GS900 (VF960S)

[mariomart]

I had issues with my GS9000 so it was sent back to Foxoffer for a refund. I purchased the newer GS900 (VF960S) as it's replacement.

Where I purchased mine.

Initially I had issues with the GS900 firmware as it would not remember the English language setting and kept reverting back to Chinese. Another issue was that the GPS took forever to catch a signal, up to 10 minutes sometimes.

Foxoffer has since released a newer firmware, Version 0905, which seems to have sorted these problems. It now remembers English and the GPS takes about 20 seconds to catch.

Things I like.

It's smaller than the GS9000. Generally does everything it should.

Things I don't like.

It takes a long time to turn on once the key is turned. About 10 to 15 seconds. Doesn't sound like much but with every other can I've used they turned on immediately.
I miss the 178° wide angle of the GS9000, the GS900 is only 140°.
The GPS Player Software is horrendous. The camera records in MOV and the GPS file is in .txt , it is not compatible with DATAKAM PLAYER, RegistratorViewer or the regular players. It has it's own player which sucks bad. I'm in Australia but the software had me driving in downtown Beijing, it also doesn't sync correctly with the first file thus introducing a 20 second time error. The software also does not stitch together journeys, you are forced to watch each file independently. Did I mention it sucks.

If they addressed the Player issues and the start up time then I would rate the GS900 as a great buy.

As it is, the camera image is very good and the mounting system is also very good.

 

[jokiin]

form factor is good, not too big at all, everything firmware related you mentioned are things that could be sorted, assuming you can get the message through to the right people

if you send the details to Vladikus he might be able to add them to Registrator Viewer, he's pretty good like that

 

[mariomart]

form factor is good, not too big at all, everything firmware related you mentioned are things that could be sorted, assuming you can get the message through to the right people

if you send the details to Vladikus he might be able to add them to Registrator Viewer, he's pretty good like that

It is a nice size considering the 2.7" screen. I've been contacting Foxoffer directly and they have been quick to address the firmware issues, thumbs up for that

Who is this Vladikus God that you speak of? How do I help him to help me?

Cheers Mario

 

[jokiin]

Who is this Vladikus God that you speak of? How do I help him to help me?

Cheers Mario

the guy that writes Registrator Viewer, he's a member here and has asked previously for anyone that has an unsupported model to send him the files and he'll look to adding support in subsequent versions, can contact him through his own site also

 

[mariomart]

Well, due to not being able to view my track on a GPS Player Tool I decided to manually enter some of the coordinates into Google Maps to check the GPS accuracy. To put it simply I was extremely disappointed and frustrated. According to my DVR's GPS coordinates I am driving in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Click here to see my aquatic driving skills location.

I've contacted the seller, Foxoffer, and expressed my frustrations and requirement for support.

I'm hoping it's just another firmware issue.

If you thinking of purchasing this model, DON'T, just not yet. Wait until the bugs are worked out.

Cheers Mario

 

[jokiin]

don't buy a submarine just yet, the mid ocean GPS issue is an easy firmware fix, I'd suggest sending them one of the txt files so they can see why it's out

 

[mariomart]

don't buy a submarine just yet, the mid ocean GPS issue is an easy firmware fix, I'd suggest sending them one of the txt files so they can see why it's out

I sent them one line out of the txt file. I'm a pretty patient person, but what with the issues I had with the GS9000 and now the issues with the GS900 I'm sure most of you could understand how frustrating it all is. All I simply want is a DVR that I can plug in and it tells me what I need to know accurately without exception. Is it really that hard?

 

[jokiin]

New models are always more frustrating, it does take time to get things sorted

A complete text file would be more useful, also the coordinates that correctly identify the same area that the files were recorded in, (you can look that up in google maps) may be helpful, no knowing who is fixing the firmware and how much they know about this so the more detailed info you give the better

 

[mariomart]

I'm in the process of uploading the .MOV and .txt to DropBox so they can see for themselves.

 

[jokiin]

I'm in the process of uploading the .MOV and .txt to DropBox so they can see for themselves.

Just the txt file would do but it can't hurt to give them both, at least they'll see you're not out in the ocean

might be worth suggesting they output the data as an nmea file instead of txt, would make it a lot more versatile instead of being limited to the current playback software

 

[reenari]

Well, due to not being able to view my track on a GPS Player Tool I decided to manually enter some of the coordinates into Google Maps to check the GPS accuracy. To put it simply I was extremely disappointed and frustrated. According to my DVR's GPS coordinates I am driving in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Click here to see my aquatic driving skills location.

