A129 plus duo with eMMC randomly losing rear camera connection in parking mode

[trancenergy]

From time to time (randomly), the main camera remains the single one to work on the microsd card when in parking mode with timelapse @5 fps . Happened 3 times already and didnt find out a way to reproduce it.
Happened to anyone else?

Thanks

 

[Mtz]

Have you checked the card trying to observe when is this happening?
If you have a hatchback car are you sure when you closing the rear door of the car, in that moment the connection to the rear camera is not lost because of improper installing?
It is important to know exactly when this is happening.

 

[trancenergy]

Have you checked the card trying to observe when is this happening?
If you have a hatchback car are you sure when you closing the rear door of the car, in that moment the connection to the rear camera is not lost because of improper installing?
It is important to know exactly when this is happening.

Hi and thanks for the fast reply.
Unfortunately nothing consistent in reproducing the scenario. Sometimes the recordings from rear camera disappeared after the camera went to parking mode, other times randomly (as I said in the title), while camera was on recording for hours and the car locked, and hope I also answered to your question regarding the tailgate opening/close.
I think the camera is properly installed, I used all OEM accessories came with it in the box.

 

[Frodo]

My rear camera keeps switching off randomly – it records then stops then starts recording again.
I checked all connections (and reconnected them too), reset the camera, formatted the card.
Setting such as resolution, parking mode etc. make no difference.
The same even happens without a card (in eMMC mode).
I contacted Viofo - waiting for reply...

 

[Frodo]

Got replacement from Viofo but still problems with with rear camera disconnectiong and front camera freezing.
Anyone got problems or good working *Plus DUO eMMC*???
I'm starting to think that there is a hardware or firmware problem or maybe a bad batch?
Very frustrating!
Here is a sample picture from video recorded just before it crashed:

 

[Mtz]

What are exactly the replaced parts?

 

[Frodo]

I replaced *all* parts (first tried just cameras, then also cable). The first camera even froze on eMMC (without SD card) so this is not a problem. Here is another picture, this time frozen camera. Note: rear camera *is* connected (but not showing). I have seen this more than once: first rear camera signal is lost and after some time front camera crashes.

 

[Mtz]

What are you using to power the camera?

 

[Frodo]

What are you using to power the camera?

Tried 3 types: 2 different high quality, expensive Anker USB adapters (that never gave me problems in my 2 cars) and *original Viofo USB adapter included with camera*... ( 12V is soceket is always on; car also has factory USB ports but these turn off so they are useless for parking) Tried powering both through GPS mount and directly...
Contacted Viofo to say that replacement camera has the same problem - wating for reply... Just wondering if eMMC DUO it is working well for anyone?

 

[Mtz]

OK, try to connect the front camera using original charger and camera port, not GPS port. Connect also rear camera cable.
Insert the charger into the cigarette socket. Be careful that when driving the car, the power adapt to not wobble inside car socket and in this way the connection to 12V to be lose very frequently! Such behavior is killing the cameras.

Reset camera to defaults. Set your time zone and put the screen to always on. Format de card. Look at the display when formatting the card and see that if right after card format you are losing the rear camera live view.
If everything is OK, let the camera with this setup and try to discover when you lose the rear camera view. Maybe you can set the display to show rear camera as big image and front camera as PIP.
My advice for now is to power on the camera only by inserting the Viofo charger into the cigarette lighter socket.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

Have you tried a different power cable? Have you tried powering the front camera inside using the included short USB cable and a USB wall charger? Don't use any computer USB ports.

 

[Frodo]

OK, try to connect the front camera using original charger and camera port, not GPS port. Connect also rear camera cable.
Insert the charger into the cigarette socket. Be careful that when driving the car, the power adapt to not wobble inside car socket and in this way the connection to 12V to be lose very frequently! Such behavior is killing the cameras.

Reset camera to defaults. Set your time zone and put the screen to always on. Format de card. Look at the display when formatting the card and see that if right after card format you are losing the rear camera live view.
If everything is OK, let the camera with this setup and try to discover when you lose the rear camera view. Maybe you can set the display to show rear camera as big image and front camera as PIP.
My advice for now is to power on the camera only by inserting the Viofo charger into the cigarette lighter socket.

Thanks but one of the reasons I'm using the Anker power supply is that it is *very* stable/secure - much more so than the Viofo one (only tried Viofo to see if orignial works better - no!). I don't think screen has always on option. Problems occur anywhere from minutes to hours from turning on so watching all the time is not an option. I don't drive that much so problems usually occur when *parked*. Yesterday I noticed that rear camera stopped recording at 6 AM (after standing for >12 hours!), front camera was still recording, started driving around 7 AM so wobble definitely not a problem...
New camera seems to last longer than old one before crashing but hardly good enough. Using new, fast Samsung 128GB card bought from reputable store, also tried 64GB card.

 

[Frodo]

Have you tried a different power cable? Have you tried powering the front camera inside using the included short USB cable and a USB wall charger? Don't use any computer USB ports.

Tried 2 power cables. Have not tried home USB charger but I have used the mentioned Anker car chargers to power 3 different cameras in 2 cars over the last few years. The cameras were much cheaper and never had any problems with power. Neither do my cell phones that charge from the same source. So if camera is so sensitive that it doesn't charge well from these *nor orignial Viofo* charger then it seems more like a problem with camera than what I'm doing.
My main goal was a very *robust* camera, not one that is hypersensitive... Looking for ways to make it work normally, not in a super controlled environment and if eMMC DUO is working normally for anyone?

