VIOFO HK6 Hardwire Cable - Test & Review PP

Chuck McCoy said:
Based on my testing the capacity from 11.8V down to 10.1V means you get additional parking mode operation from 30 Minutes to 2 Hours in Low Bitrate depending on number of channels.
However, now that we have LPID those figures will be increased 10 fold.
Click to expand...
I' don't think 10 fold is correct, because the lower current needed for LPID will not pull the voltage down as much, so I would not expect it to turn off until the battery is closer to empty. I have no idea what the real figure will be... it needs a test...

Of course, if you wake the camera up with an impact, that will pull the voltage down a bit, so the battery pack may turn off during the impact recording, but I expect it will give some recording time.
 
wouldn't it consume less power by disabling the bluetooth entirely? bluetooth and wifi are power consuming, the hk6 has a built in BLE transmitter i assume, just for a level indicator in video?
 
TONTON81 said:
wouldn't it consume less power by disabling the bluetooth entirely? bluetooth and wifi are power consuming, the hk6 has a built in BLE transmitter i assume, just for a level indicator in video?
Click to expand...
The Bluetooth does use a little power:
Chuck McCoy said:
So it looks like the Bluetooth “activity” of the HK6 does not add any meaningful power consumption.
I’m only seeing a 2mA @ 12.6V increase.
Click to expand...
However, being able to switch to LPID when the voltage gets low, saves a lot of power, so overall, no, the Bluetooth saves far more power than it uses...

Of course it depends a bit on what your aims are, but you do have a choice, you can if you want, get the HK4 instead of the HK6.
 
Like Chuck found, my tests of the HK6 vs the HK4 seem to show a slight increase in power consumption of 4 mA while the A329S/T/WW is operating in low bitrate parking [LBR] parking mode. When the A329S/T/WW is powered down and the "ACC In" power to the HK6 is turned off, the HK6 configuration consumes 1 mA more than the HK4 configuration.
  • A329T 1CH, LBR, VIOFO 256 GB memory card
    • Low Bitrate Parking Mode - 10 minute test period
      • HK4 LBR 225 mA @ 12.6V or 2.84 W
      • HK6 LBR 229 mA @ 12.6V or 2.89 W
    • Powered Off [Button press on A329T to turn off dash camera] / "ACC In" Power Turned Off [after dash camera was powered down]
      • HK4 6 mA or 0.08 W
      • HK6 7 mA or 0.09 W
The voltage value reported by the HK6 to the A329T was the same value displayed by my DC power supply and my Fluke 117 multimeter that was monitoring the voltage at the point where the HK6 connects to power.

1753992593889.webp
 
Thanks MrCoy. I appreciated everything you said. It’s starting to make sense. Still hazy on some of it. Bear with me 🙂


Don’t I only want the BP100 Hardware kit so I could use the LPID feature? What would be the point for HK6 when the BP100 cable gives me LPID and allows me to take my dash cam battery down to 10.1?
 
HomieTheClown said:
What would be the point for HK6 when the BP100 cable gives me LPID and allows me to take my dash cam battery down to 10.1?
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HK6 supports Low Voltage Hybrid Parking Mode, BP100 does not.
Get both, and see which one fits your application best.
The connectors on the 12V side are plug & play so you can easily swap between.
The connectors on the 5V side are different, (one is 3-pin, one is 4-pin) but it's still doable.
 
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rcg530 said:
The BP100, just like the HK4, does support hybrid parking mode, but only the cut-off timer part of hybrid parking mode.
Click to expand...
Oops, I meant to say Low Voltage Hybrid Parking Mode.
 
www.viofo.com

VIOFO Type-C HK6 ACC Hardwire Kit for A329S Series, Support Hybrid Parking Mode, Automatic Voltage Display, Low Power Consumption

VIOFO HK6 Hardwire Kit — Unlock Full Parking Mode for A329S Series The HK6 is the essential companion accessory for any VIOFO A329S, A329T, or A329WW dash camera. It connects your camera directly to the vehicle's fuse box for constant 12–24V power — enabling parking surveillance when the engine...
www.viofo.com www.viofo.com

its outtt.
i wanna buy it but i still have the a139 and i use the bracket for the power so anyone cant just unplug.

i like the features of the new a329s but i like the sleakness of of a139 for now...
 
So with the HK6 broadcasting voltage information wirelessly, this can create some unexpected quirks for other nearby Viofos that are connected via an HK4.

For example, I'm testing an A229 Ultra with an HK6 next to an A329S with an HK4, and that A329S is able to pick up voltage info and use the hybrid parking mode feature, even though there's no HK6 plugged into it, lol.

Additionally, my other car with the A329T is also using an HK4, but it's able to pick up the HK6 when both cars are in the garage, and so it will turn on its voltage display and embed the voltage info onto the dashcam footage. However, because there's no HK6 in that other car, when I'm driving around, it just has a stuck and non-updating voltage display on the bottom of all the dashcam footage, and there's currently no way to turn that text off. Something to be aware of in case you're running newer Viofos in multiple cars, but don't have HK6's on every dashcam.

I'm definitely hoping Viofo gives us the option to disable the voltage display text on the bottom of our dashcam footage. Personally I'm not really interested in having it permanently stamped onto my dashcam footage, regardless of if that dashcam is actively using the HK6 or not.
 
Vortex Radar said:
So with the HK6 broadcasting voltage information wirelessly, this can create some unexpected quirks for other nearby Viofos that are connected via an HK4.

