Car Dashcam that doesnt affect DAB on Audi s3 8V: Thinkware 750

[royalsteve68]

I have had various car cameras for over 7 years now.

I used to have a blackvue 500 in my Audi S3 (which was originally in my old car). Then, I put a winycam 300 in the car but that caused battery drain issue with two separately powered cameras. The winycam 300 packed up so I swapped it for a winycam 100 which was brilliant and had superb pic quality but also cause battery drain issues.

I then had an anypower batter installed in the glovebox (like someone else did on this site) plus a winycam 200 and the battery drain issue vanished but DAB was badly affected and the rear footage was awful. Swapped to a Thinkware 750 and everything now perfect.

Thinkware mobile software is far better than blackvues and unlike blackue DAB isn't affected

FINALLY!!!!

 

[S32B]

Just had a look and it gets good reviews, good price as well.

Any pictures of it fitted so peeps can see what it looks like in the car, how visible is it from the front of the car?

 

[Liquidfusion-S3]

I'm intrigued with the built in speed camera detection, is the camera database accurate and life time free?

 

[NHN]

I swear somebody wrote this in another thread of late.

 

[royalsteve68]

I swear somebody wrote this in another thread of late.

Yeh. Me. Couldn't find it though

 

[royalsteve68]

 

[royalsteve68]

It is big. More than 50% bigger than the blackvue 500 and about the same size as the winycam 200. Despite its size it blends into the cars interior as it's the same colour as the roof line

 

[royalsteve68]

Neat time is the voice report each time you get in the car which is handy if your car has been parked for a while

 

[royalsteve68]

Neat time is the voice report each time you get in the car which is handy if your car has been parked for a while

neat thing, not neat time lol

 

[azibux1]

Looking at the new F770 and found this thread

@royalsteve68, I just wanted to check if you can still confirm the F750 doesn't cause any DAB issues for you? Now you've had it for a while.

 

[jungle650]

My Two pence worth....

The Thinkware F models are great. However there are a few things worth mentioning.

(I have both the Blackvue 650 and the Thinkware F750 in my personal cars). I have also fitted 5 other Thinkware F750 dual set cameras into other vehicles ( 2 Audis, 2 Renaults and the remainder Ford). So I have a fair amount of experience with them. I have fitted so many Thinkwares as I recommended them, however after 6 months plus of usage and use in other cars I would not be quite so quick to jump in with Thinkware.

Good points-
* Thinkware F750/770 have great video quality day and night. F770 improved even further at night.
* Installaion is easy and units have built in voltage setting ( max 12.4v ) so no need for seperate battery protector like with Blackvue when hard wiring.
* DAB is not effected. ( Certainly not in any of the cars that I have seen ).


Mixed points-
* Built in SpeedCamera database is a great idea however every set I have installed people have all turned it off as its way too sensitive. Mobile sights etc. Probably great if you are traveling somewhere new but around your normal roads a waste of time.
* Lange change and collision warning- Once again a great idea but in all of the installations people have all asked to turn it off.
* Thinkware units love to talk to you- Almost all of the time. Volume settings therefore turned down to zero.
* Rear camera uses micro USB connection which ensure no DAB issues. However the cable connectors are large at both ends for connection to main unit and rear camera.
* Unit designed for Left Hand drive cars as main camera unit has to slide off bracket to the right. Therefore on UK cars you have to leave room to allow this movement.

Bad points-
* Thinkware F750 not as descrete to mount as other cameras. F770 is smaller but still a large unit. You can get away with in the Audi A3/S3 as the passenger wiper has a wide long arc which reaches high up the screen. Other cars do not.
* The Thinkware app is no where near as good as the Blackvue. The app does not show you speed, GPS map with your footage etc. The only way to view all this data at once is to download data onto PC/ MAC. The Thinkware app is actually very basic. Blackvue does all of the above and looks great.
* No Cloud coverage, therefore you cannot use the cars wifi and see live footage etc. You can on Blackvue
* Thinkware cameras are very very sensitive to SD cards. Some work for a while then you get the dreaded voice mesage " Pls format SD card to ensure data integrity ". You are almost forced to buy the Thinkware SD cards. Out of the 5 cameras, 3 have been very sensitive to SD cards. This is by the most annoying part.

DAB issues with Blackvue cameras can be minimised with the use of ferroite coils on the rear camera cable. However it will not eliminate the problem and especially if your current DAB signal is already weak/ poor channel.

