GuardTrak GT2S model details and info

jokiin

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Dash Cam
Too many ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Below some details on our new product, the first model of which we will be releasing shortly

Brand: GuardTrak
Model designation:
GT2S


A few points about the design

The mount bracket contains the GPS and the 12v/24v power supply

The design gets the GPS up against the glass for the best possible reception

This also gets the camera lens as close as physically possible to the window to minimize reflections

There are no batteries inside, LiPo batteries baking in the sun are not safe, regardless of cell quality

The front facing side is all black to make it as discrete as possible

The height and width is a little bigger than a credit card, (tried to keep it as small as possible)

Using a German composite plastic that is fire safe rated, good for 100c plus degrees

Finish is lightly textured to minimize fingerprints and to avoid reflecting from outside

Because it mounts directly to the window it actually takes up less space than a lot of other models do




Basic spec

Full HD 1080p30
2nd generation ARM9 Ambarella A2 processor (USA)
Aptina AR-0330 CMOS (USA)
7 element all glass lens (6 Glass + IR cut filter)
Dual MicroSDHC memory (2 x 32GB, 64GB total)
U-Blox G7020 GPS (Switzerland)
ChipSip MCP memory (Taiwan)
Domintech DMARD07 G-Sensor with power save function (Taiwan)
ASAHI KASEI Delta-Sigma audio control circuit (Japan)
12/24 volt direct input
CELL=POWER low battery safety cut off module
High Definition 2” LCD display (Taiwan)
Super capacitor safety power supply (Korea)
High Density ABS+PC composite chassis (Germany)
Designed for high temperature, high humidity environments
Quick release mount bracket
Screen mounted design to cut unwanted reflection
All black design for discrete installation
 
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Firmware

Below is a list of all the standard stuff we do, pretty close to what we had in our last product as a starting point, some of this will have some further refinement still, we generally do a firmware update every 4 to 6 weeks with any changes, improvements etc so will still evolve beyond this I'm sure

OSD Settings

ALL OSD – ON/OFF
Default Value = ON

USER TEXT – 10 characters available to add to recording, license number, vehicle type etc
Default Value = REG ABC123

SHOW USER TEXT – ON/OFF
Default Value = ON

DISPLAY BRAND – ON/OFF
The DISPLAY BRAND setting allows you to display or not the watermark brand logo
Default Value = ON

SPEED UNIT – KM/H or MP/H
Default Value = KM/H

SHOW SPEED - ON/OFF
Default Value = ON

TIME FORMAT – select the desired time format, 24 hour time or 12 hour time (am/pm) for the on screen display
Default Value = 24h

DATE DISPLAY – Select the desired display format, YYYY/MM/DD, MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY
Default Value = YYYY/MM/DD

SHOW DATE - ON/OFF
Default Value = ON

DATE – shows current time and date (updated once GPS signal is received)
The DATE is automatically updated once GPS signal is received

SHOW GPS DATA – ON/OFF
Default Value = ON

GPS DATA FORMAT – selectable view
Default Value = 12.345678


Video Settings

VIDEO QUALITY – Bitrate selectable from minimum 10MB/SEC through to maximum 15MB/SEC
Default Value = 12MB/SEC

RECYCLE – Recording split point, OFF, 30 sec, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15 minutes
Default Value = 2 Minutes

VIDEO FORMAT – Selectable output type MP4 or MOV
Default Value = MP4

EV – Adjustable, from -2 through to +2, default value 0
Default Value = 0

WHITE B – Selectable white balance
Default Value = AUTO

CONTRAST – HARD/SOFT/STANDARD
Default Value = STANDARD

SHARPNESS – HARD/SOFT/STANDARD
Default Value = STANDARD

EFFECT – VIVID/MONOCHROME/NEGATIVE/SEPIA/ART
Default Value= OFF

AUDIO – ON/OFF selectable default for recording
Default Value = ON

SIZE – 1920x1080 (1080p)
Default Value = 1920x1080 (1080P)


System Settings

LANGUAGE –CHINESE, ENGLISH, ITALIAN, JAPANESE, RUSSIAN, SPANISH
Default Value = ENGLISH

LOAD DEFAULTS – YES/NO
Default Value = NO

FORMAT – YES/NO
Default Value = NO

MEMORY CARD – CARD A/B/AUTO
Default Value = AUTO

TIME ZONE – The time zone can be automatically calculated from the GPS or can be selected manually
Default Value = AUTO

