My Dash Cam Installation

[bongi69]

I have been on the look out for a decent dash cam for a while, something small and unobtrusive. I had one about 2 years ago that I gave up using as the cam with the windscreen holder contraption and the wiring was just too annoying and distracting. I was looking at going down the built in route buying pinhole cams, a DVR box and cabling all separately. The aim was to have the cams "hidden" and the DVR box located in the glove box or arm rest. This however was turning out to be an expensive option at over €100 for all the bits, so I turned my attention to finding the smallest unit I could for good money, ideally less than €50, but also with good video quality.

I eventually found this unit that fit the bill, was compact with a flat mount, and it had an added bonus of a second external camera that could be mounted elsewhere. I was not on the look out for a 2nd cam but it sweetened the deal. I planned to mount the unit just in behind the rear view mirror, and run the 2nd cam wiring through the headlining and mount beneath the rear brake light bar.

After a couple of weeks travelling from Hong Kong it arrived yesterday. The contents of the box exactly matched what the pictures showed, which is always a plus when you order from China . The manual was in Chinglish though, but luckily through experimenting and guesswork I figured out the main controls.

I mounted it to the windscreen using the suction mount to test it out before actually wiring it in to the car, and all worked perfectly. The cam switches and starts recording within 3 seconds of turning the ignition, and it will stay on for around 20 seconds when you turn the ignition off, still recording. It also has a G sensor, and from what I could gather from the manual, in the event of a crash it will remain on for 3 minutes, and saves these videos in a special folder that does not get overwritten when the recording loops around. The unit estimates that with the 2 channels recording, an 8GB micro SD card will yield about 2 hours recording before it loops.

I mounted the unit and the rear camera as follows:




I threaded the wiring through the headliner, aided by removing the passenger side sun visor. The power lead continued down the A pillar, and into the area behind the glovebox. The 2nd cam wire went along the seam of the headlining on the passenger side, and over to the camera. Excess cabling was spread out into the area of the roof lining and the rear pillar (where the aerial amp is). I continued the power lead down the transmission tunnel to under the arm rest cubby. I did not really want to rip the dash apart to tap into the ciggy lighter, so I decided to tap into the power I had put in to the aux socket in the armrest. This was achieved by soldering some wire to the contacts on the power adapter, and tapping into the power feed.

I am well pleased with the results. The unit is unobtrusive, has great quality, and can always still be removed if needs be or if I'm parked in a dodgy area and dont want it on show. When the unit is removed the wires just stay where they are and don't dangle down. The only issue I have with it is the LED notification lights are far too bright and I may end up putting a piece of tape over them. Also the annoying start up sound can't be switched off lol.

Here is a test video I shot today on my drive home from B&Q.

Here is a video review of the unit, however I think its a previous, older version, but all the points still apply.

As I get to know more about it, I will be posting, along with clips of the crazy driving I see lol

**EDIT** I have the sound recording turned off on the unit. Don't need to be recording my headbanger music lol. The sound quality though is excellent

[jubbarelly]

Thats awesome dude and a bargain!!

Something else put on my list now!! lol

[bongi69]

Originally Posted by jubbarelly

Thats awesome dude and a bargain!!

Something else put on my list now!! lol

I had to sneak it in when I got paid lol learnt a long time ago order first tell later so it cant be undone. When I told herself she said what do you want that for??? She thinks I want to spy on her driving lol

[jubbarelly]

Originally Posted by bongi69

I had to sneak it in when I got paid lol learnt a long time ago order first tell later so it cant be undone. When I told herself she said what do you want that for??? She thinks I want to spy on her driving lol

Hahaha just say that it's so she can spy on your driving lol

That will keep her happy!

[MrDoodles]

Looks a nice installation!

Does anyone know whether the footage is admissible in Court?

[bongi69]

Originally Posted by MrDoodles

Looks a nice installation!

Does anyone know whether the footage is admissible in Court?

I don't think so, but someone more knowledgeable than me will come along. I know the time/date stamp has to be on CCTV and in the likes of shops etc. they have to have a sign saying CCTV is in operation for it to be admissible.

I work in motor insurance myself and have seen a rise in the crash for cash incidents lately, and the insurer's just tend to settle if its a case of your word against his unless its clearly one party in the right. I don't think that if anything happened and it ended up in court the footage would be admissible, but if it was a fender bender and the other party starts acting up the footage would be there to change his mind before it ended up in court

[MrDoodles]

Originally Posted by bongi69

I don't think so. I know the time/date stamp has to be on CCTV, and in the likes of shops etc. they have to have a sign saying CCTV is in operation for it to be admissible.

I work in motor insurance myself and have seen a rise in the crash for cash incidents lately, and the insurer's just tend to settle if its a case of your word against his unless its clearly one party in the right. I don't think that if anything happened and it ended up in court the footage would be admissible, but if it was a fender bender and the other party starts acting up the footage would be there to change his mind before it ended up in court

Thanks for that!

Sadly, exactly what I thought, so kinda negates their fitment!

[bongi69]

Originally Posted by MrDoodles

Thanks for that!

Sadly, exactly what I thought, so kinda negates their fitment!

For me its just the piece of mind that if a minor incident does happen and I am not at fault, the footage is there to threaten the other party if they start acting up. People tend to just own up if faced with evidence, and I don't think the average punter wouldn't know any better. I don't expect it to replace a police investigation in the even of something major.

Also I'm driving 2000 miles round france and the low countries in september so want to record some of the drive lol

[Radioguy]

We are Just in the Process of adding these to our website , Well a different model.

But the Same Idea.

[bongi69]

Originally Posted by Radioguy

We are Just in the Process of adding these to our website , Well a different model.

But the Same Idea.

Well you have my recommendation! Excellent little unit and it should sell well for you. I waited 3 weeks for it to come from China so if people can get it quicker from you all for it

It may be worthwhile if you modify them slightly for the 75/ZT. The power lead length is about right, the external cam cable is faaaar too long though for the run to the rear of the car.