Have I found the answer after 8 years of looking

[Aph]

I'm about to reprise part of an old post from 2016 where I was looking for the best very-small-form waterproof camera to use for the rear of a soft-topped car.

I've just seen the VIOFO A229 Pro with RWC200 waterproof dashcam.

The accompanying photo shows where I want to install it, between the body and the first layer of material which is the soft top (the one above it is the soft top cover). The first layer will stretch enough (wince) to allow something about 25mm high under it.

The advertised RWC-100 is shown with specs. The RWC200 unit is a different format and does not.

Can anyone tell me the height of the RWC-200 or will I need to go directly to the manufacturers.

I will also need to constantly attach and re-attach the A229 from the front windscreen for obvious reasons. Is there a suction cup system available for it?

 

[Dashmellow]

I will also need to constantly attach and re-attach the A229 from the front windscreen for obvious reasons. Is there a suction cup system available for it?

I don't believe Viofo still offers a suction cup mount but they did have one for certain of their wedge cams at one time.

You can purchase an ARKON flat platform mount if it is available in the UK. (possibly on Amazon)

As an alternative I came up with a DIY flat platform mount for wedge style cameras. It is far more adjustable than the Akron mount as well as less prone to vibrations. Basically, once you make one of these it can be attached to any commercially available mount that has a standard 1/4-20 tripod screw and can be easily removed just by unscrewing it while leaving whatever mount you are using in place. A simple mount like this is very easy to build with minimal DIY skills. You can see examples in the thread linked below.

DIY adjustable flat platform mount for wedge cams​

 

[Nigel]

Can anyone tell me the height of the RWC-200 or will I need to go directly to the manufacturers.

I expect @VIOFO-Support can tell us if we wait a little, and maybe get the dimensions added to their web page...

What is the car? Some bits remind me of an Austin, but only the bits, and I'm stuck thinking I should know what it is...

 

[Nigel]

Ahh, a Jaguar XK?

I might be tempted to mount the front camera behind the rear view mirror, to the metalwork at the bottom of the window using a magnetic mount, with the camera lying flat, not so easy to use the screen and buttons, but there is not a lot of room for it in the normal position at the top of the windscreen, it will be in the way. A magnetic mount would by easy to remove and replace, more secure than a suction cup, and less wobbly, and the cable would be less obvious with it mounted on the metalwork...

 

[Aph]

Nigel, it's a Jaguar Aristocat kitcar, built in the spirit of XK's. 4.5L high compression Straight 6, manual 4-speed box with o/d.

 

[Aph]

I don't believe Viofo still offers a suction cup mount but they did have one for certain of their wedge cams at one time.

You can purchase an ARKON flat platform mount if it is available in the UK. (possibly on Amazon)

As an alternative I came up with a DIY flat platform mount for wedge style cameras. It is far more adjustable than the Akron mount as well as less prone to vibrations. Basically, once you make one of these it can be attached to any commercially available mount that has a standard 1/4-20 tripod screw and can be easily removed just by unscrewing it while leaving whatever mount you are using in place. A simple mount like this is very easy to build with minimal DIY skills. You can see examples in the thread linked below.

DIY adjustable flat platform mount for wedge cams​

Thanks, that's really useful. Let's see if Viofo can come up with something. Surely they're missing a trick without a quick release mechanism.

 

[Dashmellow]

Let's see if Viofo can come up with something. Surely they're missing a trick without a quick release mechanism.

As I mentioned, Viofo at one time produced a suction cup mount for some of their wedge cameras but they eventually discontinued it because it didn't sell well in the long run. The fact is that such a mount is kind of a niche product that is really only of interest to a small percentage of Viofo camera owners, so I doubt that we will see anything similar coming anytime soon for their more recent offerings. Either an aftermarket solution or a DIY mount are probably your only options.

 

[Aph]

I've just spoken to VioFoUK and as Dashmellow said, Viofo no longer supply suction cups, so it looks like I'll have to risk life and limb fashioning one to fit.

The waterproof rear cameras RWC100/200's aren't in the country yet. They may arrive with the next order, due in approx. 3 weeks time.
I suppose now we've become a third world nation, we can't expect to be first in the pecking order of new gear.

 

[Dashmellow]

Surely they're missing a trick without a quick release mechanism.

