Installation Of A Pormido 998 Mirror/Camera System

[Gary Lewis]

And I don't have a yellow input.

I do!

I said to myself "wow! good idea for BigBro front view", but... Unfortunately, grill emblem is 7" wide, this cam-emblem is 9".

It would be interesting to document the badge/cameras that will fit the 82-86 grilles.

[Gary Lewis]

It would be interesting to document the badge/cameras that will fit the 82-86 grilles.

Making progress. Got the adapter plate powder coated today, and in satin black you can now see it:

And here 'tis mounted on the mirror:

And a couple of shots of the mirror installed. But, there's a minor problem. If you scroll back up you'll see that I centered the hole for the arm to mount to. However, if you look at one of the Bullnose mirrors you'll see that the arm attaches toward the top of the mirror. So I really should drill a hole 1" higher and lower the mirror that much. You can see in the shot below that at this height the microphone for the hands-free is visible in the mirror, so lowering it 1" would help.

Once that was done I re-joined the pieces of the rear extension cable. Melissa, the tech at Pormido, doubted my ability to do this, so this is somewhat to show her that I can do it. Basically, I soldered each connection and used adhesive-lined heat shrink on it - except for the uninsulated drain wire. Then I slipped aluminum foil over the whole thing to provide a shield, which contacted the drain wire as a ground, and then a larger piece of adhesive-lined heat shrink over that. And the rear camera works perfectly.

With that done I connected the two cameras and tested where I thought I want to put the rear camera. Here are two options that I like. In the one on the left you can see the camera angled down from under the step of the bumper. If I use that I'll probably make a wedge to mount the camera on and bolt it through the hole in the bumper.

But the one on the right is my favorite so far as it is about twice as far above the trailer hitch as the other one, so should make connecting the trailer easier. However, note that the camera is angled down in both shots. It looks like 35 degrees down compared to the tag, and it takes that to be able to see the ball of the hitch.

However, I'm open to other suggestions. http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/uploads/6/5/8/7/65879365/waving_orig.gif

And last, here's a video showing how you can scroll up and down on the views. This is because the camera is probably in 16:9 format but the display is more like 16:4. So there's plenty of ability to scroll up or down. Once you've scrolled the view stays there unless you scroll again - except when you shift into Reverse, assuming you connect that wire to the backup lights.

In that case a pair of lines appear on the screen to help you back. And you adjust the lines, as well as the view you want, up or down, in the setup screen for Reverse. This thing has bunches of bells and whistles!

 

[Gary Lewis]

Making progress. Got the adapter plate powder coated today, and in satin black you can now see it:

And here 'tis mounted on the mirror:

And a couple of shots of the mirror installed. But, there's a minor problem. If you scroll back up you'll see that I centered the hole for the arm to mount to. However, if you look at one of the Bullnose mirrors you'll see that the arm attaches toward the top of the mirror. So I really should drill a hole 1" higher and lower the mirror that much. You can see in the shot below that at this height the microphone for the hands-free is visible in the mirror, so lowering it 1" would help.

Once that was done I re-joined the pieces of the rear extension cable. Melissa, the tech at Pormido, doubted my ability to do this, so this is somewhat to show her that I can do it. Basically, I soldered each connection and used adhesive-lined heat shrink on it - except for the uninsulated drain wire. Then I slipped aluminum foil over the whole thing to provide a shield, which contacted the drain wire as a ground, and then a larger piece of adhesive-lined heat shrink over that. And the rear camera works perfectly.

With that done I connected the two cameras and tested where I thought I want to put the rear camera. Here are two options that I like. In the one on the left you can see the camera angled down from under the step of the bumper. If I use that I'll probably make a wedge to mount the camera on and bolt it through the hole in the bumper.

But the one on the right is my favorite so far as it is about twice as far above the trailer hitch as the other one, so should make connecting the trailer easier. However, note that the camera is angled down in both shots. It looks like 35 degrees down compared to the tag, and it takes that to be able to see the ball of the hitch.

