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So.. It only took about 3 weeks but while I was at work someone decided that my car had a target on it and needed a proper love tap. The daytime headlight is bashed in and the headlamp washer nozzle was pushed down. I'm going through the process of repairs, but whomever did it pulled a hit and run and left no note. Has anyone explored any dashcam options that run even while the car is off? Wishing I had considered the idea sooner..
I am having the Blackvue 750's installed (https://www.blackvue.com/dr750s-2ch/ ) for this very reason. If you search the threads, you can see some discussion on this.
I am having the Blackvue 750's installed (https://www.blackvue.com/dr750s-2ch/ ) for this very reason. If you search the threads, you can see some discussion on this.
-TJ
Hey TJ,
How did you go about finding a vendor to do the installation?
I have the SpyTec A119. The reviews on Amazon aren't great, but I have three of them and they all work just fine. I have one in my wife's BMW, and two in my Macan (forward and backward facing). On the Macan, the USB ports are powered for 30 minutes after the ignition is turned off, so although I don't have complete coverage, I do get a lot of "parked action". I don't know if the USB ports work the same on the 991.2, but I will find out soon because I pick mine up this Saturday! In the pic below my wife is following me while I'm in my 997.2.
Both BlackVue and ThinkWare make robust cameras that don't have problems with memory faults like the two cameras I had used before. The optics are also very good in both daytime and nighttime settings.
I'm using the ThinkWare F800 and have it record video while I'm away from the car. I does require hardwiring to both an always-on feed and a switched feed to get this feature, but I picked up both of those from the fusebox.
The F800 can be set to record parking video in one of three ways: On impact, on motion, or one frame every second (or two frames a second with the F800 Pro). I use the frame-per second setting since there's normally just too much motion going on where I use it and I figure I'll just record everything. Another plus is that the F800 has built-in car battery monitoring that is controlled from its software on your smartphone (you connect your smartphone to its WiFi to do setup changes). You can select a period of time and/or a minimum voltage at which you want it to turn off. You can get similar functionality with the BlackVue but it is a hardware device with toggles you have to set.
Both can make use of both front and rear cameras.
The only potentially bothersome thing with the ThinkWare is the start-up voice announcements. You can turn them off, but then you seem to lose sounds altogether. I'd like to be able just to change voices to beeps.
A bonus of the ThinkWare is it has adjustable collision warnings and lane drift alerts if you want them. It watches the cars and lane markings in front of you. It can sound a tone when the car in front of you pulls away (for those who aren't alert at stoplights). I turned off the lane-drift warnings and set the collision alert sensitivities to minimum (it has both high and low speed settings for this). I figure since I have it I'll leave it turned on just on the outside chance I miss something... which would be rare for me, but certainly not impossible. But I figure the camera has these capabilities and I'd feel silly not to be using them on the outside chance something went wrong and I didn't see it right away.
How did you go about finding a vendor to do the installation?
Thanks,
-N
I got a recommendation from the dealer where I purchased my Porsche as they also did some other aftermarket work on it. Most of the guys that do stereos, auto starts, etc., seem to also install these cameras. I also had it installed with the Power Magic Pro so it didn't run down the battery.
I installed by Blackvue 750 (front and back) camera myself. Hardwired into he fuse box with a power magic pro. Took a few hours (first time), but not hard. Overall very happy with the camera. I'm not sure all the cloud functionality is worth it, but nice to have.
The camera is small and indiscreet, but has a flashing light (front and back) to warn people they are being filmed when the car is parked.
I have had a lot of entertainment watching the video(s) of the day when the park is parked at work. Its underground in the Chicago Loop and I'm amazed how many people peek in the windows and walk around the car. All respectful of her, but still surprising
As a general thought for those on the fence about a dash cam on this car and wiring it in, the power sockets give power when you first open the door and stay live up to 30 minutes after you lock and leave. Two nice things going on here: the camera has gone through booting up before you start the car and that can help in those first moments after driving away from parking, a high risk ding situation; it stays on for a decent time after parking too and no running your battery down if left for days away.
I've previously wired my dashcams to an ignition switched fuse location but for the 911 I use the passenger footwell socket. Now if only a rear view option like that were available too!
The new BlackVue would also be my choice for a new one, I see even pre-orders are closed now on their website.
I have a previous model in my Macan and although performance is great, the simple thing of mounting this big cam requires strong adhesive - the bracket on the unit has poorly engineered surface flatness, two levels plus a PITASOFT logo on a curved area to avoid being covered (!?). It did not adhere well to strong adhesive in heat, then the adhesive was a pain to remove from the glass to start over. I screwed a new flat surface onto the mount and all is well. A minor sounding gripe but please note.
I'm considering this too. For those who have had one for a while, how important is the rear camera? I like the simplicity of the Owl camera and it's ties to iPhone. But it's front facing and interior of the car only. But maybe that's enough.
03-01-2018, 08:35 PM
Car Cam Recommendations
