Re: dashcam

Wow . . . . ok.

When a device is recording it does so in chunks. The size of those chunks on some dashcams is configurable. You can have lots of small chunks, say 1 chunk every 30 seconds, or a smaller number of large chunks of say 5 mins each.

How you configure the device will depend on your preference. If you are reviewing an accident including the minutes before, during and after the incident, would you prefer that to be all one continuous stream of video, like a YouTube clip? Or would you prefer it to be 50 separate small bits of video that have to be viewed separately or put together using some video software (=hassle for some)?

Why is this an issue?

Because if you have chosen to record longer chunks (say 2-3 mins each) then when you stop your car and switch off the engine, the camera still needs to complete writing that chunk to the SD card. Without a battery, you would be switching off the power when you switched the engine off (if hard wired or if your power socket isn't always on). That would result in that last chunk of video being lost and not recorded.
That could be the vital footage of the accident just at the point the collision resulted in your engine switching off.

There may also be delay/lag in the entire recording process so it may affect more than one chunk of video.

So the battery power is important for ensuring video writes are completed.

Aside from that, having a battery means you can remove the dashcam from the car (if it's not integrated) and use it as a digi cam yourself. Maybe using it to walk around the accident scene, film the damage to cars and so on.

Bruce is correct that any device can be opened up by a competent "tinkerer" and with a bit of Googling you could identify and order a replacement battery, whip out a soldering iron and fit it. For most people though this is undesirable, not least because doing so would invalidate any warranty left on the device.

I stick to my personal preferences/recommendations which are that a dashcam should be tiny, discrete and integrated and therefore should be fitted with capacitors not rechargeable batteries. That will guarantee longevity and mean you don't need to keep removing the device every time you leave the car.

Ideally I would have bought 2 of the Mobius Action Cams (about £50 each). One I would integrate in the mirror housing and fit with capacitors. The other I would leave as is, with a rechargeable battery and keep aside to use to film the accident scene by hand.

Re: dashcam

Well, thanks for that information.

My dashcam, without internal battery, records in chunks of 5 minutes (I think) until the power connection is removed. Regardless of the point within that 5 minute period, the recording is saved up to the point the power is removed.

I don't need the dashcam outside of the car as I'd use my smartphone camera in such situations.

So I can see why some people might find an internal battery useful, but I really don't need one myself. Even if I bought one of those models, I don't think I'd need the internal battery.

But thanks for the information.

Re: dashcam

To be fair, the two dashcams I have haven't got long battery lives - they last about 3 mins. after they've been unplugged from the cigar lighter/accessory socket so aren't much cop for independent filming.

Re: dashcam

Decided to get a dashcam for my Nissan xtrail tenka 2015 model from a national retail outlet . Thought some members might be interested on how I am getting on with it. Apart from the usual questions of cost etc it was easy to install, with reservations, at least on my car. First did I want it plugged into cigar lighter (easy option) or hard wire to a fuse. First was finding out if the cigar lighter socket was always live (not a good idea as the dashcam could drain the battery) or if it was switched to come on with the ignition? I tried this with my wifes car as well and both were live all the time, so I gave up that idea had this gismo to check which made it easy.

So it was a case of what is called hard wired. Couple of things came to my mind don't piggyback (came with hard wire kit) to anything to do with safety - some muppet I read piggybacked to part of the ABS system.. The spare fuse point was always live so that was no good , in the end the heated front seat fuses seemed the best option. Have to say at this point the fuse board was right behind the glovebox, the most stupid place ever thought of. So removal of glovebox had to be done and then got access to the fuses.
Ok piggyback done and earth connected to a mounting screw, so now where to put the Dashcam camera unit? everywhere shows passanger side of rear view mirror. With my car there is a lot of rain sensing mesh which the sucker cup won't attach to so had to put on the passanger front piller side. Next was feeding the cable down to the hard wire kit, that was the easy bit , and plugging the two together.and then after securing exceess cable refitting the glove box.

One problem is the wipers do not cover where the camera is so might have to move it over later, good idea to put a lot of slack cable into the roof lining ,saves taking everything apart again.

Now you may ask why bother? after all it is not necessary to have one. I only wish i had one when some nutter came around a corner too fast ,slide on the ice with his little peugot 205? and hit my Lexus RX SE-L ,which was in snow mode, so hard he pushed me backwards into a 6 ft deep ditch beside the road. His car was written off and mine had £9,000 of damage. To make it worse his insurance said it was my fault until 18 months later and court date set they backed down and paid into court.

If I had a dashcam there would be no arguement.

May be of interest or not it is up to members

Re: dashcam

Well, as stocks of the very popular Mobius Action Cameras seem to have been replenished at the main supplying stores, I have today finally ordered a couple.



You can see how tiny and discrete these units are and yet they record superb HD footage. I will use one as a dashcam and keep the other with me most times in case I ever want to record anything. At that tiny size it is no hassle at all to carry around. It's basically the same as a car remote key.

I also have the option of detaching the lens and, using a special extension cable, positioning it away from the main unit. So I could for example drill a small hole in the ceiling console that houses the cabin lights and rain sensitive wiper sensor and cite the unit in there. That would be an incredibly discrete option with nothing but the tiny lens showing.

Looking forward to playing with them.

Re: dashcam

It certainly looks a useful bit of kit. How does it attach to the car/windscreen?
Do you have a link to the web site?

Re: dashcam

You can buy these from:

www.hobbyrc.co.uk

or

www.carcamerashop.co.uk

or

https://hobbyking.com

There are a range of accessories available including different mounts. By default the device comes with the little "holster"/cradle shown below:



Note that the underside of that cradle has a standard tripod screw fitting but it can be simply removed if not needed (as shown in the above pic)

You can also buy suction cup fittings too and given the cradle has that standard tripod fitting you could buy just about any screen suction cup fitting if you wanted.

Re: dashcam

Thanks Realist.

That's pretty good for £50 (although the second outlet charges £75!).

The daylight recording video is very clear for number plates, but I wonder what the night time recording quality is like.

Anyway, I've bookmarked all three links.

Re: dashcam

Worth noting that there are different versions of the Mobius camera on the market. The one you want is version 3 (V3) as it has a bigger battery in it so can record longer.

Different versions are priced differently

Re: dashcam

OK, thanks.