Bought A129Pro Duo on Black Friday

[drinkoj]

with a CPL filter, and the HK3 ACC hardwire (Mini Fuse) directly from VIOFO.com . They stated 14 to 28 day delivery and hoping it's closer to the 14 day delivery, but with that said. I will be installing this into a 2018 Civic LX for my children and was hoping to get some hints on what/how to install the cameras in the best manner and what pitfalls I might want to look out for.

Also, anyone else buy directly from VIOFO.com and if so, how long did it take to receive; live in USA.

 

[SawMaster]

Welcome to DCT @drinkoj and hello neighbor! (I'm in upstate SC, GSP/Anderson area)

Only have a couple general installation tips as I'm not familiar with that car. Watch your wiring route to be sure it doesn't cross over or interfere with any airbags. And be sure the fuse you tap for the hardwire kit's constant power retains that function after the car has been turned off and sitting awhile. Most newer cars have computer-controlled power schemes and some can unpower circuits once the car has been sitting parked awhile. Also avoid tapping into safety-critical circuits such as exterior lighting, airbags, engine computer etc.

Installing a dashcam well is usually pretty easy with a little knowledge and forethought so it should go OK for you

Phil

 

[Iggy]

with a CPL filter, and the HK3 ACC hardwire (Mini Fuse) directly from VIOFO.com . They stated 14 to 28 day delivery and hoping it's closer to the 14 day delivery, but with that said. I will be installing this into a 2018 Civic LX for my children and was hoping to get some hints on what/how to install the cameras in the best manner and what pitfalls I might want to look out for.

Also, anyone else buy directly from VIOFO.com and if so, how long did it take to receive; live in USA.

Well did you get it from VIOFO in China yet?
Is it installed?
How much did you get it for on Black Friday in China?

 

[Doc_d]

Did you get some crazy good deal going directly through Viofo? I ordered 2 A129 Pro Duos, 2 Viofo 3-wire kits, 4 CPL filters and 2 256GB SamSung EVO Select SD cards from Amazon and had them on my doorstep in 1 days. I did the install on 2 vehicles.

It was pretty straight forward. Chrysler puts their fuse boxes in the engine compartment which complicates things as you have to find a clean way to run through the firewall. But assuming your Honda has an interior fuse box to tap it should be pretty straight forward. Just take your time and think about it before you start.

When you are trying to figure out where to put the cameras do it with the cables plugged in. I found because of the curve of the glass and the way the headliner was shaped the initial area I picked wouldn't have allowed the USB cable to be plugged in. So I'm glad I didn't just stick it there and start running wires only to find out I couldn't get the connector plugged in.

On the 3-wire kit I opted to set the cut-off to 12.4 volts. On my wife's Jeep that gave me a full 15 hours of parking mode. However on my 2014 Dodge Ram the camera would shut off in less than 5 minutes. It's the original battery from 2014 int he Ram. I tested it and it was at 12.39 volts after a full charge. So that battery was basically at end-of-life. I put a new battery in it and I'm now getting similar results to my wife's Jeep although I haven't timed it exactly like I did on her's yet. But I know it's more than 12 hours. Both our vehicles have a Hemi so they might have a heavier duty battery (80 amp-hour, 850 CCA) than your Civic though so you'll probably want to test. If you can live with a 12.4 volt cut off that's what I'd suggest as it'll be easier on your battery and leave you a decent amount of energy (75%) left in the battery for cranking the car over on a cold night. It would definitely make me nervous going down to a 12.0 volt cut-off. I think that would be really hard on the battery draining it to 12.0 volts every day. You'd also risk not fully recharging it if you're doing short trips. And lastly a battery at 12.0 volts only has about 25% of it's energy left. On a cold night only having 25% of the battery's energy wouldn't be ideal.

Doc

 

[vulpe]

Did you get some crazy good deal going directly through Viofo? I ordered 2 A129 Pro Duos, 2 Viofo 3-wire kits, 4 CPL filters and 2 256GB SamSung EVO Select SD cards from Amazon and had them on my doorstep in 1 days. I did the install on 2 vehicles.

It was pretty straight forward. Chrysler puts their fuse boxes in the engine compartment which complicates things as you have to find a clean way to run through the firewall. But assuming your Honda has an interior fuse box to tap it should be pretty straight forward. Just take your time and think about it before you start.

When you are trying to figure out where to put the cameras do it with the cables plugged in. I found because of the curve of the glass and the way the headliner was shaped the initial area I picked wouldn't have allowed the USB cable to be plugged in. So I'm glad I didn't just stick it there and start running wires only to find out I couldn't get the connector plugged in.

