F800 PRO - microphone input level too high

AS400

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Salutations all;

I've noticed the F800pro audio is distorted (too loud) in my recordings. Even the camera's own voice announcements sound distorted.
Is there a way to lower the microphone sensitivity? I don't see it as an option in the smartphone app.

Being the operating system in the F800 PRO is Linux, perhaps doing some tinkering with the audio configuration(s) might be the solution. I don't want to mess this camera up since is my main camera setup in our car. Anyone tried it?
Anyone else noticing the audio is too loud?

BTW, our car has a custom exhaust so it is naturally LOUD - to me, reducing microphone sensitivity is a good idea!

I can provide a sample if needed purely for illustration.

Best,
E
 
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I have the same issue with audio being way too loud/sensitive, especially to wind noise and my valvetronic exhaust lol.

I tried putting foam over the mic hole in the chassis of the camera, but it doesn’t help much.
 
I have the same issue with audio being way too loud/sensitive, especially to wind noise and my valvetronic exhaust lol.
I tried putting foam over the mic hole in the chassis of the camera, but it doesn’t help much.

Hello RLS,

Thank you for responding.
I also thought about blocking the microphone but I feared audio would still be loud and additionally muffled, further aggravating the situation.

What I'm thinking of is accessing the OS (it's Linux) running in the camera and look for audio configuration files. Perhaps I can change the settings there. The problem is, even if I'm successful, future firmware updates might reset (override) any configuration changes "manually" made.
Currently audio is terrifying LOL
Here is a sample (file copied directly from the camera) where as long as the car is not accelerating much you can hear some music just fine. As soon as I rev the engine a little more, audio goes to crap. All distorted, really bad. Windows are closed in this video.

Youtube Link: Sample

Best,
E
 
Last edited:
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Here are perhaps helpful technical details I gathered from working with my F800 Pro:

Thinkware IP: 10.0.1.5 (this is within my network (LAN) and will probably be different for you)

Telnet port: 23

Username: root (no password requested)

OS: Linux (Linux a12 3.10.71 #1 PREEMPT Thu Jul 26 09:52:03 KST 2018 armv7l GNU/Linux)

Linux version is determined via the following command: uname -a

Video live stream URL: rtsp://10.0.1.5:554/live (use VLC)

Recording (mp4) directories:

Temp: /tmp/SD0/.TWSYS/cont_rec/

Continuous Recording: /tmp/SD0/cont_rec/

Motion timelapse: /tmp/SD0/motion_timelapse_rec/

Event Recording: /tmp/SD0/evt_rec/

Manual Recording: /tmp/SD0/manual_rec/

Parking Recording: /tmp/SD0/parking_rec/


How did I determine these directories?

Telnet as root and cd into the root directory with this command: cd /

Then issue the find command as such: find / -iname *mp4



Best,
E
 
Here are perhaps helpful technical details I gathered from working with my F800 Pro:

Thinkware IP: 10.0.1.5 (this is within my network (LAN) and will probably be different for you)

Telnet port: 23

Username: root (no password requested)

OS: Linux (Linux a12 3.10.71 #1 PREEMPT Thu Jul 26 09:52:03 KST 2018 armv7l GNU/Linux)

Linux version is determined via the following command: uname -a

Video live stream URL: rtsp://10.0.1.5:554/live (use VLC)

Recording (mp4) directories:

Temp: /tmp/SD0/.TWSYS/cont_rec/

Continuous Recording: /tmp/SD0/cont_rec/

Motion timelapse: /tmp/SD0/motion_timelapse_rec/

Event Recording: /tmp/SD0/evt_rec/

Manual Recording: /tmp/SD0/manual_rec/

Parking Recording: /tmp/SD0/parking_rec/


How did I determine these directories?

Telnet as root and cd into the root directory with this command: cd /

Then issue the find command as such: find / -iname *mp4



Best,
E


Ah, you have done your homework! I was planning on messing around in the Linux backend, since it’s my preferred OS haha. Much appreciated for the shared info!

