A119v3 windshield mount vs factory tint

speedlever

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I am finally getting around to mounting the A119v3 I got last week but ran into an issue I wasn't sure how to deal with. What do you guys do w/r/t the factory tint near the top of the windshield? See the attached images.

To get the A119v3 high enough for me to see the screen, the lens will be well up into the tinted area. To get the lens clear of the factory tint, the GPS logger mount looks like it will be half on and half off the dots... which will also hide the screen (behind the RV mirror).

Maybe I need to consider moving it to my side of the rearview mirror instead of the passenger side. But that's also where my Valentine1 sits (temporarily removed while I deal with the Viofo).

And you can see the rearview mirror mount of the old GW1-C that the Viofo is replacing.

Edit: upon further review, putting the A119v3 on the driver side of the rearview mirror is the only thing that makes sense. It will just have to co-exist with the V1. But the question about mounting it remains: should I try to avoid the tint or will it matter? The old GW1-C lives well below the tint so that was never an issue.

IMG_20200116_173955.jpgIMG_20200116_174049.jpgIMG_20200116_174121.jpgIMG_20200116_174306.jpg
 
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It doesn't matter if the top of the image is tinted unless you want to make holiday movies with it, possibly it is a benefit for the bright sky to be darkened, something photographers do using add on filters.

You should avoid the tint getting into the lower half of the image.
 
It doesn't matter if the top of the image is tinted unless you want to make holiday movies with it, possibly it is a benefit for the bright sky to be darkened, something photographers do using add on filters.

You should avoid the tint getting into the lower half of the image.
Ok thanks Nigel. I'll just play with it after I get it hardwired and see how it looks before I stick it. Sounds like I should aim to keep the lens below the tint.
 
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Hi speedlever,

Great question.

I noticed a vehicle a few days ago that had a VIOFO type dash-cam installed, but it was sitting somewhat low from the top of the windshield.

I also noticed that there was tint, similar to yours, and I believe the dash-cam installation was mounted lower to avoid the tint.

I find, that mounting any kind of electronic doo-hicky too low, can increase its visibility, but also increase possible theft opportunities.

Have you thought about removing the factory tint on the windshield?

Like you, I’m also running a Valentine1 along with my dash-cam.
 
Have you thought about removing the factory tint on the windshield?
Normally factory tint can't be removed, it is baked into the glass, or part of the plastic lamination layer in the middle!

It is normal to put the Viofo A series cameras on the dotted area with the lens looking under the dots, in this case the tint seems to come too low, beyond the dots for some reason. If you are worried about the camera being visible then the best solution is probably to extend the dotted area to the bottom of the tint by adding some extra dark tint over the existing dots and extending low enough that the lens can see under the original tint when the camera is mounted on the new tint. A small area of tint material is easy to apply DIY if you follow the instructions/youtube videos.
 
As stated above having a part of the tint visible on just the top of the vid won’t really be an issue as the action happens in the lower 2 thirds so I would mount it as high up as you feel comfortable with.
 
I mounted the A119v3 on the driver's side of the RV mirror today (and moved the V1 to the right side) but seem to have an issue with the hardwiring. When I shut down the engine, the rec button flashes red and doesn't stop. If I press the menu button, the screen lights up. The only way to shut down the dashcam is to physically turn it off. Any idea what might be the problem?

I asked Viofo support for wiring instructions since none came with the 3 wire kit and they sent them. AFAIK, all is properly wired with the yellow wire powered by the ACC circuit.
 
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When I shut down the engine, the rec button flashes red and doesn't stop
That may indicate that the unit hasn't got enough power. I had the same (rec button flashes red) when I tried to use my existing 1.0 A USB cigarette adaptor. when I Used the included 2.4 A USB one from Viofo, it worked.

May I suggest that you temporarily forget the hard wiring, and just check that your unit is working OK by using the supplied USB power cable and cigarette adaptor. If that works OK then your hardwire solution may have a problem. You don't have to fit the cable, you're just using the cable and USB adaptor for checking and eliminating that the A119 itself has a problem.
 
That may indicate that the unit hasn't got enough power. I had the same (rec button flashes red) when I tried to use my existing 1.0 A USB cigarette adaptor. when I Used the included 2.4 A USB one from Viofo, it worked.

May I suggest that you temporarily forget the hard wiring, and just check that your unit is working OK by using the supplied USB power cable and cigarette adaptor. If that works OK then your hardwire solution may have a problem. You don't have to fit the cable, you're just using the cable and USB adaptor for checking and eliminating that the A119 itself has a problem.
That is a great troubleshooting idea. Thanks!

Edit: and something else I just thought of too.... I connected power to the GPS logger mount. I didn't try it on the dashcam itself. Initially, the shop that hardwired it for me thought it may not be shutting down because I had it dangling by the power cord... and the G sensor. But after I got home and mounted it, it's still doing the same thing. I should first try to power it from the dashcam power port and see if that makes a difference.

While in his shop, we connected power to the base and it came up in storage mode. When I connected it to the dashcam itself, it powered up normally. So there are a few oddities associated with how this thing gets power. (I may have that backwards, but you get the idea).

Back later...
 
I think that with old A119s people recommended that you powered through the unit itself, not the GPS Mount. However, I'm sure that people on this forum say that it's OK to power via the v3 via the GPS mount - which you would prefer to do as it's easier to remove the unit from the GPS mount for ejecting the micro SD card and leaving the power connected to the GPS mount.

