Hands on Mini 0806 Ambarella A7LA50 dash camera

[petepete]

I would design my cameras to have an extra connector to supply constant +12v to the device from the vehicles battery instead of using a teeny tiny internal battery to overcome the short run time after power off issue. You can still keep the ignition on/off voltage trigger to auto start and stop the recorder, just also have constant power feed from external source connector also. That will fix the issue. Why some of these young engineers don't think of such easy solutions makes me wonder. It shouldn't be a cost hit neither, so why not do it? Will mini 0806 designer do this? Is there enough time to add this power source feed?

I had the mini power socket drop off one of my g1wh while I had it apart charging it and I had to re-solder it on. I noticed its the four soldered points that hold it in place on the main body and when soldered the electrical connections are a simple push against each other fit ( I ended up robbing one from an old sat nav as I screwed the spring loaded pins up on the original ) - Having contemplated removing the battery I ruled out fitting a wire from that socket to where the battery is and removing it as the supply in is 5v and the battery is 3.7v .

Thinking about it again , wish I had tried it ...

 

[Nigel]

I would design my cameras to have an extra connector to supply constant +12v to the device from the vehicles battery instead of using a teeny tiny internal battery to overcome the short run time after power off issue. You can still keep the ignition on/off voltage trigger to auto start and stop the recorder, just also have constant power feed from external source connector also. That will fix the issue. Why some of these young engineers don't think of such easy solutions makes me wonder. It shouldn't be a cost hit neither, so why not do it? Will mini 0806 designer do this? Is there enough time to add this power source feed?

The problem is that they have to work when plugged into the lighter socket for people incapable of doing anything more complicated and using current technology that requires a few seconds of inbuilt power for shutdown without corrupting the memory card, thus they have a battery and then there is no need for extra external connections.

I could use one for mounting on my rear window for rear view recording too which is what I plan on doing if they are feasible.

The Mini cameras work very nicely on the back window of my hatchback. I wouldn't really want anything bigger back there.

 

[daedalus]

I would design my cameras to have an extra connector to supply constant +12v to the device from the vehicles battery instead of using a teeny tiny internal battery to overcome the short run time after power off issue. You can still keep the ignition on/off voltage trigger to auto start and stop the recorder, just also have constant power feed from external source connector also. That will fix the issue. Why some of these young engineers don't think of such easy solutions makes me wonder. It shouldn't be a cost hit neither, so why not do it? Will mini 0806 designer do this? Is there enough time to add this power source feed?

In the event of an incident that triggers the airbags, most (all?) modern cars have a Battery Isolation Unit (BIU) which immediately cuts the electricity to the ignition unit, and severs the supply from the battery to the whole car. This is to stop electrical sparks igniting any released fuel from the incident.

If your dashcam was only powered from the car, and not using either a capacitor or its own battery, the last recorded file would be lost.

Since that's probably the only file you really needed to keep (just prior to the incident) , then the dashcam wouldn't be doing it job.

I think the 'young engineers' have thought a bit more about it, and I'm grateful.

 

[unbiased]

The problem is that they have to work when plugged into the lighter socket for people incapable of doing anything more complicated and using current technology that requires a few seconds of inbuilt power for shutdown without corrupting the memory card, thus they have a battery and then there is no need for extra external connections.

Hi Nigel, yes, understood about the need to have a battery in place to ensure that any files get written and finalized and saved successfully after power is turned off. So yes, they can still have the small battery in place but still also provide another power jack for those of us who do have the technical knowledge to wire up the extra "always on" power to the device. Keep the cigarette lighter power connection in place for those who are more simple minded. Design it such that if the dedicated power connector is not plugged in, then the cam will take its power from the cigarette lighter on/off connector. But if the dedicated power plug is connected, then the cigarette lighter connection should behave and serve only as the power on/off trigger. A little more sophisticated circuit and logic design but well worth it IMHO.
As a side note, on this ABEO HDVR-180-G2 mirror dash cam I currently have, it has the cigarette lighter power plug to provide power and on/off trigger detection as all other cams do but it also can be powered via its USB port too. But the problem with that is that if I connect a dedicated USB port power feed to it, it will remain constantly on even when I turn off the car ignition thus all the functions that are supposed to go into effect after sensing a power off trigger, will not go into effect because it will think power is always on due to the USB port still providing power. They have to change the logic to detect these power sources and on/off triggers separately to know what state it is in.

