Is my SG9665GC Counterfeit

Personally I don't feel the heatsink used on the Mobius is necessary, other products running the same hardware in more restrictive layouts have proven to be no issue over time

That heatsink gets pretty damned hot! It must be doing something useful. What "other products running the same hardware in more restrictive layouts have proven to be no issue over time" are you referring to?
 
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If it was a hideaway model where the main unit is not in direct sunlight then a metal housing could indeed be an effective heatsink

I would personally like to see some objective internal temperature testing about the possible merits of a partial metal housing. Then again I trust your experience and expertise.
 
Lots of sports cameras have run the same hardware in far more restrictive enclosures and do not have overheating issues

I agree the heatsink gets hot, it's holding heat more than dissipating it though
 
I would personally like to see some objective internal temperature testing about the possible merits of a partial metal housing. Then again I trust your experience and expertise.
Without some sort of connection to external surfaces there is little benefit to be had, still possible if done correctly though
 
Lots of sports cameras have run the same hardware in far more restrictive enclosures and do not have overheating issues

I agree the heatsink gets hot, it's holding heat more than dissipating it though

I think the difference is that sports cameras are not generally subjected to the conditions that dash cams are subjected to.
 
I think the difference is that sports cameras are not generally subjected to the conditions that dash cams are subjected to.
The hardware has been used in literally hundreds of different hardware designs without ever needing a heatsink, compare to some Ambarella chipsets where heatsinks are commonly used out of necessity, the Novatek chipset does run far cooler, I can't say I recall any other manufacturer that uses heatsinks with Novatek

If I remember correctly some earlier product they did was based on Sunplus chipsets, those do typically run quite hot so perhaps that's something that influenced their thinking when initially designing the Mobius
 
The hardware has been used in literally hundreds of different hardware designs without ever needing a heatsink, compare to some Ambarella chipsets where heatsinks are commonly used out of necessity, the Novatek chipset does run far cooler, I can't say I recall any other manufacturer that uses heatsinks with Novatek

If I remember correctly some earlier product they did was based on Sunplus chipsets, those do typically run quite hot so perhaps that's something that influenced their thinking when initially designing the Mobius

I don't know about the "hundreds" of designs but the Mobius is one of the smallest cameras I know of and there have even been occasional reports of them melting, so my thinking is that the heat sink (which does indeed get quite hot at times, has a logical purpose. I trust that the Mobius team knows why they put that heat sink on the camera.
 
I've seen far smaller layouts used than what's inside the Mobius, it is what it is though so it's not like it's going to change
 
I don't have them with me, one particular design was using stacked PCBs with the sensor board on top of the lot, very small design, when you add an LCD in as well they get even more restrictive, some use EMI shielding that completely covers the processor, those types of designs trap a lot of heat but again they don't have heat issues
 
I don't have them with me, one particular design was using stacked PCBs with the sensor board on top of the lot, very small design, when you add an LCD in as well they get even more restrictive, some use EMI shielding that completely covers the processor, those types of designs trap a lot of heat but again they don't have heat issues

Still would like to hear about specific cameras that supports your claim of a "very small design" that "trap a lot of heat" and that "don't have heat issues". I guess it depends quite a lot on the processor. Which cameras are you referring to?

Clearly heat sinks are useful, one way or another, and maybe a partial metal housing could be a useful factor in that. Why would you argue against this approach?
 
I'm not arguing for or against anything, I've seen plenty of examples of the same hardware used in restrictive layouts that don't have issues with that, this is not a known problem model for heat like some solutions have shown to be
 
I'm not arguing for or against anything, I've seen plenty of examples of the same hardware used in restrictive layouts that don't have issues with that, this is not a known problem model for heat like some solutions have shown to be

Examples?
 
there are 3 way to tranfer the heat: conductor; convection; radiation.
In dashcam, the most effective way to release the heat into environment is: convention.
Basicly, the heat from SKD and sensor are tranfer into heatsink and then into the air by convection. But in somecase, if there is not enough room for heatsink and heatsink is not too effective, then only sensor and SKD are enough to tranfer all the heat it needs.
The necessity of a heatsink or not have to caculator and experiments. Cant decide by feeling.
And with a small size like mobius, using a air vent is not possible. So the engineer have to made heatsink into outsides. Nomally, it have to be insides.
Hope i can explain clear enough with my suck english :)
example:
Heatsink may have or have not but air vent almost must have.
SG9665GC.jpg
 
there are 3 way to tranfer the heat: conductor; convection; radiation.
In dashcam, the most effective way to release the heat into environment is: convention.
Basicly, the heat from SKD and sensor are tranfer into heatsink and then into the air by convection. But in somecase, if there is not enough room for heatsink and heatsink is not too effective, then only sensor and SKD are enough to tranfer all the heat it needs.
The necessity of a heatsink or not have to caculator and experiments. Cant decide by feeling.
And with a small size like mobius, using a air vent is not possible. So the engineer have to made heatsink into outsides. Nomally, it have to be insides.
Hope i can explain clear enough with my suck english :)

Your English isn't perfect but it definitely doesn't suck. I always enjoy our communications and I always understand you. :)
 
I know something of heat-sinks given my experience with transmitters and stereos, and I've always wondered why the Mobius design? It doesn't have as much surface area exposed as is gathering heat inside which reduces its ability to get rid of the heat it collects. A better design within the same size parameters would be easy enough. Perhaps that acts more to stabilize operating temps which can have an effect on some electronic circuits though I doubt this was it's intended function.

@thancam your English is OK and your explanation a very good one. Excessive heat is the enemy of electronics. But another problem, as all computer users know, is dust which prevents air circulation and cooling so cams with vents may not be the best answer either unless they are kept clean inside. The way I see all this is that if the cam works properly then the design is good enough however it is cooled ;)

One thing most folks miss when considering heat sinks is that they work both ways so if the outside environment is hotter that heat gets transferred inside to whatever it was that you were wanting to cool. In a parked car with full sun you could thus have an over-heated cam without it even being turned on :eek: It' best in such cases to let the cam cool a little before turning it on just to be on the safe side.

Phil
 
When I bought my electric bike kit which still has a 2amp charger I removed the covers and drilled dozens of 5mm holes to keep it cooler by natural convection.
 
One thing most folks miss when considering heat sinks is that they work both ways so if the outside environment is hotter that heat gets transferred inside to whatever it was that you were wanting to cool.

I don't think that's very significant in this context. If the ambient temperature is high, you aren't going to protect a camera from that by having an insulating layer. It's a lost cause. The mass is low and there is no method of cooling other than radiation and convection, which will only help after the camera is hotter than its surroundings. So it's just a matter of time before the camera temperature equals ambient temperature plus its own generated heat.

Good heat conductivity will, on the other hand, help get rid of the heat the camera generates. The benefit far outweighs any downside.

What might be useful would be to use the windscreen as a heatsink. At least the temperature of that will be lower than the air on the inside of the 'oven'. Don't know if there's a practical way to do this with most cameras, the mount would need to be very different to anything I've seen.

But the mobius could do it. Attach a metal bracket to both the windscreen and the mobius heatsink using thermal tape or glue.

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
 
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