A129 PRO Issues with Overheating? Does it have super cap?

[fjparks]

Hi,
I'm looking at purchasing A129 Plus Vs 129 PRO.
VIOFO web site says the PLUS has super cap.
It is not mentioned for the PRO.
My concern is that if it has battery instead of cap, and it has to move more video data, that it might be more likely to overheat.
I'm in SoCal so this is a concern.
Any opinions on this?
Anyone having overheating issues with A129s?
Thanks

 

[SawMaster]

AFAIK all Viofo cams have used supercaps since the A118c from about 5 years ago.

Phil

 

[fjparks]

AFAIK all Viofo cams have used supercaps since the A118c from about 5 years ago.

Phil

Thanks Phil

 

[Nigel]

If you want to use it for parking then you would be better off with the Plus given your location, the Pro would often shut down over midday if parked in the sun.

The Pro will make better movies and will read more plates in sunny conditions, but if you only want it for insurance purposes then the Plus will do a good job and is a little better at reading plates at night.

 

[fjparks]

If you want to use it for parking then you would be better off with the Plus given your location, the Pro would often shut down over midday if parked in the sun.

The Pro will make better movies and will read more plates in sunny conditions, but if you only want it for insurance purposes then the Plus will do a good job and is a little better at reading plates at night.

Thanks for the feedback Nigel,
I'm leaning toward the Pluss, the only thing that still has me on the fence is the buffered video for the Pro's parking mode.

 

[Nigel]

Thanks for the feedback Nigel,
I'm leaning toward the Pluss, the only thing that still has me on the fence is the buffered video for the Pro's parking mode.

The Plus also has buffered video, 13 seconds pre movement detection, 45 second video clip.
I always use low bitrate mode though.

 

[fjparks]

The Plus also has buffered video, 13 seconds pre movement detection, 45 second video clip.
I always use low bitrate mode though.

Well that tips it to the Plus since I really do want the buffered video.

I see you have a steam engine as your logo. I have seen some great videos of operating steam engines you have over there. They are on my must see list for when I eventually make it over there.

 

[Nigel]

I see you have a steam engine as your logo. I have seen some great videos of operating steam engines you have over there. They are on my must see list for when I eventually make it over there.

I think it is Tornado, one of the modern ones, built this century to do 100mph on the mainline:

 

[fjparks]

I think it is Tornado, one of the modern ones, built this century to do 100mph on the mainline:

That is great.
I see alot of great videos of English steam engines running at high speed and pulling passengers. Beats what we have in the US.
Is this a regular occurrence or a yearly "steam up" type event?

 

[Nigel]

That is great.
I see alot of great videos of English steam engines running at high speed and pulling passengers. Beats what we have in the US.
Is this a regular occurrence or a yearly "steam up" type event?

The railway that runs past me has one timetabled for summer Sunday trips from London or Bristol down to the beaches in the South West, but it is always a different engine, often run by a different company with a different destination to give variety, have to book well in advance if you want to go on one. We also have quite a few special tours or trips at other times throughout the year. We also have a fair number of old branch lines that run full time timetables of steam engines during the summer months and switch to diesel with reduced timetables in the winter, but they are limited to 30mph with much smaller engines, still a nice day out.

If you are going to restore a mainline steam engine and get it certified to run among all the other rail traffic, it needs to be capable of running reliably long distance at 75mph to keep up with the other traffic and then you make plenty of use of it for a few years, otherwise it doesn't pay for itself. They are very powerful and impressive compared to any modern locomotive, our main trains these days have two power units per 5 coaches, the biggest steam locomotives will pull 12 coaches on their own, often with a diesel on the back which is mainly for crash protection because the old coaches don't have the required crumple zones for modern regulations, but it also comes in useful for some of the less reliable engines, normally it is just towed! They need to be fitted with black boxes and automatic brakes for if the driver misses a signal etc, just like the modern locomotives.

A129 Pro sound test (turn the volume up):

 

[fjparks]

"James the Red Engine"
That is really neat. I will have to see when I get over there.

Over here the Union Pacific finished restoring a 4-8-8-4 "Big Boy" and sent it on the tour of the country. However I missed seeing it when it was in California since I was attending my son's wedding up in Oregon. (Dam inconsiderate of them to have a wedding when there was Steller train watching to be had)
(pic is from late 50s / early 60s. Not taken with A129

 

[Nigel]

"James the Red Engine"

Quite a lot bigger than James, but probably from the same railway since there weren't many others using red on the mainline.

6233 Duchess of Sutherland

www.prclt.co.uk

(pic is from late 50s / early 60s. Not taken with A129

Could do with a paintwork polish, although there doesn't seem to be much paint left!
Hard to believe that could make a profit hauling tours today, it can't be the most efficient engine for light passenger use and being designed for freight it is presumably not very quick.

