Dashcams and Security

[Kyanche]

this company seems to be at the top of my list right now, but would love to hear opinions from others

https://www.viofo.com/

I think Viofo and Blackvue are the two oldest and probably most popular dashcam brands. I have a couple of A119s myself and they work just fine. They're very basic cameras with no wifi , no mobile apps.. they just turn on and record to a microsd card and have GPS to display the speed.

And that's all I really need from them. As long as the camera always turns on and it's reliable at recording, it's fine. Caveat there: MAKE SURE TO CHECK YOUR DASHCAM PERIODICALLY.

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[Kyanche]

THAT SAID, I would love to have a proper cloud storage dashcam that streams to storage. But the monthly fee would probably be ridiculous.

I'm not sure having a lithium battery pack in a hot vehicle is a great idea.

 

[DKAwildcat]

I use a Rove dash cam, it’s front and rear. They even have one that has front, rear and interior cams. Look on Amazon

How is your Rove camera on a trail? Is there a lot of bounce when playing a video back or does it have a stabilization feature built into it?

 

[thelumen]

THAT SAID, I would love to have a proper cloud storage dashcam that streams to storage. But the monthly fee would probably be ridiculous.

I'm not sure having a lithium battery pack in a hot vehicle is a great idea.

I have a Viofo A329s and it allows for recording directly to a 4TB or less SSD. That could be an option for you. You could secure the drive behind the dash

 

[danba]

I have a dual BlackVue camera with cloud. Hardware is very solid but I do have a few things to mention if you go this route.

* If you pick a cellular one like I did good luck getting it on AT&T. Ended up going T-Mobile with automatic bill pay for $7 a month after several failed attempts to get it on my AT&T plan

* Love the hardware but the software is a little buggy and aged

* Buy a battery pack module or else you will have to get used to "Auxiliary switches unavailable until battery is charged" message every startup. The battery option I picked they no longer sell and I still used to get the message. Hmmm maybe that is why they do not offer it anymore. LoL ( Pending on settings and use it can be a parasitic battery drain )

All good points! I have a newer BlackVue camera, the 970X LTE, but is the Box version, which has the "brain" in a separate box. That allows for the front camera to be smaller, and even more important, to resist the Arizona heat much better, up to 158 °F.

I use Tello as my LTE provider and costs $5/month for 1G of data. That sounds very little, but it's more than enough: Blackvue provides free (limited) cloud storage which is available via WiFi. Blackvue also stores data on its microSD, which is also available via WiFi.

The only reason for the LTE is for security, if there are any incidents while the car is parked, it uploads to the cloud, including a buffer video prior to the incident. It also does it fast enough that if somebody removes the camera, the video still gets updates. Plus, since this is the Box version, the thieves would remove the camera, but have trouble figuring out where the Box CPU is actually hidden.

As far as bugs, there were a few in the beginning, but the last firmwares seem to have cured them.

One more thing: the video quality is great for a dashcam, but a GoPro is much, much better.

Lastly, I have a small ECOFLOW Portable Power Station RIVER 3, 245Wh LiFePO4 Battery Power Station that I connect to the camera. It lasts for 48hrs so that's more than sufficient for my use cases. It charges back when driving the Jeep, although it needs few hours to do that fully.

 

[PT's19Rubi]

I'm not sure having a lithium battery pack in a hot vehicle is a great idea.

Many dash cams now use Super Capacitors instead of batteries. The capacitors store power when camera is on and discharge that power at a set rate when vehicle/camera is powered off (not useful for long time parking mode). Internal batteries or capacitors are really only used to close the current recording file and possibly a short time of parking security mode. Capacitors are much more heat tolerant than lithium batteries.

 

[danba]

Many dash cams now use Super Capacitors instead of batteries. The capacitors store power when camera is on and discharge that power at a set rate when vehicle/camera is powered off (not useful for long time parking mode). Internal batteries or capacitors are really only used to close the current recording file and possibly a short time of parking security mode. Capacitors are much more heat tolerant than lithium batteries.

Correct, Li-ion batteries in particular. Also, the built in power sources for cameras are only to deal with proper camera shutdown when power is cut-off when the engine turned off, not for parking recording.

LiFePo4 batteries are better for recycling cycles and temperature. Same chemistry like the one used in the EVs.

 

[PT's19Rubi]

Correct, Li-ion batteries in particular. Also, the built in power sources for cameras are only to deal with proper camera shutdown when power is cut-off when the engine turned off, not for parking recording.

