Dash Cams

[The_Hawk]

Following on from my sale thread here I figured this could do with a new thread.

First up, many thanks to ope126 who suggested I just had the wrong camera, I've returned that one now and ordered a different one.

{SNIP}

A huge recommendation for estore009 on ebay. I've bought a few things from them over the years and they have been awesome to deal with including the return I just did. Very very awesome service.
estore009 items - Get great deals on Dashboard Car Camera DVR, Portable Scanner items on eBay Stores!

How do you rate the quality of these Chinese stuff ? Aaron
I recently bought one of these, inspired by facebook
https://www.cardashcampro.com/produc...-black-or-blue.
It's working, but quality is poor. I'd wonder how long it'll last

It depends on the model and the supplier, there seems to be HUUUUUUGE ranges in quality for these things. I did a pile of research years ago before I got the camera for the Van (also from estore009) and ended up with the G1W. It was dirt cheap and actually works very very well (and has done for years). Research is the key here.

If you want a good reliable camera with all the bits here is what you want BlackVue | World's Leading Dash Camera Manufacturer Not cheap but does what it says.

The BlackVue are very well regarded as one of the best, not without their issues of course, but at a price.

I've always been guided by these guys who have lots and lots of great information:

https://dashcamtalk.com/

To ensure it fits this time I've gone away from the VW specific ones to a more generic unit. I was all ready to pull the trigger on an A118 before I realised the replacement A119 was available in a neater package. So I have this making it's way to me now. It's reliability is a little unknown but the A118 was decent (any issues appear to be resolved through firmware upgrades) and the newer model is in a neater package

The only thing this *doesn't* have is a WiFi connection that other models might have, but not something you need.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/282132719434?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Dual camera isn't an option for me (in a convertible and all ), and I made sure to leave a pull cord behind when I was attempting the last install so all the hard work is done. I should be able to install this one in minutes all things going well.


So what do other people use and recommend?

[FJ Steve]

I run Blackvue in our Polo and Touareg (daily drives). Picture/audio quality is first class. Coupled with the PowerMagic Pro, event recording while parked is a great asset. Until a service technician just pulls the power lead out of the unit.

But...all good. Very happy with the image quality, unit build quality (survives Perth summer days).

[Transporter]

We had 2 Blackvue in our cars and both aren't working anymore, they didn't last even 2 years.

I had a good run with Navman Mivue 358 dash cams bought 2 of them 4 years ago and both still work. The Mivue 680 that I got 3 weeks ago has also safety camera alerts, headlights warning and the driver fatigue alert.
In Car Camera, Dash Cam Units: MiVue | Navman Australia

[ian]

Transporter you might have to reinstall the Firm ware. One of mine the other day. Kept telling me Check the SD card you need a clean install blackvue has all the down loads for all models. Easy to do

[ian]

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwjkiqjiu9zOAhVCF5QKHVJZD9wQFggKMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.autoblackbox.com.au%2Fcontact-us%2Fdownloads%2F&usg=AFQjCNE5gCUHOhdQ-mK9Rzh4LvZQ4-DFMw&sig2=kDu4eGxPzeXxm65ZTfBoeQ

[FJ Steve]

and....format the micro sdcard monthly.

[JustCruisn]

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&s...zeXxm65ZTfBoeQ

What the hell is that link ?
Virus scanner went nuts !

[Guest001]

If you want Blackvue Downloads they are ALL here https://www.blackvue.com/downloads/

This is the parent company site in Korea. The above one is a reseller.

My 3 are still going fine after 3 years. A frequent problem with them can be a bad installation for power and it seems they get a bit upset.
Mine were cutting in and out a couple of weeks ago so I had a tidy up of the wiring behind the dash and redid a couple of connectors and they have been Ok since

Only 2 minor problems In the 400 the LiPo battery died so i pulled it to bits and fitted another one $3 on Ebay.
Same thing with the 500 the tiny battery for the memory died. Bit tricky to desolder and re solder a new one in but its ok now for $2.85

All 3 are running much higher capacity cards than they should but work fine 128Gb in the 500 64Gb in the other 2.

