I'm about to install a Next Base 312GW dashcam in Management's car and
am not sure on whether I should connect it to a permanently-on source or
one which is live only when the ignition is turned on.

The car is parked on the drive overnight, so it would be useful to have
a recording of anyone messing with it, and the local supermarket seems
to collect drivers who think they're auditioning for some kind of
demolition derby.

If I was to wire it permanently-on, what would the downsides, other than
an eventually flat battery, be?

I should add that it does have a 'parking mode' that responds to
movement, but that needs to be set manually each time the car is parked,
something I'm not sure might happen...

--
F

On 30/05/2018 23:40, F wrote:
I'm about to install a Next Base 312GW dashcam in Management's car and
am not sure on whether I should connect it to a permanently-on source or
one which is live only when the ignition is turned on.

The car is parked on the drive overnight, so it would be useful to have
a recording of anyone messing with it, and the local supermarket seems
to collect drivers who think they're auditioning for some kind of
demolition derby.

If I was to wire it permanently-on, what would the downsides, other than
an eventually flat battery, be?

I should add that it does have a 'parking mode' that responds to
movement, but that needs to be set manually each time the car is parked,
something I'm not sure might happen...

Funnily enough I've just installed a 512 in my van. When I installed one
in Hil's car it obviously sensed the supply voltage and switched on when
the alternator started, then switched off a minute after the engine was
turned off. That's ideal for our purposes, but the one I just installed
seems to run all the time there's a nominal 12V supply. I haven't read
the instructions yet or downloaded new firmware, so I'll probably know
more tomorrow.
If you had one running all night you'd over-write previous recordings
very quick. And it might make cold weather starting a bit problematic if
you didn't use the car for a few days.

Bill

In message , Bill Wright
writes
On 30/05/2018 23:40, F wrote:
I'm about to install a Next Base 312GW dashcam in Management's car
and am not sure on whether I should connect it to a permanently-on
source or one which is live only when the ignition is turned on.
The car is parked on the drive overnight, so it would be useful to
have a recording of anyone messing with it, and the local supermarket
seems to collect drivers who think they're auditioning for some kind
of demolition derby.
If I was to wire it permanently-on, what would the downsides, other
than an eventually flat battery, be?
I should add that it does have a 'parking mode' that responds to
movement, but that needs to be set manually each time the car is
parked, something I'm not sure might happen...

Funnily enough I've just installed a 512 in my van. When I installed
one in Hil's car it obviously sensed the supply voltage and switched on
when the alternator started, then switched off a minute after the
engine was turned off. That's ideal for our purposes, but the one I
just installed seems to run all the time there's a nominal 12V supply.
I haven't read the instructions yet or downloaded new firmware, so I'll
probably know more tomorrow.
If you had one running all night you'd over-write previous recordings
very quick. And it might make cold weather starting a bit problematic
if you didn't use the car for a few days.

I'll repeat some things I posted recently about my main dashcam (ddPai)
which has a vaguely similar spec.
Both these cams, I believe, use internal batteries rather than big
capacitors to allow them to close down cleanly.
Mine ran off a permanently powered cigar lighter socket, rather than
being fully plumbed in. The supplied 12v to 5v adapter went very
intermittent, so I replaced it with one that shows the 2 voltages and
the current, as I had doubts about the cam internal battery.
The normal current taken by the cam was 0.5A, but I started noticing it
had risen to 0.8A. Taking the cam to bits, I found that the battery was
bulging. I removed it, and the amps went back down to 0.5.
My ddPai is now running without internal battery and the consumption is
usually 0.5A, dropping to 0.2A - 0.3A in the automatic 1 frame per sec
parking mode. I think the current drop is possibly because the GPS goes
into standby mode, but may be totally wrong.

There are pics online of internal battery dashcams that have exploded
after being in the sun in a parked car.

My dashcam was in parking mode outside the house and recorded foot and
road traffic during 2 burglaries. I got pictures of recognisable people
off the internal card, but in both cases the car was facing the wrong
way to prove anything.

I now use the cams in both vehicles via permanently on 12v sockets, but
remove the plug if the car is going to be left for some time.

I'm very enthusiastic about the 12v adapters with the current display.
--
Bill

On 31/05/2018 09:16, Bill wrote:

Mine ran off a permanently powered cigar lighter socket, rather than
being fully plumbed in. The supplied 12v to 5v adapter went very
intermittent, so I replaced it with one that shows the 2 voltages and
the current, as I had doubts about the cam internal battery.

