E360 Review (at the request of Vantrue)

[EricSan]

If I'm not mistaken, the parking/driving mode in Vantrue is controlled by contacts: TX1- and TX2-

Ha, the more I look around, the more conflict I find with wire color conventions and which pin those wires actually connect to. A few amazon reviews of USB-C pigtail wires even indicate that the wiring was not done properly because the USB-C connector is not reversible. Another cable diagram shows a yellow wire for CC1 and a blue wire for CC2, but these pins are the same when you reverse the cable... This is infuriating! 😡

Maybe something else is going on with the hardwire
i set cut-off at 11.7, but it displays that the batteries are at 11.9
cos i've been using the camera for a month now and only the last few days will it shut down at some point

Hmmm... the first thing that I can think of is to check the wiring for loose wires. My Vantrue regulator definitely shuts down at the corresponding voltage settings for the switch, though it is not immediate, it takes a minute or two to shut down once the voltage threshold is reached. There is a time-delay function built in - very clever design!

It is possible that the batter voltage is "recovering" a little after the shutoff happens, but I'd expect this is with a larger current draw than a mere 5w.

 

[Karagandinez]

A few amazon reviews of USB-C pigtail wires even indicate that the wiring was not done properly because the USB-C connector is not reversible.

I didn't look at the reviews, but checked the contacts with a Multimeter.
But I could be wrong. 🤔
Unfortunately, I don't have the necessary tool.

 

[EricSan]

Yeah, I'll have to see which color wires are connected to which pins on the male side of the cable that I cut. Time to drag out a light and the magnifier for this job. Attempting to measure pins on the female side just isn't going to happen, everything is far too close together, even for very pointy probes.

 

[EricSan]

I didn't look at the reviews, but checked the contacts with a Multimeter.

Ok, now that I have the cable in hand, how in the world did you get meter probes onto the plug contacts to verify which wire goes to which pin!?! My DMM probes are no where near small enough to get in there without hitting other pins…. Did you peel the outer sheath of the plug?

 

[Karagandinez]

Ok, now that I have the cable in hand, how in the world did you get meter probes onto the plug contacts to verify which wire goes to which pin!?! My DMM probes are no where near small enough to get in there without hitting other pins…. Did you peel the outer sheath of the plug?

I have a USB-C connector and I checked it on it.

 

[EricSan]

Ah, just found a series of USB-C Breakout Boards on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B0C1ZTXZSK

 

[egonvdv]

I uploaded some test footage in different modes

Vantrue E360 - 7 test clips

 

[EricSan]

That's pretty funny to see the video stitching between the front and rear cameras when the inside camera is using B&W with IR lights and the front facing camera is in color.

 

[EricSan]

If I'm not mistaken, the parking/driving mode in Vantrue is controlled by contacts: TX1- and TX2-

Just received my nice little USB-C breakout board (https://www.amazon.com/gp/B0BC3PYQHJ) so I can determine which pins are used to toggle parking mode for the Viofo and Vantrue hardwire kits.

Here is what I have found so far:
Vantrue VP03(II) and VP05(II) Hardwire Kits: use A8/SBU1 and B8/SBU2 to toggle parking mode on an off. It appears that the parking mode trigger with the E360 requires the unit to be powered by the GPS/windshield mount in order for parking mode to work otherwise the camera thinks it is mounted on the battery stick.
Viofo HK3-C, HK4, and HK6 Hardwire Kits: use A5/CC1 and B5/CC2 to toggle parking mode on an off.

So yes, making a short "converter cable" so one hardwire kit will work with another camera is pretty straight forward. The key is starting with bare male/female USB-C connectors so you can do your own soldering. Premade wires are unlikely to connect to the pins you need to use.

 

[Karagandinez]

So yes, making a short "converter cable" so one hardwire kit will work with another camera is pretty straight forward. The key is starting with bare male/female USB-C connectors so you can do your own soldering. Premade wires are unlikely to connect to the pins you need to use.

In a 5-core data cable, one of the cores comes to the A5/CC1 and B5/CC2 contacts.

USB-C cable pinout
V=red/+power
G=black/-ground
D+=green
D-=white
Blue = CC1/CC2

 

[EricSan]

Yep, the problem will be that commercial 5- and 6-wire cables don’t have a connection to the A8/B8 pins. My 6-wire cable doesn’t have these connections. These seem to be a bit more obscure. Sneaky Vantrue…