How do I capture the signal from this night vision camera?

[UnderYourSkin]

Hi, everyone! This is my first post and I’m pretty much a n00b at all things video capture. I hope someone can give me some direction.

I’m a photographer and I got a night vision video camera for a great price on eBay. It used to be connected to the front of a Cadillac ElDorado.

However!

I am stymied trying to capture (or even connect) the video signal. According to my extensive googling the output from the camera has a “low signal” (yellow wire) and a “high signal” (green wire). I also read that the output is NTSC composite but my NTSC composite cable (RG-6 or RG-59 I think) only has one wire so I don’t know what to splice where. My extensive googling has not enlightened me re: what “high” and “low” signals even are.

Furthermore, I want to capture as much of the original signal as possible. Maybe some sort of lossless format. In that case, is an NTSC cable even the right choice? My practical reason for wanting a lossless capture is that I want to make still images with as much detail as possible. My impractical reason is that I’m neurotic about that kind of thing.

Cheers!

[october262]

does the camera have any SD Card slots ??
and what is the camera model.
also what are you wanting to connect the camera to (computer - TV etc )

[dellsam34]

The yellow and dark green are most likely composite, Use a RCA yellow cable connect the video high to the center pin, the low to the ring or shield. power up the camera with 12-14V source, connect the black/white to ground and pink to (+), you may need to connect the brown to (+) to simulate the ignition condition.

[johns0]

You will want to connect brown to a +12 v source that turns on when the ignition is turned on such acc.

[pandy]

You may need balun to as it looks to me like differential video interface. Connecting oscilloscope will provide definite answer but i assume this is not an option.

[Cornucopia]

Pandy is right. Standard composite is usually 1volt peak-to-peak. And only 2 wires (hot & ground).

Scott

[dellsam34]

Composite NTSC is the dominant standard in automotive entertainment and safety monitoring here in north America, Composite uses its own ground that's why it's called low.

Here is a snippet from Wiki:

Cadillac
First worldwide series production automotive night vision on 2000 Cadillac Deville: Night Vision, however it was discontinued in 2004.[27] This system was developed with Raytheon and worked by using a passive infrared sensor camera mounted behind the vehicle's grille. Infrared radiation is picked up by the sensor, processed by computer and then displayed on the windshield using a head-up display. Information is displayed as a black-and-white image with warmer objects in white, while cooler objects appear black.[28][29][30] Because this system outputs a standard NTSC composite video signal and the used parts are somewhat easy and inexpensive to find, it has become a popular choice for fitting thermal night vision to other vehicles.[31] After a long hiatus, the 2015 flagship Cadillac CT6 was equipped with an improved version of the Enhanced Night Vision, in which the images are displayed and embedded in the instrument panel instead of being displayed as a reflection on the windshield.[32]

[Cornucopia]

"Low" is not always the same thing as ground, especially as regards analog signals (of which composite is one).
Do NOT take your understanding of the nomenclature at face value: verify using a manual and/or schematics.

Scott

[dellsam34]

Yes low is not always the main ground but it is the ground of whatever load in question, whether it is automotive, consumer electronics or industrial.

[ozymango]

I’m a photographer and I got a night vision video camera for a great price on eBay. It used to be connected to the front of a Cadillac ElDorado.

I am stymied trying to capture (or even connect) the video signal.

Hi there, and oh man I haven't seen one of these cameras in years, this dates from the days of really expensive ($2K) "FLIR" cameras/displays you could get on Cadillacs. That is, I'm assuming it's a genuine Cadillac part and not something somebody rigged up on their Caddy? Anyway I'll assume it's one of the vintage "night vision" cameras that connected to a little "heads-up" display on the dash -- if so, it's basically just an IR camera that puts out a standard NTSC composite signal.

If that's the one, and it sure looks like it based on your pin out/wiring chart, then hookup is pretty easy: Connect pin/wire A to +12 V power (actually it's 14v but 12v should work fine), pin/wire B is -12 V (your ground wire), pin/wire C is composite ground, and pin/wire D is your composite signal, you don't need E and F for anything unless you're putting this back in your Cadillac.

If you feed the composite signal into an NTSC composite input on your TV/monitor, you'll then see a black and white IR image on screen, very cool and vintage where the warmer the object in front of the camera, the brighter white it will be. Very basic night vision stuff. But secret trick: You can reverse the composite ground and signal connection (run C to signal and D to ground) and you'll get an inverted IR video, where hot is black and cold is white. I dunno how useful that is but maybe you can have fun with it.

Oh, and then you just input the NTSC composite video into whatever capture device you've got, other peeps can take it from there. Hope this helps!

[UnderYourSkin]

does the camera have any SD Card slots ??
and what is the camera model.
also what are you wanting to connect the camera to (computer - TV etc )

It does not have an SD card slot - just these wires sticking out! The model number is GM 88890711. I want to connect it to anything at all for now - so I can see if it works. But then I want to capture the best signal I can to make still images for photography and maybe video.

[UnderYourSkin]

I’m a photographer and I got a night vision video camera for a great price on eBay. It used to be connected to the front of a Cadillac ElDorado.

I am stymied trying to capture (or even connect) the video signal.

