MonkeyTrucker

I purchased a capacitor type dash cam, it's purported to be better than battery operated ones.

It's only after driving with it do you realize this type of camera is far less superior for one reason alone. Turn your car off and so does the camera after a few seconds.

This seems to contradict one of the many reasons some choose to get a dash cam, instances that may involve police or a stopped car (yours). An accident may even prevent this type of dash cam from operating if severe enough, just when you'd want the aftermath to be recorded.

Or, imagine getting pulled over and being told to turn your car off, sure you can leave it in the on position and be OK, but not if your keys are kindly removed.

I'd fear a scenario in which I'd be asked to "turn the car off," or "step of the vehicle sir" and then any of your evidence is poof...gone, because of the capacitor design. Or an accident that turns the car off.

Have any of you guys hard wired a capacitor driven dash cam? What did you tap into? Any fears that this would drain the battery if the dash cam went to "sleep" if no movement occurred after a specified amount of time?

Simply put, would a capacitor driven dash cam drain the battery?

What would be the best way to test the "normal" drain and then compare it to any additional drain from the capacitor to see if it would create an issue by hard-wiring via an always on circuit? I don't think a circuit that operates until the doors are opened would be adequate either.

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

Hey there

I've had a hardwired dash cam installed for 2 years now.
There's no effect on my battery.

I've used the same hardwire method as always - although ghetto, it's 100% reversible.

Cigarette lighter plugs to the dash cam.
On the cigarette lighter, the positive lead is the middle prong.
The negative lead is the two side prongs.



Attach a wire to the leads, then put the positive wire to any constant fuse such as the power seat fuse.
Then put the negative wire to a ground bolt, such as the one under the steering column.
I added a switch to the positive wire so I can turn it on/off whenever I want.

Many dash cams these days have a parking mode, or motion detection mode.
I disable all these "sensing" modes as I do not want to miss anything, and I want everything recorded just so long as I have my button set to ON.

Capacitor powered dash cams are awesome - they prevent overheating issues associated with battery ones in extreme weather (hot or cold).

thoiboi

GP, buy a female cigarette adapter pigtail and do it that way instead !!

MonkeyTrucker

Thanks!

Yeah, that's why I went with the capacitor driven one. Saw too many exploded lithium batteries in the others. Will be on top of my list of things to do now (hard wire), just put it aside until figuring out if the capacitor will draw to much.

Thanks again!

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

i installed (hardwired) a front and rear dash cam system in both my car and my wife's honda civic. i use a device called motopark battery discharge prevention device and it's highly recommended on dash cam forums (i used to spend a lot of time there when i was researching). it's a sweet setup because once hardwired you can set the device to turn off the camera at a certain voltage...say your battery goes too low then pre set voltage limit will turn off power to the camera so that it doesn't go past that. it also allows you to set the camera to turn off after a certain period of time...for example if you are parked at home in a garage you can make it turn off after a few hours.

i tapped into two fuse locations with an add a fuse (one is a constant power and one is an acc power) and i stuck the discharge prevention device to a metal box right above the fuse locations near the clutch pedal. the device uses a female cigarette power adapter to hook to the dash cam system

which camera did you end up going with?

i got two sets of the blacksys cf-100 which was highly recommended and it's a great bargain at 100 bucks for a front and rear system. i will always put cameras in my car it gives a great peace of mind and i wish everyone had them

thoiboi

Power Magic Pro has been well discussed too!

Alex.Leslie

+1 for Power Magic Pro.

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

Now that's a cool device.

A bit pricy, though
I wouldn't mind buying it if it weren't so expensive, but I feel like I don't need it

2 years with a hardwired dash cam, I've left my dashcam on for over a half a week with no problems. To add to that, my iSimple has been charging my iPod touch 24/7 for over 5 years

As for the auto shut off feature when you're home, it's another feature I don't think would come in handy for me - if I'm out at somewhere parked on the street overnight or when I have a long day parked at school, I don't want it to turn off when I need it the most
I think the feature would work if it had GPS to know where your home is.

Again, cool device for peace of mind for your battery, but at the price - I'd skip

Same thing for the power magic pro

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

35 bucks is overpriced? or do you see a different price? i felt it was reasonable especially when some people pay up to 300-400 for a camera (i only paid 100 for my camera but it's on the cheap end)

i would have paid up to 50 for it haha. but then again i waste a lot of money on my car

wackjum

Actually, a dash cam is just that. It is a camera to record what's going on in front of your car while you are driving. It is not a security or surveillance camera.

I have capacitor powered cameras in my cars. I got them after somebody ran a stop sign and hit me, but then claimed I hit them. A quick look at the damage would have told you otherwise, but the "conflicting stories" was enough for the other insurance company to deny the claim for 4 months while I was fighting them...

Had I had one, the dash cam would have done the job of proving I had stopped. It might not have even been able to record the other car not stopping because it might have been outside the field of view, but at least it would have shown I didn't run a stop sign.

Any aftermath photos and videos can be taken with your cell phone. The immobile view of a dash cam might not be very useful for recording the aftermath anyway.

Even battery powered cameras only have enough battery to record maybe 2-3 minutes after power is cut (and this is when the battery is new and fresh). The reason for the battery or the capacitor is to keep the camera on long enough for it to finish writing out the file.

So yeah, you can wire the camera into the car's battery system and turn it into a constant on surveillance system. Just know it isn't a flaw of the camera. You are pushing it to perform a task it was never intended to do.

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

I searched it and Amazon.ca's price was 82$ plus 6$ for shipping
I'd pay 10$ for it to give me extra peace of mind

MonkeyTrucker

A dash cam serves the defined purpose of anyone who buys one, hence the numerous types and quality.

There's usually two sides to a police report, the cop's written report and the truth.

In the aftermath of an accident or getting pulled over, yeah, I'd like a camera to continue running, added it has a motion detection feature.

Anyone who is considering a capacitor based dash cam should understand this weakness in this type of camera. If power is cut, car turned off, a door opened, or the keys out...the capacitor based dash cam will turn off. It is a weakness.

Thanks to the others on ideas for hard wiring!!!