JamesM

Hmmm... How about using a "portable media player" such as this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/2-5-LCD-PMP-MP4-MP3-DVD-AVI-TV-Portable-Media-Player_W0QQitemZ5805200817QQcategoryZ80020QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem The specs say it has TV in/out (PAL/NTSC), so maybe I could hide the guts of these these in my dash somewhere, and make an extension to mount the actual screens wherever I wanted (in the gauge cluster.) Seems a shame for the other circuitry to just sit there not being used though; wouldn't be the most elegant solution. I just want a small screen (about 2") and the bare essentials neccesary to display a video signal. There must be something out there... I don't want the "pimp my ride" look of having large screens grafted into the dashboard. I think that's tacky. -James

Thanks for the links. Eliminating the mirrors is really the main point behind this project. Each mirror will take about .01 off of the coefficient of drag, and there's a big difference between a cd of .32 and of .30 when it comes to efficiency. I'm keeping the center windshield mounted mirror, and that shows most of what the outside mirrors show. If I have an electrical problem and need to check my blind spot, I'll just look over my shoulder. I would like to find a place that sells small cameras without the plastic housing, mounts, etc. I just want the bare component with wires coming off it. -James

I'm new so please be gentle. I did try to search first. I know that there are already rear-view cam systems on the market, ready to buy. They don't meet my needs so I want to make my own system. I want to purchase 2 "micro" video cameras which aren't wireless, and if possible, display their feed on two cell-phone-sized color LCD screens which I will mount inside my car's gauge cluster. I need to learn enough about this stuff to wire everything up myself...for instance what is the output of the cameras and what is the input for the LCD screens, and how to convert one to the other, etc. I am already capable of building the camera housings (which are going to replace my car's exterior mirrors.) I want to do this because A: I think it would be cool and B: becuase I'm doing a lot of modifications to my car to reduce drag and increase fuel econ in various ways. thanks for any help, James