Dashcam for desert living

[laknox]

Newbie, but reading and learning.

OK, here's my "wants/needs":
#1! Capacitor power as interior temps here in sunny Arizona can get into the 140-150 range and I've read how fast heat can kill batteries. Cams' internal circuitry must also withstand the heat. (Also, I'm pretty religious about using a window shade, especially during the summer.)

Excellent quality video.
Front/rear cams. I realize rear cams won't have the video quality, but we don't have front plates here in AZ, so...
Hardwired install, most likely. Might even go as far as a 2nd automotive battery for parking mode.
Large storage capacity.
GPS capable with speed readout.
I won't go as far as "price no object", but I'm not afraid to spend some to get quality.

Am I missing anything? TIA...

Lyle

 

[Deleted member 46308]

Newbie, but reading and learning.

OK, here's my "wants/needs":
#1! Capacitor power as interior temps here in sunny Arizona can get into the 140-150 range and I've read how fast heat can kill batteries. Cams' internal circuitry must also withstand the heat. (Also, I'm pretty religious about using a window shade, especially during the summer.)

Excellent quality video.
Front/rear cams. I realize rear cams won't have the video quality, but we don't have front plates here in AZ, so...
Hardwired install, most likely. Might even go as far as a 2nd automotive battery for parking mode.
Large storage capacity.
GPS capable with speed readout.
I won't go as far as "price no object", but I'm not afraid to spend some to get quality.

Am I missing anything? TIA...

Lyle

Welcome to DCT Lyle Street Guardian products are excellent cameras. I have used them in the desert Southwest for years and have not experienced any heat related or quality issues. Viofo cameras are another good choice as well. Good luck and have fun.

 

[HonestReview]

Newbie, but reading and learning.

OK, here's my "wants/needs":
#1! Capacitor power as interior temps here in sunny Arizona can get into the 140-150 range and I've read how fast heat can kill batteries. Cams' internal circuitry must also withstand the heat. (Also, I'm pretty religious about using a window shade, especially during the summer.)

Excellent quality video.
Front/rear cams. I realize rear cams won't have the video quality, but we don't have front plates here in AZ, so...
Hardwired install, most likely. Might even go as far as a 2nd automotive battery for parking mode.
Large storage capacity.
GPS capable with speed readout.
I won't go as far as "price no object", but I'm not afraid to spend some to get quality.

Am I missing anything? TIA...

Lyle

1. 3 Wire Hardwire Kit= Allows for Accessory (When car is turned on), Battery (Triggers parking mode when car turned off) and Ground (metal backed body screw).

2. You want to hardwire so the camera gets constant power while driving or parked. Voltage cutoffs ensure you won't drain the battery. I recommend 12.2V. That's 50% battery life. Any less and you might run the risk of walking out to a dead car battery.

3. Viofo A129 Duo / A129 Pro or Street Guardian. I highly recommend a Front + Rear camera setup.

 

[kamkar]

In the heat of AZ you will probably often see thermal shutdowns, regardless of what camera you get.
At least if you park outside in the sun, if your car are in the shade or inside a parking structure it might be possible to pull off.

It is a thermal thing, and dashcam hardware can only go so high in temperatures, and as you know a car sitting in the AZ sun get unholy hot inside, and then add to that the camera "running" in parking mode which also generate heat, and you have a recipe for a thermal shutdown.

 

[HonestReview]

In the heat of AZ you will probably often see thermal shutdowns, regardless of what camera you get.
At least if you park outside in the sun, if your car are in the shade or inside a parking structure it might be possible to pull off.

It is a thermal thing, and dashcam hardware can only go so high in temperatures, and as you know a car sitting in the AZ sun get unholy hot inside, and then add to that the camera "running" in parking mode which also generate heat, and you have a recipe for a thermal shutdown.

Ideally, there'd be some tinting on the windows to reduce the heat that gets trapped inside the vehicle. Preventing it from baking in the sun.

 

[SawMaster]

Of the cameras I recommend for high-heat environments are the original Mobius with supercaps, Street Guardian cams, and the B1W in that order. Here's my reasoning:
-The original Mobius has the best history in this kind of use, but it's become 'old tech' though it still gives good video in the daytime.
-Street Guardian is an Austrailian company and with their climate they go to extreme lengths to be sure their cams will handle that heat.
-The B1W also seems to handle high heats very well, has decent video day and night, and is well worth it's cheap price.

There are other cams to consider, some with better video, more features, ASO but they either have unresolved issues, or shut down in high heat either be accident or design. Personally I do not want a cam which turns itself off for any reason other than low car battery voltage. I'd rather fry an occasional cam than chance missing the vid footage which I bought the camera to capture. At some point all dashcams will quit in the heat so if that happens and I miss needed footage well at least I tried.