As I stated the Thinkware is a good bit of kit but not without its nuances.

Jungle.

 

[GSB]

Good review there @jungle650 , bravo...

A couple of thoughts;

I do like the look of the Blackvue, but there's no way in hell I'm compromising the DAB or any other system. This pretty much rules the Blackvue out.

Is is possible to tap into the video feed of the front facing camera in cars equipped with one? (As used on lane assist, matrix lights etc.) this would save the aggro of fitting a separate camera in that location...

 

[jungle650]

Good review there @jungle650 , bravo...

A couple of thoughts;

I do like the look of the Blackvue, but there's no way in hell I'm compromising the DAB or any other system. This pretty much rules the Blackvue out.

Is is possible to tap into the video feed of the front facing camera in cars equipped with one? (As used on lane assist, matrix lights etc.) this would save the aggro of fitting a separate camera in that location...

I dont think you can tap into the front facing lane assit camera to use for this purpose. ( ie dashcam) and surely its too low etc. But there is only one man that I would ask that question to. @DJAlix

Jungle

 

[DJAlix]

I dont think you can tap into the front facing lane assit camera to use for this purpose. ( ie dashcam) and surely its too low etc. But there is only one man that I would ask that question to. @DJAlix

Jungle

It might be possible to tap in to the camera. Would be an interesting project but I believe the camera in question is black and white.

 

[azibux1]

Thanks a lot for the info @jungle650

I am leaning a bit towards Blackvue:
- Because of what you've written (and it backs up some stuff I've read)
- Because I'm not too interested in rear cam anyway
- Because someone pointed out that I likely would actually probably see a video quality DROP from the mini 0803 I'm currently running

What are your thoughts on video quality between the mini 0803 (if you've seen one) and Blackvue?

 

[jungle650]

Thanks a lot for the info @jungle650

I am leaning a bit towards Blackvue:
- Because of what you've written (and it backs up some stuff I've read)
- Because I'm not too interested in rear cam anyway
- Because someone pointed out that I likely would actually probably see a video quality DROP from the mini 0803 I'm currently running

What are your thoughts on video quality between the mini 0803 (if you've seen one) and Blackvue?

Hi,

Sorry I cant comment beyond Blackvue 650 and Thinkware F models. I have not used the mini 0803. Only what I have read about them from Google etc. The minis are small and at a great price.

The Blackvue 650 and Thinkware F models are in a whole different price bracket. ( ie more expensive ). Does that mean better. I dont know but I would hope so.

The Blackvue does have a great app and if you have the tech pack with sim card you can remote into the camera every time its on the move. ( wife taking car for a spin etc ). This is great. The Blackvue has been fautless and most important of all a device which has been a forget about item ( not the Thinkwares which require SD card maintance regularly).

Just one more thing to bare in mind with the Blackvue 650/s is that if you only buy the front camera kit you cant later buy the rear camera to add to it. The twin camera and single camera units are different. Just thought I would mention that incase you thought you might add a rear Blackvue cam at a later date.

For example @Rob2k68 swapped to a Blackvue dual cam set up recently.

It is however only the rear camera that causes DAB issues.

There are some pics from this thread.

http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/thread...d-a-blackvue-dr650gw-2ch.248726/#post-2673153

Jungle

 

[azibux1]

Thanks @jungle650

I'm going to have to do some more reading I think haha

The constant voice alerts on the thinkware do sound a bit annoying, but the thinkware is also proof that more expensive doesn't always mean better (at least where video quality is concerned)

Obviously all the ones you mentioned have one feature the 0803 doesn't have, which is parking mode. Advantage is that the blackvues are on Amazon and they have pretty much hassle free returns so I can send it back FOC if I don't like it. Whereas there isn't any amazon/amazon fulfilled F770's on sale yet.

I'll check out those pics, thanks!

Don't have tech pack with connect, just basic tech pack.

Think I'll probably end up getting the 650 (undecided on single or dual) and try it out!

Requires the power magic pro though right, unlike the thinkware?

 

[jungle650]

The UK distrubtor for Thinkware is Chameleon which are based in Colchester Essex. Anything that states Thinkware on Amazon UK will come from these guys.

http://chameleoncodewing.co.uk/dash-cams/

if getting the Blackvue then yes Amazon - Blackvue is good and easy re returns etc.

