexibility with the location of the camera if I need to by simply removing the camera and placing it somewhere else, and the camera is still secured best using the hitch lock to prevent theft.
Since Master Lock recommends that you take your camera off when washing your vehicle, I have also weatherproofed the camera setup so that I would not have to remove the camera all the time... NOTE: If you plan to use your hitch receiver often, this method is not for you :). I do not tow anything, so I plan to keep the camera in the hitch receiver for a long time.
What you'll need:
1. A 4 inch by 4 inch piece of clear plastic (I used a clear box that my Ed Hardy Cologne came in)
2. Electrical tape
3. Scissors
Instructions:
1. Using a pen, mark off a 2x2inch square in the center of the piece of plastic (size of your hitch receiver opening)
2. Using scissors, cut out a slightly larger than 1" square from each of the four corners. Your piece of plastic should look like a plus sign at this point. You may want to snip a little extra off the bottom left corner of the square center to allow for your power cable to come out, no more than a millimeter or two.
3. Fold plastic tabs down so that you are looking at a square.
4. Insert the tabs into the hitch receiver so that your camera is now behind a solid piece of clear plastic.
5. Seal the edges of your receiver and plastic lens by using black electrical tape.
VOILA!
**********Update:**********
I have since replaced my weatherproofing rig with a new, removable system:
What you will need:
1. Rubber removable hitch cover (bought mine here on amazon)
2. A roughly 2 inch by 2 inch piece of clear plastic
3. Tape
Instructions: You will be cutting a window in the rubber tail hitch cover for your camera to look through
1. Using a knife (I used a folding knife, but for more precision, maybe an exacto knife would be better), cut along the inside of the hitch cover, first along the bottom edge of the rubber where the flat surface of the hitch cover meets the walls.
2. Cut along the right and left sides of the hitch cover vertically from the inside where the flat surface of the hitch cover meets the walls approximately 1 1.5" in length.
3. Cut from the top of the vertical cut across the hitch cover. This should form a perfect rectangle which should be removed to form the opening for the camera.
4. Take the plastic, and using the same technique listed in the previous instructions for weatherproofing, create a clear window for your hitch cover opening.
5. Either tape or glue the plastic to the hitch cover from the inside of the hitch cover, sealing the rig from the elements.While the idea behind this system is excellent and the easy of installation is more than I expected the system just doesn't work. I cannot get a clear picture no matter how I adjust it. I contacted the company and they attempted to help but nothing they suggested worked. They did admitt that this was a problem with the unit. I have installed other units on previous vehicles that have worked. I had hoped this unit would work as well as they did because it is not hard to install and can easily be transferred. But it just does not provide a clear picture. I would not recommend anyone purchasing the unit.
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