4 channel DR900S installed with B-124 batteries & 4G hotspot

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I just thought I’d share with you I finished my self install of a 4 channel DR900S (2x 2CH) in an SUV. Each main camera has a Samsung Endurance Pro 128GB card.
The main units are on the front & back windscreens & the 2 smaller cameras are on the rear side windows
Effectively 360dg surround view
They are powered by 2x B-124 batteries that are plugged into the front & rear 12v sockets. The front battery is under the passenger front seat & the rear battery in the rear ‘under floor’ storage compartment.
I didn’t hard wire the batteries because the connection to the 12v sockets is so discreet & hardwiring can kill your 12v battery sooner than usual (I’ve already experienced it in another car). Additionally, the fuse panel & fuses themselves are in a deliberately difficult location to access, so it’s just not worth the hassle.
The 4G dongle spits out a wifi signal that the cameras connect to & is a powered by a Xiaomi Mi 2s 10,000 mah powerbank that itself is recharged via USB cable to in car USB ports.
I have 2 accounts on the Blackvue free plan - 1 account per 2-CH set. Auto upload set for motion & impact detection
The batteries seem to only last around 15 hours when parked - I think it’s because of the constant wifi signal. Might get 2 extra batteries, not sure yet.
Anyway just thought I’d share
 
Obviously if money is no problem.. are you sure you can accomplish what you want with just (2x 2CH) DR900S? I would have gone with 4 DR900 single channels units and a larger gas tank.. so that I can keep the vehicle running 24/7
 
I love this setup and have thought about doing it myself (DR900S-2CH X2) but instead ran a DR900S-2CH with the 4K in front, 1080P in rear. I figured the 1080 would suffice in the rear as it's less likely to need to read tags and I was reluctant to spend the money for another DR900S. I then use 2 Rove 2K cameras on my rear side windows (F150) that I already had.

I have been running Dashcams and side cameras for about 5 years now, and I've captured some crazy stuff.. but recently I had someone vandalize my truck and wouldn't you know it, it was during a time when my back camera was out because I had a memory card issue (I had known about the issue and just didn't fix it fast enough). Pissed me off pretty bad but isn't that usually how it works? You can run your cameras for a year and not catch anything and the moment you have a problem something will pop up that you needed it for.
 
I love this setup and have thought about doing it myself (DR900S-2CH X2) but instead ran a DR900S-2CH with the 4K in front, 1080P in rear. I figured the 1080 would suffice in the rear as it's less likely to need to read tags and I was reluctant to spend the money for another DR900S. I then use 2 Rove 2K cameras on my rear side windows (F150) that I already had.

I have been running Dashcams and side cameras for about 5 years now, and I've captured some crazy stuff.. but recently I had someone vandalize my truck and wouldn't you know it, it was during a time when my back camera was out because I had a memory card issue (I had known about the issue and just didn't fix it fast enough). Pissed me off pretty bad but isn't that usually how it works? You can run your cameras for a year and not catch anything and the moment you have a problem something will pop up that you needed it for.
Sorry to hear that.
But it is true about ‘just that one time’ - Murphy’s Law
Another reason I did a 4 channel setup was because the car, in my income terms, was hideously expensive. It’s more the than twice the most I have paid for a car previously.
I’m already considering replacing the current hotspot setup because the camera connections are hit & miss - I don’t want that one time Murphy’s Law!
I’m even contemplating getting the add-on batteries, so the charge is longer than the current 12-15 hours.
 
I just thought I’d share with you I finished my self install of a 4 channel DR900S (2x 2CH) in an SUV. Each main camera has a Samsung Endurance Pro 128GB card.
The main units are on the front & back windscreens & the 2 smaller cameras are on the rear side windows
Effectively 360dg surround view
They are powered by 2x B-124 batteries that are plugged into the front & rear 12v sockets. The front battery is under the passenger front seat & the rear battery in the rear ‘under floor’ storage compartment.
I didn’t hard wire the batteries because the connection to the 12v sockets is so discreet & hardwiring can kill your 12v battery sooner than usual (I’ve already experienced it in another car). Additionally, the fuse panel & fuses themselves are in a deliberately difficult location to access, so it’s just not worth the hassle.
The 4G dongle spits out a wifi signal that the cameras connect to & is a powered by a Xiaomi Mi 2s 10,000 mah powerbank that itself is recharged via USB cable to in car USB ports.
I have 2 accounts on the Blackvue free plan - 1 account per 2-CH set. Auto upload set for motion & impact detection
The batteries seem to only last around 15 hours when parked - I think it’s because of the constant wifi signal. Might get 2 extra batteries, not sure yet.
Anyway just thought I’d share

I thought hard wiring the B-124 to a switched circuit was OK for the car battery? Do you mean to say the possible 9-13.5A load on the car while engine is running can cause damage to the car battery?
 
Of course it won't. But I suspect he means that he had it connected to a permanent live.
 
Of course it won't. But I suspect he means that he had it connected to a permanent live.

Or maybe he meant the blackvue batteries? In any case I just got my B-124 which I plan to hard wire to a switched circuit.


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Strong work

What 4G Hotspot are you running?
I think from memory it’s a Xiaomi brand 4G USB dongle provided by the local 4G carrier. I’ll have to check out the model & come back to you.
 
I thought hard wiring the B-124 to a switched circuit was OK for the car battery? Do you mean to say the possible 9-13.5A load on the car while engine is running can cause damage to the car battery?
All i can say is that in the past, I had a Thinkware F770 hardwired dashcam running directly off the car battery & the car battery needed to be replaced much sooner than I otherwise expected. The dashcam would run in parking mode for about 18 hours or so.
Maybe I’m ascribing fault incorrectly
 
Sorry to hear that.
But it is true about ‘just that one time’ - Murphy’s Law
Another reason I did a 4 channel setup was because the car, in my income terms, was hideously expensive. It’s more the than twice the most I have paid for a car previously.
I’m already considering replacing the current hotspot setup because the camera connections are hit & miss - I don’t want that one time Murphy’s Law!
I’m even contemplating getting the add-on batteries, so the charge is longer than the current 12-15 hours.
Update on this - after I installed a mesh wifi system in the house, it runs in parking mode for about 18 hours.
Maybe the dashcam was previously wasting too much power constantly switching between the 4G hotspot signal & the house’s weak wifi signal
 
Or maybe he meant the blackvue batteries?
I'm pretty certain that the 900 doesn't have one. The 550 and 750 certainly don't. It's easy to be ambiguous if you are not specific isn't it.
 
Ambiguity rules with incomplete information.
 
The OP stated that he used the B-124 with the cigarette lighter socket and not hardwired to prolong the battery life. I was confused as to which battery he was trying to prolong, the car battery or the B-124?

I was under the impression that the car battery would be spared by using the B-124 either hardwired (9A) on a switched circuit or cigarette lighter socket (5A).

Now after more thought I’m assuming he meant the B-124 battery would last longer charging at 5A instead of 9A.




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So I installed my B-124 today, couldn’t get it to charge hardwired though. But it charges fine on the cigarette lighter 5A.


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Now after more thought I’m assuming he meant the B-124 battery would last longer charging at 5A instead of 9A.
That would only be the case if he didn't leave it on the ciggy at 5A to fully charge the battery. Either supply will fully charge it, but the hardwired 9A will do it more quickly.
 
The DR900S is pretty power hungry, so 15ish hours is where you should expect with a B-124 if that's what you're using.
 
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