Complete Review BlackSys CF-100. 2Ch 1080p Sony Exmor CMOS + 720p, GPS, 24/7 Parking.

little updates

i be able to get the 2nd channel and GPS to work. i've update to the file that @OJOCam attached level 004E but i still have some problem with picking the GPS signal. it took me approx 15mins to get it register.

also, i happen to see there's even later update on the Blacksys website (0054). but as i compare the files the oo4E has a later file date than 0054. so @OJOCam just wondering which one is the latest if so?
 
does yours record anything while it's searching for GPS? have you tried using it with GPS unplugged - only power and rear camera plugged into main unit?
 
@Gibson99 my camera seems to record while searching for GPS signal as well. boot up time took approx 10~15 sec and it say "2 channel start recording" then drive for 15 mins and picks up the GPS signal and it was in the middle of my recording as well
 
15 second cold boot time is (unfortunately) normal for this camera. my A118 boots in about 1-2 seconds. F70 boots in about 3 seconds. Thankfully I have my CF-100 wired up for constant on and parking mode, so as long as the car battery doesn't drop below 12.2v, i don't have to wait for it to boot.

good to hear yours now records while searching for gps. i may try that update.
 
i havent try the lastest one (posted Dec 4th) on Blacksys website. i notice the difference from the out of the box f/w compare to what @OJOCam post update one my rear camera seems to improve visibility in darker area.

@Gibson99 maybe you can try the one on the Blacksys website since that one look more recently to me.
 
little updates once again

updated to latest f/w version M1.3 (build version: 0054) (posted on blacksys website 4 days ago)

notice GPS reception has gone significantly stronger and faster. now took me 5 mins of drive to pick up the first signal after upgrade. and afterwards if you car parked at non-cover area can pretty much pick up the signal right away from cold start.

dashcam power down notification has change to music instead of "car dvr is ending"
 
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niko said:
FIRMWARE


Latest firmware / PC Viewer / User Manual you can find HERE

Instruction on "how to upgrade firmware" is HERE


1. Download the “CF100Update.tar” file
2. Format SD card
3. Put the downloaded file “CF100Update.tar” into the root of SD card
4. Connect rear camera before updating the device (before connecting power)
5. Insert SD card to the front camera and connect the power
6. Upgrade will start automatically (※It takes up to 5 min)
7. 2 LED on -> Blinking -> LED off -> The voice guide “Upgrade will be started” -> Blinking -> The voice guidance “Rebooting now” -> The voice guidance “Two channel recording is getting started”
8. Upgrade complete


P.S. - I realised strange "issue" after following an upgrade instruction. After firmware upgrade the rear camera was not recording. So, I disconnected rear camera, started main unit ( front camera ) and left it recording for about few minutes, then disconnected a power source. Waited 10-15 sec. Connected rear camera to main unit, started again CF-100 and rear camera was recording. I am not sure if it was some glitch, or maybe it's the right way to so called "reset the brain of dashcam" after firmware update, but just in case I am sharing this trick in case you will be in same situation like me.
Click to expand...

I just tried to update to the M1.3 firmware, released December 4, 2014 and published on the link you have above. I put the tarball on an old 2gb sd card i had from probably my first smartphone (after formatting the card). put the card in the camera and power it up - got both blue lights for a few seconds like a normal boot, then both lights turned off. left it there a few minutes just to be sure, but it never did anything - no flashing lights, no voice - nothing at all. so i unplugged everything, waited a few seconds, then plugged in JUST power. did the same thing - nothing. so i'm thinking maybe the camera just doesn't like this old 2gb card. it's made by Crucial and has no speed/rating markings on it - it just has the Crucial logo, 2GB, and the microsd logo. The backside has the CE logo, serial number and "made in korea". as far as i know nothing is wrong with it. i'll try again this afternoon with a 16gb card (the one that came w/ the cf-100 as it happens), but for now, the transcend 32gb card is back in the camera, and i verified that it does start recording after booting with the 32gb card reinstalled, so it didn't hurt anything using the 2gb card.
 
Gibson99 said:
I just tried to update to the M1.3 firmware, released December 4, 2014 and published on the link you have above. I put the tarball on an old 2gb sd card i had from probably my first smartphone (after formatting the card). put the card in the camera and power it up - got both blue lights for a few seconds like a normal boot, then both lights turned off. left it there a few minutes just to be sure, but it never did anything - no flashing lights, no voice - nothing at all. so i unplugged everything, waited a few seconds, then plugged in JUST power. did the same thing - nothing. so i'm thinking maybe the camera just doesn't like this old 2gb card. it's made by Crucial and has no speed/rating markings on it - it just has the Crucial logo, 2GB, and the microsd logo. The backside has the CE logo, serial number and "made in korea". as far as i know nothing is wrong with it. i'll try again this afternoon with a 16gb card (the one that came w/ the cf-100 as it happens), but for now, the transcend 32gb card is back in the camera, and i verified that it does start recording after booting with the 32gb card reinstalled, so it didn't hurt anything using the 2gb card.
Click to expand...