Yes if hard wiring Blackvue its advisable to get something like the Power magic Pro to protect the cars battery. ( note that the highest voltage setting is 12v ) other newer different power make units go to higher settings now. ( Thinkware for example with its built in setting allows for example upto 12.4v ). Therefore if you leave your camera on all of the time and dont drive car much the car battery will be ok. New batteries are about 14v charge, when running you will see a charge of between 13.5v and 14+v running through the car battery. You want to make sure that any power protector goes to atleast 12v or higher. Anything less ( some are 11.8v) are useless on our cars.

Although the Magic pro only goes to 12v ( which is still fine as car needs about 11.8v to start) it doesnt leave a lot of room for error / poor battery. So bare that in mind if you dont use your car alot and still want to have the camera powered on at all times - parking mode for street parking etc. If that was the case you would probably need a seperate battery ( like the one used in the thread that I linked above ) no matter what power control unit you use . You would also need a massive SD card otherwise the loop recording might wipe your event!.

However for most people these extra battery packs etc are not required, its only if you have prolonged period of the car not moving with the camera on that they are needed. ( ie more than 24 hours or so ). Magic Pro or similar will suit most people who have the Blackvue camera. Its also small enough to tuck away somewhere discreetly.

The way I use my magic pro ( mounted in glovebox) is that its switched so that it only powers on the camera when the car is started. If I park somewhere I dont like or if we go away for the weekend etc then the Magic Pro can be flicked to power on the camera giving you parking mode. ( button on Magic Pro unit ) The magic pro enables voltage, power on off, and timer settings 6h.12h, 24 and infinity time setting I think. All very useful and lots of options one very simple little box ( about size of a small box of matches )

I dont know what other power control units offer but a useful resource would be blackbox.com

SD card wise 64gb is more than enough for the average person. You can go larger ofcourse but I would not recommend going any lower than say a 32gb card for a single camera set up.

Hope that all makes sense.

All the best
Jungle

 

[azibux1]

Cool!

There are regular times where I won't be driving the car for more than a day, but at these times it shouldn't see much motion (garaged), so you think it would be OK?

Otherwise I'd probably just do as you say, seems like a sensible plan of leaving it 'off' with the car, and only enabling parking mode when parking somewhere questionable or public. It's the 'big' main rocker switch for that feature on/off I assume? Not one of the fiddle little white ones?

Power magic pro seems a very cool product indeed.

Think I'll watch some reviews on the 650 tonight and decide

EDIT: Oh am I correct in saying a combination of timer and voltage can be used? So say 12v or 24 hour, cut off then, whichever is reached first?

Hope you don't mind all the questions haha

You have it fitted in your S3 by any chance and mind sharing which fuses you used for acc. live and permanent live, so start stop doesn't affect the performance?

 

[jungle650]

Cool!

There are regular times where I won't be driving the car for more than a day, but at these times it shouldn't see much motion (garaged), so you think it would be OK?

Otherwise I'd probably just do as you say, seems like a sensible plan of leaving it 'off' with the car, and only enabling parking mode when parking somewhere questionable or public. It's the 'big' main rocker switch for that feature on/off I assume? Not one of the fiddle little white ones?

Power magic pro seems a very cool product indeed.

Think I'll watch some reviews on the 650 tonight and decide

EDIT: Oh am I correct in saying a combination of timer and voltage can be used? So say 12v or 24 hour, cut off then, whichever is reached first?

Hope you don't mind all the questions haha

You have it fitted in your S3 by any chance and mind sharing which fuses you used for acc. live and permanent live, so start stop doesn't affect the performance?

No probs...Yes to all of the above questions is the quick and easy response . Its exactly how I use mine.

If you follow this thread below it shows the fuses used. I have also posted detailed pics.

http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/thread...d-a-blackvue-dr650gw-2ch.248726/#post-2673153

Regds
Jungle

 

[azibux1]

After watching a few reviews last night on video quality etc I went to bed thinking I'm just going to install the 0803 in this car (it was from a previous one) and see how it is with reflections and positioning etc. If it goes well, I'll probably / possibly leave it for now.

