Looking for professional reviewers to test VIOFO A139 3 channels dash cam

With me it was more of realizing how old and ugly I am and how bad my singing is 🤣 As those are separate files I don't have to share them and I generally don't. If it gets down to needed evidence it's there.

Phil
 
richx said:
I just received the A139 by accident :/ I had volunteered to test for the A129 Plus eMMC.
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Mine still in transit. I volunteered for the a129 Plus eMMC as well but let's see what will receive. I was wanting to test the A139 but they said there where no more samples available.
 
I do find that I'm aware of the interior camera when driving, not so much that it's a distraction, but it does feel like someone's watching my every move. That will probably pass with time after the novelty wears off.

Usually the interior video will just be to prove what happened, either inside or outside the car. If I'm planning to share dashcam footage as part of a review then I do pay particular attention to my driving and eliminate unwelcome noises. I have certain routes that I drive frequently on purpose to test a camera's response to lighting conditions, detail, motion blur etc.
 
HonestReview said:
Lucky you! Why wouldn't you want a 3 channel camera? Beats the A129 Plus!
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Not everyone wants an interior camera in their face, especially if they're the partner/spouse/child of a dashcam tester!

I never install test cameras in our family car, just in my own car. I buy the cameras we use in our family car.
 
I've found that the interior cam can show a lot to the sides of the car rearward which gives you coverage a usual rear cam install doesn't. It does take some getting used to recording yourself but you get used to it. Since I don't plan to share mine widely it hasn't affected me much since it won't show anything wrong or illegal. It also can help for security on the jobsite if it's running, making it easy to see anyone getting anything out of my van. Most of my riders know of my cams, they're kind of impossible to not notice from the inside 😆 and I do make sure riders know about them. If they disagree to being recorded they can walk- my van, my cams, my choices not theirs 😒

Phil
 
SawMaster said:
I've found that the interior cam can show a lot to the sides of the car rearward which gives you coverage a usual rear cam install doesn't. It does take some getting used to recording yourself but you get used to it. Since I don't plan to share mine widely it hasn't affected me much since it won't show anything wrong or illegal. It also can help for security on the jobsite if it's running, making it easy to see anyone getting anything out of my van. Most of my riders know of my cams, they're kind of impossible to not notice from the inside 😆 and I do make sure riders know about them. If they disagree to being recorded they can walk- my van, my cams, my choices not theirs 😒

Phil
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My cousins former husband says the cameras in my car make it feel like you're riding with the police LOL.

Look, I'd rather have a camera than not. I don't share personally identifiable videos, but am more than happy to beta test for flaws and reliability. So the use of an interior cam (zenfox t3) didn't bother me. The videos are for my sole protection and use.
 
I don't think I'd be too bothered with an interior camera, the mic on the dashcam already picks up me cursing and swearing (usually in german)

Another option is to put the interior camera in the back facing forward, so you can't see facial expressions but at least have some interior recording to show you were not doing anything silly.
 
joe384 said:
I don't think I'd be too bothered with an interior camera, the mic on the dashcam already picks up me cursing and swearing (usually in german)

Another option is to put the interior camera in the back facing forward, so you can't see facial expressions but at least have some interior recording to show you were not doing anything silly.
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German sounds angry enough just being spoken....

And having the camera face inward from the rear window defeats the purpose. You will be shooting out the rear facing front. Meaning you won't capture the sides very well.
 
HonestReview said:
having the camera face inward from the rear window defeats the purpose. You will be shooting out the rear facing front. Meaning you won't capture the sides very well.
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If I was using an internal camera primarily to capture the sides then I would actually prefer the rear-mounted-facing-forwards position over the front-mounted-facing-backwards one, since it would see into blind spots on both sides of the front camera. I think there's potentially more interesting action to record up there than in the rearward blind spots.
 
HonestReview said:
Lucky you! Why wouldn't you want a 3 channel camera? Beats the A129 Plus!
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Well I'm not complaining about it, but I rather test something novel to find out if the idea works well or not. After all, many people have already written and posted extensively about the A139, I'm not sure if there's very much else useful knowledge I can add to it aside from maybe some teardown shots. Also the A129 Plus is a half seamless replacement for an existing A129 installation? I should be able to reuse the HK3 power supply and the CPL. The rear cable needs to be pulled new from what I read.

joe384 said:
Another option is to put the interior camera in the back facing forward
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Unfortunately with the bundled cables' lengths it's impossible to have a rear camera facing rearward, and the indoor camera positioned as you've mentioned. One of the cables is only 1 metre long. I did think of using the two slave cameras as side cameras, maybe 1 metre can still reach the front quarterlight glass panel, given the interior camera is able to run with IR LED permanently turned off. Would be awesome footage that the front and rear camera could not capture if you were nearly T-boned.
 
My guess is that if the sales warrant it, we'll be able to buy cables, additional cams, and such as accessories later on.

As to use for extra side coverage, looking forward is probably better but your rear quarters are vulnerable too, and one set-up can't do both if the rear cam is used conventionally.