I've contacted the seller, Foxoffer, and expressed my frustrations and requirement for support.

I'm hoping it's just another firmware issue.

If you thinking of purchasing this model, DON'T, just not yet. Wait until the bugs are worked out.

Cheers Mario

I have the same camera and feel the same frustration....

This coordinate thing is just a coordinates representation bug. I guess you gave the coordinates to google maps lilke:
'32.209649S 115.479775E' like they are in the txt file. Try to give them as '32 20.9649S 115 47.9775E' and you might end in the correct place.
The txt file is also missing the speed..

I've also contacted foxoffer but after the initial response they keeps silent.

Br. ari

 

[mariomart]

I have the same camera and feel the same frustration....

This coordinate thing is just a coordinates representation bug. I guess you gave the coordinates to google maps lilke:
'32.209649S 115.479775E' like they are in the txt file. Try to give them as '32 20.9649S 115 47.9775E' and you might end in the correct place.
The txt file is also missing the speed..

I've also contacted foxoffer but after the initial response they keeps silent.

Br. ari

reenari, thanks for the tip. By applying your method the error is reduced to about 20 meters. There are so many issues with the firmware and software on the GS900, which is a pity as the actual hardware seem very competent.

I still have faith that FoxOffer will eventually tweak out all the problems and the DVR will be awesome. The more feedback that we provide to them hopefully will help find solutions faster.

 

[Mirar]

Hi everyone.

I got my GS900/VF960S the day before yesterday.

The hardware is very capable, but I have these problems:

Hardware:
The accelerometer (z) is showing -8g most of the time. This seems like a problem that can
be software fixed - it seems like positive numbers are -8+real value (ie, 0.1g shows up as -7.9g).

Software:
1) the video files are of random length, sometimes as short as seconds.

2) the video file breaks - no video file at all - are up to several minutes.

3) turning off the crash detection (because the accelerometer is buggy)
also turns off the accelerometer and it now shows zeroes.

I haven't tried the software that came with it, but I did mail the text file to the RegistratorViewer fellow.

Any of you know how to fix these problems? Do you have any alternative firmware - how do you normally load that?

Anyone seen anything similar?

(The camera is also rather dark. But I saw there were an AE setting, I haven't tried that yet.)

edit: I reported this to Foxoffer, but no reply as of yet.
edit: Foxoffer replied and asked me to upgrade to firmware 0509. It came with firmware 0509...

 

[reenari]

Hi everyone.

I got my GS900/VF960S the day before yesterday.

The hardware is very capable, but I have these problems:

Hardware:
The accelerometer (z) is showing -8g most of the time. This seems like a problem that can
be software fixed - it seems like positive numbers are -8+real value (ie, 0.1g shows up as -7.9g).

Software:
1) the video files are of random length, sometimes as short as seconds.

2) the video file breaks - no video file at all - are up to several minutes.

3) turning off the crash detection (because the accelerometer is buggy)
also turns off the accelerometer and it now shows zeroes.

I haven't tried the software that came with it, but I did mail the text file to the RegistratorViewer fellow.

Any of you know how to fix these problems? Do you have any alternative firmware - how do you normally load that?

Anyone seen anything similar?

(The camera is also rather dark. But I saw there were an AE setting, I haven't tried that yet.)

edit: I reported this to Foxoffer, but no reply as of yet.

I had similar problems when I had the 'motion detect'-setting on. Now I have it off and the device is behaving
as I would expect.

Btw. after complaining here and sending an email to foxoffer asking whats happening I got a reply from foxoffer claiming that the
sample files I sent them worked just OK, and a promise that they will send screenshots soon.

After that I reinstalled the viewer software, but still no go. There is an error ( in a log file that is in totally incorrect place)

2013-05-22 21:38:34.9024|ERROR|VehicleVideoPlayer.MainBoard|System.FormatException: Input string was not in a correct format.
at System.Number.StringToNumber(String str, NumberStyles options, NumberBuffer& number, NumberFormatInfo info, Boolean parseDecimal)
at System.Number.ParseDouble(String value, NumberStyles options, NumberFormatInfo numfmt)
at System.Double.Parse(String s, NumberStyles style, NumberFormatInfo info)
at System.Double.Parse(String s)
at VehicleVideoPlayer.MainBoard.ReadGPSData(String filePath)
at VehicleVideoPlayer.MainBoard.GetGPSData()
at VehicleVideoPlayer.MainBoard.PlayVideo()

when the viever tries to read the GPS data.