I'm very enthusiastic about the 12v adapters with the current display.

What exactly did you buy?

--
Michael Chare

In message , Michael Chare
writes
On 31/05/2018 09:16, Bill wrote:

Mine ran off a permanently powered cigar lighter socket, rather than
being fully plumbed in. The supplied 12v to 5v adapter went very
intermittent, so I replaced it with one that shows the 2 voltages and
current, as I had doubts about the cam internal battery.
I'm very enthusiastic about the 12v adapters with the current
display.

What exactly did you buy?

It was a

http://tinyurl.com/y79k9x4z

I have one in each vehicle. The display is above rather than between the
two usb sockets as shown in the picture on the site.
--
Bill

On 01/06/2018 20:43, Bill wrote:
In message , Michael Chare
writes
On 31/05/2018 09:16, Bill wrote:

Mine ran off a permanently powered cigar lighter socket, rather than
being fully plumbed in. The supplied 12v to 5v adapter went very
intermittent, so I replaced it with one that shows the 2 voltages and
current, as I had doubts about the cam internal battery.
Â*I'm very enthusiastic about the 12v adapters with the current display.

What exactly did you buy?

It was a

http://tinyurl.com/y79k9x4z

I have one in each vehicle. The display is above rather than between the
two usb sockets as shown in the picture on the site.

Thank you, rather interesting.


--
Michael Chare

Maybe some enterprising company makes an in line battery pack that charges
from the car and is only used when the car is parked with a motion detection
system.
Most people I know find the motion sensing is either too good or does not
work though.
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Bill Wright" wrote in message
news
On 30/05/2018 23:40, F wrote:
I'm about to install a Next Base 312GW dashcam in Management's car and am
not sure on whether I should connect it to a permanently-on source or one
which is live only when the ignition is turned on.

The car is parked on the drive overnight, so it would be useful to have a
recording of anyone messing with it, and the local supermarket seems to
collect drivers who think they're auditioning for some kind of demolition
derby.

If I was to wire it permanently-on, what would the downsides, other than
an eventually flat battery, be?

I should add that it does have a 'parking mode' that responds to
movement, but that needs to be set manually each time the car is parked,
something I'm not sure might happen...

Funnily enough I've just installed a 512 in my van. When I installed one
in Hil's car it obviously sensed the supply voltage and switched on when
the alternator started, then switched off a minute after the engine was
turned off. That's ideal for our purposes, but the one I just installed
seems to run all the time there's a nominal 12V supply. I haven't read the
instructions yet or downloaded new firmware, so I'll probably know more
tomorrow.
If you had one running all night you'd over-write previous recordings very
quick. And it might make cold weather starting a bit problematic if you
didn't use the car for a few days.

Bill

On Thu, 31 May 2018 09:33:30 +0100, Brian Gaff wrote:

Most people I know find the motion sensing is either too good or does
not work though.

Or you know that something has happened at the sides or rear but
that's all.

Bit blooming daft for the things to record 30 sec and lock that
recording when you open a door. Simple enough to detect the short
supply interuption(*) when the engine is turned over, say within 30
seconds of the trigger. It then unlocks that recording and carries on
as normal.

(*) Almost everything "auxillary" is switched off when the starter is
engaged.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 31/05/2018 09:33, Brian Gaff wrote:
Maybe some enterprising company makes an in line battery pack that charges
from the car and is only used when the car is parked with a motion detection
system.
Most people I know find the motion sensing is either too good or does not
work though.
Brian


I have a couple of USB battery packs that do that.
One of them even has a wireless charger built in so I can charge my
phone without plugging it in. I also bout a wireless charger add on coil
with a usb intended to plug into a phone and charge the battery pack
from a wireless charger so I can just throw it on the mains powered
charge pad.

Brian Gaff wrote

Maybe some enterprising company makes an in line battery pack that charges
from the car and is only used when the car is parked with a motion
detection system.

Most people I know find the motion sensing is either too good or does not
work though.

I use it exclusively for the lights now with the Hue lights
and it works perfectly. I don’t have any physical switches
at all. Not cheap, but it works very well indeed.