On the 3-wire kit I opted to set the cut-off to 12.4 volts. On my wife's Jeep that gave me a full 15 hours of parking mode. However on my 2014 Dodge Ram the camera would shut off in less than 5 minutes. It's the original battery from 2014 int he Ram. I tested it and it was at 12.39 volts after a full charge. So that battery was basically at end-of-life. I put a new battery in it and I'm now getting similar results to my wife's Jeep although I haven't timed it exactly like I did on her's yet. But I know it's more than 12 hours. Both our vehicles have a Hemi so they might have a heavier duty battery (80 amp-hour, 850 CCA) than your Civic though so you'll probably want to test. If you can live with a 12.4 volt cut off that's what I'd suggest as it'll be easier on your battery and leave you a decent amount of energy (75%) left in the battery for cranking the car over on a cold night. It would definitely make me nervous going down to a 12.0 volt cut-off. I think that would be really hard on the battery draining it to 12.0 volts every day. You'd also risk not fully recharging it if you're doing short trips. And lastly a battery at 12.0 volts only has about 25% of it's energy left. On a cold night only having 25% of the battery's energy wouldn't be ideal.

Doc

 

[vulpe]

This is a question rather than a reply, I am installing the hardwire kit for the Viofo A119 v3. There is a lot of extra wire, I see no need to use all of it. Does anybody foresee any problem shortening the wire before adding the add a fuse plugs?

 

[vulpe]

Please excuse another question. Is it possible to plug the cigarette lighter power cord into the camera while the power cord is plugged into the GPS mount, providing continuous, uninterrupted video, removing the cam from the GPS mount to use the cam to record video that would be missed otherwise. An accident in a mall parking lot; car stopped at a crosswalk was rear ended by an inattentive driver. The person in the crosswalk was startled, angered, when the car lurched forward about a foot, and rammed her cart into the front of the car three times. Since police would not respond, video of the front and rear of the car, and the car which hit him, would provide his insurance carrier proof of the circumstances, hopefully avoiding haveing to pay his deductible. An uninterrupted video would probably be more convincing.

 

[Nigel]

This is a question rather than a reply, I am installing the hardwire kit for the Viofo A119 v3. There is a lot of extra wire, I see no need to use all of it. Does anybody foresee any problem shortening the wire before adding the add a fuse plugs?

You can shorten the 12 volt side, don't touch the USB side.

Please excuse another question. Is it possible to plug the cigarette lighter power cord into the camera while the power cord is plugged into the GPS mount, providing continuous, uninterrupted video, removing the cam from the GPS mount to use the cam to record video that would be missed otherwise. An accident in a mall parking lot; car stopped at a crosswalk was rear ended by an inattentive driver. The person in the crosswalk was startled, angered, when the car lurched forward about a foot, and rammed her cart into the front of the car three times. Since police would not respond, video of the front and rear of the car, and the car which hit him, would provide his insurance carrier proof of the circumstances, hopefully avoiding haveing to pay his deductible. An uninterrupted video would probably be more convincing.

Not sure I understand what you want to do? Are you just wanting to point the camera in a different direction without using the car's steering wheel?

I'm not sure if you can do it or not, but I don't recommend it, and I suspect it may stop recording for a few seconds anyway when you remove it from the mount. It can be useful to have a small USB powerbank that you can use to make a portable camera.

Most people would use their phone for the handheld bit, and then have two overlapping videos. A video with more than one viewpoint is always better, and a handheld phone recording video is a good way to catch what is being said when it is beyond the reach of the dashcam microphone.

 

[vulpe]

You can shorten the 12 volt side, don't touch the USB side.


Not sure I understand what you want to do? Are you just wanting to point the camera in a different direction without using the car's steering wheel?

I'm not sure if you can do it or not, but I don't recommend it, and I suspect it may stop recording for a few seconds anyway when you remove it from the mount. It can be useful to have a small USB powerbank that you can use to make a portable camera.

Most people would use their phone for the handheld bit, and then have two overlapping videos. A video with more than one viewpoint is always better, and a handheld phone recording video is a good way to catch what is being said when it is beyond the reach of the dashcam microphone.

I meant only to shorten the 12 volt side. The car is involved in the accident could not be moved, removing the camera from the GPS mount and taking the camera out of the car while attached to the cigarette lighter power cord so as to provide a continuous, uninterrupted, video. Two, separate, videos, would not be as convincing as one complete feed. Yes, I agree that a cell phone would be an (additional) asset, however litigation in accident cases is rife with "loopholes" been there.