Garmin BC 30 Wireless Backup Camera & Garmin Wireless Backup Camera Extention

Excellent, excellent, excellent product! I have a first-gen Honda Ridgeline. My truck doesn't have a built-in backup camera. Rear visibility has always been a challenge. After my wife backed it into another car, I decided it was time to do something about this problem. So I purchased both a Garmin GPS--that includes as a featured option the ability to display backup camera images from the Garmin BC30 Wireless Backup Camera; and I purchased this BC 30 Wireless Backup Camera Kit as well.The way this backup camera kit works is that you need to hook up the camera's power leads to the wiring for your vehicle's backup lights. So when you put your vehicle into Reverse, the backup lights turn on, and power is applied to the camera. The camera powers up right away, and it wirelessly transmits what it is seeing to the GPS receiver. The GPS receiver automatically switches to displaying the image from the camera and once you put the vehicle back into Drive, it switches back to what it was displaying before.In this kit, there is a replacement power cord for the GPS receiver. The replacement power cord picks up the backup camera's signal and relays it to the GPS. The power cord has a little, in-line rectangular box that receives the camera's wireless signal and relays it to the GPS receiver. I'm looking at the vendor's picture and it is the set of wires on the left side of the image, where the top cord does a u-turn to the right. Anyway, I plugged in the replacement power cord to my GPS receiver, turned on the truck, put it into reverse and the camera's image showed up on the GPS right away. Absolutely no fuss. I didn't have to do any synchronization between the camera and the GPS. It was too easy.Here's a quick install tip for the camera's power leads: Since I already have a round, seven pin trailer wiring hitch, I elected to temporarily pull the backup power from there, at least until the weather warms back up in the Spring. So I bought a seven pin to flat five pin adapter here on Amazon (Search for: "Optronics A57WH 5 Flat - 7 Round 16" Cable Adaptor and Plug" ). NOTE: The seven pin connector comes in two varieties--round pin or flat tab. So go check your connector before you order this item. Mine has flat tab connectors.On Amazon, I also purchased a flat five pin wire harness. (Search for: "Wesbar 707255 Double Ended Wire Harness Extension 5-Way, 2-Feet"). I cut off the end that doesn't fit into the Optronics connector. This connector has FIVE pins--NOT the traditional FOUR pin connector that is used with U-Haul trailers. The fifth pin (the blue wire) contains the power lead for the backup power.On Amazon, I also ran across some translucent shrink wrap tubing that also contains a ring of solder inside of each piece of shrink wrap (Search for: "Ginsco 65pcs 4 Sizes Solder Seal Heat Shrink Wire Connector Kit Waterproof Connector Set with Case (25Red 25Blue 10White 5Yellow"). So I purchased that too.Once I received it all, I slid the shrink wrap tubing over power leads from the camera kit. Then I connected the ends of the power leads from the camera kit to the backup power (positive/blue) and ground (negative/white) leads on the flat five pin connector. Then I slid the shrink wrap right over the connection, with the ring of solder centered over the exposed wire. Then I used a regular hair dryer and just as advertised, the shrink wrap and the solder worked. Wow! That's a time-saver. Now that's the kind of cheating I like! I didn't even need to go and dig out my heat gun. The hair dryer was good enough. I plugged my newly built harness into the Optronics connector. Then plugged that into the trailer hitch seven pin connector. After all the testing was complete, I tucked and zip-tied all the excess wiring up where it can't be seen. Now that it's all finished, the backup camera works like a top.Hopefully, there will be no more dented cars.

This is not the best back-up camera. It’s convenient since it works with your Garmin GPS so you don’t need an additional screen. The resolution is “adequate” but not great. This is even after downloading the latest software and providing a stable power source with a relay circuit. The automatic exposure is often fooled by a bright sky so your operating area may appear dark. The cord length between the camera and the transmitter is only five or six feet. A few extra feet would have allowed a more convenient transmitter location, but the only accessory extension cord is 50 feet long!And a WARNING! It is NOT a traffic receiver power cord like the GMT 36. They list all the GPS models that are traffic capable and it will provide power to those models. What they DON’T tell you is that you will get traffic ONLY if the traffic receiver is built-in to the unit. Otherwise you have to sync traffic updates to a cell phone app.