"Bill Wright" wrote in message
news
On 30/05/2018 23:40, F wrote:
I'm about to install a Next Base 312GW dashcam in Management's car and
am not sure on whether I should connect it to a permanently-on source or
one which is live only when the ignition is turned on.

The car is parked on the drive overnight, so it would be useful to have
a recording of anyone messing with it, and the local supermarket seems
to collect drivers who think they're auditioning for some kind of
demolition derby.

If I was to wire it permanently-on, what would the downsides, other than
an eventually flat battery, be?

I should add that it does have a 'parking mode' that responds to
movement, but that needs to be set manually each time the car is parked,
something I'm not sure might happen...

Funnily enough I've just installed a 512 in my van. When I installed one
in Hil's car it obviously sensed the supply voltage and switched on when
the alternator started, then switched off a minute after the engine was
turned off. That's ideal for our purposes, but the one I just installed
seems to run all the time there's a nominal 12V supply. I haven't read
the instructions yet or downloaded new firmware, so I'll probably know
more tomorrow.
If you had one running all night you'd over-write previous recordings
very quick. And it might make cold weather starting a bit problematic if
you didn't use the car for a few days.

Bill

On 30/05/2018 23:40, F wrote:
I'm about to install a Next Base 312GW dashcam in Management's car and
am not sure on whether I should connect it to a permanently-on source or
one which is live only when the ignition is turned on.

The car is parked on the drive overnight, so it would be useful to have
a recording of anyone messing with it, and the local supermarket seems
to collect drivers who think they're auditioning for some kind of
demolition derby.

If I was to wire it permanently-on, what would the downsides, other than
an eventually flat battery, be?

I should add that it does have a 'parking mode' that responds to
movement, but that needs to be set manually each time the car is parked,
something I'm not sure might happen...


Parking mode needs the always on supply, the internal battery only lasts
a few minutes.
The battery is only there to allow it to finish writing to the card when
the power goes and to let you use it as a digicam to take a few snaps of
the damage.

I had this conversation with nextbase yesterday and the parking mode takes a 30sec video running on it's internal battery, it has a g sensor so responds to impact and saves the clip in the protected folder. Leaving this set on all the time would fill the SD card fairly quickly as the sensor is rather sensitive, closing doors starts a 30sec clip.

On 30/05/2018 23:40, F wrote:
I'm about to install a Next Base 312GW dashcam in Management's car and
am not sure on whether I should connect it to a permanently-on source or
one which is live only when the ignition is turned on.

Dunno about that model but mine comes with an accelerometer which means
that it takes a 10s burst if anything nudges the car. Mine is on the
cigarette lighter and although it would stay live I unplug when not in
use. I prefer not to add the base load on the battery unnecessarily.

The car is parked on the drive overnight, so it would be useful to have
a recording of anyone messing with it, and the local supermarket seems
to collect drivers who think they're auditioning for some kind of
demolition derby.

If I was to wire it permanently-on, what would the downsides, other than
an eventually flat battery, be?

Your fault if the wiring you have added ever goes wrong.

I should add that it does have a 'parking mode' that responds to
movement, but that needs to be set manually each time the car is parked,
something I'm not sure might happen...

Are you sure about that?

Mine has a sticky setting that allows it to take 10-30s snatches if
there are high g forces or undue vibration even when it is notionally
off. The instructions are invariably in Chinglish and make no sense at
all so you have to explore the menus to find out what is possible.

One thing I would advise after an incident yesterday with a deer forcing
a hard emergency stop is too make sure you clamp the camera *very*
firmly as otherwise you will get a picture of the sky when you have to
brake really hard rather than of the road ahead.

I missed the deer by inches and was hoping for good footage but once I
began to brake the camera shows the tip of its ears and a lot of sky.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 31/05/2018 09:39, Martin Brown wrote:
On 30/05/2018 23:40, F wrote:
I'm about to install a Next Base 312GW dashcam in Management's car and
am not sure on whether I should connect it to a permanently-on source
or one which is live only when the ignition is turned on.

Dunno about that model but mine comes with an accelerometer which means
that it takes a 10s burst if anything nudges the car. Mine is on the
cigarette lighter and although it would stay live I unplug when not in
use. I prefer not to add the base load on the battery unnecessarily.

The car is parked on the drive overnight, so it would be useful to
have a recording of anyone messing with it, and the local supermarket
seems to collect drivers who think they're auditioning for some kind
of demolition derby.