If I'm not impressed (every car is different with reflections and things) then I'll look at a blackvue I think... The parking mode etc is tempting me... But I will take a hit in bit rate and video quality and then I have this 0803 sitting doing nothing

Will see how it goes, hopefully I have a suitable fuse tap... Think my old car was mini blade fuse but can't remember if I have a standard kicking around somewhere

 

[azibux1]

Wasn't too keen on positioning of the 0803 up front, ideally wanted it on passenger side tight against the mirror but the lens is on the side nearest the mirror so sees the mirror housing in the image

Ended up ordering a blackvue 650 1 ch to try for up front, and mounted the 0803 as a standalone system in the rear

 

[azibux1]

@jungle650 Any advice please on the below?

0803 had to come out of the rear due to completely killing the DAB. But I still wanted to try a blackvue in the front.

Got a 650 1ch and power magic pro.

Only had mini fuse taps at the moment but couldn't get it working.

Tried various fuses, think the switched one was for rear wiper (I have a saloon so slot was empty)

Anyway, I could NEVER get the power magic pro to power up. Never got a green light with switch in either position and same for ignition on and off.

At one point I checked with a multimeter and the cables from both fuse taps had 12v and the black cable was grounded... But still nothing at the power magic pro itself

I powered it up once before remembering to ground it. Could this have caused any damage or could the unit be faulty to begin with?

Also for anyone that may know or @jungle650 , I ran the power cable for the camera along the outside of the a pillar trim (near the rubber seal) and "across" the top to get to the headlining... Did anyone else take the same route? Just trying to make sure I didn't get in the way of the airbag at all. I watched the airbag deploying video posted in the other thread but couldn't quite work out if I'm in the way of them or not.

I never took the a pillar trim off completely as I couldn't lol... The clips were crazy tight and I didn't want to break it.

Thanks!

 

[jungle650]

Front Pillar / Wire placement. - I have my wire coming along the top of the windscreen tucked under the headlining, then run down the edge of the pillar and windscreen glass then cut across the bottom of the dash. There is a gap for wire in all of these areas. This ensures its out of the way.

I am no expert but I would imagine if the cable is just tucked across the top of the pillar and down the outer rubber edge that would be still be ok but not ideal, the above is better. The force of deployment on the airbags is significant ( ie it pushes trim out of the way ! ) and should push the wire straight out of the way. The video suggests airbag across the top of the door area (curtain) and down the front pillar. It fires from the rear of the car across the top of the curtain area and down the front pillar. What you want to make sure is the wires do not stop deployment, ie they are not tight and fixed across an airbag, strangling it

Dont know if anyone has any pics of the front pillar off etc?? @Rob2k68 / @DJAlix do u have any / further thoughts / suggestions ?

Magic Pro- You should be able to get this to power up. You state you have checked both power sources and they both have 12v+ flowing through them. You should also tripple check the earth. That has caused people a few issues. Presuming they are all good then maybe you have caused the unit to fail / have a faulty unit.

You can also use the fuses that I used without using fuse taps. Just wrap each cable from the magic pro around each seperate left leg of the relevant fuses and push them firmly into the fuse box. If it still does not work you have issues !

Jungle

 

[Rob2k68]

@jungle650 Any advice please on the below?

0803 had to come out of the rear due to completely killing the DAB. But I still wanted to try a blackvue in the front.

Got a 650 1ch and power magic pro.

Only had mini fuse taps at the moment but couldn't get it working.

Tried various fuses, think the switched one was for rear wiper (I have a saloon so slot was empty)

Anyway, I could NEVER get the power magic pro to power up. Never got a green light with switch in either position and same for ignition on and off.

At one point I checked with a multimeter and the cables from both fuse taps had 12v and the black cable was grounded... But still nothing at the power magic pro itself

I powered it up once before remembering to ground it. Could this have caused any damage or could the unit be faulty to begin with?

Also for anyone that may know or @jungle650 , I ran the power cable for the camera along the outside of the a pillar trim (near the rubber seal) and "across" the top to get to the headlining... Did anyone else take the same route? Just trying to make sure I didn't get in the way of the airbag at all. I watched the airbag deploying video posted in the other thread but couldn't quite work out if I'm in the way of them or not.

I never took the a pillar trim off completely as I couldn't lol... The clips were crazy tight and I didn't want to break it.

Thanks!

Hmm I'd look to get hold of the standard size fuse taps and wire it up as per the other thread. In the mean time connect the power magic pro wires directly across the battery to see if the green light comes on. Try both yellow (switched) and red wires of the PMP on the battery positive terminal.

