My dashcam drained my battery..

[skansen]

I might have some of this inaccurate since I don't have an A129 with parking mode, but I think there is a very good point in doing so - if someone collides with your car then the current low bitrate file will become locked by the g-sensor, and assuming you are using 3 minute loop recording you will then have at least 1.5 minutes of pre-collision recording and at least 1.5 minutes of post-collision recording safely saved in the RO folder which will not get overwritten when the card loops.

A129 does not have prebuffered parking mode when hardwired. The time lapse and low bitrate parking modes do not save recordings in case of collision.

 

[Regal]

@Nigel
That also sounds great. But two questions about that:
If the camera goes into low resolution parking mode after I park the car, does it automatically come back to normal recording mode, when I continue driving because of movement detection or GPS signal? I've recently read it does not.

And another question or more a concern. Fort recording in low resolution parking mode I should switch the G-Sensor to high sensitive but then the RO folder will get filled up very fast because the camera detects every little bump right?

 

[Regal]

The time lapse and low bitrate parking modes do not save recordings in case of collision.

Oh no, I thought it does.

 

[skansen]

@NigelThat also sounds great.

That sounds great but it is not possible in low-bitrate parking mode. A129 does not have prebuffered low bit rate parking mode.

You can achieve similar results by keeping camera in normal (driving) mode while parked and setting the G-sensor to high level. If someone collides with your file will be saved in RO folder.

If the camera goes into low resolution parking mode after I park the car, does it automatically come back to normal recording mode, when I continue driving because of movement detection or GPS signal?

Viofo A129 have low bitrate mode, not low resolution.
If you are using Viofo Hardwire Kit (3 wire) camera will switch from the parking mode (low resolution) into normal mode when engine starts.
If you are not using 3 wire kit camera can switch it mode basing of signals from G-sensor. But, as I mentioned above, this low bitrate mode do not have prebuffering feature.

Fort recording in low resolution parking mode I should switch the G-Sensor to high sensitive but then the RO folder will get filled up very fast because the camera detects every little bump right?

If you set G-Sensor on high-sensitive card will be full very fast. This high sensitive mode will be also applicable for driving mode, so all holes in the road etc will cause saving file in RO folder.

Oh no, I thought it does.

To be precise: it's saving, but in main folder, not RO.

 

[Nigel]

A129 does not have prebuffered parking mode when hardwired. The time lapse and low bitrate parking modes do not save recordings in case of collision.

I'm puzzled by your posts, you don't need pre-buffering for the g-sensor to lock a file...

And actually the A129 is going to gain pre-buffering via a firmware update sometime soon.

 

[Regal]

You can achieve similar results by keeping camera in normal (driving) mode while parked and setting the G-sensor to high level. If someone collides with your file will be saved in RO folder.

Alright, that would be another good option for me. I'm trying that out.

If you are not using 3 wire kit camera can switch it mode basing of signals from G-sensor. But, as I mentioned above, this low bitrate mode do not have prebuffering feature.

Yes, as I said, I'm using the 2 wire kit.
And I thought low bitrate mode is recording constantly, so there is no need of pre buffering right?

To be precise: it's saving, but in main folder, not RO.

I think you're wrong, when the G-Sensor detects an impact it will save to RO folder.
That the G-Sensor is not working while low bitrate parking mode is another story. ;-)

 

[Nigel]

@Nigel
That also sounds great. But two questions about that:
If the camera goes into low resolution parking mode after I park the car, does it automatically come back to normal recording mode, when I continue driving because of movement detection or GPS signal? I've recently read it does not.

And another question or more a concern. Fort recording in low resolution parking mode I should switch the G-Sensor to high sensitive but then the RO folder will get filled up very fast because the camera detects every little bump right?

As I said before, my A129 can not run parking mode, so I can not be certain my answers would be correct, better someone else answers about parking mode.

However, the G-sensor does not need to be on high to lock a collision, unless it is a very gentle collision, and yes, the RO folder does fill very quickly with two video channels recording. I would leave it on medium sensitivity.

 

[skansen]

you don't need pre-buffering for the g-sensor to lock a file...

Are you sure that g-sensor will save file in RO folder while camera is in low-bitrate mode? I'm not, and I will test it.

And actually the A129 is going to gain pre-buffering via a firmware update sometime soon.

I hope that Viofo will improve parking mode in A129.

I think you're wrong, when the G-Sensor detects an impact it will save to RO folder.
That the G-Sensor is not working while low bitrate parking mode is another story. ;-)

According to specification, G-sensor can save to RO folder only in normal mode, not in low-bitrate.

 

[skansen]

Just checked on installation with Viofo Hardwire 3 ACC kit (more about instalation: Infiniti Q50 hardwire Viofo A129 GPS Dual). In low bitrate parking mode, g-sensor, in case of collision will save file to the RO folder.

So if the risk factor is damage by another car, using low-bitrate recording to leave camera recording for longer time than memory card can save is OK. Video will be stored in RO folder.

