4 Ch. Options

[Kicker0927]

This might be a stupid question, but I’ve had it with door dings and scratches even though I’m always very cautious and park far away from others. I recently purchase the U1000 with rear camera. My question is, is there any way to purchase 2 more of the same rear cameras to use as side cameras, making it like a 4ch system? I’m sure there isn’t, but would love to find something that would function along with the main unit. Any ideas? I’ve seen BlackBoxMyCar post a couple 4ch installs they’ve done on YouTube, but they never really explain how.

 

[Dashmellow]

This might be a stupid question, but I’ve had it with door dings and scratches even though I’m always very cautious and park far away from others. I recently purchase the U1000 with rear camera. My question is, is there any way to purchase 2 more of the same rear cameras to use as side cameras, making it like a 4ch system? I’m sure there isn’t, but would love to find something that would function along with the main unit. Any ideas? I’ve seen BlackBoxMyCar post a couple 4ch installs they’ve done on YouTube, but they never really explain how.

This thread - "Is there such thing as a side view dashcam? (For your car doors)" would be a good place to start."

There are different approaches to how to go about doing a four channel installation, especially now that two channel dash cams have finally become a reality. I've been using four separate cameras for about five years now with excellent results.
An important consideration with installing side facing cameras that can cover your flanks is that you need to be very careful about side curtain air bags so that any installed camera or wiring don't become projectiles during an accident.

Much later in the same thread also see: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...m-for-your-car-doors.12675/page-9#post-310270

 

[kamkar]

No the U1000 are just a dual system which you cant add more cameras to.
The hardware there now to actually support 4 X 1080p cameras, but so far no one have dared to make such a system, for the most out of fear it would be a hard sell for the price.
Your best chance are to use 2 dual channel systems, for instance the U1000 fornt and rear, and then one of the pending dual remote systems as side cameras, as these systems with their 2 small cameras are the best chance to make a good install on the side windows.

A hold back are also how to mount side cameras, some try outside cameras aimed back down the side of the car, but this are most often not a install you can do yourself, and it might even require holes drilled in your car.
And mounting on the inside are also a problem, cuz you can not mount on the glass if you want the windows to be able to go up and down unhindered, so you have to get creative.

Me personal are fortunate my little car have a fixed glass on both front and rear doors, so i can mount directely off the glass, before that i had cameras mounted off backside of B pillar and off the headliner above the window.

 

[Kicker0927]

This thread - "Is there such thing as a side view dashcam? (For your car doors)" would be a good place to start."

There are different approaches to how to go about doing a four channel installation, especially now that two channel dash cams have finally become a reality. I've been using four separate cameras for about five years now with excellent results.
An important consideration with installing side facing cameras that can cover your flanks is that you need to be very careful about side curtain air bags so that any installed camera or wiring don't become projectiles during an accident.

Much later in the same thread also see: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...m-for-your-car-doors.12675/page-9#post-310270

Thanks, I didn’t even see that in the archives. I’ll check it out

 

[Kicker0927]

No the U1000 are just a dual system which you cant add more cameras to.
The hardware there now to actually support 4 X 1080p cameras, but so far no one have dared to make such a system, for the most out of fear it would be a hard sell for the price.
Your best chance are to use 2 dual channel systems, for instance the U1000 fornt and rear, and then one of the pending dual remote systems as side cameras, as these systems with their 2 small cameras are the best chance to make a good install on the side windows.

A hold back are also how to mount side cameras, some try outside cameras aimed back down the side of the car, but this are most often not a install you can do yourself, and it might even require holes drilled in your car.
And mounting on the inside are also a problem, cuz you can not mount on the glass if you want the windows to be able to go up and down unhindered, so you have to get creative.

Me personal are fortunate my little car have a fixed glass on both front and rear doors, so i can mount directely off the glass, before that i had cameras mounted off backside of B pillar and off the headliner above the window.

I have a 2019 Mazda CX-5 so I have the pillars and small areas of stationary window in the rear, but the airbags was not something I had thought of.

 

[kamkar]

Yeah you have to keep those in mind, but i don't think the airbag will shoot off my cameras, and if it do it shoot them strait down.
Also as my side cameras are on the rear doors and i only have people on the back seat like one time every 2 years i can live with any "danger"

My little Suzuki car are so measly no American would even see his worst enemy drive such a little crappy car
But it is all i can afford as we Danes buy 1 car but pay for 2 due to our steep taxes.

The rock bottom cheapest 2019 CX5 cost just shy of 45000 USD, most expensive 2019 CX 5 cost 73500 USD

 

[Kicker0927]

Yeah you have to keep those in mind, but i don't think the airbag will shoot off my cameras, and if it do it shoot them strait down.
Also as my side cameras are on the rear doors and i only have people on the back seat like one time every 2 years i can live with any "danger"

My little Suzuki car are so measly no American would even see his worst enemy drive such a little crappy car
But it is all i can afford as we Danes buy 1 car but pay for 2 due to our steep taxes.

The rock bottom cheapest 2019 CX5 cost just shy of 45000 USD, most expensive 2019 CX 5 cost 73500 USD

Wow! That’s expensive! Also, I imagine you’re running your cams off a separate battery power right?