My cable routing is the same as yours - it's out of the way of the air bag I'm pretty sure.

Front Pillar / Wire placement. - I have my wire coming along the top of the windscreen tucked under the headlining, then run down the edge of the pillar and windscreen glass then cut across the bottom of the dash. There is a gap for wire in all of these areas. This ensures its out of the way.

I am no expert but I would imagine if the cable is just tucked across the top of the pillar and down the outer rubber edge that would be still be ok but not ideal, the above is better. The force of deployment on the airbags is significant ( ie it pushes trim out of the way ! ) and should push the wire straight out of the way. The video suggests airbag across the top of the door area (curtain) and down the front pillar. It fires from the rear of the car across the top of the curtain area and down the front pillar. What you want to make sure is the wires do not stop deployment, ie they are not tight and fixed across an airbag, strangling it

Dont know if anyone has any pics of the front pillar off etc?? @Rob2k68 / @DJAlix do u have any / further thoughts / suggestions ?

Magic Pro- You should be able to get this to power up. You state you have checked both power sources and they both have 12v+ flowing through them. You should also tripple check the earth. That has caused people a few issues. Presuming they are all good then maybe you have caused the unit to fail / have a faulty unit.

You can also use the fuses that I used without using fuse taps. Just wrap each cable from the magic pro around each seperate left leg of the relevant fuses and push them firmly into the fuse box. If it still does not work you have issues !

Jungle

Sounds good to me mate - I have pics of the A pillar trim removed but need to dig them out hopefully post them in the morning.

 

[DJAlix]

Front Pillar / Wire placement. - I have my wire coming along the top of the windscreen tucked under the headlining, then run down the edge of the pillar and windscreen glass then cut across the bottom of the dash. There is a gap for wire in all of these areas. This ensures its out of the way.

I am no expert but I would imagine if the cable is just tucked across the top of the pillar and down the outer rubber edge that would be still be ok but not ideal, the above is better. The force of deployment on the airbags is significant ( ie it pushes trim out of the way ! ) and should push the wire straight out of the way. The video suggests airbag across the top of the door area (curtain) and down the front pillar. It fires from the rear of the car across the top of the curtain area and down the front pillar. What you want to make sure is the wires do not stop deployment, ie they are not tight and fixed across an airbag, strangling it

Dont know if anyone has any pics of the front pillar off etc?? @Rob2k68 / @DJAlix do u have any / further thoughts / suggestions ?

Magic Pro- You should be able to get this to power up. You state you have checked both power sources and they both have 12v+ flowing through them. You should also tripple check the earth. That has caused people a few issues. Presuming they are all good then maybe you have caused the unit to fail / have a faulty unit.

You can also use the fuses that I used without using fuse taps. Just wrap each cable from the magic pro around each seperate left leg of the relevant fuses and push them firmly into the fuse box. If it still does not work you have issues !

Jungle

This is my cabling route, just picture this as a RHD car. No need to remove any trim, just lift, and does cross over any airbags.



I don't have any detailed photos but can take some if needed.

 

[jungle650]

@azibux1 ... Hopefully that will put your mind to rest re the cable route. You should be fine.

Thx @Rob2k68 , @DJAlix

Jungle

 

[azibux1]

Thanks @Rob2k68 , @DJAlix and @jungle650

That's exactly my routing as per DJalix pic

The standard size fuse taps are on the way, I simply refuse to pay £8 each from Halfords lol.

That's a good idea with trying the battery direct. Will give that a go. I tried to use the grounding point near the battery earlier as a test for that, but obviously had part of it wired to the fuse box so wires weren't long enough. I'll disconnect it completely and give the battery direct a try, gave up for today haha

 

[monkeyhanger]

If you want to leave your dashcam set-up on permanently as a parking monitor, i'd leave the Blackvue 650 2ch alone. I have had 2 of these on my Golf R, the first lasted a week before starting to fail with a high pitched whine and sound drop outs. The second one lasted about 3 weeks before doing pretty much the same as the first, but with purple pixelation of the video output. These units run too hot (the front camera especially, as it houses all the main workings of the set) to be reliable long term when left on after the driving has finished. Both times I was using a magic pro box. Buying from Amazon did make returns easy. Right now I don't have a dashcam set-up.

I do think that these dual channel dashcams would be better designed as a cool and well ventilated box that can be hidden away, attached to 2 satellite cameras which do not belt out the heat associated with the power supply.

