Removing ring cap from mini 0806?

RavenManiac

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Location
Williamsburg, Virginia
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Dash Cam
Viofo A129 Duo, mini 0806 (RIP)
I'm trying to remove the ring cap from my mini 0806, but I'm having a heck of a time. I don't want to use too much force for fear of damaging it, so I stopped and decided to seek help of other forum members.

So far, I've used this photo as a guide and a spudger called an iSesame to try to open it with no success.
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/attachments/3-jpg.10904/

Once the ring is removed, my goal is to replace the battery using these instructions:
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/replacing-battery-in-mini0806.17840/

Unfortunately, all of the photos for the battery replacement thread are missing, so if anyone has a link to a better thread that too is much appreciated. I look forward to any assistance I can get with this. Thanks!
 
Okay, I finally got it off. I'll post some pictures to help others. Is there anyway to add photos without having a photo service?
 
Thanks John.

BTW, how do you like your Street Guardian? I'll probably keep the mini 0806 I'm repairing, but I'm thinking about replacing my other mini 0806, which also failed, but was warranted by SquareTrade, with a Street Guardian SG9665GC. Or, I might replace my whole mini 0806 setup with the new SG9663DC, which is a dual camera model.
 
Thanks John.

BTW, how do you like your Street Guardian? I'll probably keep the mini 0806 I'm repairing, but I'm thinking about replacing my other mini 0806, which also failed, but was warranted by SquareTrade, with a Street Guardian SG9665GC. Or, I might replace my whole mini 0806 setup with the new SG9663DC, which is a dual camera model.

If you are talking to me, my name isn't John. In any event, the SG9665GC is an excellent but much over-hyped, rather over priced camera which has been problematic from the get-go and required four replacement units to get the one I am using now. At this point it is performing well and has been very reliable except for an unexplained chronic 3M VHB tape failure issue that people are still reporting but dates back almost two years to my V2.

If you enjoyed the form factor of the mini-0806 have you considered the newly introduced super-capacitor based mini-0906 dual camera model? Personally, I'm interested in seeing some comparison tests with the technically similar SG9663DC.
 
Oops! My bad. Good to know about the Street Guardian.

Where's the best place to buy a mini 0906? I normally purchase from SpyTec, but they dropped the mini 0806 line and didn't pickup the mini 0906.
 
Okay, I finally got it off. I'll post some pictures to help others. Is there anyway to add photos without having a photo service?
Hi, did you manage to upload/post any pictures re getting the end ring off a mini 0806? I can't see them on the thread and am new to this forum, so was wondering if they might be living somewhere else?
cheers, Ianzy
 
Yes, I did. Sorry. I forgot to post them. Notice the clips in the ring cap and the corresponding notches in the base, which I've indicated with red arrows. That's what's holding the ring cap in place. Be sure to note the alignment of the mount to the lens. You need to rotate the camera so that it's in that position before you attempt the ring cap removal. I hope this helps.
 

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Also, if you're replacing the battery, don't attempt to solder the new battery to the motherboard. Instead, remove the wires at the battery itself and make your connections there. Much less risky.

And be careful when removing the ring cap. Although I was extra careful, and even had a spudger tool, I still marred it up a little. Some people have said they removed the cap by hand, but I wasn't able to do that. But, at the time, I didn't know where the clips were. Now, you do. Good luck!
 
Also, if you're replacing the battery, don't attempt to solder the new battery to the motherboard. Instead, remove the wires at the battery itself and make your connections there. Much less risky.

And be careful when removing the ring cap. Although I was extra careful, and even had a spudger tool, I still marred it up a little. Some people have said they removed the cap by hand, but I wasn't able to do that. But, at the time, I didn't know where the clips were. Now, you do. Good luck!

Thank you very much for this! I did read a reference to lining up the mount to the lens but now I have something to aim at! I'm currently awaiting delivery of replacement battery so thanks also for the tip re connecting at battery end! my soldering leaves a lot to be desired!
 
No worries. I've been exactly where you are, so I'm glad I could help. Please let us know how everything works out.

BTW, and this is just something I noticed with both of my 1 1/2 year old 0806's. The windshield mount thing really sucks in terms of connectivity. After some ongoing problems, even with the new battery, I ended up plugging the Micro USB cable directly into each dashcam and everything seems to be working fine.

Now, I'm wondering if I had a defective battery after all. You might want to try plugging your Micro USB cable directly into your dashcam while you're waiting for the new battery to see if that helps.
 
No worries. I've been exactly where you are, so I'm glad I could help. Please let us know how everything works out.

BTW, and this is just something I noticed with both of my 1 1/2 year old 0806's. The windshield mount thing really sucks in terms of connectivity. After some ongoing problems, even with the new battery, I ended up plugging the Micro USB cable directly into each dashcam and everything seems to be working fine.

Now, I'm wondering if I had a defective battery after all. You might want to try plugging your Micro USB cable directly into your dashcam while you're waiting for the new battery to see if that helps.
Actually, you may be onto something there! the unit works for periods and then either reboots mid journey, and keeps rebooting... or just doesn't start and clicks away.... I never suspected the mount connection... I wondered about the stability of the power supply to the mount, which turned out to be okay and therefore assumed the battery (which doesn't seem to get charged sufficiently even on long trips) was the culprit. I'll definitely try bypassing the mount and hook it up directly. I don't really use the gps function and I'm told it could work against you if the data containing car speed logs has to be submitted to the coppers! I'm going to go and hook it up now and I'll let you know! You may have saved me a dismantling job! Cheers, Ianzy.
 
Actually, you may be onto something there! the unit works for periods and then either reboots mid journey, and keeps rebooting... or just doesn't start and clicks away.... I never suspected the mount connection... I wondered about the stability of the power supply to the mount, which turned out to be okay and therefore assumed the battery (which doesn't seem to get charged sufficiently even on long trips) was the culprit. I'll definitely try bypassing the mount and hook it up directly. I don't really use the gps function and I'm told it could work against you if the data containing car speed logs has to be submitted to the coppers! I'm going to go and hook it up now and I'll let you know! You may have saved me a dismantling job! Cheers, Ianzy.
It appears that the GPS unit still works when power is supplied directly to the camera whilst in the mount, as the green led is flashing away happily!
 
Yes, that is correct. I have the same behavior on both of my units, although my rear dashcam has a problem getting a GPS lock. Could be the mounting angle.
 
It appears that the GPS unit still works when power is supplied directly to the camera whilst in the mount, as the green led is flashing away happily!
This applies to other mini models as well as Viofo ones. The power and ground leads are shared by both connectors.
 
I find it interesting that the GPS works even though the mount doesn't I wonder where it's failing?
 
I find it interesting that the GPS works even though the mount doesn't I wonder where it's failing?
So if you plug the power to the mount it doesn't work, but works fine when plugged to the camera?
 
That is correct, BUT I haven't checked the video to see if the GPS info may have been affected.
 
That is correct, BUT I haven't checked the video to see if the GPS info may have been affected.
OK, so that means that the USB connector got disconnected from the circuit board. The GPS is getting the power through mount connection when power is plugged to the camera.
 
Perhaps. I really didn't look at that USB connection on the circuit board when I had it opened. My recollection is that there are four pins in the mount, but I don't know what each one does. Perhaps somebody else does.
 
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