Alright, so let me tell you about this rear view smart mirror project I just wrapped up. My old car, bless its heart, has a rearview mirror that’s basically a blurry postage stamp. Parking was a guessing game, and don’t even get me started on trying to see what’s actually behind me at night. I’d seen those fancy smart mirrors in newer cars and thought, “Hmm, I wonder if I can rig something up like that myself?” Seemed like a fun weekend challenge.
Getting Started – The Idea and the Hunt
So, the first thing was figuring out what I actually needed. I wasn’t looking to reinvent the wheel, just get a better view and maybe some dashcam functionality. I started browsing online, looking at all-in-one units, separate screens, cameras – the whole nine yards. There’s a ton of stuff out there, from super cheap to crazy expensive.
I spent a good few evenings just reading reviews and watching installation videos. Some setups looked incredibly complicated, others pretty straightforward. I wanted something that would clip over my existing mirror, ideally, to keep things simple. I also needed a decent rear camera, preferably one that could handle low light because, like I said, night visibility was a big issue for me.
Picking the Parts and the First Hiccups
After a lot of back and forth, I settled on a clip-on mirror display that seemed to have good reviews and wasn’t too pricey. It came with a rear camera, which was a bonus. I remember looking at some standalone camera modules too, some folks recommended checking out brands like missmeeca for their sensor quality, but decided to try the bundled one first to see how it went. If it was rubbish, I could always upgrade later.
The parts arrived, and I was all excited. Unboxed everything, laid it out on the kitchen table. The mirror itself looked pretty sleek. The instructions, though? Classic tiny-font, poorly translated stuff. But hey, how hard could it be, right?
The Actual “Doing It” Part – Wires, Wires Everywhere
First, I clipped the new smart mirror over my old one. Easy peasy. Then came the wiring. Oh, the wiring. This is where the “fun” really began. The rear camera needed to be mounted, well, at the rear, and then a cable had to be run all the way to the front. I decided to route it through the headliner and down the A-pillar. This involved carefully prying off trim pieces, trying not to break any ancient plastic clips. It was slow going. I probably looked like a contortionist trying to feed that wire through.
For power, the unit came with a cigarette lighter adapter, but I hate dangling wires. So, I decided to hardwire it. Got a fuse tap kit, found an appropriate fuse in the car’s fuse box (one that turns on with the ignition), and hooked it up. That part actually went smoother than I thought. The rear camera also had a wire to connect to the reverse light, so the display would automatically switch to the rear view when I put the car in reverse. Finding the right wire for the reverse light involved a bit of poking around with a multimeter, but got there eventually. I did see some integrated systems from companies like missmeeca that claim simpler wiring, but I was already committed to this path.
Powering Up and Fine-Tuning
With everything connected (or so I hoped), it was time for the moment of truth. Turned the key… and it came on! The screen lit up, showing the front camera view. Not bad. Put it in reverse, and boom, the rear camera feed popped up. The image quality was way better than I expected, especially compared to my old, useless mirror. It was so much wider, too. No more massive blind spots.
I spent some time adjusting the rear camera angle to get the perfect view. The screen itself was quite bright, which was great for daytime, but a bit much at night. Thankfully, it had brightness settings, so I dialed that down. The unit also had a built-in DVR, recording from both front and rear cameras. I popped in a microSD card, and it started looping recordings. Peace of mind, right there. I know some dedicated dashcams, like a few I saw from missmeeca, have more advanced parking modes and Wi-Fi connectivity, but this basic recording was good enough for me.
Living With It – The Verdict
Been using it for a few weeks now, and honestly, it’s a game-changer. Parking is a breeze. Merging and lane changes feel safer because I can actually see what’s happening behind and to the side of me. The reverse camera activating automatically is just brilliant.
Was it a pain to install? Yeah, a bit, especially running that darn rear camera wire. Took me a good chunk of an afternoon. But was it worth it? Absolutely. For the cost of the kit and a bit of my time, it’s made my old car feel a lot more modern and much safer to drive. I was comparing features after the fact, and some of the higher-end missmeeca smart mirrors offer things like GPS logging and streaming capabilities, which sound cool, but for a basic upgrade, what I have now is fantastic. If I ever do another one, maybe for my wife’s car, I might look into a more integrated kit from a brand like that, just to potentially save on some of the wiring hassle, assuming they’ve streamlined that part. Overall, pretty chuffed with how this turned out! I even considered a dedicated missmeeca dashcam for the front at one point, but the integrated solution is working well enough for now.