Keep in mind that the although the camera's GPS mount attaches semi-permanently to the glass windscreen with 3M VHB tape, the camera itself attaches to the GPS mount via a slide-off quick release mechanism. If your goal is the ability to remove the camera for security reasons when you leave your vehicle, then you can already do that quite easily leaving the GPS module securely attached to the glass where nobody is likely to tamper with it. You may not need a suction cup mount. Some DCT members who need to move their camera between two vehicles will simply purchase a spare GPS mount for their other car.

 

[joe384]

I've just spoken to VioFoUK and as Dashmellow said, Viofo no longer supply suction cups, so it looks like I'll have to risk life and limb fashioning one to fit.

The waterproof rear cameras RWC100/200's aren't in the country yet. They may arrive with the next order, due in approx. 3 weeks time.
I suppose now we've become a third world nation, we can't expect to be first in the pecking order of new gear.

I think the RWC200 only appeared on their website a few weeks back, so I doubt anyone has it in their hands yet. Hopefully some reviews will appear soon as I'm interested to see what the mount is like and the thickness of the cable. etc.

 

[Aph]

Regarding SD cards for the A229 Pro.

Viofo have a 512GB "Industrial Grade" U3 A2 V30 High Speed for £85.14
SanDisk have a 512GB "Extreme Pro" U3 A2 V30 for £47.95. It doesn't appear that SanDisk have an "Industrial Grade" one.

I'm not familiar with the terminology but to a layman they appear to have the same specs but Viofo is a lot more expensive.

Is one better than the other?

 

[Dashmellow]

Regarding SD cards for the A229 Pro.

Viofo have a 512GB "Industrial Grade" U3 A2 V30 High Speed for £85.14
SanDisk have a 512GB "Extreme Pro" U3 A2 V30 for £47.95. It doesn't appear that SanDisk have an "Industrial Grade" one.

I'm not familiar with the terminology but to a layman they appear to have the same specs but Viofo is a lot more expensive.

Is one better than the other?

As recommended by Viofo:

What memory card is recommended for a VIOFO dashcam?

Micro SD Cards play an important role in dashcams, but not all cards are suitable to be used in dashcams. The footage recorded by dash cams is saved on a micro SD card, which is an essential component of the dash cam setup. Here are some parame...

support.viofo.com

 

[Nigel]

Regarding SD cards for the A229 Pro.

Viofo have a 512GB "Industrial Grade" U3 A2 V30 High Speed for £85.14
SanDisk have a 512GB "Extreme Pro" U3 A2 V30 for £47.95. It doesn't appear that SanDisk have an "Industrial Grade" one.

I'm not familiar with the terminology but to a layman they appear to have the same specs but Viofo is a lot more expensive.

Is one better than the other?

We don't have enough details about these cards to be sure what the differences are, and they keep changing anyway, so past experience doesn't help much!

In general, "Industrial Grade" means it will withstand higher temperatures, will have twice or more lifespan compared to a normal card before wearing out, and will generally have more consistent performance.

The SanDisk, as far as I can see, makes no claims to its lifetime, so my guess is that the Viofo will last twice as long based on amount of video written to it. I would also expect the Viofo to have a more consistent write speed, which can be important if you are using 3 channels on your dashcam.

Not sure that you are going to do enough miles in that car to wear either of them out though!

The Viofo cards have been consistently reliable, they do seem to be good cards, and are fast. Other cards seem to keep falling into the "Not Recommended" list, as their manufacturers make changes, or as the dashcams become higher performance with more channels and higher bitrates.

 

[Aph]

Thank you guys, you've been invaluable.

One A229 Pro 1CH along with hardware kit, RWC200 and SD card ordered and will hopefully be with me in a fortnight or so.

I think the RWC200 only appeared on their website a few weeks back, so I doubt anyone has it in their hands yet. Hopefully some reviews will appear soon as I'm interested to see what the mount is like and the thickness of the cable. etc.

Joe384, as soon as I receive it I'll be happy to take photos of the mount and advise you of the thickness of the cable, but that's about my limit. I've seen most of the techie reviews on here and the majority of the info quoted goes over my head.

I have to say I'm impressed with VioFo's customer service, in this case, Annie.