Mind you, temporarily connecting power directly to the unit should help identify if the GPS mount has a problem or not.

Regards,
 
I think that with old A119s people recommended that you powered through the unit itself, not the GPS Mount. However, I'm sure that people on this forum say that it's OK to power via the v3 via the GPS mount - which you would prefer to do as it's easier to remove the unit from the GPS mount for ejecting the micro SD card and leaving the power connected to the GPS mount.

Mind you, temporarily connecting power directly to the unit should help identify if the GPS mount has a problem or not.

Regards,
I contacted Viofo support and they said I could power it either from the GPS logger base or the unit. But they sure do power up differently when connecting to one or the other.

I have plenty of cigarette lighter adapters in my truck. I'll use one of them to power the dashcam and see if it shuts down properly when I shut off the acc and/or ignition. That will bypass the hardwire.
 
I mounted the A119v3 on the driver's side of the RV mirror today (and moved the V1 to the right side) but seem to have an issue with the hardwiring. When I shut down the engine, the rec button flashes red and doesn't stop. If I press the menu button, the screen lights up. The only way to shut down the dashcam is to physically turn it off. Any idea what might be the problem?

I asked Viofo support for wiring instructions since none came with the 3 wire kit and they sent them. AFAIK, all is properly wired with the yellow wire powered by the ACC circuit.
Are you using parking mode? If so, which mode?
 
Are you using parking mode? If so, which mode?
Yes, Auto event detection. High sensitivity for ParkingG sensor. Middle sensitivity for Parking motion detection. T-L recording off. Motion detection off.

I just checked by powering the dashcam from a cigarette lighter adapter. The dashcam powered up on ACC. When the ignition is switched off, the rec button flashes while it saves the file, then powers down as expected.. It would seem there's a problem with the hardwiring.

I checked by using the hardwire to the dashcam instead of the base. When I switch off the ignition, the rec light flashes and the screen stayed on. I finally turned it off after 30 seconds. So it doesn't appear to matter if I run power to either the base or the unit. The hardwire seems to have an issue.
 
Yes, Auto event detection. High sensitivity for ParkingG sensor. Middle sensitivity for Parking motion detection. T-L recording off. Motion detection off.

I just checked by powering the dashcam from a cigarette lighter adapter. The dashcam powered up on ACC. When the ignition is switched off, the rec button flashes while it saves the file, then powers down as expected.. It would seem there's a problem with the hardwiring.

I checked by using the hardwire to the dashcam instead of the base. When I switch off the ignition, the rec light flashes and the screen stayed on. I finally turned it off after 30 seconds. So it doesn't appear to matter if I run power to either the base or the unit. The hardwire seems to have an issue.
In Auto Event Detection Mode, the REC button will flash while there is no motion in front of the camera. Sounds like your camera is acting normal. Wave your hand in front of the camera and see if the REC turns solid (recording). It will flash again once no more motion is detected (not recording).
 
In Auto Event Detection Mode, the REC button will flash while there is no motion in front of the camera. Sounds like your camera is acting normal. Wave your hand in front of the camera and see if the REC turns solid (recording). It will flash again once no more motion is detected (not recording).
Oh, I didn't realize that.

I went out to my truck and reconnected the hardwire to the GPS logger base (key was NOT in the ignition). The unit immediately powered up and began recording. After a minute, the screen timed-out and the REC light was still on steady. After a couple minutes, the REC light is still solid red. Is this on a timer?

It appears to be working differently than if I switch the ignition on, then off... in which case the REC light begins flashing red (and the menu button lights up the screen).
 
Well ok. I guess it's working properly... I just didn't know how to interpret the indications on the dashcam itself.

I still think something's a bit wonky because it appears to need the ignition switch cycled before it enters parking mode. Perhaps that's normal, but I suspect If I disconnect the dashcam when the ignition is off, then later reconnect it without cycling the ignition switch, it will switch itself on and begin recording until it runs out of power (or the limiter kicks in). Does that sound normal to you guys?
 
Also, I noticed that it takes quite a bit of motion/activity before the dashcam begins recording. I could dance a jig and the world would never know (thankfully). :D

That may be a function of the middle sensitivity setting though.
 
I have a support request in to Viofo about the power up issues unless the ignition key is cycled.

Edit: I'm on FW v 1.03.

Edit 2: Apparently, the powerup issue without cycling the ignition is a known 'feature'.

 
Yes, it’s normal for the camera to power up normally if you unplug it while in parking mode then plug it back in. However, after 5 minutes of no motion, it should re-enter parking mode. Should then act normally after that.
 
Yes, it’s normal for the camera to power up normally if you unplug it while in parking mode then plug it back in. However, after 5 minutes of no motion, it should re-enter parking mode. Should then act normally after that.
Based on that thread I linked, it seems to have widely varying elapsed times before it re-enters parking mode.

The manual that comes with the A119v3 is woefully inadequate in regards to explaining how the parking mode works and how it is enunciated on the display. Where have you guys found information regarding the parking mode?

The above linked thread told me about symbols on the screen to look for. I didn't know that before. I had no frame of reference as to what to expect. So I thought my hardwire was faulty. In fact, the hardwire was done properly, I just didn't understand what the dashcam was telling me. And that trick about having to cycle the ignition switch to enable parking mode immediately (vs waiting for it to time out) was tricky too when first connecting power without using the ignition switch.. and not explained anywhere that I found except in that thread.
 
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