Is there really a difference between VIOFO's own HW kit & some no-name Amazon kit?

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Mio NoVue

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When I got my A119v3 I bought VIOFOs HW kit. Came with everything needed......INCLUDING fuse taps.

Now bought an A229 Plus for the wifes car, had a look at the HW kit ... £19 & no fuse taps, so you need to buy them separate. Wondered if it was just this model so looked at the A119v3 & looks like they've removed the fuse taps.

So hopped on Amazon & had a look at what APPEARS to be the same kind of kit - and by that I mean black/yellow/red wire kit with a box in the middle of the wiring but DOES have fuse taps.

Much cheaper, yet they tend to come with lower star ratings.

Is there a reason to buy VIOFOs kit ..... and then need to also buy fuse taps additionally, versus buying one of these cheaper all in one kits?
 
Mio NoVue said:
Is there a reason to buy VIOFOs kit
Click to expand...
I wish @Nigel was here.
He might say something like; "Penny wise, Pound foolish"
And buy HK6 instead of HK4.

Chuck McCoy

Thread 'VIOFO HK6 Hardwire Cable - Test & Review PP'

I’ve been testing / using the HK6 for a month now, and I’ve been posting tid bits in my A329S thread, but I haven’t been able to go full bore because my “newest” HK4 for contrast / comparison is 2 years old.
Ben @SafeDriveSolutions was was telling me a while back the “modern” HK4’s have been upgraded to reduce parasitic current draw when the camera is powered down, or not even connected.
So I’ve been holding off on doing any meaningful power consumption testing until I got my hands a “current production” HK4.
Well the wait is over, and I have a feeling this is going to get in depth...
  • Like

You also remind of the folks who buy luxury sports cars that require Preminum 91 Octane.
And then find themselves at the dealership needing repairs that are not covered under warranty because the dealership took a sample of the gasoline and found out someone's been pumping the cheap stuff, (regular unleaded 87 Octane).
Or folks that buy precision sniper rifles, and then use rusty surplus WW2 ammo from a swap meet. lol
-Chuck
 
I'd think with today's engine management systems, octane isn't important. Less power, sure.

How about "If you have to ask the price of that yacht, it's not for you"?

edit: rusty? brass?
 
Mio NoVue said:
When I got my A119v3 I bought VIOFOs HW kit. Came with everything needed......INCLUDING fuse taps.

Now bought an A229 Plus for the wifes car, had a look at the HW kit ... £19 & no fuse taps, so you need to buy them separate. Wondered if it was just this model so looked at the A119v3 & looks like they've removed the fuse taps.

So hopped on Amazon & had a look at what APPEARS to be the same kind of kit - and by that I mean black/yellow/red wire kit with a box in the middle of the wiring but DOES have fuse taps.

Much cheaper, yet they tend to come with lower star ratings.

Is there a reason to buy VIOFOs kit ..... and then need to also buy fuse taps additionally, versus buying one of these cheaper all in one kits?
Click to expand...

You did not provide a link to the Amazon kit, so hard to say. At its most basic function, the HK4 provides a ~5.1 V USB-C voltage to the camera. If that is all you want, then the Amazon kit will likely work, as long as it is wired properly. However, if the Amazon kit cannot do this:

HK4-features.webp


Then you may want to go for broke and buy the HK4.
 
CaptureYourAction said:
Buy the proper hardwire kit, the HK4. No guarantee non-Viofo kit's will work properly with the A229 Plus.
Click to expand...
Why though?
Why might a cheaper version not work?

Chuck McCoy said:
I wish @Nigel was here.
He might say something like; "Penny wise, Pound foolish"
And buy HK6 instead of HK4.

Chuck McCoy

Thread 'VIOFO HK6 Hardwire Cable - Test & Review PP'

I’ve been testing / using the HK6 for a month now, and I’ve been posting tid bits in my A329S thread, but I haven’t been able to go full bore because my “newest” HK4 for contrast / comparison is 2 years old.
Ben @SafeDriveSolutions was was telling me a while back the “modern” HK4’s have been upgraded to reduce parasitic current draw when the camera is powered down, or not even connected.
So I’ve been holding off on doing any meaningful power consumption testing until I got my hands a “current production” HK4.
Well the wait is over, and I have a feeling this is going to get in depth...
  • Like

You also remind of the folks who buy luxury sports cars that require Preminum 91 Octane.
And then find themselves at the dealership needing repairs that are not covered under warranty because the dealership took a sample of the gasoline and found out someone's been pumping the cheap stuff, (regular unleaded 87 Octane).
Or folks that buy precision sniper rifles, and then use rusty surplus WW2 ammo from a swap meet. lol
-Chuck
Click to expand...
Where's Nigel? Has he left the forum?