 

[azibux1]

I've got the 1ch, but I see your point... Will have to see how it goes

If it fails, it's going straight back

Will keep you all posted

 

[Rob2k68]

Thanks @Rob2k68 , @DJAlix and @jungle650

That's exactly my routing as per DJalix pic

The standard size fuse taps are on the way, I simply refuse to pay £8 each from Halfords lol.

That's a good idea with trying the battery direct. Will give that a go. I tried to use the grounding point near the battery earlier as a test for that, but obviously had part of it wired to the fuse box so wires weren't long enough. I'll disconnect it completely and give the battery direct a try, gave up for today haha

You're welcome ;o)

Did you use the facia mounting bolt for the earth ? Just remembered that I found this to be intermittent despite working for others so drilled and self tapped into the mounting bracket :-

http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/thread...d-a-blackvue-dr650gw-2ch.248726/#post-2682399

 

[jungle650]

You're welcome ;o)

Did you use the facia mounting bolt for the earth ? Just remembered that I found this to be intermittent despite working for others so drilled and self tapped into the mounting bracket :-

http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/thread...d-a-blackvue-dr650gw-2ch.248726/#post-2682399

Its a good point @Rob2k68 . I had no probs with the earth but as you state others have.

Its also worth noting that there is a seperate earthing point under the trim along the bottom of the floor seal.

There is a pic of it in the reversing camera guide PDF in this link.. Its close to the end of the sportback section. The wiring supplied with the dashcams/ etc should reach if you continue to have earth probs this might provide another source.

http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/audi-a3-8v-reverse-camera-high-diy-retrofit-guide.269160/

Jungle

 

[azibux1]

Cool thanks guys I'll have a look. May be a little while as busy with work.

@Rob2k68 I used a bolt just to the left of the glovebox, there are two of them the same (used the top one). Bearing in mind it was reading 12v at the splice connector on the fuse tap (both of them), I assume the earth was maybe the issue

Will test and report back. Instead of pulling more trim off, I may go the route you've taken with the self tapper

 

[DJAlix]

Cool thanks guys I'll have a look. May be a little while as busy with work.

@Rob2k68 I used a bolt just to the left of the glovebox, there are two of them the same (used the top one). Bearing in mind it was reading 12v at the splice connector on the fuse tap (both of them), I assume the earth was maybe the issue

Will test and report back. Instead of pulling more trim off, I may go the route you've taken with the self tapper

I used the same screw / bolt as an earthing point, for multiple devices actually, with no issue. I did remove some paint from around the threaded hole though.

 

[azibux1]

I used the same screw / bolt as an earthing point, for multiple devices actually, with no issue. I did remove some paint from around the threaded hole though.

Will give it another go soon!

 

[royalsteve68]

My Two pence worth....

The Thinkware F models are great. However there are a few things worth mentioning.

(I have both the Blackvue 650 and the Thinkware F750 in my personal cars). I have also fitted 5 other Thinkware F750 dual set cameras into other vehicles ( 2 Audis, 2 Renaults and the remainder Ford). So I have a fair amount of experience with them. I have fitted so many Thinkwares as I recommended them, however after 6 months plus of usage and use in other cars I would not be quite so quick to jump in with Thinkware.

Good points-
* Thinkware F750/770 have great video quality day and night. F770 improved even further at night.
* Installaion is easy and units have built in voltage setting ( max 12.4v ) so no need for seperate battery protector like with Blackvue when hard wiring.
* DAB is not effected. ( Certainly not in any of the cars that I have seen ).


Mixed points-
* Built in SpeedCamera database is a great idea however every set I have installed people have all turned it off as its way too sensitive. Mobile sights etc. Probably great if you are traveling somewhere new but around your normal roads a waste of time.
* Lange change and collision warning- Once again a great idea but in all of the installations people have all asked to turn it off.
* Thinkware units love to talk to you- Almost all of the time. Volume settings therefore turned down to zero.
* Rear camera uses micro USB connection which ensure no DAB issues. However the cable connectors are large at both ends for connection to main unit and rear camera.
* Unit designed for Left Hand drive cars as main camera unit has to slide off bracket to the right. Therefore on UK cars you have to leave room to allow this movement.