If I was to wire it permanently-on, what would the downsides, other
than an eventually flat battery, be?

Your fault if the wiring you have added ever goes wrong.

It's a Next Base kit so shouldn't be a prblem.

I should add that it does have a 'parking mode' that responds to
movement, but that needs to be set manually each time the car is
parked, something I'm not sure might happen...

Are you sure about that?

I was, but am not now!

Mine has a sticky setting that allows it to take 10-30s snatches if
there are high g forces or undue vibration even when it is notionally
off. The instructions are invariably in Chinglish and make no sense at
all so you have to explore the menus to find out what is possible.

One thing I would advise after an incident yesterday with a deer forcing
a hard emergency stop is too make sure you clamp the camera *very*
firmly as otherwise you will get a picture of the sky when you have to
brake really hard rather than of the road ahead.

I missed the deer by inches and was hoping for good footage but once I
began to brake the camera shows the tip of its ears and a lot of sky.

I shall go for a firm installation!

--
F

On 31/05/2018 10:30, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Thu, 31 May 2018 09:39:54 +0100, Martin Brown wrote:

One thing I would advise after an incident yesterday with a deer

Last year, both SWMBO and I definitely saw a fox in broad daylight run
across the road, which totally failed to be caught on the footage (you
can hear the audio as I saw "It's a ****ing fox").

I got about 0.5s of the deer 10m away to the right running across the
road followed by a view of the sky as its ear disappeared. Braking hard
stopped the car, but made the camera swing skywards on its ball &
socket. Previous time I got footage of one going in front of a van.

This time I was hoping for much clearer image. Actually it isn't as bad
as it looked on the little screen - the deer is clearly visible right up
to the point where the camera recoils skywards.

I'm guessing it's something to do with frame rate and resolution, but
interesting. If I had braked and caused an accident with chummy boy
behind claiming dangerous driving, my defence of something running into
the road would have looked a bit off with no video proof.

Indeed.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 31/05/2018 10:30, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Thu, 31 May 2018 09:39:54 +0100, Martin Brown wrote:

One thing I would advise after an incident yesterday with a deer

Last year, both SWMBO and I definitely saw a fox in broad daylight run
across the road, which totally failed to be caught on the footage (you
can hear the audio as I saw "It's a ****ing fox").

I'm guessing it's something to do with frame rate and resolution, but
interesting. If I had braked and caused an accident with chummy boy
behind claiming dangerous driving, my defence of something running into
the road would have looked a bit off with no video proof.


You don't need a defence!
The car in front can brake for any reason, like getting something in the
eye, sneezing and having his glasses fall off.
Chummy boy behind is guilty of dangerous driving whatever he claims.

dennis@home wrote:

The car in front can brake for any reason, like getting something in the
eye, sneezing and having his glasses fall off.
Chummy boy behind is guilty of dangerous driving whatever he claims.

So from a UK dashcam programme on last night, car in outside lane of
dual carriageway stops for no apparent reason, white van behind car
manages to stop, lorry behind van doesn't manage to stop, pushes van
into the car injuring chap in the van.

Who was prosecuted, the car, van or lorry driver?

On 31/05/2018 23:06, Andy Burns wrote:
dennis@home wrote:

The car in front can brake for any reason, like getting something in the
eye, sneezing and having his glasses fall off.
Chummy boy behind is guilty of dangerous driving whatever he claims.

So from a UK dashcam programme on last night, car in outside lane of
dual carriageway stops for no apparent reason, white van behind car
manages to stop, lorry behind van doesn't manage to stop, pushes van
into the car injuring chap in the van.

Who was prosecuted, the car, van or lorry driver?

Should be car driver for dangerous driving and lorry driver for driving
too close to be able to stop. The van driver had no choice but to stop
and did so properly.

SteveW

On 31/05/2018 23:46, Steve Walker wrote:
On 31/05/2018 23:06, Andy Burns wrote:
dennis@home wrote:

The car in front can brake for any reason, like getting something in the
eye, sneezing and having his glasses fall off.
Chummy boy behind is guilty of dangerous driving whatever he claims.

So from a UK dashcam programme on last night, car in outside lane of
dual carriageway stops for no apparent reason, white van behind car
manages to stop, lorry behind van doesn't manage to stop, pushes van
into the car injuring chap in the van.

