Hi, thinking about having this front and rear dash cam installed by RAC when I get my new car. I see the rear is connected to the front camera by a USB cable. Can this not be hardwired to the rear wiper like some of the other dash cams?

1 hour ago, tigermad said:

I see the rear is connected to the front camera by a USB cable.

If it's anything like the Blackvue dual-cameras then it's 2-channel recording. Both cameras record to a single medium, usually an SD card located in the forward facing camera.

The USB connection between the two cameras is serving two purposes; firstly providing power to the rear camera in the form of the standard USB 5 volts and secondly sending the rear camera video signal to the front SD for recording.

For that reason the two cameras have to be connected.

 

Only if the rear camera has its own independent recording medium should you consider wiring it separately but you will need some form of 12 volt to 5 volt USB adaptor.

50 minutes ago, BillyJim said:

If it's anything like the Blackvue dual-cameras then it's 2-channel recording. Both cameras record to a single medium, usually an SD card located in the forward facing camera.

The USB connection between the two cameras is serving two purposes; firstly providing power to the rear camera in the form of the standard USB 5 volts and secondly sending the rear camera video signal to the front SD for recording.

For that reason the two cameras have to be connected.

 

Only if the rear camera has its own independent recording medium should you consider wiring it separately but you will need some form of 12 volt to 5 volt USB adaptor.

Of course never thought of that! hopefully they can hide the wiring then. 

Yes they are connected to one Micro SD card in the front camera so need to be connected.

 

I have a F750 fitted and TBH I would look at the Blackvue instead, yes they Blackvue is slightly larger (for the rear camera) BUT you cannot compare the quality.

Edited 5 March, 20179 yr by Gizmo68

Just now, Gizmo68 said:

Yes they are connected to one Micro SD card in the front camera so need to be connected.

 

I have one fitted and TBH I would look at the Blackvue instead, yes they Blackvue is slightly larger (for the rear camera) BUT you cannot compare the quality.

Thanks. I have read lots of reviews comparing them and they both seem to be similar. I don't need the iCloud options on the blackvue and is more expensive. Maybe I will take another look before I commit 

I ran the Blackvue on my MKII Superb (sold it with the car) and have a pair in the Yeti, the recording really is HD quality, whereas the Thinkware is years behind, not sure what the F770 brings to the table over the F750 though.

 

Currently I am installing Blackvue DR650S cameras to the company trucks and one feature I find really useful is the ability to view and save recording via wifi, so there is no need to ever remove the Micro SD cards.

 

I looked at several and only went for the Thinkware for the small rear camera, but TBH I wish I hadn’t bothered.

30 minutes ago, Gizmo68 said:

I ran the Blackvue on my MKII Superb (sold it with the car) and have a pair in the Yeti, the recording really is HD quality, whereas the Thinkware is years behind, not sure what the F770 brings to the table over the F750 though.

 

Currently I am installing Blackvue DR650S cameras to the company trucks and one feature I find really useful is the ability to view and save recording via wifi, so there is no need to ever remove the Micro SD cards.

 

I looked at several and only went for the Thinkware for the small rear camera, but TBH I wish I hadn’t bothered.

To use the wifi facility particularly to view live recording does it use your mobile data package?

No, wifi is free, only if you connect to the cloud will it go onto your data allowance.

Just now, Gizmo68 said:

No, wifi is free, only if you connect to the cloud will it go onto your data allowance.

Sorry if I'm being dumb. Surely there needs to be a wifi connection nearby to connect to while travelling  

The wifi connection is just to connect the camera and your device

search for the camera on your phone / tablet / laptop etc, once you are connected to the camera (wifi) open the app and then you can live view and transfer files 

Just now, Gizmo68 said:

The wifi connection is just to connect the camera and your device

search for the camera on your phone / tablet / laptop etc, once you are connected to the camera (wifi) open the app and then you can live view and transfer files 

Ok thanks. So it's just like a Bluetooth connection then. Cool. I thought it would cost to view data etc. 

Yes just like a Bluetooth connection.

 

The only ‘issue’ with the wifi connection is your phone will connect automatically everytime the camera is on and in range, to get round this just click on the ‘forget this device’ under the wifi settings.

To reconnect just type in the password for the camera 

Sounds good thanks. Just looking for the cheapest place fitted. Don't get car for few months yet. 

Hi tigermad. I've got the 2ch Thinkware f770 installed in my mk3 Octavia. It's a good system, however I do find that when on the move, number plates and finer detail can become pixelated and sometimes impossible to read despite being 'HD' video. Other than that, footage is smooth and clear, regardless of light and weather. 

Regarding the WiFi connection, you have to press a button on the front camera to switch on the WiFi signal and connect your phone to it. Once you come out of the app on your phone, the camera's WiFi automatically switches off again after a minute or so. Therefore no need to ever 'forget' the WiFi network on your phone, as it will only see the WiFi when you press the button on the dash cam.

Parking modes are good, whether you select time lapse or motion detection. Time lapse uses slightly more battery, therefore depending on your battery voltage cut off level, will stop recording sooner. 

I posted some photos of the setup on a different thread:

 

Hope this helps!

45 minutes ago, Maverick999 said:

Hi tigermad. I've got the 2ch Thinkware f770 installed in my mk3 Octavia. It's a good system, however I do find that when on the move, number plates and finer detail can become pixelated and sometimes impossible to read despite being 'HD' video. Other than that, footage is smooth and clear, regardless of light and weather. 

