Are the majority of 0803 owners happy?

[Nigel]

1) Initial observations are that the video is a little on the dark side, and clarity of fine detail is slightly under par, but I haven't played with the exposure bias settings yet...

2) It runs pretty hot, and as a lot of others are saying, there's nothing in the preloaded FW to turn off sounds...

3) The motion sensor function does not seem to work at all...

4) GPS does not work at all behind a Ford heated front windscreen, no matter now long I'm behind the wheel... but that said I had to use a radio aeriel with a GPS base to get my Sat' Nav' in a Clarion head unit to work reliably in the same vehicle...

5) The mount, whilst hyper-convenient for quick removal and insertion, has a little play in it which is slightly annoying...

Perhaps reflashing the firmware and playing with some of the settings will conquer the slightly dark video issues, motion detection, and perhaps even the GPS reception too. I will also take a better look at what other users here say they find the optimal settings are.

Another observation is that it's a shame there is no dedicated push button for locking the currently recording file in case of a road hazard.

I'm pretty sure that it would benefit from a cradle to allow me to custom mount it below my rear view mirror, and support the underside to negate the play in the factory mount. It's something I can knock up from sheet and tube aluminium in the workshop when I've got a spare afternoon.

1) Turning EV up to +1 seems popular. Fine detail seems quite good to me but if there is much movement then it is limited by bitrate, use S-Fine for the best bitrate.
2) Turning the screen and LDWS off seems to cool it down, but it seems to be OK when feeling "almost hot", that is actually only around 45C in most cases. if it starts to smell then there is a problem!
3) Needs to be turned on to detect motion...
4) Get a second one and mount it as a rear view camera - the GPS probably works there. Can't blame the camera if Ford install a Faraday shield!
5) There is a good DIY modification for removing the play in the mount.
6) So far, different firmwares have not included anything worth having. We must be due a proper update soon.
7) There is a push button for locking the current file, and while in record mode it is a dedicated one.

 

[David106]

1. Make sure the camera is not pointing too high, you need only about a third sky in shot.

2. My 0803 ran hot in 1296p mode but is cooler in 1080p mode, you wont notice much difference in vedio quality between the modes.

3. Cant comment as I dont use motion detection, dont see the point of it.

4. Standard issue with these types of screens, but you knew that before you bought it hence puzzling why you bought the GPS version.

5. There is a simple easy fix for this, do a search and somewhere you will find details.

I wouldnt bother changing firmware, there are NO fix's. The only firmware worth having is the one that permanently disabled the start up sounds.

Hope the above is useful.

David

 

[David106]

Nigel beat me to it !

 

[Muth]

Thanks guys, I'm running it in 1080p with LDWS off, superfine mode on, and the WDR feature active.

Will try altering the EV to +1 when I'm next in the car.

I bought the GPS unit because if it worked then so be it, and if it didn't then it wasn't crucial, and the kit was the same price from where I bought it regardless of which mount was required. I already knew that the heated screen defeated GPS for my Clarion head unit so it wasn't a total surprise it seems to also affect the dash cam.

 

[jokiin]

The screens that have this often have a small section that is transparent to the signal, check your owners handbook, doesn't mean it would be in a suitable location though but worth checking to see

 

[Nigel]

Thanks guys, I'm running it in 1080p with LDWS off, superfine mode on, and the WDR feature active.

I find that if there is a lot of movement in the image then having WDR on can seriously destroy the detail. I've not noticed any real benefit from having WDR on so I have it permanently off.