A129 Pro firmware

[JohnnyFiama]

In which case the following is unfortunate advertising, certainly seems to indicate improved power stability...

 

[DAP]

Super capacitors don't wear out like batteries do, and are less sensitive to temperature. Batteries tend to have a constant voltage over a large range of charge. Super Capacitors voltage is directly proportional to charge, and can hold much less charge than a battery.

It is my opinion than the A129 PRO is very sensitive to the 5V supply voltage. Its current varies wildly based on what it is doing, and will go into a high current state long enough to drain any bypass cap on the +5V supply. Different SD cards will have a different sensitivity to voltage, and different current usage, but they should be isolated from the 5V supply since they operate at 3.3V or 1.8V.

My guess is that the solution to this problem is to use a power supply that is slightly on the high side of 5V (maybe 5.3V) and to use the shortest heaviest gauge USB cable you can find, (or do as I did, build your own power only cable with lamp cord) Alternatively, run the 12V to the camera location and use a 6" USB cable to the power supply.

I currently am not having any beeping from either of my A129 Pro cameras (note that I am not using the Duo, so they require less power).

 

[Nath]

... Different SD cards will have a different sensitivity to voltage, and different current usage, but they should be isolated from the 5V supply since they operate at 3.3V or 1.8V. ...

That's a really good point. I was actually interested in power delivery for SD cards as well. Unfortunately didn't have enough time yet.

My guess is that the solution to this problem is to use a power supply that is slightly on the high side of 5V (maybe 5.3V) and to use the shortest heaviest gauge USB cable you can find, (or do as I did, build your own power only cable with lamp cord) Alternatively, run the 12V to the camera location and use a 6" USB cable to the power supply.

Basically what i did as well. The advantage of a short cable is also that one doesn't need that heavy gauge.

You may be right with this, but honestly I really struggle to understand why those fancy supercapacitors fail to smooth the voltage, ...

Well, capacitors have also a resistance and inductance (ESL, ESR) which alternate its properties. And used electrolytic capacitors are not the best for "fast changes". (but it's good as a slow power buffer)

Therefore when it comes to filtering, you'll find in many devices more than one capacitor in parallel with different capacities and materials (instead of using one summed up cap).

...also for those who have reverted to the A129 (non-pro) why do they not suffer the same ongoing problem. Certainly when it comes to driving mode, I realise that others have also speculated that power is a crash-inducing factor.

The PCB design could be significantly different. (don't know, don't have one) Not to mention A129Pro works with faster interfaces which makes it more sensitive to ambient influence.

But i saw few issues with A129 as well which could lead to power source (noise in videos, whining from the camera/HK3, car accessories interference).

The supercaps in a dashcam are not directly connected to the power input so they will not provide any power-filtering or smoothing.

Phil

Are you sure about that? I don't see a point to not connect them directly. (but i haven't traced the connection though)

 

[SawMaster]

They're connected through a charging circuit similar to a battery charger (but done differently for caps). This design limits the charging current going to the caps as otherwise they would 'hog' all the current the cam needs to boot and thus cause booting errors when power is first applied to the cam

It takes several seconds (I've heard up to 20 seconds but I've also heard less) for the supercaps to charge because of this. It also reduces the total current draw level for the cam so that a smaller amperage PS and it's attendant cabling can be used.

This last point is likely the main reason for it being done this way since mini-USB ports and powering is nearly universal with dashcams, and there's a limit to the current these can carry. I'm not sure what power level would be needed to both charge the caps directly as well as reliably boot the cam, but I presume it would far exceed mini-USB capability. It would also likely cost more to do it this way, and thus cam manufacturers aren't likely to go there when a charging circuit is cheaper to do and works well enough. Plus like any industry there's a tendency to stay with known items where possible to allow current machinery and logistics to continue without interruption. In other words just the normal methods commonly used for mass producing consumer-grade goods.

Phil

 

[jokiin]

The PCB design could be significantly different. (don't know, don't have one) Not to mention A129Pro works with faster interfaces which makes it more sensitive to ambient influence.

the pro has higher power consumption than the regular A129, may be a factor in why the problem doesn't happen, if it is power supply related at least

 

[programatix]

also for those who have reverted to the A129 (non-pro) why do they not suffer the same ongoing problem.

I found that if you set A129 Pro to FHD (1080P), almost all problems go away as though as you switched to A129. The extra is, you get 60fps instead of 30fps. The cons is, you paid for 4K dashcam but only get to use it as a FHD dashcam.

Sent from my SM-N975F using Tapatalk

 

[JohnnyFiama]

I found that if you set A129 Pro to FHD (1080P), almost all problems go away as though as you switched to A129. The extra is, you get 60fps instead of 30fps. The cons is, you paid for 4K dashcam but only get to use it as a FHD dashcam.

