Dash Camera Life Cycle, Replacements, the Trouble of Replacing Wiring

[Dashmellow]

a quick browse on a couple of websites suggest the 0806 and 0906 are also Micro USB, don't have them on hand right now to check though

Actually, I'm holding both cameras in my hand as we speak and the ones I've got are Mini-B.

 

[jokiin]

Actually, I'm holding both cameras in my hand as we speak and the ones I've got are Mini-B.

were they pre production samples by any chance?

 

[Dashmellow]

were they pre production samples by any chance?

Yes, Rayman sent them to me. Maybe they went into production with micro ports?

 

[jokiin]

the user manuals mention Micro USB, maybe they've been updated, not sure, haven't really followed the progress on these models, the production version 0906 sample I had died but did think it was a Micro USB version from (maybe failing) memory, not sure where it is now, somewhere in the office

 

[Nigel]

a quick browse on a couple of websites suggest the 0806 and 0906 are also Micro USB, don't have them on hand right now to check though

My 0806 is Mini USB, but most are micro, I believe mini was an option if you were ordering a large quantity, maybe all the german ones were mini?

Anyway, USB C is the up to date option, time for everyone to change!

 

[jokiin]

My 0806 is Mini USB, but most are micro, I believe mini was an option if you were ordering a large quantity, maybe all the german ones were mini?

I do remember Mini USB being an available option in mass production, not sure which markets got which version

Anyway, USB C is the up to date option, time for everyone to change!

after having USB C phones for the past few years I'm not so sure about that, the cables aren't as durable as I would have liked

 

[Nigel]

after having USB C phones for the past few years I'm not so sure about that, the cables aren't as durable as I would have liked

I would think that if you are leaving them plugged in then there is no issue? The good connectors seem to lock into place nicely. And they don't have to operate at 5V, using 9V means that a bit of voltage drop down the cable isn't an issue so you can use nice cheap half thickness cables.

As for the phones, they have gone wireless so the cables don't need plugging in every day and wireless should give a very reliable connection.

 

[jokiin]

I would think that if you are leaving them plugged in then there is no issue?

don't know, I don't leave phones plugged in all the time, the connectors aren't that great though

 

[joe384]

No need to do that to replace the existing cable, just tape the new cable to the end of the old and pull the old out, the new will be pulled into place.

Yeah, I just thought of this! Routing cables is just one of those unavoidable pains. I prefer to run cameras for a few months now before I tuck away the cables in case there are issues.

My 0806 is Mini USB, but most are micro, I believe mini was an option if you were ordering a large quantity, maybe all the german ones were mini?

My 0906 has micro usb for power, but the rear camera cable looks like mini usb!

Anyway, USB C is the up to date option, time for everyone to change!

Bah. There are now more than 10 different USB connectors, and loads more combinations of cable, countless versions, countless power specifications, and still driver issues with Windows 10. Urgh, so much for a simple standard.

 

[Edsel]

No that's not always the case, my Lukas LK-7500 from 2012 still work just fine, same go for other old cameras of mine.

What's the typical life cycle of a Street Guardian / Blackvue / Thinkware / Garmin nowadays, in a typical continental climate (think midwest USA, with the four seasons)?

Already anticipating "What's typical? What parking settings?" and the like...

 

[Ralph2]

Regardless how good your soldering skills.. consider where you will have to change the plugs / connect wires.. unless you have tucked an extra length behind the pillar; head liner etc.. you will be soldering in the air. Those wires in the leads are pretty small and quite possibly soldering them will change their properties and the design is compromised. It will be much easier to run a new line.. or, stay with the brand and hope the connections stay the same.

 

[Dashmellow]

Regardless how good your soldering skills.. consider where you will have to change the plugs / connect wires.. unless you have tucked an extra length behind the pillar; head liner etc.. you will be soldering in the air. Those wires in the leads are pretty small and quite possibly soldering them will change their properties and the design is compromised. It will be much easier to run a new line.. or, stay with the brand and hope the connections stay the same.

You make a good point about trying to solder in place up near the headliner!

 

[Nigel]

What's the typical life cycle of a Street Guardian / Blackvue / Thinkware / Garmin nowadays, in a typical continental climate (think midwest USA, with the four seasons)?

Already anticipating "What's typical? What parking settings?" and the like...

• Garmin, around 13 months, die due to battery failure.
• Blackvue, from threads on this forum I guess an average of around 3 months, die due to "overheating"/lockups/customer dissatisfaction, however I guess the real average is a fair bit longer since people tend to come here to complain so they are not typical owners.
• Thinkware, not sure, there seem to be a lot of returns with some models but even with those models some keep going.
• Street Guardian, not sure, we haven't had enough decades yet to find out!

