heat sink added into 0803

[rpr]

Mine definitely has the heat sink, as I opened it up. I cut open the top and bottom of the case so there is clear air flow through the body over the heat sink, I also added a piece of copper that sits on the heat sink and protrudes from the case. Lastly I built a small aluminum 'sun shield' that sits in kind of above the camera. After doing all of that, the body of the camera is cool to the touch, whereas before it was quite hot. The copper part that is now sticking out is extremely hot, but I haven't had any issues since doing this. It's not pretty, but it works.

 

[OJOCam]

OJO CAM- FROM LARRY: The weight is 64 grams with heat sink.

It really depends on what type of heat sink (material/shape) is applied to the Ambarella chip. As long as the camera can maintain good working temperature and work reliably, we are all happy.

 

[rtrski]

So, I finally cracked mine today planning on my heatsink mod idea, and found it already had the small 'LED flower' heatsink on it, which surprised me since I purchased right before the posting here that one had been added. It also disappointed me since I've been having some intermittency issues, yet my mount felt pretty tight.

So, I supplemented the existing heatsink with a copper plate that extends outside the case (necessitating some slotting to the case itself) as well as doing a shim operation on the mount. While testing though I quickly noticed it wasn't the camera-to-GPS-mount connection that was intermittent...it was the miniUSB-power-to-GPS-mount. I could put very slight pressure on the plug to make the charging light come on, but letting go it was clearly very intermittent, to the point that even the screen backlight was flickery. So my cure was to cut the mini-USB plug end off the car charger, drill a hole in the GPS mount base, and direct solder to the backside of the small circuitboard that holds the pins. Power seems 100% more regular now!

I still did add the copper sink as well as some shade film to my dash to help keep the camera more protected from direct sun (wanted to do that anyway to fill the gap where the fold-down sunshades aren't always enough, for my own eyes' sake).

Will get some pics up soon. Currently re-formatting my 64GB SD, so my Surface (Pro) single USB port is currently occupied...

 

[Nguyen]

So, I finally cracked mine today planning on my heatsink mod idea, and found it already had the small 'LED flower' heatsink on it, which surprised me since I purchased right before the posting here that one had been added. It also disappointed me since I've been having some intermittency issues, yet my mount felt pretty tight.

So, I supplemented the existing heatsink with a copper plate that extends outside the case (necessitating some slotting to the case itself) as well as doing a shim operation on the mount. While testing though I quickly noticed it wasn't the camera-to-GPS-mount connection that was intermittent...it was the miniUSB-power-to-GPS-mount. I could put very slight pressure on the plug to make the charging light come on, but letting go it was clearly very intermittent, to the point that even the screen backlight was flickery. So my cure was to cut the mini-USB plug end off the car charger, drill a hole in the GPS mount base, and direct solder to the backside of the small circuitboard that holds the pins. Power seems 100% more regular now!

I still did add the copper sink as well as some shade film to my dash to help keep the camera more protected from direct sun (wanted to do that anyway to fill the gap where the fold-down sunshades aren't always enough, for my own eyes' sake).

Will get some pics up soon. Currently re-formatting my 64GB SD, so my Surface (Pro) single USB port is currently occupied...

Where did you buy it?
I'm looking forward to see your new modified mini 0803 pictures.

 

[rtrski]

I bought it from an eBay seller "nuasys" on 27 July...think this thread about heatsinks started 2 days later.

The pics are in an album at Flickr : https://www.flickr.com/photos/rtrski/sets/72157647305128992/

Click thru the shots one at a time for descriptions below.

Copper sheet from hardware store, cut into a kind of "D" loop so it would glue over the card slot and Ambarella processor, then extend around the body. It's hardly as 'discreet' as it was, but should provide pretty good convection surface area. (Considered painting the exposed copper black but decided I kind of like it...it'll oxidize darker with time.) Downsides are it does block the miniUSB charge port on the camera body itself, and inserting the microSD is a little bit tighter. Also probably blocks the headphone jack but don't care about that.

Also updated to latest firmware, using Tobi@s's tool to kick up the data rate to 24. Going to try it in SuperHD mode with the heat sink supplement and see how it does. With the power wiring correction as well I suspect it will do a lot better...but we're also leaving summer peak temps so that might not be an entirely fair test.

 

[David106]

Isn't thus a bit devisive? Surely you shouldn't buy something and then have to mod it yourself to make it work? It we all did that there wiuldbe little incentive for the manufacturer to fix the issues. I think we should return the faulty items to the distributors so that the manufacturer sorts the quality issues out.

 

[Nigel]

Isn't thus a bit devisive? Surely you shouldn't buy something and then have to mod it yourself to make it work? It we all did that there wiuldbe little incentive for the manufacturer to fix the issues. I think we should return the faulty items to the distributors so that the manufacturer sorts the quality issues out.

While this is true, rtrski does end up with a camera that is better connected and which will produce better images than the manufacturer replacement would. Plus he probably enjoyed making the changes more than he would have enjoyed sending it back!

Although it does appear to be a prototype to test the new heatsink which the manufacturer probably sent out to find out if the heatsink reduced real world problems so a diy fix does deny the manufacturer the data they wanted unless they scan these forums!

 

[rtrski]

Isn't thus a bit devisive? Surely you shouldn't buy something and then have to mod it yourself to make it work? It we all did that there wiuldbe little incentive for the manufacturer to fix the issues. I think we should return the faulty items to the distributors so that the manufacturer sorts the quality issues out.