As for mic sensitivity, I realized that the vibrations from our exhausts AND wind noise interference basically make the audio totally useless.

I handled the wind noise pretty well with some high quality mic foam as a windscreen right over the onboard mic (I did this for other dashcams), but realized that I needed to make sure the mic would be steady and stabilized from the vibrations due to exhaust noise/drone.

So, I’ll be testing out a few different designs for using the foam to hold the mic unit in place while also acting as a windscreen.

I’m sure we can tackle this issue, which I feel only affects a small percentage of total dashcam users (stiff suspension, loud exhausts, etc)



-B


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Thanks RLS,

Yes Linux is my OS as well tho sadly I spend most of my time on Windows. Another favor I enjoy is OSX.
Right on. Let me know what your test results are.
I haven't had a chance to run my OS tests since the camera is only active via WiFi while in continuous recording mode (not in parking mode). That's quite annoying as I'm forced to either start the car or place it in battery-power only (accessory key).

I will take the laptop down to the car and test some theories with the OS but first I will build some basic test-cases so I dont waste time guessing in the car with a laptop. I will post back any news.

Side note: I have another thread on this same camera where I'm also attempting to determine a way to download videos via WiFi after parking. That is another issue and so far no practical solution since, again, WiFi is disabled during parking mode.
 
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Thanks RLS,

Yes Linux is my OS as well tho sadly I spend most of my time on Windows. Another favor I enjoy is OSX.
Right on. Let me know what your test results are.
I haven't had a chance to run my OS tests since the camera is only active via WiFi while in continuous recording mode (not in parking mode). That's quite annoying as I'm forced to either start the car or place it in battery-power only (accessory key).

I will take the laptop down to the car and test some theories with the OS but first I will build some basic test-cases so I dont waste time guessing in the car with a laptop. I will post back any news.

Side note: I have another thread on this same camera where I'm also attempting to determine a way to download videos via WiFi after parking. That is another issue and so far no practical solution since, again, WiFi is disabled during parking mode.

Unix is kinda the “best of both worlds”, since Mac does prevent you from doing detrimental things via CL by mistake...

As for WiFi during Parking mode, maybe do a quick custom wiring switch that will toggle the “constant” and the “ignition” wires?


So... I decided to rip apart my F800 Pro [emoji23]
5042fa8bd909c63c7968445b4390a66c.jpg
640a90b5e513866f44d229d303fcedcf.jpg


Added foam:
b5acc728019e29ac27209cfafef4a0f7.jpg




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How is it with the foam in place?


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How is it with the foam in place?


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I just finished putting it back together, and will put it back into the car. I’ll update you once I take it out for a spin. :)


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I just finished putting it back together, and will put it back into the car. I’ll update you once I take it out for a spin. :)


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Ok thanks!


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Ok thanks!


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Ok, so even surrounding the mic with audio windscreen foam didn’t completely remedy the situation. I’ll take it apart again and see if it’s due to how there mic unit is attached to the PCB. I have a feeling that the remaining interference is from vibrations.


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Ok, so even surrounding the mic with audio windscreen foam didn’t completely remedy the situation. I’ll take it apart again and see if it’s due to how there mic unit is attached to the PCB. I have a feeling that the remaining interference is from vibrations.


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Maybe you can try to cover the mic with some blu-tack. Create a hole in the middle of the adhesive and adjust hole size for mic sensitivity.
 
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Maybe you can try to cover the mic with some blu-tack. Create a hole in the middle of the adhesive and adjust hole size for mic sensitivity.

Appreciate the input! I will try having that layer beneath the foam windscreen. Yay for opening up the unit again... [emoji25]


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Let’s see if audio is better on the new firmware.


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FYI
Thinkware has really abandoned the F800 PRO product. I've proven to Thinkware that their audio configuration is too loud compared to another camera brand (Blackvue) with a video set from both cameras in the same car recording at the same time.