Regarding the WiFi connection, you have to press a button on the front camera to switch on the WiFi signal and connect your phone to it. Once you come out of the app on your phone, the camera's WiFi automatically switches off again after a minute or so. Therefore no need to ever 'forget' the WiFi network on your phone, as it will only see the WiFi when you press the button on the dash cam.

Parking modes are good, whether you select time lapse or motion detection. Time lapse uses slightly more battery, therefore depending on your battery voltage cut off level, will stop recording sooner. 

I posted some photos of the setup on a different thread:

 

Hope this helps!

Thanks. Looks like both blackvue and thinkware cameras have a similar video quality. 

I still cant decide between the blackvue and Thinkware.

Hi Folks, my car will be sitting in parking mode for about 10 hours per day. Will I need a battery pack for this or will the camera only turn using motion sensor or impact and it won't need to be on solid for 10 hours?

 

I have read some car batteries only last 30 mins! What use is that? I have been looking at the cellink pack but not many people in the UK do it and I am not sure I actually need it.

The single-camera BlackVue in Park Mode would drain the battery in my Superb II if it was left for more than 12 hours to the extent that it was hit and mostly miss if there was enough juice left to turn the engine.

I got an earlier version of the Power Magic Pro that would inhibit power if the car battery dropped to a certain level but never fitted it as sale of the car was imminent, so it was sold on.

With the new BlackVue I opted for the Power Magic battery pack. Wired into an ignition-switched feed (and not the 12v socket as suggested) it will charge when ignition is on and power the camera when ignition is off. With the dual-camera I expect it won't last the 10 hours but I'd sooner have a flat battery pack than a flat car battery.

1 minute ago, BillyJim said:

The single-camera BlackVue in Park Mode would drain the battery in my Superb II if it was left for more than 12 hours to the extent that it was hit and mostly miss if there was enough juice left to turn the engine.

I got an earlier version of the Power Magic Pro that would inhibit power if the car battery dropped to a certain level but never fitted it as sale of the car was imminent, so it was sold on.

With the new BlackVue I opted for the Power Magic battery pack. Wired into an ignition-switched feed (and not the 12v socket as suggested) it will charge when ignition is on and power the camera when ignition is off. With the dual-camera I expect it won't last the 10 hours but I'd sooner have a flat battery pack than a flat car battery.

Thanks. Is there no way to make it use the car battery first then switch to the blackvue battery if car one gets low? That way you get to use both. So does the camera use full power all the time in parking mode?

Only in an ideal world. They're simply not set up for using a permanent feed 12v socket.

No it doesn't use full power but it is effectively constantly on, monitoring for any adverse events.

On my older BlackVue (DR400?) in my MKII Superb I left it plugged in for 4 days and the car only just failed to start, it was usually power via an ignition fed live fuse but the dealer unplugged it and when I plugged it back in I used a permanent live by mistake. 

Thanks for the replies. Doesn't seem I can do what I want in parking mode then time wise anyway. The question is will the battery pack last longer than just using the car battery with power magic when parked?

1 hour ago, tigermad said:

Thanks for the replies. Doesn't seem I can do what I want in parking mode then time wise anyway. The question is will the battery pack last longer than just using the car battery with power magic when parked?

 

Hi tigermad. With the Thinkware f770, you set via the app the car battery voltage level which you want the dash cam system to entirely shutdown (including any monitoring for impact etc). That way, when your battery level reaches that level, the system will not drain it any further. I think I've set mine to 11.9 volts. The length of time the parking mode/dash cams stay active varies depending on factors such as vehicle use to recharge the battery etc. My parking mode (currently set to motion detection) stays active from anywhere between 4 hours and 15 hours.

Wasn't aware that there was possibly a method of extending that time with an external battery pack. That would be great if so!

14 minutes ago, Maverick999 said:

 

Hi tigermad. With the Thinkware f770, you set via the app the car battery voltage level which you want the dash cam system to entirely shutdown (including any monitoring for impact etc). That way, when your battery level reaches that level, the system will not drain it any further. I think I've set mine to 11.9 volts. The length of time the parking mode/dash cams stay active varies depending on factors such as vehicle use to recharge the battery etc. My parking mode (currently set to motion detection) stays active from anywhere between 4 hours and 15 hours.

Wasn't aware that there was possibly a method of extending that time with an external battery pack. That would be great if so!

Hiya. Been reading a bit since I started this thread. You can get a cellink which uses the cellink battery pack and then switches to the car battery after. It's £169 and is the option I'm considering. Would like to have it hard wire installed for me but can only seem to get in in the uk from Amazon etc. 

11 hours ago, tigermad said:

Hiya. Been reading a bit since I started this thread. You can get a cellink which uses the cellink battery pack and then switches to the car battery after. It's £169 and is the option I'm considering. Would like to have it hard wire installed for me but can only seem to get in in the uk from Amazon etc. 

 

Just an update. The new version of the cellink doesn't switch to the car battery. It just uses the battery pack. But that doesn't matter because it gives up the 20 hours per charge on a dual dashcam. You need to modify the cabling to use it with the thinkware and I'm just getting a quote from a place in America that splices it for you. I have found a place in the uk that sells the cellink and thinkware f770 but I dont know if they can install them together. You just wire in the cellink to the fusebox the same as you would the dashcam, then the dashcam plugs into this. 

 

Heres a link if if anyone is interested. 

https://www.blackboxmycar.com/blogs/news/connecting-korean-dashcams-to-the-cellink-battery-b

 

 

It is definately the option I want to go for now. Just need to get someone to install it for me :-)

Edited 25 March, 20179 yr by tigermad