Dash Cam Update?

[S-3]

Hi

My S3 is ready for collection Saturday...

I have a Road Hawk HD in my current car which is 2 or 3 years old.

Is it worth moving it over, or are there better systems about now?

Paul
(I did try a similar post in the cameras section a few weeks back but got no replies, and next to no reads so thought I would try here as the traffic is higher)

 

[S-3]

Stupid spell checker auto correct.... That's supposed to say Dash Cam

Not sure how to edit?

 

[DrEskimo]

I've recently installed the BlackVue 650GW-2CH. I originally had a G1W (was about £30 on eBay) on my A5, which was just plugged into the 12v slot in the armrest, but decided to upgrade to the BlackVue for my S5 to get the parking mode feature.

Are there any features from other cameras you would like that the Road Hawk doesn't have? If not, probably would stick with it!

 

[Trevolly]

I've recently installed the BlackVue 650GW-2CH. I originally had a G1W (was about £30 on eBay) on my A5, which was just plugged into the 12v slot in the armrest, but decided to upgrade to the BlackVue for my S5 to get the parking mode feature any features from other cameras you would like that the Road Hawk doesn't have? If not, probably would stick with it!

How is the Blackvue 650 @DrEskimo ??

 

[DrEskimo]

How is the Blackvue 650 @DrEskimo ??

Yea happy with it so far. They have recently updated it to include cloud functionality, which is confusing to say the least...have no idea if mine is even using the SD card it came with?! Has a 16gb card in it already, and bought a 64gb in preparation but haven't used it yet, as it all seems to be stored on the cloud...could be wrong though. Need to investigate more!

The iOS app to access the camera seems to be lacking some basic functionality that the Android app has, which is annoying, but not the end of the world. I basically can't connect the camera to my home WiFi (my car is unlikely to be in range anyway..), which then allows you to get notifications and watch the live feed of the camera if it is connected to the car's own WiFi. Don't have Wifi in the car, and notifications would be nice, but not essential to me, so I can do without.

The only major complaint is the motion detection when in parking mode. I have a Power Magic Pro, which stops my battery falling below a certain level, but the detection seems to be too sensitive. Turning it down to 3 out of 100 seems to be OK, until it rains. Then it records every minute.... Will probably just turn that off and rely on the G-Sensors to tell me if anyone has knocked my car while parked. Will turn them up high to pick up even small changes.

Having a front and rear camera is nice though, install is easy enough and camera quality is very good. Night time quality is much better compared to my old G1W.

 

[S-3]

Hi

Quite fancy the rear view too...

Not bothered about recording whilst parked (too much faff and risk of flat batteries)

Would be nice to get smaller unit (Road Hawk is massive) also a way to 'aim' it with a view on the IPhone,, it's all a bit hit and miss on the Road Hawk.

I shall Google this 650

 

[S-3]

I like....

Can you set the battery guard thing to run for a couple of hours only (thinking shopping centre and airport car parks)... Wouldn't want it to record all night / all weekend outside the house though (flat battery worry)

 

[DrEskimo]

I like....

Can you set the battery guard thing to run for a couple of hours only (thinking shopping centre and airport car parks)... Wouldn't want it to record all night / all weekend outside the house though (flat battery worry)

You can indeed. You can set a voltage limit and a timer. So in your case, you would set the voltage to the highest threshold (12V) and can then set the timer to either 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 120hours or infinity. You would turn the device off so that the dash cam only runs while you are driving (ignition is on), and turn it on when you park up, having set it to what every timer you want. Of course it will still only record when the motion detection is set off, or the G-Sensor.

At the moment I have it to the lowest Voltage (11.8V), and infinite timer. Have turned off the motion detection for the moment, so it doesn't actually record anything unless it gets hit. Will likely turn on the motion but increase my voltage limit to 12V to be on the safe side.

EDIT: Sorry ignore advice about highest voltage (23.2V)....obviously pretty pointless on a car battery thats 12V...!

 

[Beery]

Ditto to the Blackview with the 'powermagic' thing. Its excellent....Just as easy to fit - just tap into 2 fuses - 1 permanent live, 1 ignition live.

Camera itself is small enough to be hidden behind the rear view mirror.