DST OFFSET– OFF/+1Hour
Option to add 1 hour for Summer time offset
Default Value = OFF

G-SENSOR – Sensitivity adjustable from -5 through to +5
Default Value = NORMAL

MOTION DETECT - ON/OFF
Default Value = OFF

DELAY ON – User selectable power on delay of 5, 15, 30 seconds, 1 minute or OFF
Default Value = OFF

LCD OFF – Selectable 15 seconds, 1 Minute, 3 Minutes or OFF for continual operation
The LCD OFF setting allows you to decide how long the LCD display will stay illuminated
Default Value = 1 Minute

AUTO OFF – Selectable 1/3/5 minutes or OFF for continual operation
Default Value = 5 Minutes

VOLUME – Adjustable from 0 through to 7
Default Value = 3

LIGHT FREQ – 50Hz/60Hz
Default Value = 50Hz

TV OUT – PAL/NTSC
Default Value = PAL

VERSION – Shows current firmware version number
 
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What other firmware things are we working on at the moment?

These are things we're working on to implement in the firmware and will update as we go, some will be ready for release, others we may still be refining

Add a 5Mb/sec Economy record mode

Add a 20Mb/sec Extreme record mode

Adding a data logging function (suitable for business users) one memory card used as per normal to record video and GPS data, the second card to archive all GPS data for logging purposes

Improved parking mode function, using the G-Sensor and GPS data to know when the car has stopped moving, how long it should record for after no movement and when it should change from regular recording mode to parking mode, and how that should change back to regular recording mode, what options for this we can add as user menu options, timeout before parking, G-Sensor sensitivity when parked etc, some customers like the G-Sensor to be more sensitive when in parking mode but less sensitive for regular driving, how soon after no change from driving mode to parking mode, if it can have some user adjustable amount is desirable, if we can have some user adjustable options with the parking function

Investigating if we can add a user selectable timer cutoff in firmware for the parking mode


Need to add some menu function for copy files from one memory card to other memory card


Working on a VALET MODE function, can leave the camera working when the car is being driven by someone else, car service, parking attendant etc


VALET MODE should turn off all lights and sounds, no LED, no speaker sound, no LCD display, camera to work as normal but no audible or visual confirmation to indicate that there is a camera in the car recording, this function to remain even if powered off and on until the VALET MODE is switched off by the customer

Looking to add an option to have a passcode option for the menu so customers can protect the menu functions from being changed easily, would need to be able to reset to default of no passcode though


Looking at having option to password protect the recordings


Looking to have a NIGHT MODE function with adjustable start and finish time option with adjustable EV, for example maybe NIGHT MODE start time 21:00 finish time 06:00, NIGHT MODE EV +1, something like this


Looking to increase the user text field to 12 characters, looking to add special characters as well


Looking to use an updated OSD font
 
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What happens next?

At the moment we're getting out tooling made, because we're using a special type of plastic our dies need to be cut from S136 Stainless Steel, harder to work with, takes longer and costs more, 3 things we don't to hear but the reality of making a product to tolerate high heat means we don't really have other options

Once that's done we will be doing a small production run and will send some of the first completed product out to the people that will be assisting with some field testing, we'll look for any anomalies and anything we need to fine tune before we get stuck into mass production, I'd expect we'll possibly be a few firmware versions in by that stage and will have some of the things mentioned that we're working on already completed, priority is always stability and then add features as we go, I know we have the basics covered already and already have a lot more functionality than a lot of other products out there
 
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Other stuff

From a resellers perspective

Because we write our own firmware we can support any language, so we can localize the product to any market for language, system defaults etc, we supply an English version, you give us back the translation and we can include the language, (our engineer draws the line at Arabic languages though, too hard for us to check it for accuracy)

The product has no batteries inside, aside from making it a better product it means shipment is a breeze, regulations on products with batteries inside are getting tougher all the time, one more headache that nobody needs

For resellers and consumers alike

We listen, we're actively working to stay ahead with firmware development, to make a better product and to keep on improving, that's good for all concerned I believe

What else?

