BI-750 BlackBoxMyCar Battery

[NorthStar]

Hi guys,

I am trying to find some honest reviews in this forum about BlackBoxMyCar own battery called BI-750 but I couldn't find any. I even checked @Vortex Radar channel and was surprised that he didn't review it either. Am I missing something? or am I using the wrong keywords?

Two other questions:
1- Will Li-FePo4 batteries be safe to be left inside the car in areas where outdoor temps can reach upto 130F during summer?
Tempreture can reach upto 200F inside the car after couple of hours. This is an exceptional situation and I know my cams will shut down anyways, but I am worried if it is safe for the battery to be inside the car during these conditions. The battery won't be exposed to direct sunlight.

2- Can I connect 4 channels setup to one battery back?
I know the battery won't last long, but this is how I will start if possible, and I might add an expansion battery later.

 

[SawMaster]

Those temps exceed the temp limits of a LiFePo4 battery so it won't last long at best and could be unsafe at worst. You might do better with a DIY AGM-based system or an AGM car battery.

Phil

 

[DashCamMan]

 

[NorthStar]

Those temps exceed the temp limits of a LiFePo4 battery so it won't last long at best and could be unsafe at worst. You might do better with a DIY AGM-based system or an AGM car battery.

Phil

Thanks, but i have a sports car with very limited space to barley fit my own stuff. I don’t have space for AGM battery unfortunately.

 

[NorthStar]

Thanks! That was helpful

Still wondering if I can connect the 4 channels to one battery though. Any idea if thats possible?

 

[SawMaster]

Thanks, but i have a sports car with very limited space to barley fit my own stuff. I don’t have space for AGM battery unfortunately.

An alternative approach can be to swap the car battery to an AGM if it doesn't have one already. Won't get you a similar runtime as the BI-750 though, just better than a lead-acid and safer in that level of heat.

Phil

 

[Vortex Radar]

So I've got a BI-750 and BE-750 on hand and in my car now for testing. The review won't be out for a little while though due to covid stresses, haha, but overall it's looking pretty excellent so far. Faster charging and higher capacity than the Cellink Neo and Blackvue B-124x. There's some quirks like how the cables are a little tougher to slot in and the bluetooth connection distances are much shorter (still works fine when sitting inside your vehicle), but it seems like a nice battery system overall.

Vortex Radar on Instagram: "Doing more #dashcam testing so I’m putting together the wiring and battery setup before moving it all to the car. :) @nextbase_us @blackboxmycar #dashcamera"

97 likes, 4 comments - vortexradar on November 23, 2020: "Doing more #dashcam testing so I’m putting together the wiring and battery setup before moving it all to the car. :) @nextbase_us @bla..."

www.instagram.com

I haven't tested the high temperature stuff and don't have any plans to test that, but I've got a Viofo A129 Pro and Nextbase 622GW connected to it right now and it's working just fine. They're both wired into the hardwire cable setup.

If you wanted to run a 4CH setup, you'd either want to hardwire them both to the dashcam (probably the best method) or you could get a cig. lighter splitter if you want to go that route instead.

 

[estore009]

you could get a cig. lighter splitter

Should have low-voltage related problems for a splitter cigarette lighter!

 

[Vortex Radar]

Should have low-voltage related problems for a splitter cigarette lighter!

Oh really? That’s weird... Do you know why?

I believe cig lighter splitters have multiple outputs wired in parallel, not in series, so I’d expect current drops instead of voltage drops.

I do sometimes see weird results using a cig lighter splitter in my car instead of plugging in directly...

 

[Vortex Radar]

So I've been spending a little while playing with the BI-750 now getting ready for the review.

Two other questions:
1- Will Li-FePo4 batteries be safe to be left inside the car in areas where outdoor temps can reach upto 130F during summer?
Tempreture can reach upto 200F inside the car after couple of hours. This is an exceptional situation and I know my cams will shut down anyways, but I am worried if it is safe for the battery to be inside the car during these conditions. The battery won't be exposed to direct sunlight.

The battery is rated for up to 70C (158F).

By comparison, the Cellink Neo is rated for up to 65C and the B-124X is rated for up to 60C.

The BI-750 does have some additional safeguards in place to slow down charging as it approaches the limit and eventually shut off to prevent damage from overheating. I haven't tested it myself, but it does look like the higher heat tolerances and the additional safeguards are great since you plan on running it in hotter climates.

As far as the battery itself, a couple quick notes as I'm working on the review:

The larger 25% capacity does translate into 25% longer record times compared to the B-124X/Neo.



Also here's a couple test results with different dashcams and settings on the BI-750. (All dashcams set to motion detection and buffered impact detection.)


Interestingly it looks like the DR900X uses a little more power than the DR900S.

As far as recharge times, I'm having an issue getting it to draw 6A per input or 12A total when running dual charging inputs. The most I can get is 5A/10A when hardwired. I've been talking to BBMC and ItsCell about it to see what it takes to get to the full 6A/12A charge speeds. At dual charging 10A speeds, the battery fully recharges from dead in 44 min which is great. If I could get it to 12A, that should drop it down to around 37 min.

