DR500 and WiFi connection to PC?

FSC830

Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2013
Messages
117
Reaction score
7
Country
Germany
Hi,

currently I am hesitating which HD cam I should buy, so many reviews, all cams with advantages and disadvantages... :?
From the housing I would prefer the DR500, but in a lot of posts the users reporting a bad picture at night. And when spending such an amount of bucks at least day and night time recording should good.
Or is this issue solved with the modified v1.05 FW?

Anyhow, back to topic :) :

I wonder if the DR500 could be accessed by WiFi with a normal PC too. Does anybody knows this?
Not for live streaming of the picture (this seems to be only possible with a smartphone) but for filetransfer of the recorded videos. The manual does not tell very much about this.
Is there maybe a small http or ftp server running?
Or is picking up the SD card into a PC really the only way to transfer the videos?

Regards
 
in a custom firmware possible
0_b6467_ac0bf2db_L.jpg
 
There is a FTP server running in Blackvue. I`m using program Total Commander, but any FTP compatible file manager should probably do it.
You should connect to IP 192.168.8.1 through FTP.
 
As you have to have ignition on to get camera to run I dont see the point.

If you have to go to car to do that just pull the card and put it in PC.

Unless you want to show it on a laptop in car,
 
or your car is in front of the door and you can acces it because the camera is running 24/7
 
VincentMiata said:
or your car is in front of the door and you can acces it because the camera is running 24/7

As I have 2 garages I dont need that function. Guess maybe handy in places that have to park outside as you say However if at night you would be asleep so a car alarm may be better
 
I was just curious if it is possible or if there is maybe a proprietary access only for the Blackvue App.
Sometimes manufactures do surprising thinks to their devices :shock: .

Anyhow in >90% I will also be able to connect via WiFi to my car, its parking 2m in front of my house. But I didnt get a cam yet, I am just clarifing some details in advance.

Currently I am toggeling between DR500 and Finevu CR500.
And it seems that I am not alone :D :D .
From case and mounting I would prefer the DR500, but to so much bad reviews of the 400 models I am quite unsure. The x-mas tree at Finevu does not affect me, I own some black tape :D .
But the holding is not as smart and small than the DR500 ones (my oppinion).
Will take some time for a decision, both are very high priced gadgets as you now ;) .

Regards
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi,
All is possible with the standard firmware. My car is in the front of my house. When arrived and the cam is in there and working, a special accespoint connected automatically to the webcam. My Synology try to start the file transfer every hour by crontab. The transfer is very slow.

When you want to see the life image it is also possible. The method is described on this form (and also the info above). Use http://192.168 8.1/blackvue_live.cgi. Use chrome instead of IE.

Regards
 
Last edited by a moderator:
VincentMiata said:
i tried the IP in my browser but nothing happens.

Whats the IP in your PC?
Check with running "ipconfig" in the command line box. Is it using an IP in the 192.168.8.xxx range?
Check an command line box also if a "ping 192.168.8.1 is successfull.
Both if a Windows OS is used, for Linux i.e. use "ifconfig -a".

I guess it isn't :D...

Usually most (WLAN-) routers using a default IP range 192.168.1.xxx and netmask 255.255.255.0. If the cams IP really is 192.168.8.1, you will not able to connect without configuring some network settings.

Regards
 
When arrived and the cam is in there and working, a special accespoint connected automatically to the webcam. My Synology try to start the file transfer every hour by crontab

CAn you share how you got it to automatically connect to the blackvue and start syncing files?
 
I actually did not have a WiFi cam but I would do it that way:

Install a dedicated WLAN-Box to your home LAN (different SSID, Key and so on) and configure the cam with the matching data.
Use a PC in your LAN and a script which will do the following:
- Ping the IP of the camera
- check result, if ping results in timeout-> script ends
- if camera responds -> run copy job (i.e. copy \\192.168.???.???\whereever_it_is_\* c:\mydashcampictures).
If the cam provides FTP access an automated download could also be scripted, i.e. with nFTP

You need to replace the IP and the path loactions with the one in your environment.
You can schedule such a job by using windows scheduler or - in case of a Linux system - crontab.

Regards
 
FSC830 said:
I actually did not have a WiFi cam but I would do it that way:

Install a dedicated WLAN-Box to your home LAN (different SSID, Key and so on) and configure the cam with the matching data.
Use a PC in your LAN and a script which will do the following:
- Ping the IP of the camera
- check result, if ping results in timeout-> script ends
- if camera responds -> run copy job (i.e. copy \\192.168.???.???\whereever_it_is_\* c:\mydashcampictures).
If the cam provides FTP access an automated download could also be scripted, i.e. with nFTP

You need to replace the IP and the path loactions with the one in your environment.
You can schedule such a job by using windows scheduler or - in case of a Linux system - crontab.

Regards

hmm, this sounds difficult. i'll give it a shot though. thanks

EDIT: yea, i cant figure it out. anyone have any step by step tutorial for doing this?
 
heiNey said:
When arrived and the cam is in there and working, a special accespoint connected automatically to the webcam. My Synology try to start the file transfer every hour by crontab

CAn you share how you got it to automatically connect to the blackvue and start syncing files?

Hi,

First of all you must have an access point/router with the possibility for wan wireless and lan wired/wireless connection. Like the Conceptronic C300BRS4A.

