DR500GW - my experience

[mrwhite]

Im uk based and thought id share my experience

I ordered from ebay and paid a little extra to get ems shipping so no tax to pay when sent via dhl/fedex etc
It came with english voice/ firmware from the box so no adjustments needed by me and while not totally hidden the install is pretty hidden. I would have liked the holder in black too and the lens surround but hey,
Found i had occasional pink lining at the top with playback with the pitta sd card so ive stuck a 32gb class 10 samsung in and it seems a lot better.

Ive disabled the annoying flashing white light on the front and turned audio mic off by default, though you can turn this on at any time by tapping the left side of the unit.

Generally really impressed though any framerate improvements would be appreciated too.
GPS fix isnt always instant and the startup time from parking mode etc isnt either but no major issues this end,
Here some footage i shot the other night thank goodness for good brakes, gps fix kicked in a few seconds after this scene ended, but i was doing 20-30mph throughout, not over

 

[DashCamMan]

Thanks for sharing. Overall not a bad unit if everything works well.

 

[AmericanDriver]

Im uk based and thought id share my experience

I ordered from ebay and paid a little extra to get ems shipping so no tax to pay when sent via dhl/fedex etc
It came with english voice/ firmware from the box so no adjustments needed by me and while not totally hidden the install is pretty hidden. I would have liked the holder in black too and the lens surround but hey,
Found i had occasional pink lining at the top with playback with the pitta sd card so ive stuck a 32gb class 10 samsung in and it seems a lot better.

Ive disabled the annoying flashing white light on the front and turned audio mic off by default, though you can turn this on at any time by tapping the left side of the unit.

Generally really impressed though any framerate improvements would be appreciated too.
GPS fix isnt always instant and the startup time from parking mode etc isnt either but no major issues this end,
Here some footage i shot the other night thank goodness for good brakes, gps fix kicked in a few seconds after this scene ended, but i was doing 20-30mph throughout, not over

Does the unit get warm? I just ordered one from Amazon. I already own a Finevu CR500, but the WIFI is going to be very nice on this camera.

 

[mrwhite]

Im uk based and thought id share my experience

I ordered from ebay and paid a little extra to get ems shipping so no tax to pay when sent via dhl/fedex etc
It came with english voice/ firmware from the box so no adjustments needed by me and while not totally hidden the install is pretty hidden. I would have liked the holder in black too and the lens surround but hey,
Found i had occasional pink lining at the top with playback with the pitta sd card so ive stuck a 32gb class 10 samsung in and it seems a lot better.

Ive disabled the annoying flashing white light on the front and turned audio mic off by default, though you can turn this on at any time by tapping the left side of the unit.

Generally really impressed though any framerate improvements would be appreciated too.
GPS fix isnt always instant and the startup time from parking mode etc isnt either but no major issues this end,
Here some footage i shot the other night thank goodness for good brakes, gps fix kicked in a few seconds after this scene ended, but i was doing 20-30mph throughout, not over

Does the unit get warm? I just ordered one from Amazon. I already own a Finevu CR500, but the WIFI is going to be very nice on this camera.

not noticed any heat issues

If parking in an underground carpark in parking mode, you may wish to turn the wifi off, the blue glow on from the wifi light is quite bright and can attract attention,
I rarely use the wifi to be honest
i got this unit mainly for the ventilation issues and hopefully improved service about previous models and the compact size that lets me hide it away behind the mirror

 

[dasher]

Mine will be in on Monday, so I don't know all the ins and outs, but I thought you might be able to turn off the wifi light through settings. Is this possible?

 

[mrwhite]

Mine will be in on Monday, so I don't know all the ins and outs, but I thought you might be able to turn off the wifi light through settings. Is this possible?

nope, you can turn off the white "security" light at the front, i think even the recording light but not seen one for wifi, but you can set wifi on or off on default

 

[4wiggy]

I have painted the lens surround black with a sharpie and put a black sticker over the WiFi LED also I have some double sided velcro around the camera to cover the GPS and recording LED's (I know I can turn off the recording LED but by covering it in this way its easy to slide the velcro along so the lamps are visible without having to change the config and power cycle the cam). thus my cam is very stealthy.
I am also experimenting with ways to darken the mount and will probably go with spray painting the grey part black.

 

[Hillbilly]

I have painted the lens surround black with a sharpie and put a black sticker over the WiFi LED also I have some double sided velcro around the camera to cover the GPS and recording LED's (I know I can turn off the recording LED but by covering it in this way its easy to slide the velcro along so the lamps are visible without having to change the config and power cycle the cam). thus my cam is very stealthy.

I am also experimenting with ways to darken the mount and will probably go with spray painting the grey part black.

You can turn your LED's off in settings to save stuffing around with Velcro and other crap. I have all mine turned off an all my cameras No sense in alerting people to the fact you have them.

Wouldnt worry about the mount The earlier cameras were silver and mine halve been in the cars for two years in 3 countries and havent been pinched so far

 

[Marcus]

Also UK based, mine should be here Tuesday, given up trying to find a reliable 1080p cheaper brand, despite having had decent picture quality both units failed on me within a couple of months or less.

I will be having to make a custom mount as I drive a truck and need to be able to move the cam from truck to truck, will modify the mount so I can suction cup it somehow.

 

[Hillbilly]

Also UK based, mine should be here Tuesday, given up trying to find a reliable 1080p cheaper brand, despite having had decent picture quality both units failed on me within a couple of months or less.

I will be having to make a custom mount as I drive a truck and need to be able to move the cam from truck to truck, will modify the mount so I can suction cup it somehow.

Easiest thing to do is buy some 3M DUAL LOCK tape Its like Velcro but far better and you can put some on each windscreen and just remove the whole camera and attach it in other vehicle.
It is heat resistant and I have had some on a windscreen for nearly 2 years and it hasnt come off




Otherwise you can buy additional mounts for the camera for about $30 each

 

[Marcus]

Arrived today and made my custom mount already

Good old hot glue :lol:

 

[Mitch]

What mount are you using? Where did you mount the Blackvue DR500GW to? Can the high temperature glue adhesive hold-up the DVR and the mount over a long period?

 

[Marcus]

It is just an old phone squeezer type mount from eBay with all the bits stripped off leaving the suction cup basically. The supplied sticky pad stuck to mount first which seemed enough but I was not happy at the idea of bouncing nearly £300 around on the dash so opted for the hot glue back up plan as well

Not chance it will "fall off"