Overall I'm liking it. The battery is thinner, but a little longer. The longer length prevents me from directly swapping it in place of my existing battery packs unfortunately, but I am liking the larger capacity, dual USB ports to power my WiFi hotspot, and recharge speeds that are comparable to my Cellink/Blackvue batteries.

 

[Nigel]

The BI-750 does have some additional safeguards in place to slow down charging as it approaches the limit and eventually shut off to prevent damage from overheating. I haven't tested it myself, but it does look like the higher heat tolerances and the additional safeguards are great since you plan on running it in hotter climates.

What about cold climates, what happens if you try and charge it below freezing?
(Ideally it would have a heater and not charge until it warms up to 5 degrees C.)

Viofo A129 Pro Duo did rather well on parking mode record time, was that on FHD resolution parking recording, or 4K?

 

[Vortex Radar]

What about cold climates, what happens if you try and charge it below freezing?
(Ideally it would have a heater and not charge until it warms up to 5 degrees C.)

I'm wondering too. I haven't tested that yet. My testing has been done in my home office where it's maybe 65F?

Viofo A129 Pro Duo did rather well on parking mode record time, was that on FHD resolution parking recording, or 4K?

That was at 4K front and 1080p rear with Auto Event detection.

 

[Nigel]

I'm wondering too. I haven't tested that yet. My testing has been done in my home office where it's maybe 65F?

That was at 4K front and 1080p rear with Auto Event detection.

You have a freezer at home

Be careful of condensation though!

I believe the current A129 Pro firmware does parking recording at 1080 + 1080 to reduce power consumption, extend record time and reduce the chance of overheating in sunshine. If you retest with current firmware then it should do even better!

 

[Vortex Radar]

You have a freezer at home

Be careful of condensation though!

haha, that's an option! It's getting down to around freezing at night now so I could always toss it in the car over the weekend and test it that way. It will warm up a bit during the daytime though.

I believe the current A129 Pro firmware does parking recording at 1080 + 1080 to reduce power consumption, extend record time and reduce the chance of overheating in sunshine. If you retest with current firmware then it should do even better!

Oh really? I didn't know that. I tested with fw 2.1 which still looks to be the latest.

Taking a second look at the recorded footage, you're right. Parking footage is captured at 1080p on the front cam, even if you have it set to 4K. Interesting... Thanks for letting me know!

Any idea how much power is saved by switching from 4K to 1080p? Maybe it's just a matter of principle, but it'd be nice to have a 4K dashcam be able to actually record in 4K if desired.

 

[Nigel]

Any idea how much power is saved by switching from 4K to 1080p? Maybe it's just a matter of principle, but it'd be nice to have a 4K dashcam be able to actually record in 4K if desired.

20.7% according to my old notes, however that would have been while actually recording, if you are using buffered it will be a bit less, maybe the 18% difference to the Blackvue!

Yes, I liked the 4K parking resolution, but realistically it wasn't necessary to read the plates on the cars parked two rows away, while actually recording because the battery hasn't run out or because it hasn't overheated is important.

 

[Vortex Radar]

Yeah that's an interesting point about 1080p for parking mode. You may not necessarily need the craziest high quality and super high bitrate when most objects are stationary and most any important events will be very close to the vehicle.

Without AC running, having a dashcam record at a lower res to stay a little cooler on a hot day is a nice plus too.

We're starting to get OT here, but have you done any comparison testing between auto event detection, timelapse, and low bitrate recording? I wonder how comparable their power draw and record times are.

 

[Nigel]

We're starting to get OT here, but have you done any comparison testing between auto event detection, timelapse, and low bitrate recording? I wonder how comparable their power draw and record times are.

For timelapse, power consumption decreases with frame rate, for 1fps it is about a 36% reduction. However timelapse also loses the audio, and 1fps can miss a lot, even for someone walking passed.

For low bitrate there isn't much reduction, just a bit saved by writing less to the memory card, about a 5.5% reduction.

I've not measured auto event detection, but again the only real difference is writing less to the memory card, so I guess around 7%.

You can combine some of those options, so for example 1080 at 1fps gives a 56% reduction in power consumption.

So I think the reduction to 1080 is worthwhile, and the best option; could possibly reduce the framerate to 15fps at the same time, but it seems people would complain. The 1080 video is pretty close to a 4K video in information content, note that a 1080 video from a 4K sensor can be significantly better at reading plates than a 1080 video from a 1080 sensor, the 4K sensor actually has 1080 red sensors ("pixels") per column, while the 1080 sensor only has 540, with the 4K sensor you don't get any false colour around the text and there is no need to blur the text edges in an attempt to hide false colour, moire effects etc.

 

[WBDubya]

So if you already have an AGM battery in your car would you splurge for the BI 750? My wife doesn't drive much so I'm looking for the longest parking times I can get.

 

[SawMaster]

Welcome to DCT @WBDubya

As far as "plug-and-play" systems the Bl 750 is currently the best of it's kind, but a DIY system can easily surpass it Cost, size, weight, and building skills are the limit with DIY systems. The choice of battery type used in them relates more to charging time needed while driving given practical sizes. Choice of cam plays a role too as different parking mode schemes require different power consumption levels.

Anything is possible given enough time, money, and effort Add limiting factors and the possibilities drop quickly.

Phil

 

[WBDubya]

Thanks @SawMaster! I'll probably be picking up the BlackVue 900X.