Put the ap/router in your network wired on the lan site and give the ap/router an fixed ip address in your network.

The BlackVue is configured as an AP, so when you are logged in your ap/router you can connect the wan site to the BlackVue. Most ap/routers have a scan modus to find the BlackVue. Use the SSID and the key you configured in the BlackVue. The wan site gets an ip address from the BlackVue and is always 192.168.8.2. The BlackVue use 192.168.8.1.

Now the most important thing is to tell in your network that if you used 192.168.8.1 from a PC or other device, that the ip package not go out through the main router (connected to your provider) to the outside world, but stay in your network and got to the BlackVue. You can do this by telling your main router to use a static route for 192.168.8.1. The static route must use a gateway with the ip address you give the new ap/router (this is the reason you must use a fixed ip address). The best way is to use 192.168.8.0, that means that all the ip addresses from 192.168.8.1 to 192.168.8.255 go through that gateway.

If the ap/router use only a fixed channel you must have an entry in the configuration file of the BlackVue. The BlackVue wifi driver use a linux driver that dynamically find the best wifi channel. The entry is “channel=x” where x=1 to 15. 1 is the best choice. Put it in the “[Wifi]” section. The file “config.ini” is in the Config directory of the SD. When you format the SD, the entry is gone. I must look how I can fixed that.

Now you can use telnet, ftp and web access for the BlackVue. Like http://192.168.8.1/blackvue_live.cgi for live feed and http://192.168.8.1 for files stored on the SD. Don’t use IE, it don’t work. Use google Chrome.

If you want to know how the automatic sync or download works, let me know.

Regards
 
Last edited by a moderator:
As stated above I do not own a DR500 but I am curious :D .

Where did you find all this information? The manual has very few information about the WiFi configuration of the cam, I did not found a note for the default IP or any other typical WiFi settings (security, encryption), only the SSID and where you can found the MAC (page 22). Also the page referring to the WiFi configuration does only show the login settings.
Is there something missing in the manual or did you get more documents beside the manual. Or will there a open new tab in the Blackvue software?
I downloaded the manual from directly from the blackvue/uk site.

Regards
 
FSC830 said:
As stated above I do not own a DR500 but I am curious :D .

Where did you find all this information?

Regards

The info is not so much. It is very simple and I combine a lot of information you can find in this forum. Not in the manuals. The most is also standard wifi. This solution works now for about 1 month without any problems. When the BlackVue is not in range of the ap/router there is of course no connection, when it is coming in range the connection is automatically restored. The distance between the BlackVue and ap/router is about 8 meters.

De BlackVue is a linux based cam. The wifi is based on “hostapd” a standard driver for linux. They used boa as http webservice, this is a very simple one. And dropbear for SSH. There is also an ftp server. So you can download by ftp the images with FileZilla or lftp on linux. The last one I use for download the images to my Synology. (user/password is root/pt). This info I found by studying the BlackVue with telnet.

There is only one error in my message of this morning. If you use http://192.168.8.1 you don’t get de files from your SD, but other information. You must use ftp://192.168.8.1/Blackvue/Record.

Regards
 
Last edited by a moderator:
RJB said:
heiNey said:
When arrived and the cam is in there and working, a special accespoint connected automatically to the webcam. My Synology try to start the file transfer every hour by crontab

CAn you share how you got it to automatically connect to the blackvue and start syncing files?

Hi,

First of all you must have an access point/router with the possibility for wan wireless and lan wired/wireless connection. Like the Conceptronic C300BRS4A.

Put the ap/router in your network wired on the lan site and give the ap/router an fixed ip address in your network.

The BlackVue is configured as an AP, so when you are logged in your ap/router you can connect the wan site to the BlackVue. Most ap/routers have a scan modus to find the BlackVue. Use the SSID and the key you configured in the BlackVue. The wan site gets an ip address from the BlackVue and is always 192.168.8.2. The BlackVue use 192.168.8.1.

Now the most important thing is to tell in your network that if you used 192.168.8.1 from a PC or other device, that the ip package not go out through the main router (connected to your provider) to the outside world, but stay in your network and got to the BlackVue. You can do this by telling your main router to use a static route for 192.168.8.1. The static route must use a gateway with the ip address you give the new ap/router (this is the reason you must use a fixed ip address). The best way is to use 192.168.8.0, that means that all the ip addresses from 192.168.8.1 to 192.168.8.255 go through that gateway.

If the ap/router use only a fixed channel you must have an entry in the configuration file of the BlackVue. The BlackVue wifi driver use a linux driver that dynamically find the best wifi channel. The entry is “channel=x” where x=1 to 15. 1 is the best choice. Put it in the “[Wifi]” section. The file “config.ini” is in the Config directory of the SD. When you format the SD, the entry is gone. I must look how I can fixed that.

Now you can use telnet, ftp and web access for the BlackVue. Like http://192.168.8.1/blackvue_live.cgi for live feed and http://192.168.8.1 for files stored on the SD. Don’t use IE, it don’t work. Use google Chrome.

If you want to know how the automatic sync or download works, let me know.

Regards

thanks for the write up. some parts are confusing, but i wont know if i'll have a problem until i have a router with a wireless WAN to try.

and yes, please post the information for the automatic sync/download for future reference. im not sure when i will be able to get the router. and the conceptronic router does not exist here in america i guess. cant seem to find any information on it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top