70mai Battery Pack on T800 real-world experience?

[SlasherKG]

Can anyone that has the T800 with the 70mai battery pack and has parking surveillance set up give any details on how long it seems to keep it running without the car being on?
Currently my hardwire 4G kit only runs for about 10 hours before it hits the voltage cut-off.
I'd be interested to know what parking settings you have set as well (which cameras are set to capture, parking duration, time-lapse, motion and collision sensitivity, etc).

If it can boost me to at least 24 hours, I'd feel better about spending the money.

Thank you for your time.

 

[rcg530]

When I tested the T800 3-channel dash camera with the UP05 4G LTE hardwire kit, my power consumption test results suggested that the 70mai battery pack should last a little longer than 10 hours. The 96.0 Wh column of the following sentinel mode time estimate spreadsheet would apply to the 70mai battery pack. Unless 70mai finds a way to reduce the power consumption of the T800 by a large amount, you will not be able to power the T800 for 24 hours with the 70mai battery pack [or any similarly sized battery pack]. You would have to look at something like the IROAD POWERPRO PAK 12 battery pack with a storage capacity of 153 Wh before it would support between 22 and 24 hours for the T800 in sentinel mode. Another option would be to purchase a battery pack that accepts a secondary expansion battery pack to increase the total storage capacity [BlackboxMyCar PowerCell 8, VIOFO BP100/EP100]

You also need to set the T800 setting named "Voltage protection threshold" to 11.8V to get the most out of any dash camera battery pack. It would be nice if 70mai added a lower voltage threshold to that setting to better take advantage of the full storage capacity of the battery pack. The UP05 [and I imagine the UP04 as well] have a secondary/hardcoded low voltage threshold of their own. The UP05 will continue to consume power until the input voltage level reaches 11.7V +/- 0.1 volts. That's when the UP05 will turn itself off as well. The T800 "Voltage protection threshold" setting is when the UP05/UP04 will power down the T800.

 

[SlasherKG]

When I tested the T800 3-channel dash camera with the UP05 4G LTE hardwire kit, my power consumption test results suggested that the 70mai battery pack should last a little longer than 10 hours. The 96.0 Wh column of the following sentinel mode time estimate spreadsheet would apply to the 70mai battery pack. Unless 70mai finds a way to reduce the power consumption of the T800 by a large amount, you will not be able to power the T800 for 24 hours with the 70mai battery pack [or any similarly sized battery pack]. You would have to look at something like the IROAD POWERPRO PAK 12 battery pack with a storage capacity of 153 Wh before it would support between 22 and 24 hours for the T800 in sentinel mode. Another option would be to purchase a battery pack that accepts a secondary expansion battery pack to increase the total storage capacity [BlackboxMyCar PowerCell 8, VIOFO BP100/EP100]

You also need to set the T800 setting named "Voltage protection threshold" to 11.8V to get the most out of any dash camera battery pack. It would be nice if 70mai added a lower voltage threshold to that setting to better take advantage of the full storage capacity of the battery pack. The UP05 [and I imagine the UP04 as well] have a secondary/hardcoded low voltage threshold of their own. The UP05 will continue to consume power until the input voltage level reaches 11.7V +/- 0.1 volts. That's when the UP05 will turn itself off as well. The T800 "Voltage protection threshold" setting is when the UP05/UP04 will power down the T800.

View attachment 88687

Wow thank you for the detailed information.
It's a shame that it lasts so short a time.

I already get about 10 hours on the regular hardwire connection.
Does that mean if I did this it would get about 20 hours between the car battery and the battery pack, or does it only use the battery pack if available?

 

[rcg530]

Does that mean if I did this it would get about 20 hours between the car battery and the battery pack, or does it only use the battery pack if available?

No, the dash camera should powered only by the dash camera battery pack. The storage capacity of the dash camera battery pack is what determines how long the dash camera will operate in sentinel mode.

In general, the wiring for the dash camera goes like this when used with a dash camera battery pack:

Vehicle Power => Input [Charging Power] Dash Camera Battery Pack => Dash Camera Battery Pack => 12V Output Dash Camera Battery Pack => Dash Camera Hardwire Cable/Kit

I'm not aware of any supported configuration when the vehicle's power and the 12V output power from the dash camera battery pack are both connected to the dash camera's hardwire kit at the same time. If the vehicle power and the dash camera battery pack's 12V output power are connected together, there might be power being backfed into the vehicle's electrical system from the dash camera battery pack which might cause other issues.

I've heard of two dash camera battery packs having their 12V output power cable wires connected in parallel to the dash camera hardwire cable/kit. The Thinkware BAB-50 iVolt Mini user manual shows an example of two dash camera battery packs being used to provide power in parallel to the dash camera. That's potentially a way to make two individual dash camera battery packs provide power to a dash camera. If the battery pack itself allows for capacity expansion on its own [PowerCell 8, VIOFO BP100/EP100, etc], you wouldn't need to connect the battery packs in parallel to the dash camera since only one of them will have the 12V output port for the dash camera to connect to for its power. I don't believe I've seen any other dash camera battery pack document this power strategy.

