BC 40 Unexpected Benefits
   13 years
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1. Just to start with, there is connecting it to the DS-86. The view and control is just remarkable. The large screen makes everything better.
2. I keep a spreadsheet of battery changes with the BC-40. When it was new, Energizer Lithium batteries would last about three months. In the most recent cycles, the Energizers are lasting about five months. The GPS has changed from a DS-65 to a DS-86 during these cycles. I don’t know if that made the difference.
3. Unlike factory installed backup cameras, the BC-40 is a semi-auto display process. When the engine of the auto is started, the BC-40 displays a picture until the GPS can determine that the vehicle is moving forward. The only other time the BC-40 will display a picture is when the operator pushes the appropriate button. It will not display a picture by just changing gears to reverse. Some have found this routine to be a disadvantage, but after working with the BC-40 for some time, I find that routine to be a distinct advantage in any situation where seeing the view in the rear is desirable.
Here are some very helpful things for me being able to force backup camera view when not in reverse gear.
1. I often drive to the front door of the grocery store so my wife can put the groceries in the car without walking very far. I want to be as chose to the curb as possible to not hinder other traffic. Turning on the BC-40 gives me a perfect picture about how close I am to the curb. I use it all the time.
2. This is a killer! I must park in a 90-degree parking space where I live. I want to back into the space, so the trunk area is convenient to the sidewalk. The street has cars on both sides and is narrow. As you know, the procedure is to drive a short distance past the parking space and to the other side of the street. Then turn toward your destination and enter the parking space in a proper curve.
Activating th BC-40 before getting to the parking space is a great guide determining just how to position the car before executing the maneuver. If you miss on the first try, it is a lifesaver in getting it right on the second try.
3. These are just a couple of examples where having a backup camera picture are valuable. I discover new examples often.
BC40
I use my BC40 with my DS55 all the time and the battery is still good at way over 3 months now. I use the voice commands when I want to turn the camera view on or off and it works perfect each time. I usually do this before I back into a parking spot because of the small delay in the GPS switching over to video. Only thing I don't like about the BC40 is the mount which makes the camera too easy to steal in about 2 secs. So I made a simple custom plastic mount for it and used 3M VHB double sided tape and stuck it to the inside of the rear window of my '06 Honda Odyssey. Hasn't fallen off in over a year and don't expect it to because of the 3M VHB bond is super strong. Slide the camera on and it stays in place, slide it off if I need to replace the batteries. I don't get the wide clear view as if it was mounted on the license plate but it works perfect for me. Even the guide lines are aligned for what I need it to do. One thing about the guide lines is that if you reset your GPS, they are gone and you have to do the realignment all over again and it's time consuming to get it just right.
BC 40
Does anyone have a good link to read and buy a BC 40?
johnm405 660 & MSS&T
Go to the BC-40 Garmin web
Go to the BC-40 Garmin web site and download the Owner's Manual. It has it all.
wil01
Yay backup cameras
Our cars until recently have been a 2002 Audi A4 and a 2006 Prius. Neither had adaptive cruise control (the kind the slows down for traffic ahead of you). The Audi had no backup camera at all, and the Prius had one with such a wide angle lens and such an accumulation of dirt that the view was well-nigh useless.
So in looking forward to a new car, usefully adaptive cruise control, and a good backup camera were the two things I anticipated the most.
We took delivery on a Tesla Y a couple of weeks ago. The backup camera on it does automatically activate in reverse, but there is an icon at the bottom of that giant touch screen which will get it for you any other time you want it. It turns out, we like that.
Mind you, a BC-40 is a tad less expensive than a model Y.
personal GPS user since 1992
I don’t like the Garmin
I don’t like the Garmin User’s Manual instruction about how to adjust the side guides on the BC-40. I want the guides to center the vehicle between the markings of a standard 90-degree parking space.
That is easy to do if you can find a parking area that has multiple parallel parking spaces. There is such a parking area near me, and I can adjust the guidelines in less than ten minutes.
Just drive into the rear most space and try to be properly aligned. It most likely won’t be perfect. Then carefully advance to the next space while trying to correct any error.
Now get out of the vehicle and measure the distance from each rear tire to the parking space guideline. Do this until you are satisfied with the result and then adjust the guide lines on the BC-40.
Using this procedure, my guidelines center the vehicle to within four inches – close enough.
wil01