Sent from my SM-N975F using Tapatalk

Admittedly much of what we have discussed is supposition - But again I feel reality dawning that the A129 Pro duo, as a physical package, is fundamentally flawed (either due to power constraints or some other as yet unknown hardware issue).

For me it will be the 12 month purchase anniversary in October, I suspect this particular device will be returned to sender before that time.

 

[UnnDunn]

Just wanted to chime in and say after upgrading to 1.7T and turning off Parking Mode, I have had zero problems with this dashcam. No problems whatsoever.

 

[LeJerk]

What's the latest official firmware version for this dashcam? I have 1.1

 

[CaptureYourAction]

What's the latest official firmware version for this dashcam? I have 1.1

That's the latest official version.

 

[tarkus]

[/QUOTE]

Just wanted to chime in and say after upgrading to 1.7T and turning off Parking Mode, I have had zero problems with this dashcam. No problems whatsoever.

Mate whats the point without parking mode? Why can't we expect the product to work as advertised?

 

[Nath]

That's the latest official version.

Polish "branch" website has official v1.3 and many users got the cam with this version out of the box.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

Polish "branch" website has official v1.3 and many users got the cam with this version out of the box.

Yes, and newer camera have been shipping with V1.4. According to Viofo the differences are negligible, so they have left V1.1 as their latest official firmware. The Polish site is just a seller site, not direct relation to Viofo.

 

[JohnnyFiama]

For the beta firmware(s) released since it would be really helpful if they supplied a change log, if nothing else to give us insight on what areas they are actually attempting to fix.

 

[JoePGM]

Anyone try upgrade to new then downgrade back to original firmware? Any fail or malfunctioning after all?

I did that on my another dash cam (other brand) but that cause an unrecoverable malfunction even downgrade back to original. The performance dropped after do that....

 

[TonyM]

Anyone try upgrade to new then downgrade back to original firmware? Any fail or malfunctioning after all?

No problem at all to downgrade the firmware at any time. Just remember to reset to default after the FW change, as you should with any FW change. Also reformat the card in camera before use.

 

[Aly_Oops]

VIOFO do need beta testers, however, they should be choosy and enlist beta testers.
The beta tester, should not make or be allowed to distribute or make available to general users. Also a good security measure too from jokers and sabotage.
Should the beta testers be posting bugs from beta firmware, adding to the impression that VIOFO equipment is unreliable.

It seems possible, that many newbies may have installed beta versions, thinking it was an official release.
Is it possible for user to install firmware or beta software not specific to their equipment, as naming scheme seems vague at times or need to be read carefully.
Hopefully there is a routine in the firmware that won't allow that to happen, advising it wrong firmware for the device they are attempting to update and/or that it is beta firmware.
The forum seems to suggest that possibility. From the forum feedback, could it be possible that VIOFO is looking for bugs that aren't bugs in the official firmware?

Bug reporting should be for equipment that haven't been updated, unless is an official release from VIOFO site only....
Only then can valid bugs be addressed in the right order, increasing the possibility of earlier incremental updates..
New features should only be in major firmware updates.
VIOFO should be addressing bugs and providing incremental updates officially to fix the bugs, not add features.
If they are doing that, then they are shooting themselves in the foot. Very bad practise......

 

[speculatrix]

I received a new one today from the lovely people at www.mycrocamuk.co.uk and it came with firmware version 1.3 build 20200103

This is odd considering that the Viofo site only mentions version 1.1

VIOFO A129 Pro Duo Dash Camera Firmware

Please click below for the A129 Pro support page. A129 Pro Support page

support.viofo.com

if there's a way to extract/save the firmware I'd be quite interested.

I downloaded the firmware anyway and ran "strings" on it and it appears to be running linux!

 

[raceguyrc]

I received a new one today from the lovely people at www.mycrocamuk.co.uk and it came with firmware version 1.3 build 20200103

This is odd considering that the Viofo site only mentions version 1.1

VIOFO A129 Pro Duo Dash Camera Firmware

Please click below for the A129 Pro support page. A129 Pro Support page

support.viofo.com

if there's a way to extract/save the firmware I'd be quite interested.

I highly recommend you start reading through the recent posts in this thread. Also take a look at this: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/a129-pro-firmware-links.42229/

 

[Nigel]

I received a new one today from the lovely people at www.mycrocamuk.co.uk and it came with firmware version 1.3 build 20200103

This is odd considering that the Viofo site only mentions version 1.1

VIOFO A129 Pro Duo Dash Camera Firmware

Please click below for the A129 Pro support page. A129 Pro Support page

support.viofo.com

if there's a way to extract/save the firmware I'd be quite interested.

I downloaded the firmware anyway and ran "strings" on it and it appears to be running linux!

Keep your current firmware until you have properly tested it and made sure everything is working correctly.

Unless you like testing beta firmware and don't mind being stuck with the odd temporary bug then then wait for the next update, which should come soon, but we have been saying that for a while!