However, I'm open to other suggestions.

And last, here's a video showing how you can scroll up and down on the views. This is because the camera is probably in 16:9 format but the display is more like 16:4. So there's plenty of ability to scroll up or down. Once you've scrolled the view stays there unless you scroll again - except when you shift into Reverse, assuming you connect that wire to the backup lights.

In that case a pair of lines appear on the screen to help you back. And you adjust the lines, as well as the view you want, up or down, in the setup screen for Reverse. This thing has bunches of bells and whistles!

I want to document some measurements I've made.

First, there are two ways to power the unit. It comes with a power adapter that plugs into the cigar lighter, but if you power it that way on our trucks the unit will always be on since our cigar lighters are always hot.

The other way is with the module that is in their "hardware kit", and this is the way I'm installing it. That unit turns the 12v into 5v for the mirror & has two power wires into the module. One is labeled B+ and goes to always-on power. The other is labeled ACC and goes to key-on power. And when you hit the ACC lead with power it takes about 4 seconds for the mirror to come on.

When on and at max brightness I measured 888 ma draw on the B+ wire, and nothing on the ACC wire, but dialing the brightness down a bit brought it down to about 650 ma on the B+ wire. And when you kill power to the ACC wire the unit usually powers down in a few seconds. But, if the ACC wire isn't connected to a load the unit doesn't always power down - apparently because that is just a sense wire.

When ACC is off and B+ is on the unit is watching for an impact. If one is detected the display will come on and it will record for whatever length of time you've set and lock that file so it can't be overwritten. And while the unit is on it'll pull the normal current, meaning ~650 ma. But when it is just monitoring it pulls 7 ma. In other words, not much at all.

I think there's another mode where the thing is recording all the time you are parked, but I've not investigated that - yet. I don't see a need for that normally, but I can see that in some situations that might be helpful.

As for the front camera, it looks to me like I need a box with at least these inside dimensions: 3" wide; 2" top/bottom; 1 1/2" front/rear. That would give me enough extra room to install a waterproof grommet and wrap the wire around the end of the camera and plug it in. And I'll have to slip the cable through that grommet before splicing the wire to the end with the connector.

However, that begs the question of how to mount the camera. I'm thinking that it might be best to use their double-stick tape and attach it to the clear lid. That way I can take the lid off if I need to get to the camera.

[Gary Lewis]

I want to document some measurements I've made.

First, there are two ways to power the unit. It comes with a power adapter that plugs into the cigar lighter, but if you power it that way on our trucks the unit will always be on since our cigar lighters are always hot.

The other way is with the module that is in their "hardware kit", and this is the way I'm installing it. That unit turns the 12v into 5v for the mirror & has two power wires into the module. One is labeled B+ and goes to always-on power. The other is labeled ACC and goes to key-on power. And when you hit the ACC lead with power it takes about 4 seconds for the mirror to come on.

When on and at max brightness I measured 888 ma draw on the B+ wire, and nothing on the ACC wire, but dialing the brightness down a bit brought it down to about 650 ma on the B+ wire. And when you kill power to the ACC wire the unit usually powers down in a few seconds. But, if the ACC wire isn't connected to a load the unit doesn't always power down - apparently because that is just a sense wire.

When ACC is off and B+ is on the unit is watching for an impact. If one is detected the display will come on and it will record for whatever length of time you've set and lock that file so it can't be overwritten. And while the unit is on it'll pull the normal current, meaning ~650 ma. But when it is just monitoring it pulls 7 ma. In other words, not much at all.

I think there's another mode where the thing is recording all the time you are parked, but I've not investigated that - yet. I don't see a need for that normally, but I can see that in some situations that might be helpful.

As for the front camera, it looks to me like I need a box with at least these inside dimensions: 3" wide; 2" top/bottom; 1 1/2" front/rear. That would give me enough extra room to install a waterproof grommet and wrap the wire around the end of the camera and plug it in. And I'll have to slip the cable through that grommet before splicing the wire to the end with the connector.