LiFePo4 batteries are better for recycling cycles and temperature. Same chemistry like the one used in the EVs.

Unfortunately, I've only seen LiPoly, Li-ion batteries or Super Capacitors in dash cams. LiPoly and Li-ion batteries are the ones that can have issues with heat (and over or to fast charging, BTW). If any manufactures are putting LiFePo4 in cameras, I haven't seen them. This, makes capacitors the better choice if concerned about heat.

Also, LiFePo4 batteries don't have a problem with heat, they don't like cold. That's why most, if not all EV's with LiFePo4 batteries have battery heaters. My son has a LiFePo4 in his KTM adventure bike. When cold, he has to keep hitting the starter to warm the battery so it will turn over/start (hitting the starter puts a near short on the battery causing it to produce heat).

 

[danba]

Unfortunately, I've only seen LiPoly, Li-ion batteries or Super Capacitors in dash cams. LiPoly and Li-ion batteries are the ones that can have issues with heat (and over or to fast charging, BTW). If any manufactures are putting LiFePo4 in cameras, I haven't seen them. This, makes capacitors the better choice if concerned about heat.

Also, LiFePo4 batteries don't have a problem with heat, they don't like cold. That's why most, if not all EV's with LiFePo4 batteries have battery heaters. My son has a LiFePo4 in his KTM adventure bike. When cold, he has to keep hitting the starter to warm the battery so it will turn over/start (hitting the starter puts a near short on the battery causing it to produce heat).

I was agreeing with you that better quality dash cams don't use any batteries but use super capacitors instead. Most Korean dashcams use capacitors, most Chinese still use batteries. That's also reflected in their price.

The LiFePo4 battery is my own battery bank. I AZ I don't care about cold , so that's a non issue for me. There are 12V LiFePo4 batteries that have heaters, but that's another price point and topic all together.

 

[Murphydog]

I have a dual BlackVue camera with cloud. Hardware is very solid but I do have a few things to mention if you go this route.

* If you pick a cellular one like I did good luck getting it on AT&T. Ended up going T-Mobile with automatic bill pay for $7 a month after several failed attempts to get it on my AT&T plan

* Love the hardware but the software is a little buggy and aged

* Buy a battery pack module or else you will have to get used to "Auxiliary switches unavailable until battery is charged" message every startup. The battery option I picked they no longer sell and I still used to get the message. Hmmm maybe that is why they do not offer it anymore. LoL ( Pending on settings and use it can be a parasitic battery drain )

I upgraded my BlackVue as the first one used the OBD port to charge and the parking magic was a parasitic drain. My current one manages the parking mode in the camera it self and I hard wired to the wire bundle in the passenger footwell. I have parking mode set to cut off at 4 hours and so far no negative impact to my battery

 

[TrentYoung]

I have run BlackVue cameras in all of my vehicles. for over 4 years I have it set to record 24 hours a day 7 days a week. If it gets to lowering my voltage to below 12.2 while parked, it will cut off. The best thing I like is that it is always recording so off road clips are excellent.

 

[Ratbert]

I have run BlackVue cameras in all of my vehicles. for over 4 years I have it set to record 24 hours a day 7 days a week. If it gets to lowering my voltage to below 12.2 while parked, it will cut off. The best thing I like is that it is always recording so off road clips are excellent.

You're not concerned about repeatedly dropping your battery down to about 50% state of charge?

 

[PT's19Rubi]

I was agreeing with you that better quality dash cams don't use any batteries but use super capacitors instead. Most Korean dashcams use capacitors, most Chinese still use batteries. That's also reflected in their price.

The LiFePo4 battery is my own battery bank. I AZ I don't care about cold , so that's a non issue for me. There are 12V LiFePo4 batteries that have heaters, but that's another price point and topic all together.

 

[2019JLUS]

Pro Tip: If you want your dash cam to NEVER turn off even if you don't drive for 2 weeks. Get a solar panel kit. I discovered this nice surprise a few days after installing solar, because usually they will auto shut off after a few days of not driving, but now with my battery getting topped off everyday. The voltage never gets low enough to trigger the auto shut off. I'm using a 90w kit https://amzn.to/45fPDzT and I have 2 dual lens dash cams active (ring car cam & raven.is)

 

[UTME]

I run a $67 RedTiger F9. I've never had a problem with it.

I just got a cheaper model red tiger dash cam off Amazon for $80. It’s 4k and works great. Careless driver ran a stop sign and almost hit us. Had to brake hard and swerve to avoid a collision.

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