Who was prosecuted, the car, van or lorry driver?

Should be car driver for dangerous driving and lorry driver for driving
too close to be able to stop. The van driver had no choice but to stop
and did so properly.

Depends on the situation.

A car that loses power and fails in the outside lane and the driver
can't get over to the hard shoulder they don't have much option but to
stop. I have encountered that situation a few times. Once in the car
behind the one that stopped dead for no apparent reason (out of fuel).

I once had a car immobiliser decide to spontaneously trigger and lock
the car down completely on a roundabout at rush hour. There is damn all
you can do with no working electrics at all apart from push it to the
edge of the roadside if someone will give you a hand to do it.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 31/05/2018 23:06, Andy Burns wrote:
dennis@home wrote:

The car in front can brake for any reason, like getting something in the
eye, sneezing and having his glasses fall off.
Chummy boy behind is guilty of dangerous driving whatever he claims.

So from a UK dashcam programme on last night, car in outside lane of
dual carriageway stops for no apparent reason, white van behind car
manages to stop, lorry behind van doesn't manage to stop, pushes van
into the car injuring chap in the van.

Who was prosecuted, the car, van or lorry driver?

Depends on the road.

If its a clearway then the car for stopping when it shouldn't unless
there was a reason that wasn't apparent.

Possibly the van as he hadn't been using his mirrors to know the idiot
behind was too close and hadn't allowed enough stopping distance.

The lorry driver for being an idiot.

The van/lorry driver for not complying with CCTV laws for a dash cam on
a works van/lorry? You are supposed to register CCTV systems used on
business premises but I know of no court cases to say what's legal.

In article ,
dennis@home wrote:
Possibly the van as he hadn't been using his mirrors to know the idiot
behind was too close and hadn't allowed enough stopping distance.

You cannot control how close a vehicle follows you. So if you have to stop
for whatever reason and they run into you, it is their fault and their
fault only.

--
*Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 30/05/18 23:40, F wrote:
I'm about to install a Next Base 312GW dashcam in Management's car and
am not sure on whether I should connect it to a permanently-on source or
one which is live only when the ignition is turned on.

The car is parked on the drive overnight, so it would be useful to have
a recording of anyone messing with it, and the local supermarket seems
to collect drivers who think they're auditioning for some kind of
demolition derby.

If I was to wire it permanently-on, what would the downsides, other than
an eventually flat battery, be?

If doing that, you should wire a battery protector inline which will cut
the cam when the battery gets too low.

The other (better IME) option is a LiFePo4 inline battery pack. These
are safer in hot cabin environments than ordinary lithium. They plug
inline between the fag lighter and cam (or can be hard wired) and charge
when the car is running. A decent pack should kepe a cam in parking mode
running for a day or two with no fear about flattening the main battery
or catching fire.

Not cheap mind (couple of hundred).

I should add that it does have a 'parking mode' that responds to
movement, but that needs to be set manually each time the car is parked,
something I'm not sure might happen...

BlackVue cams have Parking Mode - I have 2.

One is hard wired via a protector cutout - that tends to not make it
through the night, especially in winter (I set it to conservatively cut
off).

The other has a LiFePO4 pack which lives in the cubby behind the
handbrake. That works very well.

On 31/05/18 09:49, Tim Watts wrote:
On 30/05/18 23:40, F wrote:
I'm about to install a Next Base 312GW dashcam in Management's car and
am not sure on whether I should connect it to a permanently-on source
or one which is live only when the ignition is turned on.

The car is parked on the drive overnight, so it would be useful to
have a recording of anyone messing with it, and the local supermarket
seems to collect drivers who think they're auditioning for some kind
of demolition derby.

If I was to wire it permanently-on, what would the downsides, other
than an eventually flat battery, be?

If doing that, you should wire a battery protector inline which will cut
the cam when the battery gets too low.

The other (better IME) option is a LiFePo4 inline battery pack. These
are safer in hot cabin environments than ordinary lithium. They plug
inline between the fag lighter and cam (or can be hard wired) and charge
when the car is running. A decent pack should kepe a cam in parking mode
running for a day or two with no fear about flattening the main battery
or catching fire.

Not cheap mind (couple of hundred).

I should add that it does have a 'parking mode' that responds to
movement, but that needs to be set manually each time the car is
parked, something I'm not sure might happen...