And that's pretty judgemental of you. You seem to assume I WANT to buy a cheaper version, that I NEVER buy branded goods or whatever. You go on with multiple examples when you only need one really because they all say the same thing.

It would be better to actually explain a WHY, which you failed to do.

I'll openly admit I know nothing about electronics. The reason I'm here is to simply LEARN, from people more knowledgable than myself, the reason WHY the cheaper unit may not work when on the face of it it has all the same components as the branded version plus extra.

People say throwaway remarks like "you get what you pay for" but this is only true to an extent. You can buy a tin of beans in M&S for £2 but that same tin may be £1 in Asda or whatever. It's not twice as good just because you bought it in M&S, they just take the pee-pee with the markup because of their name.......which can be another reason for inflated pricing, not necessarily something is better from location B than A.

lufa6977 said:
You did not provide a link to the Amazon kit, so hard to say. At its most basic function, the HK4 provides a ~5.1 V USB-C voltage to the camera. If that is all you want, then the Amazon kit will likely work, as long as it is wired properly. However, if the Amazon kit cannot do this:

View attachment 90152

Then you may want to go for broke and buy the HK4.
Click to expand...
I just searched for hardwire kit & located something that looked similar.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B0DZWVPNYV
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B0FMJFLLB7
 
Mio NoVue said:
And that's pretty judgemental of you.
Click to expand...
You are correct, and I apologize.
I've become the reason why I waited to join this forum for 3 years, before I did.
I just get annoyed answering the same questions, offering the same explanations over, and over again.
It exhausting.
All for the person to disregarded a recommendation, and do what they originally planned to do all along.

I emailed Nigel about a year ago, and it sounded like he needed a break from DCT.

About hardwire cable, get the HK6. lol
-Chuck
 
Mio NoVue said:
People say throwaway remarks like "you get what you pay for" but this is only true to an extent. You can buy a tin of beans in M&S for £2 but that same tin may be £1 in Asda or whatever. It's not twice as good just because you bought it in M&S, they just take the pee-pee with the markup because of their name.......which can be another reason for inflated pricing, not necessarily something is better from location B than A.
Click to expand...
Of course, you can buy any KIT you like. But there's no guarantee it will work with Viofo models.
For example, KITs from Vantrue and 70may don't work with Viofo.
 
I don't wish to sound rude but your replies are all well & good and I don't actually doubt what you're saying is correct but all you're saying is basically do <this> without any follow up as to why.

Like I said, I'm here wanting to learn.

So to my know-nothing mind, it's just wiring connecting A to B with one of those box things in the middle of the circuit.

What I don't get, and what I'm asking for you to explain, is why one kit does work (viofo for example, and it's pretty obvious why it works because they're not going to sell a kit that doesn't work with their cams) yet another kit, which is surely just wires and a box as well, doesn't work.

Don't assume I have the same knowledge as you. I don't. That's why I'm here asking this.
 
The USB Type-C connector has 24 contacts. 2 = +, 2 = -.
The manufacturer can select any two of the remaining contacts as signals for parking mode.
Therefore, the Viofo HK4 doesn't work with the Vantrue and 70May, and the Vantrue and 70May KITs don't work with Viofoi.
Is that clearer?
 
Mio NoVue said:
I don't wish to sound rude but your replies are all well & good and I don't actually doubt what you're saying is correct but all you're saying is basically do <this> without any follow up as to why.

Like I said, I'm here wanting to learn.

So to my know-nothing mind, it's just wiring connecting A to B with one of those box things in the middle of the circuit.

What I don't get, and what I'm asking for you to explain, is why one kit does work (viofo for example, and it's pretty obvious why it works because they're not going to sell a kit that doesn't work with their cams) yet another kit, which is surely just wires and a box as well, doesn't work.

Don't assume I have the same knowledge as you. I don't. That's why I'm here asking this.
Click to expand...

The HK series is a 'buck converter' or DC to DC voltage step-down converter. They take the system battery, in your case, 12 volts DC, and step that voltage down to ~5.2 volts. The step-down voltage value is determined by the manufacturing needs. Your Viofo device is powered via a USB-C connector. While there are standards for USB-C power, not all manufacturers follow them. In other words, they can put power wherever they want, though most do not. Here is a graphic showing the USB-C and its pins.

usbc-pinout-01.webp


Here you see that A4 / A9 and B4 / B9, along with the GND are for delivering power to a device. The above scheme is why you can flip a USB-C, and it will still work.

The possible issue with your two Amazon choices is that we do not know the USB-C power pinout. I do not know what pins Viofo uses for power pins on their HK series, but I am sure someone here does.