 

[kamkar]

Steam,,,,,, the right kind of train.

I only run steam, my friend is the one with the diesels.

But i can only dream of owning a big boy, those no matter the brand you look at ( G - scale ) are pretty expensive.

 

[Nigel]

But i can only dream of owning a big boy, those no matter the brand you look at ( G - scale ) are pretty expensive.

The trick is to make them profitable, then you can play with any type of steam loco, this clip from the Welsh Highland Railway starts with something even better than a Big Boy, an articulated loco, followed by something more like a Big Boy design, both have massive traction for climbing the Welsh hills:

 

[kamkar]

I think the people here running 1:1 steam locos are all subsidized and so dont really need to make a profit.
But the running steam here are all smaller locos, none of the large steam we had are running today.

I think the fastest steam trains here was 110 - 120 kmh.

This E type was made by Frics in my birth town of Aarhus, some of the other larger locos wasent even made here.

But these Danish "big boys" are at best stationary objects like this S type.

Of course Denmark being a tiny country we dident really need big / fast long haulers.
Even today the train speed on many stretches of rail is capped due to poor rail / maintenance as the Danish Railways as a public thing never really needed to turn a profit as they got their hands on masses of tax money.
Really anything rail here, is pretty much "facepalm" for any sane person.

 

[Nigel]

But the running steam here are all smaller locos, none of the large steam we had are running today.

We used to have a lot of the medium sized ones on the mainline 20 years ago, but they can't keep up with even the local services these days which made timetabling a nightmare, so now we only have the very biggest and fastest left, plus the odd museum piece like Flying Scotsman. The old ones are also wearing out, so new ones with modern roller bearings and computer optimised steam valves for efficiency are the way forward, the computer optimised valves and pistons don't sound quite as nice though - very quiet! The rest of the old stuff is limited to the old branchlines and 30mph, which doesn't wear them out nearly as fast as running flat out.

We could never have a real Big Boy here, the size of the locos is limited by the size of the tunnels, which is why all the funnels on the big ones are only a few cm tall!

 

[fjparks]

Steam,,,,,, the right kind of train.

I only run steam, my friend is the one with the diesels.

But i can only dream of owning a big boy, those no matter the brand you look at ( G - scale ) are pretty expensive.

I have a Big Boy in Z scale. Very neat to watch all the wheels and drive rods in motion but it is not very practical. Very finicky about track quality, curves and switch points. It was not a good buy.

 

[fjparks]

The trick is to make them profitable, then you can play with any type of steam loco, this clip from the Welsh Highland Railway starts with something even better than a Big Boy, an articulated loco, followed by something more like a Big Boy design, both have massive traction for climbing the Welsh hills:

I love these things. Funny looking with the front and rear power bogies. Great design and my understanding is that they where very successful.

 

[fjparks]

Quite a lot bigger than James, but probably from the same railway since there weren't many others using red on the mainline.

6233 Duchess of Sutherland

www.prclt.co.uk

Could do with a paintwork polish, although there doesn't seem to be much paint left!
Hard to believe that could make a profit hauling tours today, it can't be the most efficient engine for light passenger use and being designed for freight it is presumably not very quick.

The Big Boys where not good looking locos but I love the raw brute functionality. This pic is from when they were still "working" engines and burned coal. They saw a lot of use during the war and operated up till 1959. They where built for high speed freight on the run through the Rocky Mountains to Utah. They where tested at speeds up to 128kph but UP limited them to 88kph in actual service. The single operation one was converted to burn oil and I am sure it does not operate at a profit

 

[Nigel]

I love these things. Funny looking with the front and rear power bogies. Great design and my understanding is that they where very successful.

The Welsh Highland Railway and the Ffestiniog railway that both depart Porthmadog were built to transport slate and have slopes designed so the slate trucks given a push at the top will find their own way to the bottom 13 miles away, these days they carry passengers but to get up the slopes towing more than 4 coaches requires a lot of traction, so the doubles are used a lot and are indeed very successful. Most were built for mining railways elsewhere and do seem to have sold well.

There is a big range of engines in that video, from Prince built in 1864 which now only comes out for special events, to Lyd built in 2010!

There should be a new double ready for next year, these are working engines, not museum pieces, sometimes it is easier to build a new one then repair the worn out ones from 2 centuries ago!

The single operation one was converted to burn oil and I am sure it does not operate at a profit

Some of ours were converted to oil, but now they are all back as coal burners, apparently they are more profitable that way, they also smell much nicer, the smell of burning coal is part of the experience!