BlackVue cams have Parking Mode - I have 2.

One is hard wired via a protector cutout - that tends to not make it
through the night, especially in winter (I set it to conservatively cut
off).

The other has a LiFePO4 pack which lives in the cubby behind the
handbrake. That works very well.

+1 on using a battery system


--
Canada is all right really, though not for the whole weekend.

"Saki"

On Thu, 31 May 2018 09:49:38 +0100, Tim Watts wrote:

The other (better IME) option is a LiFePo4 inline battery pack. These
are safer in hot cabin environments than ordinary lithium. They plug
inline between the fag lighter and cam (or can be hard wired) and charge
when the car is running. A decent pack should kepe a cam in parking mode
running for a day or two with no fear about flattening the main battery
or catching fire.

Not cheap mind (couple of hundred).

Any brands to look out for / avoid and why the huge markup over the cost of say
a couple of these for 20 quid and a suitable charger?

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/zippy-fl...epo4-pack.html

A 'genuine' Imax B6 is only 25 quid or so although not suitable for standaloen
hands off operation

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/imax-b6-...s-genuine.html

--

On 31/05/18 12:08, The Other Mike wrote:
On Thu, 31 May 2018 09:49:38 +0100, Tim Watts wrote:

The other (better IME) option is a LiFePo4 inline battery pack. These
are safer in hot cabin environments than ordinary lithium. They plug
inline between the fag lighter and cam (or can be hard wired) and charge
when the car is running. A decent pack should kepe a cam in parking mode
running for a day or two with no fear about flattening the main battery
or catching fire.

Not cheap mind (couple of hundred).

Any brands to look out for / avoid and why the huge markup over the cost of say
a couple of these for 20 quid and a suitable charger?

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/zippy-fl...epo4-pack.html

A 'genuine' Imax B6 is only 25 quid or so although not suitable for standaloen
hands off operation

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/imax-b6-...s-genuine.html


I couldn't say. Perhaps check some Amazon reviews (because you can
re-edit those later and people do, if something happens 6 months down
the line)

On Wed, 30 May 2018 23:40:39 +0100, F wrote:

I'm about to install a Next Base 312GW dashcam in Management's car and
am not sure on whether I should connect it to a permanently-on source or
one which is live only when the ignition is turned on.

The car is parked on the drive overnight, so it would be useful to have
a recording of anyone messing with it, and the local supermarket seems
to collect drivers who think they're auditioning for some kind of
demolition derby.

If I was to wire it permanently-on, what would the downsides, other than
an eventually flat battery, be?

I should add that it does have a 'parking mode' that responds to
movement, but that needs to be set manually each time the car is parked,
something I'm not sure might happen...

I have a 512GW, and the parking mode is a one-time setting - I'd be
surprised if yours is different.

I wired mine in 'always on' as I couldn't in any case get the fuse
adaptor to fit in a switched fuseway (the plastic moulded edge of the box
fouled it it the available positions).

It powers down, pretty well, after a set time (I think I have it at 3
minutes). I've left the car a week with no obvious battery problems (car
is 30 months old, so that's the age of the battery). The only thing I
notice is that I think the 'auto stop' feature on the car itself doesn't
kick in as often, presumably because the battery is a little bit
discharged.

The parking mode is fine, except that it will trigger every time you get
in the car. Every time it's triggered, it locks the current segment of
recording (default, 3 minutes) so that it isn't overwritten in the normal
round robin segment re-use. Eventually all of the segments get locked,
there's nothing to record on, and it starts making audible complaints.
This is easy to fix - just reformat the SD card - I usually do it about
every 3 weeks, but it obviously depends on usage, and the capacity of the
SD card.



--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

On 31/05/2018 09:59, Bob Eager wrote:
On Wed, 30 May 2018 23:40:39 +0100, F wrote:

I'm about to install a Next Base 312GW dashcam in Management's car and
am not sure on whether I should connect it to a permanently-on source or
one which is live only when the ignition is turned on.

The car is parked on the drive overnight, so it would be useful to have
a recording of anyone messing with it, and the local supermarket seems
to collect drivers who think they're auditioning for some kind of
demolition derby.

If I was to wire it permanently-on, what would the downsides, other than
an eventually flat battery, be?

