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

I got mine yesterday from Newegg and was about to set it up in my car. I was wondering if I have it mounted all the time and plugged into the cigarette lighter, will it use my cars battery?
 
I got mine yesterday from Newegg and was about to set it up in my car. I was wondering if I have it mounted all the time and plugged into the cigarette lighter, will it use my cars battery?
only if your lighter is powered all the time. the power cord for my cf100 didn't have a light, but most phone chargers do - you can easily plug one in and see if the lighter stays on when you turn off the key. if not, it will still work to record while driving, but that's it - once you turn off the car, it stops recording.
 
Thanks! So if its plugged in all the time and parking mode is on, will it only work as long as it has battery life?

Do you know how to disable parking mode?
 
yes, it'll run till your car battery dies, which would be a bad thing. i added a discharge preventer when i installed mine. also from newegg. go to the ojocam store on newegg (or search for other items from the seller, i can't remember how it's phrased on the newegg site), and look for the discharge preventer for about $35. it's not as simple as just plugging into the lighter, but it's worth it because you won't end up with a dead battery.

you can disable parking mode in the settings of the cf100 application in windows, but i think all that will do is just constantly record/recycle all files, and still drain your battery if your lighter is always on. what kind of car do you have?
 
Its a Kia Sorrento. Does the dashcam itself have a battery? So if I 'charge' it, will it use parking mode without being hardwired?
 
most Kias do not have lighters that are on all the time.

the camera has a supercapacitor, which works kind of like a battery, but it only runs the camera for about 15-20 seconds after power is disconnected - just long enough to properly save the last file and shut down. that's all you really need in a dashcam.

so no, no parking mode without power from the vehicle.

isn't the sorento their minivan? if so, you may benefit from checking out the install i just did in my toyota sienna van. even if it's an SUV the install ought to be similar. https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/installing-a-cf-100-in-a-2008-toyota-sienna-van.8111/
 
Okay I just found the Newegg link. I'm pretty bummed about having to unplug it all the time when I park so it doesn't kill the battery.. Knowing me I'll just forget it exists and regret not having it powered when I need it. I have little ones and the last thing I want to risk is being stuck in below freezing temperatures (or a heat wave)..but the battery draining protection looks too complex to setup lol

Its a Crossover SUV, 2015 LX so I'll check out the link. Hopefully it'll help
 
do you have another device that plugs into the lighter socket, like maybe your phone charger? if so, does that charger have a light on it? that will tell you whether or not your lighter turns off when you turn off the key. start your car, plug in your other charger, and look for its light to turn on. then turn off the key and see if the charger's light turns off. if it turns off, then you're fine - you can leave the dashcam plugged in 24/7 without worrying about your battery.

another way is to just use the camera itself. plug it in, then start your car. after about 15 seconds, you'll hear it say something like "recording is getting started". wait 20-30 seconds then turn off your car. it will say "recording is ending" and the blue light will turn off. if it does that, you're fine. your battery will be fine too.
 
so now that i've ordered one of these, i may make the Y-cable.

4-conductor 3.5mm male to 2x 4-conductor 3.5mm female splitter cable. i could easily cut off one of the female jacks and solder on a female RCA jack to have the video out. unfortunately this cable is sold out and can't be backordered from this company. but here's another which costs a bit more.

to keep it tidy near the camera itself, here's a 4-cond 3.5mm right angle adapter

or... roll your own cable instead of hacking up some other cable:
TRSS (3.5mm 4cond) male 90 degree plug - goes to camera: http://www.showmecables.com/product/3-5mm-Plug-TRRS-Right-Angle-Connector-Plastic.aspx?link=YMAL
TRSS female - goes to GPS: http://www.showmecables.com/product/3-5mm-Jack-TRRS-Connector-Plastic.aspx?link=YMAL
female RCA - video out: http://www.radioshack.com/inline-phono-jack-4-pack/2740337.html#q=rca+jack&start=7

i'm sure spending a little more time searching amazon, mouser, or monoprice would come up with better results. but you get the idea. easily hook up gps + video out at the same time, without voiding your warranty by hacking up the cables or devices that came with the camera.

hi gibson, any luck of getting this working for both video out and gps signal the same time? i'm curious to know :) thanks!
 
I haven't tried and now that the cam is installed and already aimed properly, i don't really see the need to have both. Especially since the video out can't be used to review recordings. I could potentially hook it up to the video input of the van's aftermarket DVD player, but not sure what that would gain me. Might entertain the kids for about 3 seconds but then they'd be bored one they realize it's just what they can already see outside.
 
I haven't tried and now that the cam is installed and already aimed properly, i don't really see the need to have both. Especially since the video out can't be used to review recordings. I could potentially hook it up to the video input of the van's aftermarket DVD player, but not sure what that would gain me. Might entertain the kids for about 3 seconds but then they'd be bored one they realize it's just what they can already see outside.

i guess my point of trying to get both work the same time is to make sure the camera is actually recording and have all information on the screen while accident happening. feel more assurance that way :)
(i've bad experience with 2 previous camera which stop recording all of a sudden, or even froze on me i need to hard restart the whole camera while i'm driving, i guess i would not know unless i see the screen froze/off)
 
with this cam (in theory) as long as both lights are on solid (assuming you have gps - just the left light if you don't) you should be good. my only real complaint is that it is slow to power up from completely off, and even slower to get a gps fix. i still havent confirmed whether it records while it's looking for gps but i suspect it does not. and that's bad, esp if you're in underground parking or a garage.
 
does any one know how to change the voice guidance language in CF-100? could not find the info in the manual.