I'm in the software development business myself (also done my share of embedded software to know how hard it is without proper tools) and have my doubts what will be (especially as it shows not as 'sold out' at their web page). That's why I started to look for an alternative from some other source.

They really need a new firmware version to fix the problems not just workarounds with the viewer software.

About the G-sensor I also noticed the offset, but I considered that as normal (as gravity is pulling down )

 

[Mirar]

I had similar problems when I had the 'motion detect'-setting on. Now I have it off and the device is behaving
as I would expect.

Oh, interesting. I'll try turning it off.

It's rather likely, the motion detect could turn on the interrupt pins on the accelerometer, which could in it's turn wreak havoc with badly written handling of those interrupts when the system is running. Those pins are usually so that you can wake up the system and do some logging - it's for systems that sleep if nothing happens.

I'm in the software development business myself (also done my share of embedded software to know how hard it is without proper tools) and have my doubts what will be (especially as it shows not as 'sold out' at their web page). That's why I started to look for an alternative from some other source.

They really need a new firmware version to fix the problems not just workarounds with the viewer software.

If you didn't get that from the text above, so am I.
Maybe we should just ask if they can share the source...

About the G-sensor I also noticed the offset, but I considered that as normal (as gravity is pulling down )

No, this is on the z-axis, and it's very much a wrap or a sign error. The y axis where the offset should be is correctly at -1g:

22.05.13 08:12:11 A 59.227599,N,017.589450,E -0.12 -1.03 -7.91 
22.05.13 08:12:12 A 59.227555,N,017.589741,E -0.09 -1.03 -7.91 
22.05.13 08:12:13 A 59.227508,N,017.589878,E -0.09 -1.03 -7.88 
22.05.13 08:12:14 A 59.227347,N,017.590166,E -0.06 -1.00 -7.88 
22.05.13 08:12:15 A 59.227247,N,017.590455,E -0.12 -1.06 -7.91 
22.05.13 08:12:16 A 59.227258,N,017.590613,E -0.16 -1.00 -7.91 
22.05.13 08:12:17 A 59.227116,N,017.590945,E -0.19 -1.06 -7.94 
22.05.13 08:12:18 A 59.227149,N,017.591014,E -0.09 -1.09 -0.03 
22.05.13 08:12:19 A 59.227191,N,017.591079,E -0.06 -1.09 -0.06 
22.05.13 08:12:20 A 59.227209,N,017.591211,E -0.03 -1.09 -0.09 
22.05.13 08:12:21 A 59.227238,N,017.591295,E -0.03 -1.09 -0.09 
22.05.13 08:12:22 A 59.227241,N,017.591408,E 0.06 -1.09 -0.09

Note how that would make a smooth curve if -7.94 would mean +0.06, etc. Seems like a shift/sign problem somehow.
Looking at the numbers the resolution seems to be 1/32G, so I guess the accelerometer is 10-bit with 16G max/-16G min?

 

[jokiin]

I'd love to do an open source camera to see what's really possible with some enthusiast input

 

[Mirar]

I'd love to do an open source camera to see what's really possible with some enthusiast input

That would indeed be awesome.

I got a reply for Foxoffer, they told me to upgrade the firmware to the one that is, for me, pre-installed on the camera (0509).

 

[Mirar]

I had similar problems when I had the 'motion detect'-setting on. Now I have it off and the device is behaving
as I would expect.

Oh, interesting. I'll try turning it off.

Ok, now it got different. Now it records exactly 58 seconds every time the camera starts,
but no more. (I've set file size to maximum - 3 or 5 minutes?)

I don't get any .txt file at all anymore, either. Possibly the GPS doesn't start, it didn't seem to want
to write a .txt file without GPS reception before.

Any chance you can give me all your settings, and I'll try to duplicate the exact same ones?

 

[jokiin]

Looking at the numbers the resolution seems to be 1/32G, so I guess the accelerometer is 10-bit with 16G max/-16G min?

not sure what they're using but typical hardware used only measures up to 4G

 

[WhiteEightBall]

An open source cam, unbeknownst to me on how such a thing operates, I think would be amazing.