I should add that it does have a 'parking mode' that responds to
movement, but that needs to be set manually each time the car is parked,
something I'm not sure might happen...

I have a 512GW, and the parking mode is a one-time setting - I'd be
surprised if yours is different.

Then instruction manual isn't too clear: I thought it had to be turned
off to go back to video mode. Hopefully, reality on the 312 is the same
as on yours.

I wired mine in 'always on' as I couldn't in any case get the fuse
adaptor to fit in a switched fuseway (the plastic moulded edge of the box
fouled it it the available positions).

I've yet to get that far...

It powers down, pretty well, after a set time (I think I have it at 3
minutes). I've left the car a week with no obvious battery problems (car
is 30 months old, so that's the age of the battery). The only thing I
notice is that I think the 'auto stop' feature on the car itself doesn't
kick in as often, presumably because the battery is a little bit
discharged.

Not sure what you mean by 'auto stop'.

The parking mode is fine, except that it will trigger every time you get
in the car. Every time it's triggered, it locks the current segment of
recording (default, 3 minutes) so that it isn't overwritten in the normal
round robin segment re-use. Eventually all of the segments get locked,
there's nothing to record on, and it starts making audible complaints.
This is easy to fix - just reformat the SD card - I usually do it about
every 3 weeks, but it obviously depends on usage, and the capacity of the
SD card.

The recommendation is to reformat regularly so that should be taken care of.

--
F

On Thu, 31 May 2018 11:07:37 +0100, F wrote:

thing I notice is that I think the 'auto stop' feature on the car
itself doesn't kick in as often, presumably because the battery is a
little bit discharged.

Not sure what you mean by 'auto stop'.

If the car is stopped in neutral, the engine stops. Press the clutch and
it restarts. A fairly common feature these days.

The parking mode is fine, except that it will trigger every time you
get in the car. Every time it's triggered, it locks the current segment
of recording (default, 3 minutes) so that it isn't overwritten in the
normal round robin segment re-use. Eventually all of the segments get
locked, there's nothing to record on, and it starts making audible
complaints. This is easy to fix - just reformat the SD card - I usually
do it about every 3 weeks, but it obviously depends on usage, and the
capacity of the SD card.

The recommendation is to reformat regularly so that should be taken care
of.

Yes, although it needs to be fairly frequent if you are in and out of the
car a lot, and the SD card isn't all that big. I got the biggest I could.
They don't teally indicate what 'regularly' means, and they certainly
don't recommend 'frequent' should you have parking mode enabled.

Last thing; my Nextbase wiring kit included adaptors for standard and
mini fuses, but not micro fuses. easy enough to get, but NextBase sent me
one FOC.

--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

On 31/05/2018 11:35, Bob Eager wrote:
On Thu, 31 May 2018 11:07:37 +0100, F wrote:

thing I notice is that I think the 'auto stop' feature on the car
itself doesn't kick in as often, presumably because the battery is a
little bit discharged.

Not sure what you mean by 'auto stop'.

If the car is stopped in neutral, the engine stops. Press the clutch and
it restarts. A fairly common feature these days.

Ah! Management's car has that.

The parking mode is fine, except that it will trigger every time you
get in the car. Every time it's triggered, it locks the current segment
of recording (default, 3 minutes) so that it isn't overwritten in the
normal round robin segment re-use. Eventually all of the segments get
locked, there's nothing to record on, and it starts making audible
complaints. This is easy to fix - just reformat the SD card - I usually
do it about every 3 weeks, but it obviously depends on usage, and the
capacity of the SD card.

The recommendation is to reformat regularly so that should be taken care
of.

Yes, although it needs to be fairly frequent if you are in and out of the
car a lot, and the SD card isn't all that big. I got the biggest I could.
They don't teally indicate what 'regularly' means, and they certainly
don't recommend 'frequent' should you have parking mode enabled.

Last thing; my Nextbase wiring kit included adaptors for standard and
mini fuses, but not micro fuses. easy enough to get, but NextBase sent me
one FOC.

Thanks, I'll bear that in mind.

--
F

In article ,
F news@nowhere wrote:
The car is parked on the drive overnight, so it would be useful to have
a recording of anyone messing with it, and the local supermarket seems
to collect drivers who think they're auditioning for some kind of
demolition derby.

Is it the sort of thing scrotes might break in and nick if they see it in
a parked car?