 

[DonBris]

I am about to have the battery pack installed for my T800. Wondering how much use I will get out of it as my driving scenarios is : 5 minute drive to work, go into parking surveillance mode for 8 hours then 5 minute drive home. I would imagine that the battery would drain out sometime during the week as the 5 minute commute each day wont give it much charge. Would I be able to connect it to a 12v charger at home to charge it. Sorry im very dumb when it comes to this stuff.

 

[SlasherKG]

No, the dash camera should powered only by the dash camera battery pack. The storage capacity of the dash camera battery pack is what determines how long the dash camera will operate in sentinel mode.

In general, the wiring for the dash camera goes like this when used with a dash camera battery pack:

Vehicle Power => Input [Charging Power] Dash Camera Battery Pack => Dash Camera Battery Pack => 12V Output Dash Camera Battery Pack => Dash Camera Hardwire Cable/Kit

I'm not aware of any supported configuration when the vehicle's power and the 12V output power from the dash camera battery pack are both connected to the dash camera's hardwire kit at the same time. If the vehicle power and the dash camera battery pack's 12V output power are connected together, there might be power being backfed into the vehicle's electrical system from the dash camera battery pack which might cause other issues.

I've heard of two dash camera battery packs having their 12V output power cable wires connected in parallel to the dash camera hardwire cable/kit. The Thinkware BAB-50 iVolt Mini user manual shows an example of two dash camera battery packs being used to provide power in parallel to the dash camera. That's potentially a way to make two individual dash camera battery packs provide power to a dash camera. If the battery pack itself allows for capacity expansion on its own [PowerCell 8, VIOFO BP100/EP100, etc], you wouldn't need to connect the battery packs in parallel to the dash camera since only one of them will have the 12V output port for the dash camera to connect to for its power. I don't believe I've seen any other dash camera battery pack document this power strategy.

View attachment 88698

Wow, that kind of defeats the purpose if it only lasts the same 10 hours or so as it does directly from the car battery.
Hopefully 70mai will come out with an increased capacity battery pack, or a way to run 2 in parallel like you mention.

In your example for the BAB-50 batteries, would those work with the T800 and still mimic the same signaling so it goes into parking surveillance mode?
I would think they work pretty much the same.

 

[Julian23]

Wow, that kind of defeats the purpose if it only lasts the same 10 hours or so as it does directly from the car battery.

Depends on how you look at it.
With the battery there much much less stress on the battery from your car.
Especially in winter time your car will benefit from a dashcam battery.

would those work with the T800 and still mimic the same signaling so it goes into parking surveillance mode?

Since they have batt, acc, and ground it will work just like connecting to your fuse box.

 

[dateddDshcam]

Here is my frustration: I have the T-800 in my 2023 Cadillac Lyriq. I also have the battery pack and the 4G unit because I don't want to connect to the vehicle's electrical system. When I power on the pack, the dashcam powers on. Then after a few seconds, it powers off. I press the power button, and I get the "power off" chime. Then I press the button again, and it powers on and runs normally. If I use the cigarette lighter while driving, I power the car off, and the camera powers off, even though the battery pack is still powered on. Everything works fine, but why do I have to go through this frustrating ritual to operate my camera? I discovered a workaround. I power up the pack and hold the power button on the camera. It powers on and powers off. Then I press the power button, and it powers on and runs as normal. Still, in my opinion, quite an arduous activity for a supposedly sophisticated piece of technology. Any ideas?

 

[rcg530]

Here is my frustration: I have the T-800 in my 2023 Cadillac Lyriq. I also have the battery pack and the 4G unit because I don't want to connect to the vehicle's electrical system. When I power on the pack, the dashcam powers on. Then after a few seconds, it powers off. I press the power button, and I get the "power off" chime. Then I press the button again, and it powers on and runs normally. If I use the cigarette lighter while driving, I power the car off, and the camera powers off, even though the battery pack is still powered on. Everything works fine, but why do I have to go through this frustrating ritual to operate my camera? I discovered a workaround. I power up the pack and hold the power button on the camera. It powers on and powers off. Then I press the power button, and it powers on and runs as normal. Still, in my opinion, quite an arduous activity for a supposedly sophisticated piece of technology. Any ideas?

I'm a bit confused about the battery pack charging cable usage in your vehicle.

The 70mai battery pack must be connected to your vehicle's electrical system in some manner either with the cigarette lighter adapter [CLA] charging cable or the 3-wire charging cable. The 70mai battery pack has to be reconfigured when switching from the battery pack's 3-wire charging cable to the battery pack's CLA charging cable [documented in the user manual].

70mai 3-wire battery pack charging cable vs CLA charging cable

The battery pack's output 12V dash camera power to the hardwire kit [the LTE module in this case] requires 3-wires to be connected [VCC constant power, ACC accessory power, GND ground]. The battery pack will toggle the ACC power to the LTE module to let it know when to have the dash camera enter/exit parking mode. The battery pack uses the battery pack's charging cable input power status to determine when to turn the ACC power on/off to the LTE module. If you're only turning on the 70mai battery pack without it having one of its charging cables present and functional, the dash camera will not operate correctly.