For example, I'm testing an A229 Ultra with an HK6 next to an A329S with an HK4, and that A329S is able to pick up voltage info and use the hybrid parking mode feature, even though there's no HK6 plugged into it, lol.

Additionally, my other car with the A329T is also using an HK4, but it's able to pick up the HK6 when both cars are in the garage, and so it will turn on its voltage display and embed the voltage info onto the dashcam footage. However, because there's no HK6 in that other car, when I'm driving around, it just has a stuck and non-updating voltage display on the bottom of all the dashcam footage, and there's currently no way to turn that text off. Something to be aware of in case you're running newer Viofos in multiple cars, but don't have HK6's on every dashcam.

I'm definitely hoping Viofo gives us the option to disable the voltage display text on the bottom of our dashcam footage. Personally I'm not really interested in having it permanently stamped onto my dashcam footage, regardless of if that dashcam is actively using the HK6 or not.
Click to expand...
I currently have (2) A329’s powered by (2) separate HK6’s, and (1) A229 Ultra powered with the included USB power cable in my car.
My A229 Ultra does not receive, or display system voltage from either HK6.
There’s gotta be a way fix it so you’re not having "bluetooth bleed over”.
 
Vortex Radar said:
So with the HK6 broadcasting voltage information wirelessly, this can create some unexpected quirks for other nearby Viofos that are connected via an HK4.

For example, I'm testing an A229 Ultra with an HK6 next to an A329S with an HK4, and that A329S is able to pick up voltage info and use the hybrid parking mode feature, even though there's no HK6 plugged into it, lol.

Additionally, my other car with the A329T is also using an HK4, but it's able to pick up the HK6 when both cars are in the garage, and so it will turn on its voltage display and embed the voltage info onto the dashcam footage. However, because there's no HK6 in that other car, when I'm driving around, it just has a stuck and non-updating voltage display on the bottom of all the dashcam footage, and there's currently no way to turn that text off. Something to be aware of in case you're running newer Viofos in multiple cars, but don't have HK6's on every dashcam.

I'm definitely hoping Viofo gives us the option to disable the voltage display text on the bottom of our dashcam footage. Personally I'm not really interested in having it permanently stamped onto my dashcam footage, regardless of if that dashcam is actively using the HK6 or not.
Click to expand...
Page 7 of the HK6 user manual talks about the opposite of the situation your having.
Sorry I’m no help.

Chuck McCoy

Post in thread 'VIOFO HK6 Hardwire Cable - Test & Review PP'

Here’s the HK6 User Manual, (see attached screenshots).
Whoever wrote it did a very good job.
Apologies for the low quality / resolution.
I used an old scanner to take these images of the included paper manual.
When it becomes available I’ll post the high quality PDF version.
I scanned the QR Code on the un-numbered page, and it sent me to Viofo’s official blog post about “how to install a hardwire kit step by step guide” dated August 9, 2023.
Maybe it should be updated with HK6 info...
  • Like

@viofo @VIOFO-Support can you advise?
 

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sounds combersome. does the push button have the same problem? will both cameras be controlled by same button? 👀
 
Vortex Radar said:
Additionally, my other car with the A329T is also using an HK4, but it's able to pick up the HK6 when both cars are in the garage, and so it will turn on its voltage display and embed the voltage info onto the dashcam footage. However, because there's no HK6 in that other car, when I'm driving around, it just has a stuck and non-updating voltage display on the bottom of all the dashcam footage, and there's currently no way to turn that text off.
Click to expand...
I think I know what Viofo might say;
“Please use a separate HK6 for every dash cam”
That’s one way to sell more hardwire kits. lol 🤑
 
TONTON81 said:
sounds combersome. does the push button have the same problem? will both cameras be controlled by same button? 👀
Click to expand...
No.
The Bluetooth Remotes have always only been able to pair with one camera.
 
Chuck McCoy said:
Page 7 of the HK6 user manual talks about the opposite of the situation your having.
Sorry I’m no help.

Chuck McCoy

Post in thread 'VIOFO HK6 Hardwire Cable - Test & Review PP'

Here’s the HK6 User Manual, (see attached screenshots).
Whoever wrote it did a very good job.
Apologies for the low quality / resolution.
I used an old scanner to take these images of the included paper manual.
When it becomes available I’ll post the high quality PDF version.
I scanned the QR Code on the un-numbered page, and it sent me to Viofo’s official blog post about “how to install a hardwire kit step by step guide” dated August 9, 2023.
Maybe it should be updated with HK6 info...
  • Like

@viofo @VIOFO-Support can you advise?
Click to expand...

I believe what that process does is 'bind' each HK6 to its respective A329x series dashcam, or any future Viofo dashcam that will accept the HK6 functionality. Once done, I would think there would be no 'cross-talk' between any nearby units / dashcams.

An A329x series will be listening for that HK6, indiscreetly, and that is why a nearby car with an A329x series will pick it up.
 
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lufa6977 said:
I believe what that process does is 'bind' each HK6 to its respective A329x series dashcam, or any future Viofo dashcam that will accept the HK6 functionality. Once done, I would think there would be no 'cross-talk' between any nearby units / dashcams.

An A329x series will be listening for that HK6, indiscreetly, and that is why a nearby car with an A329x series will pick it up.
Click to expand...
Other way around? I think it's more about binding the dashcam to an HK6, not binding an HK6 to a dashcam. I've only got one HK6 on hand though so it'd be up to others to verify the behavior when you have multiple HK6's present.
 
i'm surprised you didn't use the data lines on the usb-c to transfer the voltage info directly on existing cable, would have not needed to use bluetooth at all
 
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