theboondork's RV blog

Electronic gadgets, who needs um?

8/10/2021

You need to click the pics now!...... don't make me come over their!

The neighborhood next to the school where my granddaughter and grandson will be going.

I finally worked up enough ambition to drive to the hardware store, get my empty propane tank filled up at $3.90 a gallon, and conveniently buy some paint to paint the doggy door ramp I built at my daughter's house. Hopefully, this will break me out of my lazy, unambitious, no-motivation mood. But since that hasn't happened in 74 years, I'm not going to get my hopes up.

Yesterday the monitor on the little Bronco's rear-view camera went kaput. I've checked everything I know how to check, which is pretty much limited to.....Is it getting any power? And since it is, and the screen doesn't light up, I have to assume it's something beyond my control and over and above my extremely limited electronic repair abilities. So it looks like I'm going to have to buy another one.

The camera and monitor that's on the little Bronco was originally bought for the Arctic Fox, but having no luck with a wireless camera on the Arctic Fox, I purchased a wired model for the Arctic Fox and repurposed the wireless one for the little Bronco.

Even though I could live without a rear-view camera on the little Bronco, or the Arctic Fox. After all, I drove my Hallmark truck camper, two other fifth wheels, and a van around for many years without backup cameras on them. But now that I've used these gadgets, I really like them and feel it's much safer having a perfect view of what's going on behind me.

And it makes the already easy job of backing the little Bronco into a campsite even easier and safer because, with the backup camera and the truck mirrors, I have an excellent view all around me.

Actually I don't have to have tire pressure sensors on the truck and the Arctic Fox either. Just like I don't absolutely need to have backup cameras on the little Bronco and the Arctic Fox. I also don't need a GPS in the truck because I've driven all over the United States, Europe, and Japan, holding and folding paper maps. And I certainly don't have to have the electronic gadget I just bought, that tells me how level the little Bronco is while I'm still sitting in the seat of the truck. After all I've been RVing for 40 years without any electronic gadgetry.

But strange as it may seem, I'm not as young as I used to be. My reflexes aren't lightning fast anymore, as if they ever were. I don't have the strength I once had, as if I ever did. And something as simple as looking over my shoulder to see behind me can be somewhat painful, and make more popping sounds than a castanet solo. So at my age, I believe that any electronic gadgetry I can find that helps make my RVing life easier, more convenient, and safer... Especially safer, I feel is well worth the money

Theboondork

My granddaughter at the playground

My grandson at the playground.

8 Comments

Glen

8/10/2021 05:23:16 pm

My backup camera uses bluetooth for connection. I have had to re-pair the devices. May requiring power them off for a while if you don't have other instructions.

Tom

8/10/2021 07:32:14 pm

Thanks for that information Glen. I thought about maybe the monitor and the camera had become disconnected, or unpaired if there is such a word, but I assumed that the monitor would still come on it would just be a blank screen. But I can't get the monitor to show any sign of life at all, and yet I've got 12 volt power going to the monitor.

If your monitor wouldn't come on at all and it was a pairing problem please let me know, I would be happy to have a spare backup camera if I could simply re-pair the system.

Tom

Judith

8/10/2021 07:16:31 pm

You know those castanet sounds you hear? Well, you need to do some stretching. Just turning your neck in all directions several times a day, gently. Trust me. I'm older than you are.
You've done it again with the kid photos.
Cataract surgery on my good eye in the morning, won't be able to see your blog tomorrow night. Or any blog. Patch comes off Thursday. I'm looking forward to that!! Maybe you will have some purple/orange whatever flowers. With time, I hope I can give you an authoritative answer.

8/10/2021 07:59:30 pm

Thank you Judith, I thank you, and the grandkids thank you.

Since I have backup cameras on everything I don't turn my head as often as I used to, maybe I do need some stretching, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt..... Will it?

That's gonna be great when you can see clearly again, it may be a real life changer. You'll probably be able to see clearly enough to know that I can't spell, and all my pictures of Roses are actually Dandelions. But it will be worth it when you can see clearly.

Steady be the hands of your doctor tomorrow, and may his skills and knowledge be second only to his devotion to his patients.

Tom

8/10/2021 10:08:05 pm

My monitor has gone blank and I had to use my iPhone to search for blue tooth signals. Then cleared the one and tried again. It worked. Yours however may be just a dead monitor. Hope it works.

8/11/2021 10:33:32 am

That's a good idea about using your phone to check for Bluetooth. But it looks like my backup camera monitor is just completely dead. Oh well, I'm assuming the camera still works so now I'll have a spare camera I can use for something else if I want to.

The last spare wireless camera I had I'm using to look at my tires as I'm pulling the Arctic Fox up onto the leveling blocks to see that my tires are in the right place. Since I'm alone, I used to have to get in and out of the truck several times to go look at my tires to see if they were in the right place, now I just watch my monitor.

Tom

Linda

8/11/2021 01:25:30 pm

We had a backup camera in our Class A. It was used to make sure our toad was still following us.

Several years ago the screen on my tablet went black. I could hear the ap running but I couldn't see it. It couldn't not be fixed. I had to buy a new tablet. I'm not sure that knowledge is any help to you, though.

8/11/2021 02:31:12 pm

I have two backup cameras on the Arctic Fox, one is pointed down the road to act like a rearview mirror, and the others pointed down at my little Beta motorcycle, to make sure it's still there.

I consider the backup camera that's pointed down the road as being there for safety reasons since the Arctic Fox is 8 1/2 feet wide which is a little wider than normal. And the mirrors on my truck aren't what I would consider real truck mirrors, so I consider the backup camera as essential safety equipment. Whereas the camera pointing at the little Beta dirt bike is there just to make me feel better.

I try to fix most things myself, including computers, because paying someone else to fix most things is not worth the cost. I'm usually better off just buying a new thing than paying someone to fix the old thing. And that's what happened with the backup camera monitor that's on the little Bronco. It just wasn't worth fixing.

Now one day if I can ignite the tiniest spark of ambition I will probably take the backup camera monitor apart and see if it's something easy to fix, and if it is, I will fix it and put the monitor away to use for some other project.

But right now since I leave the little Bronco on my truck all the time, and my truck is my daily driver, for safety reasons I need an operating rearview camera so I can see the devastation that I leave in my wake, so getting a new one right away was important.

Tom

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Electronic gadgets, who needs um?

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