 

[kamkar]

I am not using parking guard, or that is i am on the side camera system as it is powered via a OBD adapter that came with the test system.
In general i test for some months with the supplied power adapters, but then i move the systems to one of my own supplies.
In my glove box i have 6 X 2.4 A / 2 X 2 A and 2 X 1 A USB outlets + i have 6 X 12 Volt in the glove box too ( not really room for other stuff in my glove box )

I also use to have 3 12 V outlets in the back, but i have decommissioned that as the use of single cameras in the back are not really needed anymore with dual systems.

With next batch of test cameras i will get to use a proper hard wire kit and parking guard, but i will just be using parking guard for 1 hour as that will cover all my shopping, and at home i have CCTV on my car parked in the back yard ( PTZ camera on my 2 floor balcony door )

 

[joe384]

Thinkware are coming out with a 4CH system to be announced soon, the QXD Mega 4CH

I saw the blackboxmycar videos and I am doing the same thing as many of their 4ch setups. 2 x 2CH setup with the front cameras front and rear, rear cameras on the side. I did consider the K2S (dual channel remote) for the sides but I wasn't too sure with regard to the wiring.

If you do go 2 x U1000 then you have the advantage of be able to have 4K front and rear as well.

 

[kamkar]

The 4 CH system from thinkware, arnt that one of those with outside side backwards facing cameras and a fairly big "pocket camera" shaped front unit ??

 

[joe384]

Yeah, I think so, I only thought about it since I was looking for CES 2020 announcements,

I think I've seen this before though, maybe it wasn't ready for market?

I'm not sure about external cameras actually myself though

 

[kamkar]

The side cameras seem to be stick on, which is fine if the tape are strong, but in that video they do seem to mostly capture the side of the car, and not to mention the mirror.

 

[SuMMoN]

they do seem to mostly capture the side of the car, and not to mention the mirror.

It's depend on cars and position of cameras.

Yeah, I think so, I only thought about it since I was looking for CES 2020 announcements,

I think I've seen this before though, maybe it wasn't ready for market?

I'm not sure about external cameras actually myself though

It's on sale in thailand since july 2019 with launch price 25000 baht, dropped to 19900 baht as of now

 

[Butterfly]

Yeah, it all depends on your vehicle's dimensions. I did the U1000 dual channel, 2 of them so 4 cams total. Both main unit camera are for front and rear, the rear cam are placed on the sides. I had to play around with the side cameras for the right angle, depending what I want to capture.

I'd wait for the 4 channel from Thinkware, but the problem is that I live where there is snow, dirt, and salt. It splashes to all sides of the vehicle all the time so it will defeat the point of having that specific 4 channel from Thinkware. Yup, even my backup camera that's default from the vehicle always gets blocked because of the amount of dirt my car gets every time I go out on the roads.

 

[Jeremy Wong]

You can install 2 units of U1000 like in this video

 

[kamkar]

I would not like a "big" main unit right on my rear window, but for the people that don't mind it will be fine i recon.
Personally i would wait for the dual remote systems for the side, and just do the front and rear system to start with.
Also having used side cameras for a few years, it is actually rare they alone capture anything of interest, so for the most i only use their footage as B roll for my uploads, and that's rare at that.

Dont get me wrong i would not be without the side cameras, but i am also a addict.

 

[Eloylb]

 

[SawMaster]

The K2S dual remote is excellent for use as inside-mounted side cams, as the cam modules are very small. You might also consider a pair of B1W's for the same purpose but that could make feeding the PS's a little more complex. When I use these cams I record continuously, which is not a method that works for everyone.

The main issue with having so many cams going while parked is going to be feeding them power; your car battery will at best allow you maybe 3 hours time before it begins suffering damage, and most cars will be half that long or less. You can use a powerbank (or two) for the purpose but you have to charge and switch them. Devices like the Cellink may not charge themselves well if you don't have longish daily drives. A 4-channel cam might be slightly more power-efficient but it's not going to be that much better. The only really viable solution for this is to DIY a "RV battery" system with a charging isolator and a largish SLA, AGM, or deep-cycle battery for the purpose. Such as this is nowhere near "plug-and-play" simple and isn't cheap, but if you want coverage while parked during a full workday you're going to have to do something, and it could cost you as much as the 4-channel cam itself.

Another issue is cam resolution and bitrate. Putting 4 channels of average-rate 1080P onto one Micro SD card isn't possible because of card speed limitations, and very few cards can even approach the high levels of performance required. Even using 2 cards still somewhat limits bitrates but not too badly, and if you're going to have one card per channel you've lost much of the convenience gained from having a multi-channel system. So even with a processor, cams, mounts, ans PS's existing to do the job with you still have some limitations which can't yet be overcome with the usual approach to dashcams.

When you get right down to it, parking protection is best done with cams set away from the car, as cams on or inside of it will always have some of the view blocked or the FOV won't cover everything. Often easy at home, sometimes possible at work, but not a usable approach elsewhere. Not trying to discourage anyone but it's best to know and understand that every approach you take has it's benefits and drawbacks and no one approach can give you 100% protection everywhere and no approach is going to be an easy job if it's to be effective.

Phil