Well if anyone has any ideas, comments etc I'd like the feedback, I'm sure this design doesn't suit everyone, unfortunately we can't make a one size fits all, we do have other product coming though and other stuff in the planning stages so I'm always willing to listen to peoples ideas, a lot of what you see here came directly out of end user feedback, I've also spent a lot of time looking at other product, looking at what is being done by others and working out how to improve on that, selectively there are some great ideas out there, there's also a lot of poor end results so we're just trying to raise the bar and build better products (that's the dream anyway)
 
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On the dual sd card front will it record to A then B then go back to A and start over writing existing files this would be great having 9 hours of recorded files. Fantastic for me i avarage 8 to 9 hours driving a day in a truck
 
On the dual sd card front will it record to A then B then go back to A and start over writing existing files this would be great having 9 hours of recorded files. Fantastic for me i avarage 8 to 9 hours driving a day in a truck

yes, this will be one of the options available with the dual cards
 
Would be also good to have a voice command telling that "1st memory card is full, switching to 2nd memory card". This way people who travel long distances ( travel, bus-, truck drivers ) can take with them 4, 5, 6 etc memory cards and when one is full, can replace it with new one.
Hope you know my idea what I mean.
 
Would be also good to have a voice command telling that "1st memory card is full, switching to 2nd memory card". This way people who travel long distances ( travel, bus-, truck drivers ) can take with them 4, 5, 6 etc memory cards and when one is full, can replace it with new one.
Hope you know my idea what I mean.

know what you mean, the chipset doesn't support voice prompts though, next model we'll release does support voice although it also supports much larger memory sizes as well so maybe not such an issue, all feedback and discussion/ideas is good though, keep them coming ;)
 
know what you mean, the chipset doesn't support voice prompts though, next model we'll release does support voice although it also supports much larger memory sizes as well so maybe not such an issue, all feedback and discussion/ideas is good though, keep them coming ;)

Ok, maybe instead of voice command lets say 3 beeps, or eomething and at the sake time message on the screen. Beeps will draw attention to screen to read message.
 
Ok, maybe instead of voice command lets say 3 beeps, or eomething and at the sake time message on the screen. Beeps will draw attention to screen to read message.

I should have clarified, audible prompts aren't supported, voice or beeps, can do a popup on screen but too easily overlooked so kind of pointless I suspect

I think for anyone that needed that much data a later model where we'll support larger memory sizes will probably be a better fit for their needs
 
I should have clarified, audible prompts aren't supported, voice or beeps, can do a popup on screen but too easily overlooked so kind of pointless I suspect

I think for anyone that needed that much data a later model where we'll support larger memory sizes will probably be a better fit for their needs

Thank for clarification @ no voice, no audiable command ( no speaker )
 
Thank for clarification @ no voice, no audiable command ( no speaker )

just in case this gets misunderstood, it has a speaker and there are sounds, just not audible prompts while recording

as I mentioned a later model we'll release can do audible prompts but we might use that for other things, user selectable overspeed warning, that sort of thing, not a huge fan of voice prompts personally but we'll take end user feedback on what they want
 
just in case this gets misunderstood, it has a speaker and there are sounds, just not audible prompts while recording

as I mentioned a later model we'll release can do audible prompts but we might use that for other things, user selectable overspeed warning, that sort of thing, not a huge fan of voice prompts personally but we'll take end user feedback on what they want

Ok, this now is more clearly clarified, because dpecs show "volume adjustment", so some people would be confused if having soeaker but no "beep" sound. Now its clear.

I am also no fan of voice or beeps, I like driving and listening loud music :), I think there are many like me out there.
Message on display is also useless when dash csm hidden behind the mirror.
 
yeah on screen prompts are only useful for stuff you might do when actually using the DVR, reminder prompts when making a menu choice etc, pointless to have while driving
 
Its a 3M attachment to screen any other type eg sucker. And from looking at it uses a round barrel type for power in.
 
Its a 3M attachment to screen any other type eg sucker. And from looking at it uses a round barrel type for power in.

yes it's a 3M mount (we will do a different similar function product for suction mount later), yes the connector is a barrel type (35135 is the model type)
 
looking good :)

If you want i can translate for you so it will have Danish language too.
 
Great actual and future options.
For the parking mode you could think for a video which is recording at 5fps for example and the playback fps to be 30fps.

A picture with the dashcam near a card or lighter will be better to judge the size.

Regarding the size, you are right, many times the mount system is destroying the camera size. As a left hand driver I like your lens is on bottom right. o_O

enjoy,
Mtz
 
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Even with the mount its going have a very small footprint. Holding a credit card behind the rear view mirror its very small. Fair play to Jokiin took his time and got it right
 
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