 

[unbiased]

In the event of an incident that triggers the airbags, most (all?) modern cars have a Battery Isolation Unit (BIU) which immediately cuts the electricity to the ignition unit, and severs the supply from the battery to the whole car. This is to stop electrical sparks igniting any released fuel from the incident.

If your dashcam was only powered from the car, and not using either a capacitor or its own battery, the last recorded file would be lost.

Since that's probably the only file you really needed to keep (just prior to the incident) , then the dashcam wouldn't be doing it job.

I think the 'young engineers' have thought a bit more about it, and I'm grateful.

Daedalus, you gave good info on the airbag triggering and cutting off of car battery power, but I think you missed my point. All I was saying is that they should provide an connection for us to provide a constant power to the cam after shutting off ignition.
They should of course leave the little rechargeable battery in place for when there is no external power supplied after turning car ignition. Your info is good though. But the engineers didn't care to implement the design to keep the cam running for long long periods if the car power is not turned on or driven for a while. providing an external jack for dedicated power source can then be powered by whatever the user desires... whether it be the cars battery or some separate user battery or capacitor as you stated.

 

[Rayman.Chan]

All I was saying is that they should provide an connection for us to provide a constant power to the cam after shutting off ignition.

This is how a hardwire kit will working for, take power from constant fuse or any 12V circuit, instead of power from ciga lighter.

 

[unbiased]

This is how a hardwire kit will working for, take power from constant fuse or any 12V circuit, instead of power from ciga lighter.

Okay, that sounds good. So will the cam stop recording like normal when you turn the ignition off but it will still have power from the dedicated +12v source and will remain alive and active monitoring for G force impacts, etc.? Then when you start the car up again, it will trigger the automatic recording mode to start recording again (like it does normally now)? If so, then good job! If not, please try to make it so. Thank You!

 

[Rayman.Chan]

Okay, that sounds good. So will the cam stop recording like normal when you turn the ignition off but it will still have power from the dedicated +12v source and will remain alive and active monitoring for G force impacts, etc.? Then when you start the car up again, it will trigger the automatic recording mode to start recording again (like it does normally now)? If so, then good job! If not, please try to make it so. Thank You!

maybe a special mini0806 model - mini Guard!

 

[Nigel]

maybe a special mini0806 model - mini Guard!

I hope it is just the hardwire kit that is special so you can upgrade your standard Mini 0806 to full parking guard functionality?

 

[Mtz]

Not a special hardwire kit, but, again, the G-Sensor mode.

All resolution screenshots:


enjoy,
Mtz

 

[jokiin]

wiring to permanent power is not advisable for this model, or any other model with an internal battery for that matter

 

[Nigel]

wiring to permanent power is not advisable for this model, or any other model with an internal battery for that matter

Maybe the "special mini0806 model" doesn't have an internal battery...

 

[jokiin]

Maybe the "special mini0806 model" doesn't have an internal battery...

never seen suitable capacitors that small

 

[CheckYourLights]

don't read too much into what you see printed on the box or on a webpage

This.
My 0803/0805/0806 all came in a very similar looking box.

Having the lights set up the way they are really helps at night a lot. Between the placement and being dimmer then the 0803 they are just about invisible at night which is very. Other cameras have been a pain at night.

 

[petepete]

solved battery problem for all cameras...

you dont need a battery or capacitors..not only that, its a fantastic solution to giving a safe parking mode with car battery drain protection all in one.....


Cheers for threads like these that get me started !

Question is -

would you buy one and how much would you pay ?

 

[cf7]

not sure will buy one yet....
performance and reliability expectation is highly affect by price....

 

[niko]

never seen suitable capacitors that small

Maybe there are supercaps in shape of flat battery, which have specs suitable for 0806 ?
Similar to the ones below ?

 

[jokiin]

that's the style that would be needed, a quick google on each of those suggests nothing suitable unfortunately, technology changes rapidly though so who knows what may come

 

[vagner]

Here in Brazil, we have in most of cars, something like a burglar alarm. These alarms have a constant power when the car is turned off. So dashcam camera manufactures should make the same, a system that keep the power on camera when the car is off. I think that is easy, they can see a power car alarm system.

 

[jokiin]

there are cameras already which can be powered permanently from the vehicle