Next best would be a mini 0805/6

For reviews look here A good non biased review https://dashcamtalk.com/best-dash-cams-of-2016/

And here BlackVue DR650GW Reviews - ProductReview.com.au

As far as the Navman ones look here Navman MiVue Reviews - ProductReview.com.au

[The_Hawk]

and....format the micro sdcard monthly.

Why format the memory card??

[ian]

When you a problem with the Blackvue its usually a firmware issue . its the easist way to get youe unit back working Format the card reinstall the Firmware Get rid of anf glinches in the recording

[FJ Steve]

Why format the memory card??

it is a media that is consistently being written to. As such, it does have a limited life.

How can an SD card get worn out?
An SD card gets worn out when it goes through many read-write cycles which may cause errors. Those errors unaddressed may seriously damage an SD card. So, we recommend to format your SD card using our (Blackvue) SD Formatter every week or at least every 2-3 weeks. Also after formatting it is strongly recommended to update the firmware. And always switch off the power prior to taking the SD card out of your BlackVue.

[Guest001]

In actual fact when you buy a new Blackvue camera it is supplied with a blank memory card The firmware is already in the camera and when you put the card in it is initialised and the necessary files are installed on it . When you upgrade the firmware it is installed off the card and into the camera.
I have just gone and put a blank card into my camera and it says "Initialising the SD card" and does so and starts recording.
I havent formatted mine for about 2 months and its going Ok Is a 128Gb Sandisk Ultra in the DR500HD-GW

As said it doesnt hurt to format it occasionally but you dont have to do anything else.
Just format it and put the blank card back in the camera. Also best to format it in a PC using "SD formatter" rather than in the camera
Mine is a Korean version which I hacked the firmware to enable it to speak English

[The_Hawk]

Thinking out loud here...

Doing a full format can mark damaged bits (ie the ones that have worn over time) so yeah it sounds like there is some merit in that... but..

The reality is that memory cards these days have a life expectancy of around 100,000 cycles... So even if that's only an hour of footage it looks like this if it was recording 24/7:

100,000/24/365=11.4 YEARS of footage.

Given most cards will hold multiple hours and it's not recording 24/7 you're highly likely to replace the camera long before the card dies.


To add to that, I've been running a camera in the Van for 2.5 years on the same micro SD card (which has never been reformatted) and it's probably only 8GB/16GB so would have had more cycles than a larger card... and that's never missed a beat. Everytime I've wanted footage off it it's been fine.

You have to wonder why Blackvue recommend it so highly? Or if it's just encouraging you to update the firmware more often

[Guest001]

Yeah I dont worry about mine Havent done the one in the wifes 400 for months and my rear one far ages and they still record Usual problem is the camera get a bit hot and upsets the cards.

In saying that on first trip to USA the 400 cut out for no reason for a day and a bit until I worked out that the power plug squeezed out of the socket a bit in the rental and cut the power. I taped it in after that

[The_Hawk]

Fast forward a few years and I have a few updates.

The old G1W in the Van died at the end of 2017 (just after I got a replacement mounting base of course), the A119 in the Cab worked so well in such a nice formfactor I grabbed the slightly newer A119V2 and dropped that into the Van. Same mini USB power plug too which made it nice and simple and meant I didnt have to rewire the whole thing.

Not long after that the Micro USB card packed it in... just dead, Im guessing the heat got to it, in either case its worth check on your camera from time to time to ensure its still doing what it should be.


Everything was going very well until very recently the A119V2 started playing up, originally I thought it was an issue with the GPS module since powering the camera directly (and not using the GPS) saw it working, but over time it has starter flickering, rebooting itself and forgetting its settings. I was all set to just order a new one and be done, but hacing some holiday time on my hands I pulled out the multimeter and had a poke around to discover it was only passing 4V or so to the device... seems the old hacked up power source has given out.

A quick test with a new USB adaptor and cable had it working like it used to so a couple of hours later Ive stripped it all down, desoldered the old adaptor cut up that new USB power adator and hard wired it into place cleaning up some of my previous work as I went. I love electrical arts and crafts time. I could have just moved to the USB setup instead which would make future replacements that much easier, but this ensures it doesnt fall out, it much neater and isnt too hard to replace when the time comes.

Another top tip, check the power supply before deciding something doesnt work