I am glad you sorted out FW upgrade and shared your experience HERE
 
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Hey guys.
Can anyone confirm that CF-100 takes 64GB cards? In particular I'm looking for a confirmation on Samsung Evo 64GB SDXC. I've read that Evo 64GB comes formatted to exFat and I need to format it to FAT 32 and can do it only on PC cuz the CF doesn't take exFat and a card can not be formatted in the unit.
Never paid attention before, but like my 32GB card holds only 2-2.5 days of driving (apprx. 1.5-2 hours of driving a day) even if I delete junk from "Event" folder and I want to keep at least 3+ days on a card.
 
as i said in the other thread about wasted space, yes, a 64gb card works fine. i have a sandisk ultra 64gb (all cards from 64gb to 2TB are sdxc), and formatted it in the camera itself. the blacksys player software is absolute crap, and i didn't bother trying to use it to format the card.

fyi, be sure to check out my video splitter utility in my signature. between that and VLC media player, you don't really need the blacksys player.
 
Here is why I said that card needs to be formatted on a PC:
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...p-sony-exmor-cmos-720p-gps-24-7-parking.7441/

NB! Blacksys CF-100 supports recording to 64Gb MicroSD card ( manufacturer still advertises 32Gb ), but I have tested 64Gb MicroSD card and it works perfectly. The only thing, you need to format 64Gb MicroSD from exFat to Fat32, but drawback is that you can not formatt 64Gb inside unit ( you can do formatting if needed on PC or laptop only ).

And thanks for the confirmation on 64 GB cards and the video splitter.
 
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perhaps that was changed in the M1.3 firmware. make sure you have that from their website. it fixes a pretty ugly GPS bug where it doesn't actually save any video while searching for GPS signal, even though it SAYS it's recording.
 
Yeap, I need to update my soft: bought my cam in June or July of 2014 and using the latest back then 1.2 and had no idea that the cam is not saving video while GPS is booting.
 
molson.david said:
Yeap, I need to update my soft: bought my cam in June or July of 2014 and using the latest back then 1.2 and had no idea that the cam is not saving video while GPS is booting.
Click to expand...
my "fix" was to simply unplug GPS till i had time to update the firmware. i posted a thread about updating the firmware as well. it's not hard, just a little time consuming.

i've since completely removed the gps antenna from teh car. when it was new, it was kinda neat to see my path on the map, but the novelty wore off, and i don't need that. landmarks are easily visible in the videos to figure out where it happened if that's needed. and i don't need anyone trying to bust me for my speed based on GPS data. if someone wants to figure out my speed there are other ways to do it, but they won't be any more accurate than GPS data would, and they'll have to work for it if they want to bust me on that.
 
I used to unplug and hide my cam to prevent break ins, but we have moved to a bit safer area so I'm not doing it anymore and I've noticed that GPS takes much longer to boot if camera was unplugged, but now I'd say it takes maybe 30 sec vs 2 min before.
 
molson.david said:
I used to unplug and hide my cam to prevent break ins, but we have moved to a bit safer area so I'm not doing it anymore and I've noticed that GPS takes much longer to boot if camera was unplugged, but now I'd say it takes maybe 30 sec vs 2 min before.
Click to expand...
i blacked out the labels, LED and chrome lens ring on the front of the camera, and now unless you're looking in the right spot and know what you're looking for, it's effectively invisible. check out the pics in my install thread (also in my signature).

also, our light blue minvan doesn't seem to be as much a target for a smash n grab as it is hit n run. :mad:
 
Gibson99 said:
i blacked out the labels, LED and chrome lens ring on the front of the camera, and now unless you're looking in the right spot and know what you're looking for, it's effectively invisible. check out the pics in my install thread (also in my signature).

also, our light blue minvan doesn't seem to be as much a target for a smash n grab as it is hit n run. :mad:
Click to expand...
I blacked out my camera too and it's installed behind the rear view mirror, but I still would take safe over sorry. :)
 
Just received my Samsung Evo 64GB and even before I opened the package I had a feeling that the card is fake... The colors are off, the lettering is off, the edges are black instead of white and it's "Made in Taiwan" instead of "Made in Korea"...
 
Got my other card and this one looks an feels 100% authentic. Will see if CF-100 can use the whole 64GB or only 32.
 
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