Thanks.
 
dunno about voice guidance (i don't remember seeing any options for it in the software), but I have confirmed that while the unit is searching for a GPS fix, it is NOT RECORDING. I specifically went on a few short trips to test it, and sometimes the recording would start within a few hundred feet of my house, but sometimes it'd be a few miles away. Plenty could have happened during that time. this is bad. they really need to release a fix for this. I'm going to disconnect the GPS antenna for now, to make it more reliable. Having speed and location isn't anywhere near as important as having actual video at all times. The video itself should be more than enough to give a location, since most signs are legible.

@OJOCam - i actually got this unit from you (via amazon)... do you know of any firmware updates later than 1.2? can you ask the manufacturer about this GPS issue?
 
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dunno about voice guidance (i don't remember seeing any options for it in the software), but I have confirmed that while the unit is searching for a GPS fix, it is NOT RECORDING. I specifically went on a few short trips to test it, and sometimes the recording would start within a few hundred feet of my house, but sometimes it'd be a few miles away. Plenty could have happened during that time. this is bad. they really need to release a fix for this. I'm going to disconnect the GPS antenna for now, to make it more reliable. Having speed and location isn't anywhere near as important as having actual video at all times. The video itself should be more than enough to give a location, since most signs are legible.

@OJOCam - i actually got this unit from you (via amazon)... do you know of any firmware updates later than 1.2? can you ask the manufacturer about this GPS issue?

well noted Gibson99.

Here is the new firmware i received from the manufacture:
Firmware installation guide


1. Download "UPDATE" zip file

2. Unzip the file

3. Put "UPDATE" folder on the root of SD card (Format SD card before)

4. Put SD card into CF-100. (Rear camera, GPS(if you have) has to be connected before connecting power)

5. Connect power to update. (Upgrade will be automatically done within 1 min)

Firmware download link: UPDATE(1).zip(52,812.9KB)
PC player: CF-100 PC Viewer-M0.5.2.E-0326(1)(2).zip(25,327.1KB)
 
Any info on what issues the update addresses? It contains fewer files than the 1.2_EN firmware on the Blacksys website, but does seem to have a newer 004E version marker.

KuoH

well noted Gibson99.

Here is the new firmware i received from the manufacture:
Firmware installation guide
 
also, @OJOCam - can you tell us whether the sensitivity adjustment is for everything, or is it only for normal/driving mode? i would like to turn the g-sensor all the way down for normal driving (least sensitive) because even normal bumps in the road and the bump at the end of my driveway always makes the camera beep and lock a file. Yet I want the camera to be MOST sensitive to G-forces when in parking mode, so that if someone barely bumps the car, it will lock the file.
 
@OJOCam i've just receive the dual channel with GPS over the mail from you guys yesterday.

hooking up the camera out of the box with GPS receiver and rear camera. i notice the dual channel recording not working. and didnt receive GPS signal as well.

is there something wrong? so mine now is singal channel recording only w/o GPS. i hope it's not a defective unit.
 
@OJOCam i've just receive the dual channel with GPS over the mail from you guys yesterday.

hooking up the camera out of the box with GPS receiver and rear camera. i notice the dual channel recording not working. and didnt receive GPS signal as well.

is there something wrong? so mine now is singal channel recording only w/o GPS. i hope it's not a defective unit.

mine took about 15 minutes and 2-3 miles of driving to get a gps fix the first time, but once it had a fix, the longest it takes is about a minute from cold start.

as for rear cam, are you using the player software that came with it? remember that the rear video is embedded in the same video file as the front. VLC (VideoLAN) will also play these dual files and show both views. windows media player will not, nor will most other players.

otherwise, check the rear usb connection - i remember it took a little bit of force for it to snap in the last few mm's.
 
mine took about 15 minutes and 2-3 miles of driving to get a gps fix the first time, but once it had a fix, the longest it takes is about a minute from cold start.

as for rear cam, are you using the player software that came with it? remember that the rear video is embedded in the same video file as the front. VLC (VideoLAN) will also play these dual files and show both views. windows media player will not, nor will most other players.

otherwise, check the rear usb connection - i remember it took a little bit of force for it to snap in the last few mm's.
the connection for the rear camera i've double check its secure and tug in properly. one of the sign that i've notice it not recording dual channel is that the voice prompt "car dvr is starting" instead of "dual channel recording is start" as stated in the review earlier.
also i've both PC viewer and the VLC player on my computer. when viewing on PC viewer the "2 ch" button has grey out (that means no 2nd channel recording?) and played on VLC only signal channel is coming up as well.
 
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