Hardwire kit alternative

[v81]

I think that's where we differ.
Having an electronics background and seeing such terrible regulation has now made me suspicious.
I'm now not just concerned with having it work, but with having it work without issue for several years.
With a regulator so poor that chances of future trouble are high, especially as components in the dash cam age.
The HK3's we have here will power a Navman unit and all appears well at first glance, but i now know that the Navman is seeing a ripple of 1.72 volts.
That's not a little variance, that's an order of magnitude above what should be acceptable.
I'm surprised this doesn't worry more people, understandable if you can't see it, but I've provided scope captures of this happening and another use also claims the output is terrible from them too, but to a lesser extent and the camera does run.
Anyone who uses a HK3 should be concerned.
A little variance isn't an issue, but this is far from a little.
This will lead to premature aging of the dash cam components, and then on to intermittent failures and possible data corruption.

I can't force you, but i'd encourage you to be sceptical of the quality of product in light of this evidence.
The appearance of it working does not mean there aren't issues here, there very well are issues and I have evidence to prove it.

 

[HonestReview]

I think that's where we differ.
Having an electronics background and seeing such terrible regulation has now made me suspicious.
I'm now not just concerned with having it work, but with having it work without issue for several years.
With a regulator so poor that chances of future trouble are high, especially as components in the dash cam age.
The HK3's we have here will power a Navman unit and all appears well at first glance, but i now know that the Navman is seeing a ripple of 1.72 volts.
That's not a little variance, that's an order of magnitude above what should be acceptable.
I'm surprised this doesn't worry more people, understandable if you can't see it, but I've provided scope captures of this happening and another use also claims the output is terrible from them too, but to a lesser extent and the camera does run.
Anyone who uses a HK3 should be concerned.
A little variance isn't an issue, but this is far from a little.
This will lead to premature aging of the dash cam components, and then on to intermittent failures and possible data corruption.

I can't force you, but i'd encourage you to be sceptical of the quality of product in light of this evidence.
The appearance of it working does not mean there aren't issues here, there very well are issues and I have evidence to prove it.

I've run an A129 Duo in my vehicle for 2 years without issues. Albeit, in the last 5-6 months when my cameras entered park mode for extended periods, they were shutting off or seemed to freeze. This has been resolved with a new car battery. Apparently my AGM battery (which was around 6.5 years old) was generating low battery warnings sooner and sooner. Had a bad cell. It was at fault.

None the less, I've noticed no erratic behavior tied to the hardwire kit. My car functions fine. I run two cameras with the Hk3 kit. I also have the A129 Duo in another car with an Hk3 and it's had zero issues in 1.5 years.

Ultimately, your observations may be accurate, and these observations may indeed result in a shorter lifespan of Viofo Equipment. I think if people get 3-5 years usage, they'll be satisfied. Technology doesn't age gracefully, and by 5 years, an upgrade is warranted whether the equipment functions or not.