hynespa
Well-Known Member
- Jun 7, 2010
- 314
- Boat Info
- 2005 420 Sundancer
- Engines
- T-VD-8.1 S HO MerCruiser (T-420 hp)
I have felt at times my view from the helm wasn't the best - and as a result frequently stood or put the helm seat in the high position to try and get the best view. I was aware that my Raymarine eS127 MFD had the ability to display camera video from either an analog camera with a BNC type connector or by a IP camera. I decided to go with the less expensive option:
1)
The official Raymarine CAM100 costs around $500. However on eBay I found a camera for $115 (WHITE IR COLOR MARINE 24 LED CAMERA for RAYMARINE SIMRAD GARMIN GPS SYSTEM). I wasn't sure if it would truly work, but was willing to give it a shot and hopefully return it if it didn't work. The camera came with a 50' power / BNC cable.
2)
- The BNC adapter on the camera cable hooked right into the black BNC hookup coming off the MFD. The power cable for the camera I added to an unused fuse block on my boat. I plan to eventually have the camera hooked to a dash power switch, otherwise it will be drawing (a small amount) of power all the time.
3)
- I temporarily mounted the camera on the canopy with heavy duty two sided tape. I did this because I wanted to play around with the location while the boat was both docked and underway. This is actually the second location I chose because too much of the view from the first location was blocked by the canopy so I had to move it further up. My plan once I am 100% satisfied with the location is to put it permanently in place and run the cable inside the canopy down to the dash.
4)
- Here is the view of the camera on the dash. I would rate the picture quality as "OK". I did have to go into the MFD configuration and change the aspect ratio from 4:3 to 16:9. I would be curious if the much more expensive CAM100 produced a much better picture than this cheaper knock off or if they are comparable. As mentioned above I am going to try it out for a while on some cruises before I permanently drill/screw into the fiberglass canopy.
1)
The official Raymarine CAM100 costs around $500. However on eBay I found a camera for $115 (WHITE IR COLOR MARINE 24 LED CAMERA for RAYMARINE SIMRAD GARMIN GPS SYSTEM). I wasn't sure if it would truly work, but was willing to give it a shot and hopefully return it if it didn't work. The camera came with a 50' power / BNC cable.2)
- The BNC adapter on the camera cable hooked right into the black BNC hookup coming off the MFD. The power cable for the camera I added to an unused fuse block on my boat. I plan to eventually have the camera hooked to a dash power switch, otherwise it will be drawing (a small amount) of power all the time.3)
- I temporarily mounted the camera on the canopy with heavy duty two sided tape. I did this because I wanted to play around with the location while the boat was both docked and underway. This is actually the second location I chose because too much of the view from the first location was blocked by the canopy so I had to move it further up. My plan once I am 100% satisfied with the location is to put it permanently in place and run the cable inside the canopy down to the dash.4)
- Here is the view of the camera on the dash. I would rate the picture quality as "OK". I did have to go into the MFD configuration and change the aspect ratio from 4:3 to 16:9. I would be curious if the much more expensive CAM100 produced a much better picture than this cheaper knock off or if they are comparable. As mentioned above I am going to try it out for a while on some cruises before I permanently drill/screw into the fiberglass canopy.