However, that begs the question of how to mount the camera. I'm thinking that it might be best to use their double-stick tape and attach it to the clear lid. That way I can take the lid off if I need to get to the camera.

Ok, I'm looking for some help and inspiration on the installation of the front camera. Please see the questions at the bottom. http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/uploads/6/5/8/7/65879365/waving_orig.gif

I've spent a lot of time looking at plastic boxes with clear lids and I think they'll look dorky. So I'm back to the Ford logo in the grille.

Here's a shot of the camera in the back side of the grille - with gobs and gobs of room:

Looking at the emblems I have it looks like it might be possible to mount the emblem with the right and center stud and then drill the left stud out and place the camera there. It would be about where the circle is in this pic:

But what would be really slick is if the clear cover can be separated from the emblem so a hole could be drilled in the blue and the cover protect it. Does anyone have an old emblem that can be "worked on"? Or, does anyone know if the cover comes off?

 

[grumpin]

Ok, I'm looking for some help and inspiration on the installation of the front camera. Please see the questions at the bottom.

I've spent a lot of time looking at plastic boxes with clear lids and I think they'll look dorky. So I'm back to the Ford logo in the grille.

Here's a shot of the camera in the back side of the grille - with gobs and gobs of room:

Looking at the emblems I have it looks like it might be possible to mount the emblem with the right and center stud and then drill the left stud out and place the camera there. It would be about where the circle is in this pic:

But what would be really slick is if the clear cover can be separated from the emblem so a hole could be drilled in the blue and the cover protect it. Does anyone have an old emblem that can be "worked on"? Or, does anyone know if the cover comes off?

That will be cool!

Even if you drilled it and went through, maybe you could glue some plastic in there for the camera.

I don’t have an old one, wish I did.

[Gary Lewis]

That will be cool!

Even if you drilled it and went through, maybe you could glue some plastic in there for the camera.

I don’t have an old one, wish I did.

Well, this might actually work. The oval that was on Big Blue is a later one, an E7 version, and it appears to be made of two parts - the chromed outer bezel and the blue oval, which has the blue backing and the chrome lettering stuck on the back of the plastic.

So I pried a bit at one end and the blue oval budged. I then pried and got it out, but it left a mark on the blue, as you'll see in a bit.

Then I put the bezel on the mill table and milled off the stud. Then I drilled the stud out 3/8" as I found that a .260" washer on the lens just barely restricted the view, and the lens won't be right against the back of the bezel.

Next I put a large pencil in the drill and put its eraser through the hole and "erased" the blue in a spot. You can see how it is starting to remove the blue in this shot.

Here is the front side, with the blue partially gone on the left. And, you can see the spot of delamination on the right, but I think I can live with that if the rest of this works.

Speaking of the rest, I'm thinking that I'll use a 3/8" dowel that is smooth on the end and reach through the hole with it and put polishing compound on it. Hopefully that will polish a nice round spot in the lens. But does someone have a better idea?

As for waterproofing, I think that when I glue the oval back into the bezel I'll make sure that there is RTV encircling the hole so water cannot get through. And I'll put RTV on the studs that go through the grille itself.

And in the pic below the red dots indicate where I think I'll put studs as well as fill the channels with plastic that is epoxied in. Then I'll put the whole thing on the mill and make sure that the back edge is flat, and make a plate out of aluminum that will go against that edge, be held by the studs, and be sealed with RTV.

But, lining up the camera is likely to be a challenge. In the back I found that the camera needs to be angled down at ~35 degrees to be able to capture the trailer hitch, which is 12" lower and 12" farther back than the camera will be. In front the ball will be 18" lower and 18" farther forward, so is at the same 45 degree angle from the camera. But the front camera has a 170 degree field of view and the rear camera only has a 150 degree view. So maybe the extra 10 degrees on top and bottom will let the camera see downward well enough? But I suspect that I'll have to make the hole through the grille and bezel much larger and angle the camera downward to make this work. Perhaps I should have tested that before I started down this path?

