My garage has a normal size door which makes parking a 512 a procedure that gets your full attention. There's about 8 inches on both sides if the lineup is perfect. Anyone use a TV camera, laser beam, radar or any device that can turn this into a routine event?
Get an old PC and set it up in your garage with nothing more than an operating system and some camera software or shareware. Get a couple of cheap, infrared, motion sensing cameras and put them on the opposite wall to the garage door and the distance apart the same as the width of the garage door. The cameras will plug into the video card or even a cheap camera card which will take multiple cameras and will come with control software. A card like this will do it and allow recording to hard disc for added vehicle security. http://www.oztion.com.au/vshops/item.aspx?itemid=3695203 or.......... http://www.kalkonline.com.au/swann-pcdvr4net-camera-security-card-p-1155.html Place the monitor where you can see it easy from the drivers seat. Set the screensaver to release when images are sent from the camera. Use the camera software (or shareware) to play each camera on the screen in a 50/50 split. The instant your garage door opens the motion will start the cameras and release the screen saver. You will then be able to view your entry into the garage on the monitor split screen and you will know exactly where you are positioned relative to the door opening. Cheap and easy insurance!!
I've gone one better with my car. I replaced the blaupunkt stereo with a nice JVC single DIN unit that has a 3.5" wide screen on it. It's a DVD player and plays all sorts of other stuff, but it will take a reverse camera input. I fitted a camera to the rear of the car and another to the front of the car. I trigger the reverse camera from the reverse switch located inside the shifter gate. Naturally, when I shift into reverse I can see everything behind me. BUT........ Then I got shifty and mounted another trigger switch on first gear. This runs to a timer relay set at 20 seconds and feeds the front camera. This feeds into the JVC head unit also and it thinks that I'm in reverse so the front camera comes up on the screen. So it works like this. Every time I select first gear the screen picks up the front camera for 20 seconds. This is plenty of time to drive into the garage, nose up to a kerb etc. After 20 seconds the screen simply reverts back to whatever was on it before, be that DVD, TV or just the menu. If you had this system, you could paint a line on the garage floor that lines up with a visual on the camera when you are inside the car, and simply drive to the line when you come home. JVC unit looks like this: Image Unavailable, Please Login
Or just do this. Use a tennis ball, hang it from the ceiling, when your windshield hits it, stop. Image Unavailable, Please Login
A real sophisticated system uses 2. One at the end/windshield, one parallel and at roof level half way down the garage so you can "line up" the balls as you enter if they are positioned from the drivers veiwpoint. I guess another target/ball can be on the back wall. Now my head is swimming. Or.... Got CurbFeelers ?
How about this? http://www.doorpal.com/ You could probably do the same thing with some $2.99 rafts from the pool store.
