(Another) Out of focus cam - SOLVED :)

Victor O

New Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2014
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Country
Romania
Dash Cam
B40/A118
Hi,

I have a B40 camera and a while ago I noticed that the left half of the image is very blurry. I opened it today and I found that the battery blew (that explains the immediate shutdown after removing the power cable) and probably heated things up.
Besides some melted plastic that you can see in the first picture, the lens plastic assembly is a bit melted as well which probably shifted the lens a bit causing the out-of-focus problem. I dont know if the battery caused the lens assembly to heat and melt, but I'm interested if there is any place to get a new lens assembly. I tried to unglue the lens assembly with a hot-air soldering station but it did not move until now. I will try again and I hope I will not damage the lens in the process.

Any advice?

Thanks,
Victor
 

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The B40/A118 is not as heat tolerant as it should be unfortunately. It has has a low spec plastic lens base and plastic lens housing which will cause heat shift focus. You might want to check out the SG9665GC which uses an all metal lens base/housing. We've had customers baking all summer long in Texas and Florida with no problems at all.
 
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The B40/A118 is not as heat tolerant as it should be unfortunately. It has has a low spec plastic lens base and plastic lens housing which will cause heat shift focus. You might want to check out the SG9665GC which uses and all metal lens base/housing. We've had customers baking all summer long in Texas and Florida with no problems at all.
Used the SG9665GC in both Florida and Texas this year with no heat related problems at all. Actually, in several Southwestern states with the same performance.
 
Yes, the heat is an issue for this camera, this summer we had over 40 degrees Celsius and the car got very hot in the sun. I usually leave the camera on day and night in the car, so this must be the cause, and not the Lipo.
I am now trying to adjust the focus with some spacers, hope I can get it to work.

I know the SG version, but this one is 3x the price of the A118, so for me is not worth it. No offence, I know it is better in many ways, but for now, investing 200$ in a dashcam is not a good idea.
 
I'm happy to announce that I solved the out-of-focus problem. I managed to remove the lens from the base heating really hard the assembly with hot air from a soldering station. Some skilled guy made me a brand new lens base from textolite and I managed to focus the lens really well at my first try.
You can see in the photos the new base. I told him to make it a bit bigger to be more stable on the sensor and to be able to screw it tight on the circuit board. I only made some small holes using a Dremel tool to make some space for some SMD components from the board.
I should have no problems further with the heat, as this material will not cook easily :)
 

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Congratulations, Victor. You just saved yourself a pretty penny.
 
Thanks, I hope I won't have other problems in the future.
I'm quite happy with the image quality this little thing is delivering.
 
You can create a market for this.
 
Well, if there is anyone interested, I can ask for the price for manufacturing the lens base. I'm not interested in making money out of this, so it will only be the part price and shipping.
Feel free to ask if interested.
Cheers,
Vic
 
Well, if there is anyone interested, I can ask for the price for manufacturing the lens base. I'm not interested in making money out of this, so it will only be the part price and shipping.
Feel free to ask if interested.
Cheers,
Vic

I would be keen on a few of these for cams that have been cooked!

Could you list them on ebay perhaps, with postage options for worldwide shipping?
 
Hi,

I never sold anything on ebay, I only bought things (unfortunately :confused: ). I will check ebay conditions to see how can I do this.

Have a nice day,
Vic
 
Could make a 3D file to put up on a 3D printing site. You can even get things printed in metal for high heat resistance. Although the trade-off is the screw holes would need to be perfectly modeled. Haven't made something that accurate myself.
 
Nice mod, you really went all out.

I think I know an easier heat resistant no focus shift option for those that have yet to buy a camera yet. :)
 
I fixed my cams with these from aliexpress:


Only $10 for ten metal lens mounts!
If you want to use the supplied screws to mount, you just need to slightly enlarge the holes in the board.
Perfect fit.
 
Can not open link. Error on page, or link.

probably it's because you copy-past from Mobile phone and on PC link doesn't work ?
 
I have updated link. Seems to work now
 
Hi,

Although I promised to post a price for the holder, I did not have the chance to find it yet. That's because one of the guys that was making the mill-related operations is on vacation.
I saw the metal holders from aliexpress from the link above so I guess that's no point to ask for the price anymore. I mean - 10 metal holder for 10 bucks !!! Who can compete with these guys? :D

Cheers,
Vic
 
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