 

[grumpin]

Well, this might actually work. The oval that was on Big Blue is a later one, an E7 version, and it appears to be made of two parts - the chromed outer bezel and the blue oval, which has the blue backing and the chrome lettering stuck on the back of the plastic.

So I pried a bit at one end and the blue oval budged. I then pried and got it out, but it left a mark on the blue, as you'll see in a bit.

Then I put the bezel on the mill table and milled off the stud. Then I drilled the stud out 3/8" as I found that a .260" washer on the lens just barely restricted the view, and the lens won't be right against the back of the bezel.

Next I put a large pencil in the drill and put its eraser through the hole and "erased" the blue in a spot. You can see how it is starting to remove the blue in this shot.

Here is the front side, with the blue partially gone on the left. And, you can see the spot of delamination on the right, but I think I can live with that if the rest of this works.

Speaking of the rest, I'm thinking that I'll use a 3/8" dowel that is smooth on the end and reach through the hole with it and put polishing compound on it. Hopefully that will polish a nice round spot in the lens. But does someone have a better idea?

As for waterproofing, I think that when I glue the oval back into the bezel I'll make sure that there is RTV encircling the hole so water cannot get through. And I'll put RTV on the studs that go through the grille itself.

And in the pic below the red dots indicate where I think I'll put studs as well as fill the channels with plastic that is epoxied in. Then I'll put the whole thing on the mill and make sure that the back edge is flat, and make a plate out of aluminum that will go against that edge, be held by the studs, and be sealed with RTV.

But, lining up the camera is likely to be a challenge. In the back I found that the camera needs to be angled down at ~35 degrees to be able to capture the trailer hitch, which is 12" lower and 12" farther back than the camera will be. In front the ball will be 18" lower and 18" farther forward, so is at the same 45 degree angle from the camera. But the front camera has a 170 degree field of view and the rear camera only has a 150 degree view. So maybe the extra 10 degrees on top and bottom will let the camera see downward well enough? But I suspect that I'll have to make the hole through the grille and bezel much larger and angle the camera downward to make this work. Perhaps I should have tested that before I started down this path?

“Perhaps I should have tested that before I started down this path?”

Nah!

That is looking good I like it.

I really like the pencil eraser in the drill!

[Gary Lewis]

“Perhaps I should have tested that before I started down this path?”

Nah!

That is looking good I like it.

I really like the pencil eraser in the drill!

Yes, CHARGE!

The pencil eraser was a spur of the moment idea, and it seems to have worked. But it isn't "flat" and I want a crisp border at the edge of the "window". And that is why I'm planning on trying a piece of wooden dowel, polished on the end, and daubed with plastic polishing compound. Then, when I think it is ready I'll use the Dremel to polish the plastic more if needed.

But, as I think about it, I might want to put a piece of felt on the end of the dowel, possibly held on with hot-melt glue. And then put the polish on the felt.

[BigBrother-84]

Melissa, the tech at Pormido, doubted my ability to do this [...]

She should take a look to couple of threads on this forum!

About the rear cam position, I personnaly prefer a higher one.

Ball mount can vary, depending the trailer height. If for any reason the ball mount has to be flat or in raised position, a lower positioned cam becomes at risk of being "puched" or damaged by a wrong connecting trailer move.

[BigBrother-84]

Melissa, the tech at Pormido, doubted my ability to do this [...]

She should take a look to couple of threads on this forum!

About the rear cam position, I personnaly prefer a higher one.

Ball mount can vary, depending the trailer height. If for any reason the ball mount has to be flat or in raised position, a lower positioned cam becomes at risk of being "puched" or damaged by a wrong connecting trailer move.

About the front cam, I like this engineering project!

But I am wondering about the cam waterproofing. I understand all the "clear cover-blue emblem" sealing, but what about the cam residing behind the grill? How do you plan to create a waterproof "box" to protect the cam?