bigkraig

pm sent!

bigkraig

what external mics are you guys using? i've got a sennheiser that i tried inside of my cabin but it sounded just like the gopro mic

bigkraig

orthojoe

I'm using this microphone.
The placement of the microphone is what is the most important. I have mine placed right behind the rear license plate. Sounds great there.

That's interesting. Hopefully they come out with their new version soon. I emailed you the 996 Gauge anyway.

Macca

Joe. That incar youtube link I just put up has the Rev 2.0 external microphone taped to the factory half cage so the sound is about as good as it gets within the car Im afraid. Before Rev 2.0 you needed to rely on the internal microphone which isnt even as good as that! However you can with Rev 2.0 plug in your own external mic with a long lead and run to rear of car above license plate to get even louder sound which would be nice! I think the quality of the image is fine for Youtube and thats where i find myself going to watch my old videos as frankly there isnt enough space on my PC to contain the Terrabytes of original format footage Ive taken over the last 2-3 years! Smartycam with overlay is for convenience, efficiency (my 64GB card records 16 hours at 720HD) and a visual record with live telemetry to really help improve your driving. If I want something pretty for a road trip, I bolt up the GoPro or Sony av100 to the cage...

Spyerx

How did you route externally? Find a loom or hole in the firewall?

I stuff my mic under the rear carpet. No wind noise and nice induction noise. I have a simple audio technica battery powered lapel mic. Yours sounds way more intense :-) However the video I posted is the rev2 internal mic. Which is not that bad.

For the smarty rev2, you have 3 choices for audio: Built in mic, CAN cable with built in external mic, CAN cable with audio input (normal 3.5mm input type jack). I got the audio input option, as I will wire it up to a chatterbox when getting coaching to record the audio (of... brake gas too early, you missed your apex, you could park a car next to you on the track out... settle the car... gas gas gas... LOL).

bigkraig

There is a DIY for installing a backup camera that would give you cable routing to the rear plate. I ordered a camera and I'll probably run a mic line when I install it.

Macca

Hi Mate. My recording is with external mic positioned inside the cabin. My internal mic doesnt pick up very well. The mic is inside the door for the SD card which has a gasket on it and muffles the sound. Im sure its the same with yours?

Also do you find if you leave the whole OBD2 + Solo + Smartycam hooked up say overnight it turns itself back on? The OBD2 must be getting a trigger as mine will power back up itself within 30 mins if left all hooked up for an extended period...

orthojoe

Ah, I assumed you were using the internal mic. That does explain why it sounds better than the smartycam video I posted from my friends camera. In that case, it's probably just your mic position. It's nice that you guys don't have to deal with all of the wind when driving with your windows down as that's a big hurdle to overcome when it comes to recording audio. I tried stuffing the mic under the carpet in the back of the car, dropping it deep into the rear towhook hole, but in the end the right behind the license plate sounded the best. Agree that the rev 2.0 video is acceptable quality. I fully admit I'm bit of a videophile. I'm reviewing some video from my friend's Sony action cam right now and I'm impressed with the video quality. I may have finally found an alternative to gopro!

Nothing fancy. This past track day i just connected to the rear facing camera that was suction cup mounted to the outside of the rear window. In the past, I've routed through the door and just taped it down. Nothing elaborate.





I tested under the carpet first in the GT3. Wasn't intense enough for me. LOL.

Ooo! Wiring up to a chatterbox would be cool as a 2nd channel!

orthojoe

Yes. Make sure to disconnect from the car otherwise your solo will power back up on it's own and drain the batteries. This happens with both OBD2 and CAN power connections. I setup my car the night before an event, but disconnect the cables from the car for the night and the drive up, otherwise the unit powers on by itself

MaxLTV

I just ordered the full set - Smartycam HD 2.0 and solo DL, so we'll have something to play with in 2 weeks. I also avoided the previous versions because of sound and video quality (especially for the price), but this seems good enough.

orthojoe

Sweet!! Fun times ahead!

Spyerx

Yes and Yes. But I found internal wasn't that bad. Of course external is better.
On the power, so I have the Smarty set to trigger start record on low-g. Found this to be best. I have the auto-stop recording at 5min, and the auto-off at 30 mins. I use CAN on my 997 RS the SOLO is hard wired to a switched power connection. And of course the SOLO is connected to the Smarty via CAN.

What I have found is that when I enter the car and put key in, Solo turns on, so does smarty. When I start to drive on track, solo starts as does smarty once it detects low G (first corner). It then stops recording per above settings, and the SOLO I just turn off when done, although if I don't it will shut off. The Smarty shuts off after 30 mins or so.

Now, when I keep car over night at track, I just unplug the power/car Can from the SOLO and that keeps the unit from powering up and/or the charging sucking the battery dry. Which it shouldn't because its a switched power but I like car to start and I don't have a 6000 lb mooty battery in my RS.

The go pro is good for what it is, and they work well, light, and have so many accessories. Wouldn't surprise me if sony beat them in quality. Of course you cold mount some full frame DSLRs on the car :-)

Ok, I was definitely over thinking the Mic... I like the low tech mount. Engineer in me.

Didn't think about 2nd channel, not sure if Smarty is stereo or mono input. Gopro is stereo. My thought was I'd just record the instructor I'm sure the helmet mics will pickup the car, won't be as intense as normal however.

This is basically what I do. Just unplug the CAN-Car connection on the Solo and you're good to go. I can't recall if I've seen mine turn on once turned off... but do for safe measure.

Great kit. And frustrating as hell when you take your buddy's data who is faster and you wonder where he is faster and then the data shows everywhere :-) I have no intent or desire to overlay 991 gt3 data with my 997 !!! That is what you call sound financial discipline!

avi8tir

Where did you order from?

Macca

Joe. thanks for the insight. Im new to this set up and was getting annoyed that the OBD2 kept triggering the Solo head unit which in turn firs up the Camera shortly after I lock the car up for the evening so like both yourself and Spyerx Ive been disconnecting that cable to the Solo DL before I head to bed. I wasnt aware the same issue can occur with CAN too. Even on the "switched circuit" I would find it annoying that the unit would fire up every time I turned the ignition (it would necessitate me then turning it off via the Solo DL which is annoying especially when running a few errants or getting gas etc before heading to the track). It seems the only way to control it properly is to put another switch in line with the CAN/OBD2 cable. However this is really a small issue, the system wasnt designed to be left in the car and Im sure I can do fine just disconnecting the cable on the 2 annual multi day "track tours" we do each year where leaving the gear set up in the car for 3-10 days at a time is a preference.

Overall very happy with the utility of the system. the picture will disappoint compared to GoPro and the sound isn't as sharp as the Sony As100V but as a tool of convenience it doesn't miss a beat, its reliable, efficient and you will learn more from it than any telemetric graphical traces. Its like a V1 or a Rolex. It just does its job, build tough and strong and the best solution out there for under 1.8K fitted and installed. makes the Track Apps seem like the daylight robbery it is. One small observation is the footage from the SamrtyCam HD 2.0 plays better on some viewers than others (i.e. smoother and sharper - I find the Windows native viewer isnt as good as say the free racestudio3 software or quicktime etc).