 

[Andru8]

I had this one in my BMW 125D and found it very good. The picture quality is top quality and the rear facing camera is very small and neat. It has the battery monitor built in and you set the voltage via the touchscreen display. I had it set to parking recording 24/7 via movement sensors. I will be fitting it to my s3 when it arrives.

https://www.lukashd.co.uk/LUKAS_LK_9750-Duo_Pro.php

 

[S-3]

Hi

I really like the look of the Lukas unit.... but I would need somebody to fit it.

Do they do nationwide installations? (I would ask them but cant find an email address on their otherwise very snappy website)

 

[DrEskimo]

Hi

I really like the look of the Lukas unit.... but I would need somebody to fit it.

Do they do nationwide installations? (I would ask them but cant find an email address on their otherwise very snappy website)

If the installation is the same as the BV with the PMP then do it yourself. It's pretty straight forward.

 

[Trevolly]

Thanks for the info @DrEskimo. I've been looking in to dash cams for a while and the Blackvue 650 has interested me as it seems to be pretty good quality and also more importantly it seems pretty small and won't take up a lot of the windscreen as I hate it when all you can see it the dash cam. I have some neighbours that love to park pretty close to my car and am worried that they will knock my car with their doors and also kids play around it sometimes. I was thinking that fitting the Blackvue (with its motion sensors) and a power magic pro, dunno if that would work.

My only doubt is that the Blackvue is pretty pricey against others like the Transcend Drive Pro and the Nextbase 402 (which both got pretty good reviews). Dunno if the Blackvue is worth the extra (seems to be a lot more to pay someone to fit it all too, I wouldn't be able to do it as I have no idea when it comes to car electrics).

Has the 2 channel Blackvue affected your DAB reception at all?, as some people have reported this.

Thanks for any help or advice anyone can give.

Trev.

 

[Andru8]

Hi

I really like the look of the Lukas unit.... but I would need somebody to fit it.

Do they do nationwide installations? (I would ask them but cant find an email address on their otherwise very snappy website)

I fitted it and removed it myself in the BMW. I could not find a permanent live so I went straight to the battery in the boot. All the wires were then fed behind all the carpets and trim etc. It took a few hours but it looked professionally installed once it was finished.

In the BMW I did have more dropouts on the DAB with it on, I bought some little magnet type things to put around the cables to stop the interference but I never got around to attaching them so cannot say if they would have worked or not.

 

[DrEskimo]

Thanks for the info @DrEskimo. I've been looking in to dash cams for a while and the Blackvue 650 has interested me as it seems to be pretty good quality and also more importantly it seems pretty small and won't take up a lot of the windscreen as I hate it when all you can see it the dash cam. I have some neighbours that love to park pretty close to my car and am worried that they will knock my car with their doors and also kids play around it sometimes. I was thinking that fitting the Blackvue (with its motion sensors) and a power magic pro, dunno if that would work.

My only doubt is that the Blackvue is pretty pricey against others like the Transcend Drive Pro and the Nextbase 402 (which both got pretty good reviews). Dunno if the Blackvue is worth the extra (seems to be a lot more to pay someone to fit it all too, I wouldn't be able to do it as I have no idea when it comes to car electrics).

Has the 2 channel Blackvue affected your DAB reception at all?, as some people have reported this.

Thanks for any help or advice anyone can give.

Trev.

No problem

Yea the BV should work as you suggest. As I mentioned previously, the motion detection is pretty sensitive so if its raining hard, can set it off every minute, which is far from ideal!

Yea it is pricey. I ended up getting mine as a Xmas/Bday pressie. I certainly wouldn't add to the cost by paying for installation. Was the first time I have even looked at a car fuse box, but it was very straight-forward. Lots of guides and information. A few simple tools and you will be done in less than an hour. Maybe another hour to hide all the wires in the trim.

No thankfully I have had none of the common reported issues. Heard of DAB interference, Nav not working, and coming home lights not working. Happy to say I have no issues with anything.

 

[Jay_A]

I've got a silent witness dash cam hard wired in mine. Really pleased with the output, plus it's tiny compared to my old G1W

 

[S-3]

Hi

No way would I be able to install one of these myself! I am hopeless at the best of times, brand new car and car electrics... not happening!