My 2007 Prius came with a backup camera that slowly became addicting, especially in overcrowded jersey parking lots. My mom's car, which I now have, has a high trunk and its very difficult to see short objects behind the car like a trash can or shopping cart.After a couple of botched attempts at setting up some cheap WiFi backup cameras, and ignoring a YouTube video saying the BC 30 switching was too slow, I bought the BC 30.Setup was much easier then I thought. I drilled a hole in the overhang over the license plate. attached the camera with a license plate screw, and tapped into the reverse light wire. Done in under an hour. I started the car, put it into reverse and the scenery behind the car came into view.The big con is the blotchy picture for distant objects, but the BC 30 is fine for seeing what's directly behind the car. If you have the time and patience, a hard wired backup camera will give you a much better picture. I personally hate doing this kind of work, and had originally went to a stereo shop who wanted $700 to install a backup camera/radio with no navigation.If your a "life is too short to waste time on this stuff" kinda of person, then I highly recommend you get the BC 30.BTW: i don't work for Garmin, I paid full price, and I wasted a bunch of money junk wireless backup cameras.

Very easy to install as long as you do a little planning in advance.The initial rough in connected the camera/transmitter to the backuplight. Then connecting the receiver/power plug to the Garmin Nuvi to verifyeverything would work together. The only problem I had was a blackline across the Nuvi screen. At first I thought it was a hardware problem butthen realized I was picking up the defroster cable embedded in the rear window. Duh.The electrical quick connectors shown in several installation videos are notincluded. So when you place your order also throw in a pack of 3M 03807 QuickElectrical Connectors, Red. Since my spliced electrical connections were goingto be outside the safety of waterproof gaskets electric tape wasn't the solution.Liquid electric tape is a good answer. Two coats and a four hour dry time shouldlast years.One final note is the power line to the Nuvi. The line from the cigarette lighter to thereceiver is plenty long but the rest for the cable from the receiver to the to theback of the Nuvi is only 5 inches. So if you are going to hide the cable the 5in segmentwill be a deciding factor where to punch through. It will take 3/4in hole to get the powerconnector thru the opening.

I am a big Garmin fan but I find their newer stuff is trying to do too much and not working as well as their old stuff. That's more on the GPS side but this is a review for their backup camera. Just like all the other reviews I also find the resolution sub par. Even though the resolution isn't the greatest is is still adequate for what it is intended for. It was easy to install, I didn't even need the instructions and it works perfectly. I found the price a little steep but considering I got a GPS, dash cam, and a backup camera all in one I will get over the price. Knowing what I know now I would still get the camera but would get the lowest end GPS with lifetime maps and able to support the camera instead of the one I got.

J'ai fait moi-même l'installation de la caméra Garmin BC-30 dans ma roulotte, en complément de mon GPS Garmin RV-660. L'ensemble fonctionne très bien et l'installation est plutôt simple. La détection de la caméra par le GPS est instantanée et elle s'active automatiquement en position de marche arrière. Bien que la qualité de l'image ne soit pas de très haute résolution, je suis quand même très satisfait de l'utilité de cet équipement. Dans mon cas un fil de rallonge de 50' de Garmin a été nécessaire.

Garmin claims that this item is compatible with their Street Smart 60 LMT.Well it isn't because they replace the original 60 LMT charger with a new one and the new one does not have the trafic monitoring capability.I connected it directly to the 12v battery and the transmitter was 3 feet from the Garmin 60 LMT and nothing happened, it did not work.I am asking for a refund

It was easy to install, no holes to drill in my install. Used it as a front facing camera on my GMC Canyon, because it is hard to judge front proximity during parking etc. Drew power from the front fog lights, that way you can turn it on with the fog light switch. The only issue I have is that the image, because of it being used for front view, is a mirror image and can’t be reversed, and it could be a little clearer image quality as well.

Works good enough.Easy enough to install but takes about two seconds to show on gps when car is placed in reverse.Video quality is not the best but it does the job.Make sure to tilt camera lens down a bit or else the sun's glare will affect you image.I recommend this product.