Connecting Bluetooth camera to battery

[DiamondDave952]

I purchased a mini camera that I would like to mount on the underside of my pontoon to know that my Ultra Legs are fully retracted and maybe get some cool shots when the pontoon is running. The camera requires a 12V power supply. I am running a dual battery set-up from the dealer (see picture below). How do I connect the camera power leads so that the camera will be powered when I am running battery 1, battery 2 or battery 1 + 2?

 

[Jack M]

Do you have an unused accessory switch on your helm ?

 

[Pbakk]

I can’t answer the electrical question but I am sure someone on here can. Why would you need to visually see if your ultra legs are fully extended? The alarm sounds at full deployment and it is not necessary to have them fully deployed. I was instructed to lower my ultra legs to a level so that the pontoon is a few inches (3 to 5 or so) above the water to lower the risk of wind flipping the pontoon.

 

[DiamondDave952]

Do you have an unused accessory switch on your helm ?

Yes. Is there a way to connect it to the unused acc switch?

 

[DiamondDave952]

I can’t answer the electrical question but I am sure someone on here can. Why would you need to visually see if your ultra legs are fully extended? The alarm sounds at full deployment and it is not necessary to have them fully deployed. I was instructed to lower my ultra legs to a level so that the pontoon is a few inches (3 to 5 or so) above the water to lower the risk of wind flipping the pontoon.

More interested in viewing if the legs are fully retracted. My ultra legs does have an alarm but it's not too loud in my opinion and at times, thought my legs were fully retracted only to realize they weren't.

 

[Jack M]

There should be wires attached to the switch , if you have a multi meter check to make sure its hot .

 

[DiamondDave952]

There should be wires attached to the switch , if you have a multi meter check to make sure its hot .

Oh sure. That makes sense. Thanks Jack!

 

[Potomacbassin’]

Interesting idea.

I doubt you have one of these, but on the higher-end MFD's they have video inputs so you could have your cameras source directly to your MFD and not have additional monitors.

See short article, my guess is they're using a pricey Simrad NSS.

Backup Camera for Boaters - Waggoner

Backup cameras for boaters, a simple solution. When recently upgrading electronics on our boat, we considered adding video cameras, to be connected into the new chartplotter. The priority was to add a camera on the stern, allowing us to see what might be behind us when maneuvering in and out of...

waggonerguide.com

 

[Pbakk]

More interested in viewing if the legs are fully retracted. My ultra legs does have an alarm but it's not too loud in my opinion and at times, thought my legs were fully retracted only to realize they weren't.

That makes sense. My Ultra Legs usually have a bang when they fully retract but I know if the hydraulics don’t hold pressure, they can slip down.

 

[LaurencetheAdventurer]

I purchased a mini camera that I would like to mount on the underside of my pontoon to know that my Ultra Legs are fully retracted and maybe get some cool shots when the pontoon is running. The camera requires a 12V power supply. I am running a dual battery set-up from the dealer (see picture below). How do I connect the camera power leads so that the camera will be powered when I am running battery 1, battery 2 or battery 1 + 2?

Where is your fuse box? I would say connect to that.....but it appears you don't have one?

 

[Vikingstaff]

I have found a simliar situation with my Sea Legs on our Tritoon. The tritoon setup hass four independent Sea Legs. When retracting either the front or the back are never in complete unison. However, the minute one set is all the way up and I hear it the clunking sound of them hitting my underside, the alarm sounds and they all stop retracting.

Our work around is a very quick press of the button to lower each set. Resets the legs and alarm. Then I click the button to retract again and whatever isn’t retracted all the way now does completely, and I can then hear the alarm and “clunk” sound of it hitting the bottom of my underskinning.

I also realize this description might also be clunky, so I hope it is making sense as a workaround that doesn’t require looking underneath to check…or wiring up a camera. That said, I would try to wire to an empty console switch like Jack recommended AND/OR seeing if you can set up cameras through your chartplotter as Poto recommended. That would be a very elegant solution and great integration if possible.

 

[Michiman]

Just a thought, the Kicker KMC5 radio has a video input that might work for your situation.