I like the idea of forward and backwards cameras, but seriously worried about DAB issues. Would I be right in thinking that BV have resolved the issues with theirs? (that and the fact that BV can arrange installs might swing it their way away from Lukas who possibly haven't sorted the DAB problem and don't do installs)

 

[DrEskimo]

Hi

No way would I be able to install one of these myself! I am hopeless at the best of times, brand new car and car electrics... not happening!

I like the idea of forward and backwards cameras, but seriously worried about DAB issues. Would I be right in thinking that BV have resolved the issues with theirs? (that and the fact that BV can arrange installs might swing it their way away from Lukas who possibly haven't sorted the DAB problem and don't do installs)

As I said, I hadn't even looked at my fuse box before I did the install! Its simply three wires. One goes into a fuse thats always on (like the horn or hazard lights), one goes into a fuse thats only on when the ignition is on (like the radio or Air conditioning) and the final one is just grounded to a bolt. I used these piggyback fuses and to make it nice and neat and even more straightforward.

I don't think the DAB is resolved on the BV. It seems to be a bit of a lottery and car dependent. For example I don't have any issues on my S5 Coupe, but know a another forum member is having issues on his S5 Sportback...

 

[S-3]

Hi

I like the look of the piggy back fuses... Still wouldn't fancy channeling the wires.

The DAB issue is the deal breaker though, think I might stick with the forward facing only option and my tried and tested Road Hawk HD.

I shall think on.... Cheers for input so far

 

[DickiePhitt]

Have a look at the Amacam range on Amazon. I've fitted these front and rear. They are so small they can fit between the rear view mirror and the screen and cannot be seen by the driver. Good quality night & Day pictures in HD.
Just ensure you get a Class 10 microSD card with a (proven) write speed of over 20 MByte/s. As I found out the hard way, after testing using the H2testw utility, they are not all the same and strangely enough Kingston and SanDisk were the worst, Samsung best.

 

[Trevolly]

I contacted Blackvur via Twitter and asked about the DAB issue when fitting the 2 channel option. The answer I got was a bit confusing as they say that it really depends on the proximity between the radio antenna and the front cam (which hold the GPS).

I thought all the DAB issues that can occur is with the 2 channel option and the rear camera interfering with the DAB ariel as its in the rear window.

 

[DrEskimo]

Yea thats what I understood as well. The front camera is definitely too far to cause any issues. Pretty sure its the coaxial cable that connects the front to the rear. Doesn't help that you have to store a lot of the excess cable in the headliner at the rear as there is a lot of space there.

Still no issues for me though.

 

[S-3]

Hi

I am still mulling this one over.... I have basically binned the idea of a 2ch system - any risk of losing my DAB is too much to think about.

I like my RoadHawkHD but it is massive. The Blackview 650 would be much much smaller.

However two features of the RoadHawk which, as far as I can see, are missing from the BV

1) A button on the unit to mark the last 2 minutes or so 'to keep' (helpful when some loon does something you want to show your mates later - or if somebody is chucking litter out of the window in front of you ect ect

2) An auto save feature, where by impact into the car marks a file as 'detectable event' and moves it to a place on the SD card which cant be over written...

Or am I missing something and the Blackview can do these things?!

 

[DrEskimo]

Hi

I am still mulling this one over.... I have basically binned the idea of a 2ch system - any risk of losing my DAB is too much to think about.

I like my RoadHawkHD but it is massive. The Blackview 650 would be much much smaller.

However two features of the RoadHawk which, as far as I can see, are missing from the BV

1) A button on the unit to mark the last 2 minutes or so 'to keep' (helpful when some loon does something you want to show your mates later - or if somebody is chucking litter out of the window in front of you ect ect

2) An auto save feature, where by impact into the car marks a file as 'detectable event' and moves it to a place on the SD card which cant be over written...

Or am I missing something and the Blackview can do these things?!

As far as I know the BV doesn't have either of those features. Both seem very handy so losing those features in order to gain a smaller form factor doesn't seem worth it to me.

 

[S-3]

I tend to agree.... Could swing it back to the RoadHawk.

Does anybody have pictures of an A3/S3 with a RoadHawk fitted?