If the risk factor is vandalism or very gentle collision, using low-bitrate recording for longer time than memory card can save is doubtful.

 

[Nigel]

Just checked on installation with Viofo Hardwire 3 ACC kit (more about instalation: Infiniti Q50 hardwire Viofo A129 GPS Dual). In low bitrate parking mode, g-sensor, in case of collision will save file to the RO folder.

So if the risk factor is damage by another car, using low-bitrate recording to leave camera recording for longer time than memory card can save is OK. Video will be stored in RO folder.

If the risk factor is vandalism or very gentle collision, using low-bitrate recording for longer time than memory card can save is doubtful.

Thanks for checking that. Although gentle collisions may not get locked, it is only the gentle collisions that get overwritten that are lost, you will still have the ones from the last day or two, depending on size of memory card, so low bitrate is likely to be preferable to normal bitrate recording while parked and low bitrate is sufficient.

 

[skansen]

low bitrate is likely to be preferable to normal bitrate recording while parked and low bitrate is sufficient.

Agree.
Keynote for post #18 was that powering A129 for very long time using car battery is not good idea.
Even dedicated power banks Li-FePo4 can feed A129DUO for 24-36 hours (Cellink Neo6 - Neo9). This time can by extended by expansion module, but expansion module will double the cost of power bank and time necessary to fully charged it...

 

[quetzalquatl]

Why is a bad ideea to power the cam(s) from car's battery for a long time?

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[jokiin]

Why is a bad ideea to power the cam(s) from car's battery for a long time?

typical lead acid car batteries are all about CCA (cold cranking amps) not so much about storage capacity, they are intended to have a large high current draw when you start your car and quickly be charged back to full and and act as a filter for the charging system to keep power stable but it's the alternator which does all the work while running, if you have a constant parasitic power draw on the battery it will shorten its lifespan quite a lot, although we refer to them as 12v systems the batteries are charged at 14v or more when running and will be at around 12.5v at key off, at 12v they are considered to be at 50% charge

 

[skansen]

Why is a bad ideea to power the cam(s) from car's battery for a long time?

It all depends on expected duration of parking mode, car specification, climate zone etc.

Example:

• 60Ah fully charged battery,
• very good condition of battery,
• Hardwire kit switching off while voltages drops below 12V,
• Temperature ~20C

Hardwire kit will switch off battery when voltages drops below 12V which is equivalent of 50% charge. It means, that camera will stop recording after consuming 30Ah. 30Ah is 5 day of recording.
It sounds good in theory, but in practice :

• battery is rarely 100% charged,
• battery condition is getting worse during use and battery is loosing its initial capacity,
• if temperature drops, the capacity of battery drops as well,
• after discharging battery to 50% you need to drive long enough to recharge battery again to 100% (sufficient time depends on car specification, battery type, driving conditions etc)

Above figures may vary depends on different factors. But, it's not easy to achieve long recording times on car battery.

As @jokiin said, batteries are intended to start car and power draw will shorten its lifespan.

 

[quetzalquatl]

Generally speaking, this is exactly the ideea of heaving a dash cam hardwired. Is this a bad concept from the start? Well, there we have the cut off switch (4 levels). I have mine set at 12 V. In the winter, with freezing temperatures, found always the cam running after 2 days of parking. The only time when I left the car unused more was for 4 days. Yes, I found the cam stopped but had absolutely no problem to start the engine (and cam altogether). So, I assume the cut off did his job to protect the battery. I, personally, see no problem to have it hardwired cause in the end, that's way I bought this kit : to install it and forget about it (hopefully for long time without to be necessary to check any recordings). My two cents [emoji1308].

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[jokiin]

it's a balance of how much you drive your car, how long and how often, how long it's parked, size of the battery, you'll give away some battery lifespan to have parking mode but it's a trade off to get the function

 

[quetzalquatl]

Well said.

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[skansen]

@quetzalquatl so it seems that for you battery powered parking mode is good solution.
I'm also using hardwire kit in my Honda CR-V and it's working well (instalation descrbed here). But for very long time it's sometimes not good idea - as described in post #34 ....

In the winter, with freezing temperatures, found always the cam running after 2 days of parking. The only time when I left the car unused more was for 4 days. Yes, I found the cam stopped but had absolutely no problem to start the engine (and cam altogether). So, I assume the cut off did his job to protect the battery. I, personally, see no problem to have it hardwired cause in the end, that's way

Could you provide us with more details about your car? Battery capacity, engine type etc? It will help others to choose right solution.

 

[quetzalquatl]

Renault Captur, petrol engine, Bosch battery S5A05 60Ah S&S with AGM (2 yo)

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[jokiin]

Renault Captur, petrol engine, Bosch battery S5A05 60Ah S&S with AGM (2 yo)

AGM batteries are the better type and will put up with more abuse than cheaper wet lead acid batteries