--
*Strip mining prevents forest fires.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 31/05/2018 10:36, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
F news@nowhere wrote:
The car is parked on the drive overnight, so it would be useful to have
a recording of anyone messing with it, and the local supermarket seems
to collect drivers who think they're auditioning for some kind of
demolition derby.

Is it the sort of thing scrotes might break in and nick if they see it in
a parked car?

Quite possibly, but a risk I'm willing to take.

--
F

On 31/05/2018 10:36, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
F news@nowhere wrote:
The car is parked on the drive overnight, so it would be useful to have
a recording of anyone messing with it, and the local supermarket seems
to collect drivers who think they're auditioning for some kind of
demolition derby.

Is it the sort of thing scrotes might break in and nick if they see it in
a parked car?

Mine isn't. About £50 anonymous black box sits behind the rear view
mirror and is all but invisible or it was when it was black. The black
lacquer on its face has gradually faded to golden red in the sunshine.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Dave Plowman (News) wrote
F news@nowhere wrote:

The car is parked on the drive overnight, so it would be useful
to have a recording of anyone messing with it, and the local
supermarket seems to collect drivers who think they're
auditioning for some kind of demolition derby.

Is it the sort of thing scrotes might break
in and nick if they see it in a parked car?

Corse it is. That’s why I would only have a dash cam which wasn’t
visible. Then if the accident is my fault, no need to mention it.

And that would avoid it being stolen by scotes too.

Even better to have a full set of cameras that assist with parking
and avoid you backing over one of your little kids, and which
are used as dashcams and scrote recording when not moving etc.

On 31/05/18 08:49, Jethro_uk wrote:

Stationary recordings are usually triggered by a (configurable) G-shock.
You get to see the offenders driving off.

BlackVuw do that - but also video motion detection (which requires the
camera to take power but reduces the load by not writing to the card)

From personal experience with Nextbase, make 100% sure the micro-USB
power connector into the actual dashcam is properly secure. Mine had a
nasty habit of cutting in and out every 10 minutes.

I'm sure Oscar Wilde would have phrased it better, but a dashcam you
can't rely on, is worse than no dashcam.

On 31/05/18 10:26, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Thu, 31 May 2018 09:54:20 +0100, Tim Watts wrote:

On 31/05/18 08:49, Jethro_uk wrote:

Stationary recordings are usually triggered by a (configurable)
G-shock.
You get to see the offenders driving off.

BlackVuw do that - but also video motion detection (which requires the
camera to take power but reduces the load by not writing to the card)

From personal experience with Nextbase, make 100% sure the micro-USB
power connector into the actual dashcam is properly secure. Mine had a
nasty habit of cutting in and out every 10 minutes.

I'm sure Oscar Wilde would have phrased it better, but a dashcam you
can't rely on, is worse than no dashcam.


To be honest, it sounded like a good feature at the time, but in reality,
how often is it any use. The fact there was a news item (with footage)
showing an Audi being keyed a while back suggests it's more rare than not.

The one feature I am pleased I went for is a rear-facing dashcam
(integral to the unit). Because a while the front facing does capture an
awful lot of ****e driving, it's nowhere near as risky to me as the
morons behind.


We're getting a lot of car break ins at the moment, right up my road. I
wonder if mine is left alone because the little LED is shining from it
out the windscreen?

Had some berk nearly cause an accident the other month - got it on
dashcam. Would have been invaluable if he had.

On 31/05/18 14:06, Jethro_uk wrote:
p.s.

make sure you get an SD card capable of handling the bandwidth. Use a
reputable seller in case you get a dud/fake (I used Amazon). Apparently
there are a lot of class-10s out there which aren't.



Good point - these are best with high endurance (support many erase
cycles) cards - these are usually marketed "for video".

On 31/05/2018 14:06, Jethro_uk wrote:
p.s.

make sure you get an SD card capable of handling the bandwidth. Use a
reputable seller in case you get a dud/fake (I used Amazon). Apparently
there are a lot of class-10s out there which aren't.

I've got a 32GB SanDisk SDSDQQ-032G-G46A High Endurance card on the way
from Kikatek. I usually buy from MyMemory but they didn't have the High
Endurance. I don't buy cards from Ebay and would only buy from Amazon if
it was sold by Amazon and not one of their resellers.

--
F