DR970X 2CH Box Plus IR Installation

[cpo]

 

[Vortex Radar]

Thanks for the video! I plan on doing an install soon on my EV9 so this was helpful to watch.

Apparently these Kia’s will use the big EV battery to recharge the 12v battery so I think we should get longer parking record time using the 12v battery. I still need to test this though.

How secure is the Velcro holding things down under your seat? No issues with things moving and potentially getting caught behind the pedals if you brake hard? The cables should help keep things more secure too I think.

I loved your solution with the Blendmount for the interior cam.

 

[cpo]

Nothing is moving under the seat. I had to use a different soft side velcro for the battery (some 3M that I already had on hand) because the strips that came with the battery didn't stick very well. They put some scotch guard on the carpet and seats, and I am sure that has something to do with it. My seats are manual, so your mileage may vary, but I was able to find a spot that allowed free movement of the seat, but it took a little wiggling to find that right spot.

You are correct.. the 12v battery is backed by the high voltage system. I didn't want to leave it to the car battery alone, though. It's an interesting thought, although kia has had issues with their battery charging strategy, so keep an eye on that.

I now need to see if blendmount can make a mount specific to that box IR cam!

 

[Vortex Radar]

You are correct.. the 12v battery is backed by the high voltage system. I didn't want to leave it to the car battery alone, though. It's an interesting thought, although kia has had issues with their battery charging strategy, so keep an eye on that.

What issues have you seen? With the EV9, specifically, I've seen some dead 12v battery issues if people use certain features like the phone key or one or two other features, but I'm not sure if that's all been figured out entirely yet.

I just finished watching the second half of the video and that cable grabber thing is brilliant! I had no idea those existed and when I saw it in your video, I immediately paused and bought one too, lol. I was wanting to use your affiliate link, but unfortunately you didn't have any. Have you considered adding some?

I like the torque wrench you used as well to get it to spec properly.

 

[cpo]

Thanks. I sometimes plug in affiliate links but not always. Thanks of thinking of me though.

I haven't experienced any battery problems personally, but it looks to be limited to the EV6 (not the EV9):

“The EVs were recalled due to a software glitch in the ICCU that could impact the battery’s power. The issue can cause charging problems and possibly a loss of power while driving.

In the US, the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) opened an investigation on June 8, 2023, after several reports of loss of ICCU power in 2022-2023 Hyundai IONIQ 5 models. Kia’s EV6 was also under investigation due to complaints of loss of power.

The NHTSA officially announced on Thursday that Hyundai and Kia are recalling 147,110 EVs in the US. Hyundai is recalling 98,878 EVs, including certain 2022-20224 IONIQ 5, 2023-2024 IONIQ 6, Genesis GV60, Genesis GV70, and Genesis Electrified GV80.

Kia will also recall 48,232 2022-2024 EV6 models. The recall is over the same issue where the ICCU can become damaged and stop charging the battery.”

 

[tonysunshine]

@cpo thanks for the video, was very helpful to hear you narrate the process and decision making.
One question for the 970x plus box system - are there status lights on the cameras themselves? Or only on the box unit? And if its under the seat, that means you can't really tell if its working or not because the status LEDs are not visible? Are you just relying on the app for this?

I have a regular 900x plus right now, and I want to switch to the box system so its easier to put on the sunscreen. I had a lot of problems with cloud connectivity and relied heavily on the status LEDs on the 900x camera to make sure it was working - hence the question about the status LED indicators on the box system

Thanks

 

[cpo]

There are small white status lights on the cameras themselves. These are the "Security" LEDs. They can be turned on/off in the app. I like to have the front security light on when in parking or normal mode as an indicator that everything is working. I can clearly see that LED from my driver's seat. The other LEDs in this list pertain to the box itself. Unfortunately, to know if cloud connectivity is good, you'd have to look at the box. I check the app periodically to verify mine works... You could mount the box in a different location, however, that would allow you to see those LEDs if you really need it.

 

[cpo]

I am seeing some banding in the night footage that is concerning... not sure if it's an interference issue (maybe from the high voltage system) or what. Any ideas? It happens even in parking mode, though, so maybe it doesn't have anything to do with the electrical system in the car.

 

[rcg530]

I am seeing some banding in the night footage that is concerning... not sure if it's an interference issue (maybe from the high voltage system) or what. Any ideas? It happens even in parking mode, though, so maybe it doesn't have anything to do with the electrical system in the car.

View attachment 71559

View attachment 71560

I had the same thing occur with my DR970X BOX Plus front camera nighttime video footage.

 

[DT MI]

...Any ideas?...

Are there fluorescent lights (or other types that 'cycle' on/off in the area? I've seen similar banding in photos/videos under some conditions with that type of lighting.

 

[Dashmellow]

A similar issue involving a flickering banding was reported about four years ago with some, but not all A119 V3 cameras in low light situations, especially when set to 60 fps. It was never fully determined what the cause was but it was thought to be a processor issue. I experienced the problem with one of my V3s but it was more subtle than in this video and more like the screen shots shown above. Complaints about the problem seem to have disappeard, so perhaps it was resolved in later manufacturing runs.

 

[cpo]

I had the same thing occur with my DR970X BOX Plus front camera nighttime video footage.

Yep. Exactly the same. Did you ever find a resolution? I just ordered another coax cable so I can play around with whether there might be electronic interference from cable placement. By using another cable, I won’t have to undo my install while I play with it.

Are there fluorescent lights (or other types that 'cycle' on/off in the area?

Location doesn’t seem to matter at all.

A similar issue involving a flickering banding was reported about four years ago with some, but not all A119 V3 cameras in low light situations,

Ugh. Thanks.

 

[rcg530]

Yep. Exactly the same. Did you ever find a resolution? I just ordered another coax cable so I can play around with whether there might be electronic interference from cable placement. By using another cable, I won’t have to undo my install while I play with it.

No solution has been found yet. My emails to Pittasoft support asking about this issue have gone unanswered. I have other BlackVue coax video cables. As a test, I'll likely run one down the middle of the vehicle to see if it results in better video at night.

 

[cpo]

I sent some video to Pittasoft. This is the response I got today:

According to our 2nd level support, there will be a newer firmware version for the DR970X Box which will be released probably by Monday or the beginning of next week.

It's highly likely that the banding issue will be resolved in this firmware update.

 

[cpo]

Pittasoft sent me a replacement unit. I *think* the banding is not present on this one, but I will test along the same stretch of road tonight. The audio noise during parking mode events is still the same. (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1guKqLRBgmaidzZWgadPtFtwb_UrpZnD9/view?usp=share_link)

 

[cpo]

Okay...the audio is still not perfect in parking event videos... but the banding issue seems to not be present in my replacement front camera.

 

[cpo]

Something I noticed when I swapping out cameras earlier that I don't like.

If you unplug (or presumably cut) the cable for the front camera, the box start beeping as an alarm. While I kinda get the idea of a "tamper" alarm to scare off bad guys... it dawned on me that this defeats the entire purpose of the "hidden" box. You know... the part with the SD card and the connection to the cloud. So they cut the cable off the front camera after realizing that they simply can't be unplugged... and this friendly beep helps you locate the brains of the operation in order to fully disable the rest of the system. Probably an overkill of a thought, but I'd prefer it just remain quiet and hidden.