 

[DT MI]

Street Guardian, not sure, we haven't had enough decades yet to find out!

 

[Ralph2]

Have had my DR600GW-HD - 32GB + Free Power Magic Pro since Aug 2015.. has recorded some 140,000 km and is still ticking as good as it ever did.. with the original 32GB as well. My only criticism is that it only records the GPS data (speed) perhaps.. 60% of the time. But it has been that way since day one. And.. my Garmin Nuvi 2689 has been ticking just about as long.

 

[Nigel]

Have had my DR600GW-HD - 32GB + Free Power Magic Pro since Aug 2015.. has recorded some 140,000 km and is still ticking as good as it ever did.. with the original 32GB as well. My only criticism is that it only records the GPS data (speed) perhaps.. 60% of the time. But it has been that way since day one. And.. my Garmin Nuvi 2689 has been ticking just about as long.

The older ones seem better, and you are in Canada with a cooler climate. The question was for "nowadays" which I assume means the latest models and "midwest USA" which has warmer summers. The latest Blackvue 900 and Thinkware U1000 have not been doing so well and battery replacement on Garmin and Nextbase dashcams seems to be a popular topic.

 

[kamkar]

I expect to get at least 3-4 years of service from a dashcam here in Denmark ( not the hottest summers and not the longest ones ) but in general 2 years and i am happy, and as a addict more interesting things are in place by then.
A little while ago i gave my SGGCX2 camera away, and the new owner are very happy to have gotten such a nice camera for free, but it is just a 2017 model, but it should last until the kids apprenticeship as a mason are over in a year or two, and by then he earn money to actually buy a camera.
My SG9663GC V1 (2013 ) are lying as a backup at my friends house, and he have the SG9663GC V3 in his car ( 2016 i think it was when i got that one )

Another thing i have noticed in here about SG, they seem very happy to give a little discount to returning customers / people that have had their old SG camera die or just want to upgrade,,,,, i cant say i have seen any of the other brands do that.

And maybe soon when i win the lottery and need a grill build on my back porch, i can get the kid to "stack" up a combined grill and pizza oven made of brown stone for me

 

[2000rpm]

I have a SGZC12RC from several years ago (maybe 2014?) with Lexar 64GB memory card bought at the same time and both have been flawless for many tens of thousands of miles.
Also a Panorama of similar vintage which has never given any trouble.
Both still record good images. Good enough to remain in use for a few more years yet.

In fact, what brought me here was to check out recent discussions of Street Guardian cams because with numerous ageing cams in our household's cars, and with two of our cars being damaged in non-fault accidents during the Christmas period (in both cases the other driver was young; late-teens or early-twenties), so it's probably about time to think about a new cam in a couple of them.

I also have at least two of: Mobius, JooVuu, Cobra 840, Mio 5-series, Transcend DP100, Blacksys cameras.
The capacitor-equipped ones have been more reliable than the battery-equipped ones although the Mobius with capacitor doesn't suit the electrical system of some of our household's cars.
Many people had trouble with the JooVuu cameras but mine still work fine; they seem to be a bit fussier about power supply (need more like 1.5-2A power lead instead of common 1A) and memory card (need a card that can maintain good steady write speed for prolonged periods, which isn't necessarily those cards which score best in published speed tests - Samsung and Transcend do well, Kingston, PNY and some others don't).

The biggest source of problems I've had is memory card failure, affecting many brands of card. Second biggest problem is the 12v-to-5v power supply failing rather than dashcam failing. Dodgy power supply then causes a cam to behave erratically, or can even kill the cam's battery because it can't charge properly.

For me, Nextbase cams have given a lot of trouble, unreliability and generally short-lived (especially for the price) so I probably wouldn't use one even if someone gave me one.

 

[kamkar]

Yeah, No matter what camera you choose, you better be smart about it and not set and then forget it, a wise man spend 10 - 15 minutes looking over his footage every month or two.
It is time well spent cuz in a good dashcam the memory card are always the weakest link, no matter the brand / model you have.

 

[jokiin]

Have had my DR600GW-HD - 32GB + Free Power Magic Pro since Aug 2015.. has recorded some 140,000 km and is still ticking as good as it ever did.. with the original 32GB as well. My only criticism is that it only records the GPS data (speed) perhaps.. 60% of the time. But it has been that way since day one. And.. my Garmin Nuvi 2689 has been ticking just about as long.

I'm more impressed that your memory card is still going

I have a friend that drives large trucks that did over 400,000kms with one of our cameras, he went through several memory cards though