Bad points-
* Thinkware F750 not as descrete to mount as other cameras. F770 is smaller but still a large unit. You can get away with in the Audi A3/S3 as the passenger wiper has a wide long arc which reaches high up the screen. Other cars do not.
* The Thinkware app is no where near as good as the Blackvue. The app does not show you speed, GPS map with your footage etc. The only way to view all this data at once is to download data onto PC/ MAC. The Thinkware app is actually very basic. Blackvue does all of the above and looks great.
* No Cloud coverage, therefore you cannot use the cars wifi and see live footage etc. You can on Blackvue
* Thinkware cameras are very very sensitive to SD cards. Some work for a while then you get the dreaded voice mesage " Pls format SD card to ensure data integrity ". You are almost forced to buy the Thinkware SD cards. Out of the 5 cameras, 3 have been very sensitive to SD cards. This is by the most annoying part.

DAB issues with Blackvue cameras can be minimised with the use of ferroite coils on the rear camera cable. However it will not eliminate the problem and especially if your current DAB signal is already weak/ poor channel.

As I stated the Thinkware is a good bit of kit but not without its nuances.

Jungle.

Good points but for me the big selling point of the Thinkware was no DAB issues. Had zero. Blackvues are terrible for DAB problems and i couldnt fix mine though it was the older 500 model, the dealer where i got my Thinkware also sells Blackvues and winycams but advised against Blackvues. They've fitted 1000s if not 10000s of dashcams. I used to rave about Blackvues but why they havent fixed the DAB issue is beyond me. You can switch off the speed camera/lane change/etc options no big deal, Blackvue doesnt have that anyway. Installing ferrite cores doesnt really solve the problem; in my case it did nothing.

 

[azibux1]

Right update for you guys...

The PMP has some life in it .. But I have a feeling it is still possibly faulty, read below and let me know what you think?

So I connected it direct to the battery and earth point near the battery... It works! But read on...

So car is running at this point, so is the PMP, turn the car off, PMP light stays on and it stays delivering power (expected), however if you then disconnect the ground connection, and then reconnect the ground connection... The only way to get life into the PMP again is to switch the engine on again

Is that normal? It didn't seem it, but now thinking about it, you'd probably never be in a situation where the ground would get disconnected while the car is off... So I guess it may be normal behaviour

Just need my fuse taps to turn up so I can try and get it working properly, as I tried the mini fuse taps in some mini slots today again, and also tried to get it into some unused standard fuse slots... Got it into two mini blade slots (of course) but still no light with it connected to the battery grounding point

Will have to see how it goes when the proper taps arrive, so frustrating haha, never had this much hassle wiring anything to a car in the past

Appreciate the help

 

[Rob2k68]

Right update for you guys...

The PMP has some life in it .. But I have a feeling it is still possibly faulty, read below and let me know what you think?

So I connected it direct to the battery and earth point near the battery... It works! But read on...

So car is running at this point, so is the PMP, turn the car off, PMP light stays on and it stays delivering power (expected), however if you then disconnect the ground connection, and then reconnect the ground connection... The only way to get life into the PMP again is to switch the engine on again

Is that normal? It didn't seem it, but now thinking about it, you'd probably never be in a situation where the ground would get disconnected while the car is off... So I guess it may be normal behaviour

Just need my fuse taps to turn up so I can try and get it working properly, as I tried the mini fuse taps in some mini slots today again, and also tried to get it into some unused standard fuse slots... Got it into two mini blade slots (of course) but still no light with it connected to the battery grounding point

Will have to see how it goes when the proper taps arrive, so frustrating haha, never had this much hassle wiring anything to a car in the past

Appreciate the help

Also depends what the battery voltags is and what the PMP was set to .... if set to 12v and battery voltage is 11.8v then with the yellow cable I think (perm live rather than switched supply) to the battery the PMP will not supply power. I've found this can take a few seconds so could explain why when disconnected from the earth and back again there is no green light.

 

[Rob2k68]

P.S. I'd still go for the drilled earth or for 'prove out' purposes get some spare wire and extend the PMP wiring and connect directly to battery earth. Once your happy with it then go for the permanent earth.

 

[azibux1]

Yeah sorry not sure if it was clear enough, today's test was using the earth point by the negative post on the battery. Ignore the fact I used the red croc clip on the negative and vice versa haha, that was just for holding them there.

All switches were in the up position

Will be able to do a proper test I guess when these fuse taps finally arrive haha... annoying when you're used to most items being Amazon Prime eligible then random things like this are not ha!