Newbie requiring advice before buying 0906

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Bada Bing

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Hi everyone,

I have been diligently reading through the forum to help me make my first dash cam purchase decision and settled for the mini 0906. It ticks my criteria of wanting discrete front and rear cameras, performs well in day (including glare) and night, and has a parking mode option. The price and encouraging reviews have almost sealed the deal.

Before taking the plunge, I was hoping existing users could answer the following questions.

One of my main concerns is with potential radio interference, specifically DAB. Having only recently purchased my car F10 BMW 5 series (2013), I'd be loathed to lose the DAB function. I have read some threads where people mention it depends on where your car radio antenna is located in proximity to the camera. I can't say I'm 100% sure but think the antenna is either near the top of my windscreen (just below rear view mirror) or the shark fin above the rear window.

Can anyone who has a similar car confirm where the antenna is? Also have you had any radio interference issues and what have you found to be the ideal camera positions for front and rear?

The best price seems to be from Combi on eBay, which includes a hardwire kit. However some users have mentioned it's better to use a high quality wiring kit and power supply to mitigate radio interference. Does the Combi one fit this criteria? If not, can anyone link me to a wiring kit/power supply that I can purchase in the UK?

Finally I'd like to have the system hard wired by a professional so I can use the parking mode. Could UK based forumers recommend anyone in the South East (ideally West London/Thames Valley) that is reputable or point me to where I should be looking? If you could also give me an indication of the going rate for a professional job I would appreciate it :)
 
It cause Radio interference if you route cable close to your radio;
And you can PM me for eBay UK purchase link!
 
The below company are good, they have done a few jobs for me and also fit items that are not purchased from them.

They are based in Yateley, Hamshire, but cover surrounding areas, including Thames Valley.

I came across them when I insured my daughter's car which the insurance company install a black box and they have the contract to do this, so they do/must have a good reputation.

http://www.mobileautomotivesystems.co.uk/
 
Normally, you only get radio interference if you route the power cable alongside the radio antenna cable. So if the antenna cable runs up the left side of the windscreen you will want your dashcam power cable running up the right side of the windscreen. If your antenna is in the back window then mount the rear camera as high as possible to keep some distance from the heater/antenna wires. All dashcams will create a little interference, I've not noticed that the 0906 is any worse than others, and it normally seems to depend more on the hardwire kit and cabling than the camera anyway.

For the hardwire kit, if you want to use the parking guard then you need a parking guard compatible kit - use the official 0906 hardwire kit.

Combi are good for support and a genuine UK company, sometimes they are expensive but if they currently have a good price then they are recommended. Estore above are often cheaper.
 
Thanks all for the helpful advice. I assume recommended sellers such as Combi UK and Estore sell the official 0906 hardwire kit, but will check to confirm. (Estore009 - I'll PM you for the eBay links).

I have already spoken to one professional installer who advised that F10 BMW 5 series can be more susceptible to DAB interference. He advised the radio antenna is in the rear and may need to place the rear camera to one side rather than centrally to mitigate interference. It's not ideal but is something I'll be fine with as a compromise.

As the mini 0906 doesn't appear to be any different from other cameras in causing radio interference, I'll test the dash cam in the car before I get it properly installed to see if how it's likely to perform.
 
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Bada Bing said:
Thanks all for the helpful advice. I assume recommended sellers such as Combi UK and Estore sell the official 0906 hardwire kit, but will check to confirm. (Estore009 - I'll PM you for the eBay links).

I have already spoken to one professional installer who advised that F10 BMW 5 series can be more susceptible to DAB interference. He advised the radio antenna is in the rear and may need to place the rear camera to one side rather than centrally to mitigate interference. It's not ideal but is something I'll be fine with it as a compromise.

As the mini 0906 doesn't appear to be any different from other cameras in causing radio interference, I'll test the dash cam in the car before I get it properly installed to see if how it's likely to perform.
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You never get a perfect image from a rear camera anyway, there are always things in the way such as heater wires, wiper blades, boot lids, spoilers etc. Putting it to the right of centre, nearer the centre of the road, isn't a problem, it actually reduces motion blur on passing cars a little, also due to the curvature of the glass it tends to point the camera towards those cars giving a better image of those cars, it will be wide enough angle to still fully see the car behind you. keep it as high as possible for a better view and to see through above the heater elements.
 
I just installed an 0906 and ran out to my car to try the radio, yes there is a bit of static that will affect some of the weaker FM stations. I also have an Amateur Radio with VHF/UHF and HF. VHF and UHF are loaded with an S9 level of static. I unplug the rear camera and the noise goes away. I did not check HF bands. I have some ferrite chokes I will snap on to see if it mitigates the noise but can tell you it is at a horrible level right now and it is related to the rear camera.
I ran my rear camera wires on the right side of the vehicle 2016 Mazda 6 near the headliner.
 
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Sky1 said:
I just installed an 0906 and ran out to my car to try the radio, yes there is a bit of static that will affect some of the weaker FM stations. I also have an Amateur Radio with VHF/UHF and HF. VHF and UHF are loaded with an S9 level of static. I unplug the rear camera and the noise goes away. I did not check HF bands. I have some ferrite chokes I will snap on to see if it mitigates the noise but can tell you it is at a horrible level right now and it is related to the rear camera.
I ran my rear camera wires on the right side of the vehicle 2016 Mazda 6 near the headliner.
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Thanks for sharing your feedback. I'm waiting for mine to arrive and will report back once I've done an initial test in my vehicle.

Hopefully some more knowledgeable forummers can provide suggestions to cut down the radio static you're encountering.
 
snap on chokes did not mitigate noise, will try re-routing cable, also tried lowering rear camera resolution to 720P to no avail
 
My hardwire kit came in today but it is raining so will do that tomorrow and move my rear camera wire to see if it resolves some of the noise, will post here my findings. If worse comes to worse I can always unplug the rear camera.
 
Update: I've now received my mini 0906 and did an initial test using the lighter socket and first impressions are positive. It's fairly simple to setup and the picture quality is impressive. I went with the Samsung Evo Plus 128gb sd card.

One issue I encountered was when connecting the rear camera cable. It sometimes caused the main front cam to power down or intermittently switch on and off. Has anyone else had this issue? I eventually got it to stabilise and it seems to be fine as long as I don't touch/press the rear cable connector on the front cam.

In regards to my initial concerns with losing DAB radio, the rear camera cable did cause it to cut out. That wasn't a huge surprise as I was warned that BMWs can be more susceptible so can't blame the mini 0906 entirely. When I placed the rear camera to the side of the rear screen, I sometimes was able to get a signal. I'll be able to know for sure once I get it hard wired and will then play around with positioning of the rear camera and cable.

If I have to make a choice with the DAB radio and the rear camera, I can always unplug rear cam and reconnect it only wanting to use the parking mode. I'm inclined to keep the rear cam on though as my FM signal is unaffected so I can still listen to the main stations.

So far, I have don't have any regrets buying it. For the price and picture quality, it represents great value.
 
Bada Bing said:
One issue I encountered was when connecting the rear camera cable. It sometimes caused the main front cam to power down or intermittently switch on and off.
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you should only ever do that when the camera is powered off, you can damage the camera
 
jokiin said:
you should only ever do that when the camera is powered off, you can damage the camera
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Thanks for letting me know. It's working fine now but I'll be mindful of that in future.
 
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