Cam curious in cali

[trueglich]

Just found this wonderful forum and have been reading threads and learning all sorts of stuff. but not what i need

I have been debating getting a cam for a while. Esp after a problem car accident a year ago where the guy who hit me dropped off the face of the earth after reporting accident to his insurance company but never returned adjusters calls. (Lucky it was a 3 car accident and after major harassment the adjuster took mine and other persons word for it. )


I seems to see some problems

1. I am in California and we have very evil rules about mounting stuff to windshield (Ie I have a few inches of glass the the top passenger corner is the ONLY place i can legaly place this and my windshield is at like 30% angle and i don't that a great shooting angle. So some sort of passenger sun visor mount will most likely be used (any feedback on how to do this well is most welcome)

2. While i where i am 99% of the time leaving a camera mounted there will most likely not get my car broken into some sort of easy on off would be nice.

3. The heat. Where i am the inside of the car is VERY VERY likely hit 150+ F during the summer and that can and will make many things EXPIRE/explode .

4, Power I see many cams are made to shut down when power is removed my power ports always have power no mater what and i don't want a dead battery.

Model/mounting suggestions welcome sub $100 preferred but if there is a really good solution up to $350 or so would be considered.

 

[alpinestars]

Why can't you mount it in the center behind the rearview mirror?

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc26708.htm

26708. (a) (13) (A) A video event recorder with the capability of monitoring driver performance to improve driver safety, which may be mounted in a seven-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed from the driver, in a five-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield nearest to the driver and outside of an airbag deployment zone, or in a five-inch square mounted to the center uppermost portion of the interior of the windshield. As used in this section, “video event recorder” means a video recorder that continuously records in a digital loop, recording audio, video, and G-force levels, but saves video only when triggered by an unusual motion or crash or when operated by the driver to monitor driver performance.

I live in SoCal too, and I've mounted my dashcam there.

I've heard the stupid law about mounting your GPS in a five inch square corner in the bottom left, or seven inch square corner in the bottom right, but that's for GPS devices only.

 

[jokiin]

they also have a requirement that any saved file only be 30 seconds before and after an incident

 

[alpinestars]

they also have a requirement that any saved file only be 30 seconds before and after an incident

Yep, saw that too, but I ignore that haha.

 

[jokiin]

they also have a requirement that any saved file only be 30 seconds before and after an incident

Yep, saw that too, but I ignore that haha.

we're adding a user selectable 30 sec option in our firmware for this reason, I expect most users would ignore that anyway but we're at least providing the option to allow it to be compliant

 

[trueglich]

I live in SoCal too, and I've mounted my dashcam there.

I've heard the stupid law about mounting your GPS in a five inch square corner in the bottom left, or seven inch square corner in the bottom right, but that's for GPS devices only.

Ah what do you use and how do you deal with the summer heat to keep it from being cooked. (assuming its even an issue)

 

[alpinestars]

they also have a requirement that any saved file only be 30 seconds before and after an incident

Yep, saw that too, but I ignore that haha.

we're adding a user selectable 30 sec option in our firmware for this reason, I expect most users would ignore that anyway but we're at least providing the option to allow it to be compliant

That's good, better to have the option than to not have the option.

I live in SoCal too, and I've mounted my dashcam there.

I've heard the stupid law about mounting your GPS in a five inch square corner in the bottom left, or seven inch square corner in the bottom right, but that's for GPS devices only.

Ah what do you use and how do you deal with the summer heat to keep it from being cooked. (assuming its even an issue)

I use the Livue LB100. I haven't had it for long, I only ordered it last Thursday or Friday, and it arrived yesterday. I installed it yesterday afternoon, and tried it out today. I'm not really sure how to keep it cool, because leaving it in direct sunlight for ten minutes or more will get the casing warm/hot, just like your dashboard would. When you park, you can use a sunshade (though that may not matter for you since you said probably remove it when parked because of the risk of theft). As for driving, I guess when you mount it you can try to mount it high enough so that it's protected by the blue tint strip on the top of the windshield. And if you're really paranoid, I guess you cover it with some heat reflective tape--just make sure you don't cover any vents.

I don't think you need to go to those extremes though. Just don't leave it in direct sunlight when parked. If dashcams had widespread overheating issues, I'm pretty sure you'd hear about it, like with the BlackVue DRG400HD.

My Livue, even though it got pretty hot today when in direct sunlight, it hasn't overheated so far. Hopefully it'll survive our hot summers.

 

[trueglich]

Thx i may get that looks just about perfect (i am going to buy an andriod phone soon too. ) if i leave it in there and the power save thing shuts it off how do i turn it back on (haven't found a manual online for it) and how can i tell if it has shut off due to it trying to save my battery.