So, your choices probably will work, but folks here, having not used those choices, are reluctant to say it is OK to use them.

Of your two choices, I would prefer the Mellbree as the wiring will be easier to pull apart to get the spread needed for the fuse box. The other choice has a very short lead for the connectors and you will probably need to unsheath some of the black covering to expose more wiring.
 
@Mio NoVue ,
Karagandinez and lufa6977 have already mentioned this, but since I had already typed it up, I am posting it as well:

The primary component of the Hardwire Kit is a three wire cable with an integrated step-down voltage converter (the box) featuring a switch for selecting the low-battery cutoff voltage threshold, as well as a USB-C connector at the end for connecting to the dashcam.

Here is what may or may not work with Viofo dashcams when using a third-party hardwire kit (cable) and why:

1. The Viofo step-down voltage converter (module) accepts a voltage of 12–14.5V from the vehicle's electrical system and converts it to approximately ±5.2V (it is important to note: specifically around 5.2V, not exactly 5V).
Viofo dashcams are quite sensitive to power supply quality.
If the voltage converter output voltage is insufficient, the camera will experience a power starvation (which will manifest as the device cyclically turning on and off).
2. Another factor contributing to power starvation is the wire gauge and the associated voltage drop within the cable.
To the best of my knowledge, Viofo currently uses 20AWG wire for its camera power cables (at some point, they switched to this gauge from 22AWG in order to minimize voltage drop).
3. The USB-C port used by Viofo is merely a physical connector and does not necessarily adhere to the "standard" USB-C pinout (this applies to most dashcam manufacturers—there is no single universal standard).

Therefore, if a third-party hardwire cable's voltage converter outputs adequate voltage slightly above 5V+, without significant voltage drop in the wiring, and its USB-C connector pinout matches that of Viofo, then it will work.

Based on the above, I also recommend Viofo hardwire kit, but if you still decide to use diferent product, be sure to bench test before installing it in the vehicle.


PS. It looks like that Hardwire kits you linked have only 11.6V cutoff to protect the vehicle’s battery, if so, this could be too low for proper protection depending on battery type and condition (viofo allows to select between 11.8V, 12V, 12.2V, and 12.4V)
 
Mio NoVue said:
Much cheaper, yet they tend to come with lower star ratings.

Is there a reason to buy VIOFOs kit ..... and then need to also buy fuse taps additionally, versus buying one of these cheaper all in one kits?
Click to expand...

What did the low star ratings say? Did you read them?
 
GPak said:
To the best of my knowledge, Viofo currently uses 20AWG wire for its camera power cables (at some point, they switched to this gauge from 22AWG in order to minimize voltage drop).
Click to expand...
HK4: 20AWG CCA (copper clad aluminum)
HK6: 18AWG Pure Copper

HK4 = Wimpy
HK6 = Beefy

HK4 20AWG vs. HK6 18AWG .webp

HK4 20AWG CCA vs. HK6 18AWG Pure Copper .webp

Hack_man said:
Nigel is an excellent source of information
Click to expand...
Nigel made this forum fun.
I sent up a flare.
 
@viofo @VIOFO-Support
Would you mind if you could answer why you would recommend using a Viofo HWK and also tell us what pins in the cable are used especially the one that activates the parking mode. Other companies have been transparent with their information and I doubt the way it works is a secret or difficult to explain or understand.

Thanks.
 
Cars on fire suck
 

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EricSan said:
USB-C Connections for Viofo HK3-C:
VBUS (Red wire): +5v camera power
CC1/CC2 (Blue wire in my cable sample): +5v drive mode/ 0v park made trigger
GND (Bare/Blk wire): 0v reference
D- (White wire): not used
D+ (Green wire): not used
(Yellow wire): unknown connection on my cable
Foil & Braided Shield: not connected

EDIT: With my Viofo pinout description above, I'm assuming that the cable I purchased actually followed wire color conventions for which color wire connects to which specific pins. If this was not followed in my cheap cable, then my description of which wire is used by Viofo is incorrect.

I haven't yet mapped this for the Vantrue hardwire kit, other than to realize that Vantrue does not use the CC1/CC2 pin to carry the park/drive mode trigger. The USB-C cord that I dissected only has 6 wires in it, so some connections to the plug are not present. I need either a better cable that has all 10 wires present, or to just pick up a USB-C bare connector that has solder tabs so I can play around. I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

After I figure out which pin on the Vantrue controls park/drive mode, it's cake to build a little "adapter cable" that crosses over the appropriate wires to make each hardwire kit work with the other camera 🙂
Click to expand...
 
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