The 4K cams offer the best vids, but to get that level of performance they push their hardware hard, and thus generate more heat in the cam which is why almost all of them have a overheat-shutdown feature. Most (all?) of them offer lower resolution and bitrate settings which lets them run cooler, and some of then handle high heats well when used this way. Their other qualities might make them a good choice; just know that you can't get top-level performance in the hottest environments so there's no need to spend for what you can't use unless you want to. I put Viofo cams in this category as their top models offer the best vid quality you can get in a dashcam if you can use it. And here is where it becomes painfully clear that high price does not ensure good performance, for almost all of the top-priced cams fail miserably in high heats.

Phil

 

[laknox]

Thanks for the info, everyone. As a rule, in the summer (hell, even now, when temps are in the 80's) I'm pretty religious about cracking my roof vent and all windows as well as using a "quilted" sun shield, and parking in shade whenever possible. You learn this early on, here in AZ, especially when you grew up with f'n vinyl seats! Cam would be mounted in such a way for the sun shield to cover it. In my truck, which I don't drive much, my power sockets are always hot, so I put a small solar charger on the panel to help make sure my batteries are kept up. Thinking of doing the same with the car by adding a dedicated charger plug. Current daily driver is a Sonata but I may end up with a '16 Town & Country van that belongs to my dad, for reasons I won't go into. I'd love to be able to have quick-mounts in both my daily driver as well as my truck, so only 1 set of cams is needed.

I'll check out the rigs y'all have recommended. Please feel free to add more to the list, if so inclined.

Lyle

 

[laknox]

Hey, here's a thermal question that just occurred to me. If you =do= get a thermal shutdown, with the cam automagically restart once temp drops back to its operating range or do you have to manually restart it?

Lyle

 

[Nigel]

as well as using a "quilted" sun shield,

Don't put this over the dashcam, no dashcam can cope with being cooked.

Hey, here's a thermal question that just occurred to me. If you =do= get a thermal shutdown, with the cam automagically restart once temp drops back to its operating range or do you have to manually restart it?

Lyle

The cameras that have a thermal shutdown will have a thermal restart when they cool down again, but not all the cameras mentioned above have thermal shutdown.

 

[jokiin]

Hey, here's a thermal question that just occurred to me. If you =do= get a thermal shutdown, with the cam automagically restart once temp drops back to its operating range or do you have to manually restart it?

Lyle

if it thermals while parked it's not going to cool enough to restart unless the sun goes down, even then it can take quite a while for the temp to drop enough, the camera would restart when you start the car again provided it still wasn't over temp

 

[HonestReview]

Thanks for the info, everyone. As a rule, in the summer (hell, even now, when temps are in the 80's) I'm pretty religious about cracking my roof vent and all windows as well as using a "quilted" sun shield, and parking in shade whenever possible. You learn this early on, here in AZ, especially when you grew up with f'n vinyl seats! Cam would be mounted in such a way for the sun shield to cover it. In my truck, which I don't drive much, my power sockets are always hot, so I put a small solar charger on the panel to help make sure my batteries are kept up. Thinking of doing the same with the car by adding a dedicated charger plug. Current daily driver is a Sonata but I may end up with a '16 Town & Country van that belongs to my dad, for reasons I won't go into. I'd love to be able to have quick-mounts in both my daily driver as well as my truck, so only 1 set of cams is needed.

I'll check out the rigs y'all have recommended. Please feel free to add more to the list, if so inclined.

Lyle

I'd suggest some type of window tinting to reduce heat. Do note that tinting will reduce visibility at night, but if you live in a hot climate, it's the best option.

 

[kamkar]

You do not want to "sandwich" a dashcam between the windscreen and some kind of block for the sun, we have seen that almost melt dashcams that otherwise do well in heat.
But i do think those was the reflective kind of deal.

Tint on windscreen might not be legal in AZ, you cant do that on a windscreen in Denmark for sure.

 

[jokiin]

I'd suggest some type of window tinting to reduce heat. Do note that tinting will reduce visibility at night, but if you live in a hot climate, it's the best option.

tinting can slow the rate at which the car heats up, it will still reach the same temp eventually though, can still be a worthwhile option

 

[DashCamOwnersAustralia]

I have a SG9663DC Pro and my car is parked outside during summer, It hits over 45C here quite a bit.

 

[laknox]

Again, thanks for the info, everyone.

As an aside, I always wanted to put a solar panel inside my sun roof to power an exhaust fan to pull hot air out of my car.

Lyle

 

[jokiin]

As an aside, I always wanted to put a solar panel inside my sun roof to power an exhaust fan to pull hot air out of my car.

been done before, not a bad idea

 

[laknox]

been done before, not a bad idea

Commercially, or a DIY hack?

Lyle

 

[jokiin]

Commercially, or a DIY hack?

Lyle

Mazda did it

 

[laknox]

Mazda did it

Ah!

Lyle

 

[kamkar]

I would have to look at some form of active ventilation too if i lived in a climate like that, and also a car with aircon which my current cheapo car don't have.
And though i very much prefer a hotter climate, then it can also get so hot i am sure i would like it a bit colder, so i would probably go to great lengths to work something out.
Even if i had to bolt stuff to the outside / roof of my car so hand washing was the only option, besides i dont mind driving a dirty car i am not into it for the looks, i am a lazy old guy that's all.