 

[Mtz]

I didn't saw a smaller than this, even is not a real dashcam. Being under the car roof, is protected from direct sun heat.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[alpinestars]

Thx i may get that looks just about perfect (i am going to buy an andriod phone soon too. ) if i leave it in there and the power save thing shuts it off how do i turn it back on (haven't found a manual online for it) and how can i tell if it has shut off due to it trying to save my battery.

I think once the car battery's voltage rises above 11.8V or maybe when you start your car it'll turn back on. If not, try unplugging, and then plug it back in. I'm not sure because I haven't had the camera long enough, and the power save hasn't kicked in yet since my car battery is still fully charged.

The cutoff is 11.8V, but some people say that 11.8V might be too low. You may want to consider unplugging it if you're not driving your car for an extended period of time or if your drives are too short for the alternator to charge the battery.

You can tell if the camera is on or off by the LEDs on the back and front. You probably want to turn off the LEDs on the front because it'll just attract thieves.

Here is the instruction manual if you want to read it:

[link deleted]

I will warn you--it's poorly translated.

EDIT: My link doesn't work, see this post instead:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1013&start=10#p9734

 

[jokiin]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10244404/LB100_Manual(EN).pdf

I will warn you--it's poorly translated.

linky no worky boss :shock:

 

[jamesbcd]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10244404/LB100_Manual(EN).pdf

I will warn you--it's poorly translated.

linky no worky boss :shock:

Copy and paste it, it's cutting off the end of the link.

 

[jokiin]

oops, double post (damn timeouts) :evil:

 

[jokiin]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10244404/LB100_Manual(EN).pdf

I will warn you--it's poorly translated.

linky no worky boss :shock:

Copy and paste it, it's cutting off the end of the link.

I noticed the link was incorrect due to formatting, did the cut and paste and it didn't work, just tried it now and I get an error message that the site is redirecting through opendns, something amiss, I think I'll resist the urge to look at the manual

 

[DashCamMan]

In case anyone is interested, the Livue and Winycam manuals can be downloaded from http://dashcamtalk.com/livue-lb100/#User_Manual

 

[jokiin]

In case anyone is interested, the Livue and Winycam manuals can be downloaded from http://dashcamtalk.com/livue-lb100/#User_Manual

Thanks, these links work no problem

 

[PKNY]

Thx i may get that looks just about perfect (i am going to buy an andriod phone soon too. ) if i leave it in there and the power save thing shuts it off how do i turn it back on (haven't found a manual online for it) and how can i tell if it has shut off due to it trying to save my battery.

When the G-sensor senses movement for a few seconds, the cam will turn back on by itself. For power saving shut down, you can either turn on the timer (korean firmware only) or if the voltage drops below 11.8V for 30 seconds.

On the side note, the 11.8V is too low. The battery will go into deep cycle and reduce its life. So, I set the timer on mine.

 

[alpinestars]

I noticed the link was incorrect due to formatting, did the cut and paste and it didn't work, just tried it now and I get an error message that the site is redirecting through opendns, something amiss, I think I'll resist the urge to look at the manual

Strange. Naturally, it would only work for me. That's okay, since Dash Cam Man provided links from Livue.

 

[jokiin]

I noticed the link was incorrect due to formatting, did the cut and paste and it didn't work, just tried it now and I get an error message that the site is redirecting through opendns, something amiss, I think I'll resist the urge to look at the manual

Strange. Naturally, it would only work for me. That's okay, since Dash Cam Man provided links from Livue.

Actually I'm in China at the moment and it could just as easily be something to do with the filtering they do here

 

[jmpas1]

I use the Livue LB100. I haven't had it for long, I only ordered it last Thursday or Friday, and it arrived yesterday. I installed it yesterday afternoon, and tried it out today. I'm not really sure how to keep it cool, because leaving it in direct sunlight for ten minutes or more will get the casing warm/hot, just like your dashboard would. When you park, you can use a sunshade (though that may not matter for you since you said probably remove it when parked because of the risk of theft). As for driving, I guess when you mount it you can try to mount it high enough so that it's protected by the blue tint strip on the top of the windshield. And if you're really paranoid, I guess you cover it with some heat reflective tape--just make sure you don't cover any vents.

I don't think you need to go to those extremes though. Just don't leave it in direct sunlight when parked. If dashcams had widespread overheating issues, I'm pretty sure you'd hear about it, like with the BlackVue DRG400HD.

My Livue, even though it got pretty hot today when in direct sunlight, it hasn't overheated so far. Hopefully it'll survive our hot summers.

I just got this cam too and live in Cali, you can easily remove the camera from the mount any time. as long as you are not using it for parking watch.
I'm using this for driving only and will remove it daily.