 

[CaptureYourAction]

Tried 2 power cables. Have not tried home USB charger but I have used the mentioned Anker car chargers to power 3 different cameras in 2 cars over the last few years. The cameras were much cheaper and never had any problems with power. Neither do my cell phones that charge from the same source. So if camera is so sensitive that it doesn't charge well from these *nor orignial Viofo* charger then it seems more like a problem with camera than what I'm doing.
My main goal was a very *robust* camera, not one that is hypersensitive... Looking for ways to make it work normally, not in a super controlled environment and if eMMC DUO is working normally for anyone?

Cheap cameras consume less power as do cell phones. Worth a try. I would not use aftermarket USB cables with the A129 Plus, unless you know it's of high quality with a thicker gauge wire. Seems odd that both cameras you received do the same thing, so it just makes sense to suspect the supporting hardware. Since it does this even while running on just the internal memory (no card inserted) and with a good memory card, then I would think you can rule out memory as the issue.

 

[Frodo]

Cheap cameras consume less power as do cell phones. Worth a try. I would not use aftermarket USB cables with the A129 Plus, unless you know it's of high quality with a thicker gauge wire. Seems odd that both cameras you received do the same thing, so it just makes sense to suspect the supporting hardware. Since it does this even while running on just the internal memory (no card inserted) and with a good memory card, then I would think you can rule out memory as the issue.

The camera came with a cable so I'm using an original Viofo cable. I have a USB power monitor and when I checked it used up to about 0.7 amps so not that much... My main Anker power supply is rated at 42W (https://www.anker.com/ca/products/variant/powerdrive--2-ports/A2224013) - that's more than enough... and so far had no problem powering anything I plugged in, including more power hungry stuff. The other one I tried is 39W so also powerfull. Even the Viofo one should be enough so I don't see that this can be a problem.
The car is 2 year old and never had electrical problems. The battery is still very strong. It's a mid size family SUV so not much vibration compared to sports cars...
Thanks!

 

[Mtz]

I expect when helping people to do what I ask. If they are not making this, I lose my interest of helping. I asked you to do that simple steps so I am waiting for your feedback so we can continue helping you.
This is to be continued after feedback:
CYA have also much experience regarding dashcams and always his advices are very good. As he said, right now are 2 variables: chargers and card. No matter how original or best they are, somewhere is a problem and we need to find it and eliminate. When I said about wobbling was to eliminate it too.

Yesterday I noticed that rear camera stopped recording at 6 AM (after standing for >12 hours!), front camera was still recording, started driving around 7 AM so wobble definitely not a problem.

You are using parking mode without HK3 but using a permanent power. For me could be very interesting some experiment with a professional power source and the A129 plus eMMC connected to it. I would want to know what is happening when lowering the voltage, if the rear camera is dying first. Then to experiment the same thing by lowering the Ampers. I dont have such tool yet so I cannot experiment.

 

[EGS]

Just wondering if eMMC DUO it is working well for anyone?

Mine is working fine. I don't use any of the parking mode features or any power banks other than the vehicle battery.

 

[Frodo]

Mine is working fine. I don't use any of the parking mode features or any power banks other than the vehicle battery.

Thanks! My guess is that my problem has to do with parking mode, which is a very important feature for me.

 

[neomax71]

No problem with the rear camera "A129 plus duo with eMMC randomly losing rear camera connection in parking mode"
I tested the Viofo with a laboratory power supply the A129 Plus before installing it in my vehicle
I would like to thank the VIOFO Official website via Aliexpress because the first HK3 kit ordered did not work in cut-off, it always left current, it only cut from 10.2 Volt in the 4 positions
He sent me back another kit without problem by express and without asking me to send it back to me.
I advise you to check your kit before a final installation because if I had not done the test I was going to install it to find myself with a battery in a very short time HS with a cut to 10.2 V

The tests:
For the VIOFO kit for my new A129 Plus Duo camera, here are the readings:
Setting 11.8: the camera always operates at 11.74 Volt at 11.73 Volt it cuts off
Setting 12.0: the camera always operates at 11.94 Volt at 11.93 Volt it cuts off
Setting 12.2: the camera always operates at 12.12 Volt at 12.11 Volt it cuts off
Setting 12.4: the camera always operates at 12.30 Volt at 12.29 Volt it cuts off

 

[Frodo]

I expect when helping people to do what I ask. If they are not making this, I lose my interest of helping. I asked you to do that simple steps so I am waiting for your feedback so we can continue helping you.
This is to be continued after feedback:
CYA have also much experience regarding dashcams and always his advices are very good. As he said, right now are 2 variables: chargers and card. No matter how original or best they are, somewhere is a problem and we need to find it and eliminate. When I said about wobbling was to eliminate it too.

You are using parking mode without HK3 but using a permanent power. For me could be very interesting some experiment with a professional power source and the A129 plus eMMC connected to it. I would want to know what is happening when lowering the voltage, if the rear camera is dying first. Then to experiment the same thing by lowering the Ampers. I dont have such tool yet so I cannot experiment.

Thank you. I did update firmware (front was already 1.4 but rear 1.0->1.3, which seems to be the newest). I did also reset the camera and formated(&changed) the card.
You are probably correct that there is some noise in the power but this is normal and shouldn't be much - the camera should work with this. I'm an engineer but I'm not prepeared to play with variable power supplies and oscilloscopes to find what's wrong (I did a quick check with the USB meter) - if this is the problem, then it's a problem with the camera and Viofo should be the one checking and fixing this.... Sure a power supply can be bad I tried *3 different* ones, including original! (2 of which work great with many other things)