Phil
 
richx said:
Well I'm not complaining about it, but I rather test something novel to find out if the idea works well or not. After all, many people have already written and posted extensively about the A139, I'm not sure if there's very much else useful knowledge I can add to it aside from maybe some teardown shots. Also the A129 Plus is a half seamless replacement for an existing A129 installation? I should be able to reuse the HK3 power supply and the CPL. The rear cable needs to be pulled new from what I read.


Unfortunately with the bundled cables' lengths it's impossible to have a rear camera facing rearward, and the indoor camera positioned as you've mentioned. One of the cables is only 1 metre long. I did think of using the two slave cameras as side cameras, maybe 1 metre can still reach the front quarterlight glass panel, given the interior camera is able to run with IR LED permanently turned off. Would be awesome footage that the front and rear camera could not capture if you were nearly T-boned.
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Agreed. I believe the A129 Duo Plus is a plug and play upgrade whereas the A139 requires all new cabling. I am interested in a 3 channel setup and just jealous I couldn't take part in this beta testing. IRL just had me bogged down and I didn't notice the open call for testers until it was too late. A reliable 3 channel camera is what we're lacking in the Dash Cam Market. Catching from and Rear cover the most prevalent sources for accidents, but you do miss out on those side swipes. Which while less common, are no less important to document. Plus, you can catch someone damaging your car in other ways if you can see out the sides. Second only to drilling cameras into your mirror, which most people including myself, aren't going to do.

So it'll be interesting to see the long term viability and reliability of the A139.
 
I have been given the green light to mount the A139.

First order of business! Measure power draw at USB port.
4.99v 1.426A = 7.115w
5.00v 1.481A = 7.405w
5.01v 1.459A = 7.309w
5.00v 1.462A = 7.310w

And hovers around there. 3 cameras recording, no GPS lock. WiFi not enabled. This is a different power meter from the one used to measure DDPai units earlier, so the results are not 1:1 comparable. This one is a USB-C meter.

If the signaling remains the same, the HK3ACC from A119v3/A129 should be able to power the A139 if you can find a suitable Mini USB to USB-C adaptor. It's not as easily found as micro USB to USB-C adaptors (I've got a couple that came with Samsung or Huawei phones previously).
 
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richx said:
This is a different power meter from the one used to measure DDPai units earlier, so the results are not 1:1 comparable. This one is a USB-C meter.
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They seem a bit high, I measured 7.1W with wifi turned on, and with the inefficiencies of the power adaptor included. Measured using a multimeter on the 13.8 volt supply.
 
@Nigel I'll try to confirm it again later.
 
richx said:
I have been given the green light to mount the A139.

First order of business! Measure power draw at USB port.
4.99v 1.426A = 7.115w
5.00v 1.481A = 7.405w
5.01v 1.459A = 7.309w
5.00v 1.462A = 7.310w

And hovers around there. 3 cameras recording, no GPS lock. WiFi not enabled. This is a different power meter from the one used to measure DDPai units earlier, so the results are not 1:1 comparable. This one is a USB-C meter.

If the signaling remains the same, the HK3ACC from A119v3/A129 should be able to power the A139 if you can find a suitable Mini USB to USB-C adaptor. It's not as easily found as micro USB to USB-C adaptors (I've got a couple that came with Samsung or Huawei phones previously).
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Here's an adapter. So I did find one.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/391370947005
Here's one from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B07LBDTPCR
 
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Nigel said:
They seem a bit high, I measured 7.1W with wifi turned on, and with the inefficiencies of the power adaptor included. Measured using a multimeter on the 13.8 volt supply.
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I measured mine with a usb power meter and a USB A to USB C cable.

For all three cameras plus wifi it was ~7W, wifi off reduced to ~6w. With just the front and rear it was around 4w, and just the main unit it was around 2.4w. This was with 30fps and 1440p on the main unit.
 
I re-measured with the same USB A meter I used with some earlier DDPai measurements. 3 cameras recording, no WiFi, highest and lowest samples:
5.04v 1.31A = 6.602w
5.04v 1.21A = 6.098w

With WiFi enabled and phone app looking at the live feed:
5.03v 1.50A = 7.545w
5.04v 1.43A = 7.207w
 
Also finally got the front parts mounted. Will work on the back later in the evening. Temporary power (to check angle, etc) using micro USB to USB-C adaptor tip and seems to be working just fine. The short cable also made a sharp bend when tucked under the roof liner, and seems to be working OK despite being pinched quite tightly. There's just no way else to keep the extra length of wire, it wasn't long enough to make the bend in the A pillar trim.

There should be an option to mirror image of the interior camera eh?

In the background you can see how huge the A129's cables are in comparison.

photo_2020-11-11_14-56-16.jpg


PS: I like the new cables, somewhat. Routing to the back has been easier even if I didn't do it permanently. However, I'm not a big fan of the form factor now sticking out more into visibility from outside. The locking mechanism will justify this I guess, so you can't win everything. The A139 body gets very warm too even after a short 20 min drive.

20201111_170833.webp
 
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