Fitcamx FM Radio Interference

[Stimulant]

Thanks for that feedback, very helpful. Sounds like our cable routing is very similar. Did you go through one of the rubber ducts that connects the liftgate to the body?

I didn't. I just kind of let it hang out, giving enough slack for when it's open.

Also wanted to clarify that the rear camera isn't 4k, just the front one. I just wanted to mention that I do have both front and rear installed, so similar set up.

Sponsored

 

[MacheMD]

I have the exact same issue as the OP.

Tech support gave me same suggestions as you've tried.

Still no FM.

I did mount the rear camera in center top of rear glass... mostly bc I love in new hampshire and I needed the camera view to be cleared by rear wiper... so I couldn't mount it in a corner.

And yes ... I have the same clip misfit issue with my 22 GT Perf

Overall very frustrating product... that I had high hopes for.

 

[generaltso]

Also, here are some pictures of the mounting tabs that don't fit. Notice that the vertical cross section of the tab is rectangular in the OEM surround, and trapezoidal on the fitcamx surround. I fixed this with a box cutter and some hacking, but without cutting, the trapezoidal cross section just jams into the holes (you can see the indentations from the roof bracket contacting it) and the clips will never engage, nor will the surround seat fully.

fitcamx mounting tab:

OEM mounting tab:

For what it's worth, here is that clip post on my Fitcamx (left) next to the OEM (right). The base is larger on the Fitcamx to get the clip in the right position since the cover dips down there (presumably to give room for the power wire). But the post is the same size, so I didn't have to trim anything.

 

[pswired]

I have the exact same issue as the OP.

Tech support gave me same suggestions as you've tried.

Still no FM.

I did mount the rear camera in center top of rear glass... mostly bc I love in new hampshire and I needed the camera view to be cleared by rear wiper... so I couldn't mount it in a corner.

And yes ... I have the same clip misfit issue with my 22 GT Perf

Overall very frustrating product... that I had high hopes for.

I have a feeling the placement in the rear glass is the issue. Mine is also center top, and I suspect I need to move it away from the FM antenna traces in the glass to resolve this issue. I haven't had time to get to this since I posted, and it's also been pretty cold here, and I don't like messing around with those plastic interior panels when they're cold and brittle.

For what it's worth, here is that clip post on my Fitcamx (left) next to the OEM (right). The base is larger on the Fitcamx to get the clip in the right position since the cover dips down there (presumably to give room for the power wire). But the post is the same size, so I didn't have to trim anything.

Interesting. The tabs on my fitcamx surround definitely have a different profile than yours, and it doesn't look like it was just some pieces that needed to be snapped off after molding. I had to really go to town with a box cutter to get those pieces reshaped into the right profile.

 

[generaltso]

Interesting. The tabs on my fitcamx surround definitely have a different profile than yours, and it doesn't look like it was just some pieces that needed to be snapped off after molding. I had to really go to town with a box cutter to get those pieces reshaped into the right profile.

I wonder if their mold got damaged or something. Fitcamx is looking into this.

 

[Neil4Real]

I wonder if their mold got damaged or something. Fitcamx is looking into this.

Tell them to fix the gap issue, too! That's what is really holding me back from buying it. I understand it is fixable myself, but a product like this shouldn't need me to heat gun it to lay flush.

 

[generaltso]

Tell them to fix the gap issue, too! That's what is really holding me back from buying it. I understand it is fixable myself, but a product like this shouldn't need me to heat gun it to lay flush.

Yeah, they're aware of the gap issue and are planning to fix that too.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

I just checked my install (same system as Steve's except he did a better job of bending the right wide to fit against the headliner), and it appears to work fine with FM radio. I do hear a bit of periodic noise if it's tuned to a non-station, but when tuned to a station, it works fine. My rear camera is mounted in the center of the rear window top edge, so it's far away from the FM antenna. I'm pretty sure Mark Boris used the right side boot for the cable routing, but as of now it seems to be working fine. That said, I rarely listen to radio, so it's possible I'll discover issues sometime in the future......hopefully not!

 

[pswired]

So, I had some time to look at this some more. It looks like the FM antenna is located at the top of the rear glass, hidden behind the plastic trim:

I am assuming this is the FM antenna due to the length being ~1/8 wave at 100 MHz:

Anyway, I moved the camera to the passenger side of the glass, down low near the wiper blade. I was able to get the FM radio to consistently drop out when putting the camera cable in parallel with the antenna trace pictured above.

All seemed well until I tucked the cable around the perimeter of the glass, which also causes the FM radio to drop out. My suspicion is that the AM radio traces are oriented vertically in a folded dipole pattern and the cable is running in parallel with them around the perimeter of the glass. There appears to be a matching/combining network that places the signals from both the AM and FM traces on a single piece of coax:

So, I'm not completely sure what to do at this point. I might try just disconnecting the AM antenna connections from that combiner box to see if that resolves the issue, since I don't really listen to AM radio. But aside from getting rid of the rear camera, it doesn't seem like there are many options here.

 

[HuntingPudel]

I have the FitcamX 2K camera mounted to the plastic in the upper middle of the hatch. No FM noise that I have found. I have not tried AM. ?‍?

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

I have the FitcamX 2K camera mounted to the plastic in the upper middle of the hatch. No FM noise that I have found. I have not tried AM. ?‍?

I have the same camera as Steve, but it is touted to the glass, top dead center. I very rarely use FM (in fact I discovered my presets were gone, presumably from some update to the car), but in the testing I've done I noticed no interference unless tuned to a frequency without a station - in which case I hear a regular static beat that is not random. I've not tried AM either.

 

[ThatGuyLando]

Interesting. I sent those pictures to fitcamx tech support. They replied and suggested that Ford had modified the part since they scanned it and that they'd need to get ahold of a new cover to modify their design.

On the FM interference, they sent me an amazon link to some ferrite beads and told me to buy those to hopefully fix it...

All in all it seems like I'm on my own to fix this one.

Just contact support and tell them the seller is not giving a viable fix. Lectron was giving me the run around for days ona and bad charger, Amazon gave me my money in like 10 mins and had a prepaid return label sent over right away.

 

[su-ch+mache]

before I picked up my MME I gave them the Fitcamx for installation.
They said it has been the easiest install of a dasgcam they ever had and there was no need for a heat gum. it fits perfectly.

However I have issued with the quality of this 4rK cam. not quite clear, very much pixeled.

What are your experiences?

 

[HuntingPudel]

The SD card that was supplied with mine was horrible. I bought a different one that works great. The images I've pulled from my new flash card are fine. ?‍?

 

[su-ch+mache]

which card do you use?

Sponsored