The Thinkware audio was distorted while the Blackvue audio was perfect. Why?

You know what their support guy told me? It's my car's fault for being a Muscle Car and causing the audio distortion / vibration etc...

Conclusion: They (Thinkware) just don't care. Completely ignored the competition’s better performance and blamed the customer. Sad. Thinkware is in survival mode wanting to be just an average product.

Bye Thinkware. I will never again buy any product from you. Your tech support is not good and your developers aren’t working hard enough for customers looking for QUALITY.
 
Last edited:
FYI
Thinkware has really abandoned the F800 PRO product. I've proven to Thinkware that their audio configuration is too loud compared to another camera brand (Blackvue) with a video set from both cameras in the same car recording at the same time.

The Thinkware audio was distorted while the Blackvue audio was perfect. Why?

You know what their support guy told me? It's my car's fault for being a Muscle Car and causing the audio distortion / vibration etc...

Conclusion: They (Thinkware) just don't care. Completely ignored the competition’s better performance and blamed the customer. Sad. Thinkware is in survival mode wanting to be just an average product.

Bye Thinkware. I will never again buy any product from you. Your tech support is not good and your developers aren’t working hard enough for customers looking for QUALITY.

I opened up my F800 Pro once more to add a ton of anti-vibration foam, plus thickened the windscreen material.

I also tried to properly secure the mic unit in place, since it had only two points of contact with the PCB.

Then added some padding on areas contacting the housing, since that might cause vibrations. Will test it out.


The Blackvue 750S and 900S I have tested in my car has much clearer audio in most scenarios where the car is moving LOL. Still some noise and interference here and there, but after doing similar mods as mentioned above, the Blackvues are solid.


P.s. I totally agree that manufacturers don’t factor in audio integrity for use in loud/bumpy cars. My car’s exhaust is like 93dB with valves partially closed (just to comply with the stupid CA exhaust law fml).



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I opened up my F800 Pro once more to add a ton of anti-vibration foam, plus thickened the windscreen material.

I also tried to properly secure the mic unit in place, since it had only two points of contact with the PCB.

Then added some padding on areas contacting the housing, since that might cause vibrations. Will test it out.


The Blackvue 750S and 900S I have tested in my car has much clearer audio in most scenarios where the car is moving LOL. Still some noise and interference here and there, but after doing similar mods as mentioned above, the Blackvues are solid.


P.s. I totally agree that manufacturers don’t factor in audio integrity for use in loud/bumpy cars. My car’s exhaust is like 93dB with valves partially closed (just to comply with the stupid CA exhaust law fml).



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Let me know.
I’ve moved Thinkware products down to inferior quality in my personal rankings. I’m not fully satisfied with Blackvue either thanks to the 1 second gap they presented in all rear camera video segments compared to the front camera (main unit) videos. I will continue to research with other products since american dashcams are still not offering rear cameras and I don’t care for 360° degrees cameras.

The Thinkware will be moved to my daily driver once a find a good replacement with decent audio. It’s the first and last Thinkware product I will have. Thinkware doesn’t follow through with their products and prefer to keep on launching new ones leaving current owners in the backseat. A practice I don’t appreciate.
Thanks again man... let know what you find. I might also go back into hacking this crappy Linux version running on the F800 Pro and if I figure anything out I will post here.

For now I recommend Blackvue to others.


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What about more hardware solution? Could you take some pictures of the PCB from both sides in the microphone's area?
 
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What about more hardware solution? Could you take some pictures of the PCB from both sides in the microphone's area?

I have the PCB nicely situated back into the case, perfectly fitted and kinda attached.

But I was able to take apart just the bottom side of the camera, and you can get a decent view of what I did.

8260e1d01d11ca15ac99627e472fd885.jpg
6cef4417251c7143fd281f9dda811d57.jpg



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