Hi there, and oh man I haven't seen one of these cameras in years, this dates from the days of really expensive ($2K) "FLIR" cameras/displays you could get on Cadillacs. That is, I'm assuming it's a genuine Cadillac part and not something somebody rigged up on their Caddy? Anyway I'll assume it's one of the vintage "night vision" cameras that connected to a little "heads-up" display on the dash -- if so, it's basically just an IR camera that puts out a standard NTSC composite signal.

If that's the one, and it sure looks like it based on your pin out/wiring chart, then hookup is pretty easy: Connect pin/wire A to +12 V power (actually it's 14v but 12v should work fine), pin/wire B is -12 V (your ground wire), pin/wire C is composite ground, and pin/wire D is your composite signal, you don't need E and F for anything unless you're putting this back in your Cadillac.

If you feed the composite signal into an NTSC composite input on your TV/monitor, you'll then see a black and white IR image on screen, very cool and vintage where the warmer the object in front of the camera, the brighter white it will be. Very basic night vision stuff. But secret trick: You can reverse the composite ground and signal connection (run C to signal and D to ground) and you'll get an inverted IR video, where hot is black and cold is white. I dunno how useful that is but maybe you can have fun with it.

Oh, and then you just input the NTSC composite video into whatever capture device you've got, other peeps can take it from there. Hope this helps!

That’s great information. Thanks! I could buy a connector and stick the wires into it. They’re like $25. Would there be an advantage to going that route rather than just splicing the bare wires? The problem would be attaching the male counterparts. Or maybe there is a way? It would be kind of satisfying to set it up with the intended connector. But that might not make sense unless I have a dedicated power/display/capture setup. Just thinking out loud here. I guess I could make a portable power/capture unit.

Regarding the power, the intended wattage seems to be 14. You said 12w should be fine and I have a 12w adapter. Would the slightly lower wattage affect the camera’s performance or anything?

For capture, I do have a Hauppauge HD PVR but I’ve never actually used it. And it records in a compressed mpeg format which might not be my best option. I would love any expert guidance or even random ideas about how to capture the maximum amount of data per image frame (I.e. photograph).

I think I’ll try some splicing and dicing right now and see what happens when I plug it into my tv!

[aedipuss]

you can buy a working night vision cam for $20 on amazon. https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=night+vision+camera&s=price-asc-rank&qid=1574900216&ref=s...price-asc-rank why waste time with that old pos cam? they stopped making that car in '02.

[UnderYourSkin]

You may need balun to as it looks to me like differential video interface. Connecting oscilloscope will provide definite answer but i assume this is not an option.

Thank you! I don’t have one. Am I going to break it if I hook up the video feed wrong?

[UnderYourSkin]

you can buy a working night vision cam for $20 on amazon. https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=night+vision+camera&s=price-asc-rank&qid=1574900216&ref=s...price-asc-rank why waste time with that old pos cam? they stopped making that car in '02.

That link is for an 850nm near infrared camera. The camera I’m working on is for 8000-14000nm (8-14 microns) long wave infrared. Very different animals. Near infrared reflects like visible light. LWIR doesn’t. I do have a camera capable of capturing near infrared, and it’s cool. But this pos is an actual thermal camera with a Raytheon 320x240 BST sensor. If you find one for cheaper than the $80 I paid hook me up!

[dellsam34]

Regarding the power, the intended wattage seems to be 14. You said 12w should be fine and I have a 12w adapter. Would the slightly lower wattage affect the camera’s performance or anything?

It's voltage not wattage, In automotive there no such fixed voltage, the working voltage is from dead battery 12V to fully charged 12.6V, and while the engine is running the alternator puts out about 14V, The camera is designed to work in that voltage interval 12-14V.

As to hooking up the camera, I already explained it in post #3, just get a yellow RCA cable that you probably have one already and cut one end and connect as I explained it. the same for power with an appropriate power connector.

[aedipuss]

lol - no but new long wave plug and play cams start around 150. and they don't have used 20 year old sensors.... https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-IN-SEALED-BOX-Seek-Thermal-Compact-XR-Imaging-Camera-for-...sAAOSwnhpd01HD

[UnderYourSkin]

Regarding the power, the intended wattage seems to be 14. You said 12w should be fine and I have a 12w adapter. Would the slightly lower wattage affect the camera’s performance or anything?

It's voltage not wattage, In automotive there no such fixed voltage, the working voltage is from dead battery 12V to fully charged 12.6V, and while the engine is running the alternator puts out about 14V, The camera is designed to work in that voltage interval 12-14V.

As to hooking up the camera, I already explained it in post #3, just get a yellow RCA cable that you probably have one already and cut one end and connect as I explained it. the same for power with an appropriate power connector.

Thanks. So the two video wires are bundled with what I assumed was a ground. Just bare twisted silver-colored wires. The pin-out doesn’t mention it. I have seen a wiring diagram but I don’t know enough to make sense of it. I connected everything following your advice and didn’t seem to get a signal out or any indication it powered up. I didn’t connect that mystery silver braided wire and I didn’t connect the ignition wire to power though. I’ll try connecting the ignition to power next.

[dellsam34]

You may need to connect the ignition wire to the power + as I mentioned and make sure you have power. I don'y know what wires you have I was just going by the pinout in the table you posted, certainly more detailed pictures would help.