In general I agree with you; if I'd bought this from Apple or Samsung or from any manufacturer in a brick and mortar store in the U.S. it would go back with my curses to the designer for being a dolt. But in this case I knew going in that the dashcam market wasn't really established in the U.S. and most of what was available was knockoff products and half-assed engineering from China (not to say there isn't good engineering possible there, but there is a lot of crapware).

I bought from an eBay seller knowing darn well the odds of getting a POS were high and the return hassles (restocking and or shipping fees) almost made it not worth it. So if I can make it functional after all with hardware tweaks (a $5 piece of copper and some heatsink glue I already had left over from computer builds), and upgrade performance with firmware tweaks from Tobi@s, well it was only what I expected.

Let's face it, a camera with HD recording at a good frame rate that can withstand the elements of being left in a parked car in 105deg F ambient (135F or so interior), in TX, and record continuously with GPS and motion logging, should cost more than $100, it should be up there with the HDPro type costs. If I'd paid that for it, then absolutely, even having bought off eBay, I'd be raising holy heck and warning everyone away. Dashcams at that price range are available...I opted for the cheap one, knowingly. And since it seems like at least several people involved with the manufacturer do post here...they do end up seeing the complaints and the fixes. So am I being 'used' as a crowdsourced design member? Perhaps, but in my case knowingly.

 

[Dashmellow]

Isn't thus a bit devisive? Surely you shouldn't buy something and then have to mod it yourself to make it work? It we all did that there wiuldbe little incentive for the manufacturer to fix the issues. I think we should return the faulty items to the distributors so that the manufacturer sorts the quality issues out.

I believe there is a difference between the average consumer who goes out and buys a dash cam and many of the members here at DashCamTalk who are "enthusiasts" who actually enjoy the challenge of modifying our cameras to solve an issue or enhance its performance. In the overall scheme of things, us "hobbyists" and "modders" are only a tiny portion of the general market for dash cameras and as such are not likely to represent a disincentive for manufacturers to ignore issues with their products. I don't necessarily disagree with your remarks though and in fact, here on DCT there are many, many reports of people returning defective cameras to their vendors when they encounter a problem.

 

[GJHS]

Isn't thus a bit devisive? Surely you shouldn't buy something and then have to mod it yourself to make it work? It we all did that there wiuldbe little incentive for the manufacturer to fix the issues. I think we should return the faulty items to the distributors so that the manufacturer sorts the quality issues out.

Spend enough time here on DCT and you will see a lot of posts from people asking if it's worth it to spend almost half the price of the camera and wait another month to send it back to China. This of of course after multiple emails back and forth trying to fix the problem, if the seller is legit and even responds to your email. Then you will see why most people look for home solutions.

There is a huge risk buying from an unknown seller in China, especially when we have great local resellers such as @JooVuu or @spytec . As @rtrski said you need to go into it the Chinese crap shoot with eyes wide open. Chinese cams are like people telling jokes, no two people tell it the same. An original camera is made, becomes popular and then every Chinese factory makes a copy. Some choose to make it better, some choose to try and deceive and make a profit.

 

[speculatrix]

I've owned mine less than 2 weeks, bought from joovu, and its the no-internal-memory model. According to my very inaccurate kitchen scales it masses slightly over 60g with the uSDHC card fitted (without the mount).
It does run quite warm, it does get a bit of sun. I was thinking about using a bit of aluminium foil as a sun shield on the windscreen.
I once crashed it by pressing buttons whilst it was still starting up and got the looping sound, had to force it off, but apart from that it's been solid.

 

[Marrrio]

Hello,

my 0803 blow from inside after 2 hours run, any iddea why? could be the battery?

 

[GJHS]

Hello,

my 0803 blow from inside after 2 hours run, any iddea why? could be the battery?View attachment 7930View attachment 7931

Looks as if the battery maybe swelled. If so be careful with it, or it could explode.

 

[Marrrio]

Thank you, do you know what couse this and if this internal battery can be removed without affecting the operation of the camera as it is connected to the power source of the car? anyway this battery gives away a minute after disconnecting, is pointless and as you can see makes big damage...

 

[GJHS]

Usually it's either heat or overcharging that causes most swelling. You can VERY CAREFULLY try to replace it. Unfortunately there is no super capacitors as of yet so you need the battery to run the cam. There isn't enough room for capacitors in the 0803.

 

[Marrrio]

greatly appreciate some advice where I can find to buy a cover for 0803 and battery, thank you

 

[Dashmellow]

Thank you, do you know what couse this and if this internal battery can be removed without affecting the operation of the camera as it is connected to the power source of the car? anyway this battery gives away a minute after disconnecting, is pointless and as you can see makes big damage...

As GJHS points out, various things such as excessive heat or overcharging or just a defective cell can make the battery fail. If the camera was not damaged by the swelled up battery it would be relatively easy to install a replacement. You would need to disconnect the battery from the power source before soldering in a new one.

Edit: From the looks of your photo the camera should just snap back together after replacement of a new battery.

 

[Marrrio]

and I suspect the heat not overcharging becouse I use original charger, maybe a cell fail too, where I find parts for this cam? battery and housing, thank you

 

[GJHS]

greatly appreciate some advice where I can find to buy a cover for 0803 and battery, thank you

Contact the seller that you bought it from. If it's still somewhat new they should send you a new battery for free.

 

[Marrrio]

I bought it on ebay, it is new, used for a few hours in first day and see the results, the seller is no longer registered on ebay...