Dash Camera Heat Test

[Dashmellow]

There are some smaller models designed for mobile phones. Even if you attach it to the dash cam screen, it cools down the dashcam very quickly.

I forgot I have a Black Shark Fun Cooler 3. I used it when livestreaming in summer and it worked. It used about 30 watts.

Interesting video. I didn't know this product existed. This means the basic concept might actually be viable for certain dash cams if it were designed and optimized for the purpose, especially if it was powered by an adequate power supply. As I expected condensation would be an issue but the fan might used for dealing with that problem.

 

[Dashmellow]

If a dashcam manufacturer wants true endurance through heat, they'll have to do the main unit under the seat with wired cameras going into it idea that many have suggested over the years.

I remembered another early attempt at a dual channel remote lens dash cam that had a base unit that could go in a glove box (or under the seat if you wanted), the 1080p Koonlung K1S from nine years ago back in 2015. It had some problems but actually got fairly decent reviews and was a pioneering camera back in the day as it was one of the first decent cams like this on the market even though it was pretty expensive. This camera was really the inspiration for the Street Guardian SG9663DR in 2020 mentioned earlier which in many was as copy of the K1S. Street Guardian's business model was often to copy other existing camera designs and try to improve on them in some ways with allegedly better build quality and then offer them as "high end" cameras for a lot more money.

It would be interesting to see what @viofo could do with a car dash cam design like this using today's much more advanced technology. They already have the experience of offering the MT1 motorcycle camera, so it wouldn't be too much of a leap.

Koonlung

dashcamtalk.com

There was a MK 2 version that came out but I don't know much about it and don't recall if it got much attention on the forum.

 

[Nigel]

I forgot I have a Black Shark Fun Cooler 3. I used it when livestreaming in summer and it worked. It used about 30 watts.

Video here:

It is USB powered

Nice cooler, if you have the right application, and don't mind your phone using over 30 watts of power!

Dashcams don't produce much heat, the problem is that they sit in the sun at 90°C+ ambient air temperatures, making it hard to get rid of the small amount of heat. For an under-seat dashcam, you probably don't need any active cooling, because even in Oz, it is never going to be in much more than 50°C ambient temperature under the seat, as long as there is air movement around the device.

For any dashcam, all that would ever be needed is a small fan. The real problem is in obtaining a fan that will work reliably at 90°C+, and will not be heard by the microphone. Most fans are not designed to work at 90°C+, the bearings fail, they are unreliable.

The alternative answer is to make the dashcams more power efficient. Processors do keep getting more efficient, but then we keep asking them to do more; more resolution, more HDR, more AI, more channels...

So, instead of a single 4 channel dashcam, it would be much better to have 4 single channel dashcams, all recording to a central network file server locked up in the glove box. Viofo's A229 remote cameras already encode the video in the remote cameras, so it wouldn't be a big change, use wireless communications and it would be an easy install...

 

[kamkar]

That is what i am thinking, just getting the dashcam off the windscreen got to be a big win in regard to endurance.
But must also realize a car parked in the sun get blast furnace hot all over the inside, probably also way down on the floor, so that is why i would still like to see a proper cooling solution.

The ability for dashcams to talk together, and so for instance synchronise with each other is also something i have long asked for, this do allow for a modular approach, so you do not have to make / buy the expensive 4 channel on the get go.
It also give people more options / choice which i like very much
So for instance a front / rear system, well a side camera system could be very much like it, though it would then not need GPS as that would be supplied from the front / rear segment.
A side system could then also be either look down the side cameras, or look out the side, only needing different housings and lens for the job, a waterproof down the side camera could probably with the right different mount be used as a waterproof rear camera for the people needing that. and so 2 - 3 birds with 1 stone.

To keep it simple i would suggest each module of such a system have its own storage, at least if we are still talking little SD cards, but i would assume a interconnect ( USB ) of some sort should also be able to carry data ( video ) to a central storage if needed.