Topic: Dash Cams

[Great_Big_Abyss]

So I've been thinking lately more and more that I want to buy a dash cam for the car.  There is no particular reason why I would want one, other than to record all the idiots that drive out there these days, as well as to potentially protect my wife and I in the case of a collision or incident in the future.

So, has anyone on this forum ever used a dash cam, or even researched them?  Here are a few things I think would be necessary.

A)  Carefree operation - the camera comes on and turns off with the ignition.
B)  It records on a loop.  Let's say 24hrs of time gets recorded.  If you have an incident, or see anything interesting, you would pull the data, otherwise it gets overwritten by the next 24hrs of data.
C) High quality video:  It doesn't have to be 4K, but 1080P or even 720P would be nice.
D) As inexpensive as possible

I guess the point I'm trying to make is this:  I would like a camera that once setup, requires no user input in order to work properly.  It's not something that I want to have to remember to turn on and off everytime I hop in the car.  The only time I would touch it would be to pull recordings off it when I see something interesting.

Does anybody have any input on this matter?

[PJungnitsch]

I got a couple this year, they have been great:

http://www.blackboxmycar.com/products/g1w-english-version



As well ordered:
-mounts off ebay to hang off the rear view, instead of using the supplied suction cups
-Samsung 32GB mem cards off Amazon, I think class 6. The brand and the slower speed are known to be good with dashcams

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Can you set it up to loop data on the SD card?

NM, I see on the website that you can.  That's a pretty good price, too.

I see it has automatic on/off.  How does it know when to turn on/off?  And how does it wire into the car?  Did you install yourself?  how complicated was the wiring job?

[PJungnitsch]

I just used the cigarette lighter that came with it for now, on both of my vehicles that turns on and off with ignition.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Hmm, okay.

That strikes me as a stop gap solution.  While I like the $65 price tag of this one, I'd rather look for something that is a little neater and avoids having a wire dangle down to the cig lighter.

[mmret]

Hmm, okay.

That strikes me as a stop gap solution.  While I like the $65 price tag of this one, I'd rather look for something that is a little neater and avoids having a wire dangle down to the cig lighter.

Well its going to need power somehow. This is basically what you do:

1. scissors (to cut the included cord)
2. add-a-fuse thing: (http://www.amazon.com/Bussmann-BP-HHH-ATM-Add-A-Fuse/dp/B000GKEXK2, also avail at Crappy Tire)
3. find the Accessory fuse on your car, and wire red to the fuse and black to a bolt on the frame or some suitable ground.
4. get some electrical tape and various other things to bring it all together. Some heat shrinks help too. I like to use foam tape to hold things in place if needed.

In all of our cars we've run the dashcam wire up just where the headliner meets the windshield (usually a bit of space there or you can just make little barriers with foam tape) and then down behind the A-pillar trim on whichever side has the correct fusebox.

[PJungnitsch]

As mentioned, no wires are hanging, the power wire is hidden in the headliner and A pillar. Lots of wire comes with the unit so there is no problem to run it around.

That said, if you don't want to tie up a power point you can buy a hard wire kit from the reseller or ebay and hook it up to the fuse box, or buy a powerpoint socket from CT and do the same thing. Can't directly cut the cord and wire direct as the male connector steps the power down from 12v to 5v.

[mmret]

Can't directly cut the cord and wire direct as the male connector steps the power down from 12v to 5v.

Ah, blast. That would be an issue. All the cameras I've hardwired were 12V.

There's always this, though: http://www.amazon.com/KEEDOX%C2%AE-Converter-Power-Supply-Module/dp/B00A71CMDU

[Ex-airbalancer]

Turn your phone into a dash cam https://www.sygic.com/blog/2016/turn-your-phone-into-dashcam-with-sygic-gps-navigation


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[johngenx]

Turn your phone into a dash cam https://www.sygic.com/blog/2016/turn-your-phone-into-dashcam-with-sygic-gps-navigation


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That's very interesting.

[Ex-airbalancer]

Turn your phone into a dash cam https://www.sygic.com/blog/2016/turn-your-phone-into-dashcam-with-sygic-gps-navigation


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's very interesting.

I have used the free nav for a couple of years and it works great as long as you download the maps for the country you are in , and you use no data when you are in Canada,   USA or Euroland

[rrocket]

I had mentioned a few years ago an I app I've used called Daily Roads Voyager.

Same idea.

[Ex-airbalancer]

I had mentioned a few years ago an I app I've used called Daily Roads Voyager.

Same idea.

In sygic , the dashcamwill run in the background and you can the nav on the phone
The maps are up to date also, we have a new exit in Cobourg which just open in the fall
The nav upgrade on the Lexus does not show it , it was upgrade to Lexus lates in June but in Sygic it is show,they use TomTommaps

[rrocket]

In sygic , the dashcamwill run in the background and you can the nav on the phone

Same on Daily Roads.