How to connect the Viofo A129 Duo to a Blackvue B-124X battery ?

[Dacug]

But I wanted to ask, if you’re good with making a Raspberry Pi and all that, why wouldn’t you simply splice off the power cable, or make a three-way cable yourself.

Maybe you can just connect a second lifepo4 battery pack and request customization from the factory

If you can design such a system, the building of it is a relatively small step.

The problem is I'm not really a hardware guy.
I've got much experience in software development and quite some in server administration and networks. That means, doing the Raspberry Pi / software part of the whole project would be easy for me, maybe even fun.
But I have no experience in soldering cables or negotiating with a battery factory about customization. Ideal would be if there were already finished cables, or if I could pay someone to solder them for me.

 

[jokiin]

before putting $300 into a battery pack I'd be inclined to test using a couple of power banks to make sure it works reliably

 

[Dacug]

before putting $300 into a battery pack I'd be inclined to test using a couple of power banks to make sure it works reliably

I could add that as first step.
However, I'll probably need the battery pack anyway?
Even if the whole project already fails during the stress test phase: In this case I'd probably buy a vendor-built cloud dashcam instead. That one would still need a LiFePO4 battery pack?

 

[jokiin]

I could add that as first step.
However, I'll probably need the battery pack anyway?
Even if the whole project already fails during the stress test phase: In this case I'd probably buy a vendor-built cloud dashcam instead. That one would still need a LiFePO4 battery pack?

it's not like you couldn't use the battery pack, it just may not be a necessity, in some vehicles though they are, late model Merc, BMW, Audi, Porsche will all throw codes if they have a parasitic power draw at key off that the computer thinks doesn't belong so for parking mode the battery packs are ideal

 

[HonestReview]

I could do a stress test of the system first, to see if this is a problem. My sequence of events for this test would be:
1. First I would buy the Viofo A129 Duo and the Blackvue B-124X battery.
2. Charge the B-124x at home
3. Write a simple stress test script for the Raspberry Pi that contacts the WiFi of the Viofo every five minutes, and occasionally downloads files. The script would also log every attempt in a database, also if the Wifi of the Viofo was not reachable - which would mean that it shutted itself of because of a heat problem.
4. Put them all in the trunk of my parked car, connect them provisionally, and let the whole thing run for 24 hours. Then evaluate the results of the log and the quality of the recorded videos.

If the stress test goes fine --> Go ahead and build the whole thing.
If the stress test fails --> I'll have to see. Maybe I'd return the Viofo to the merchant and buy another Dashcam with cloud access included.

The inherent issue, and I'm sure you'll end up encountering the problem, is that Wifi mode was never intended as a long term solution. However, there's no harm in testing, and I'll be interested to see how things go. Please do report back.

 

[Dacug]

I did first tests at home on my desk.

The B-124X battery pack can power the Viofo Duo and the Raspberry pi with its Huawei LTE stick at the same time.
When both devices are performing tasks, then the App for the battery pack claims that there was still power for 24+ hours left. I hope that this is true.
Surprisingly, everything worked on the Raspberry Pi without additional network configuration. I have only connected the builtin Wifi of the Raspberry Pi 3+ to the Viofo, and put the LTE stick in one of the USB port.
Now, when a Raspberry script accesses the Viofo API at 192.168.1.254 then Raspbian correctly uses the Wifi connection. When the rest of the internet is accessed, then it automatically takes the LTE stick.

Next step would be to write the full test script and put all devices for a test into the trunk of my car.
However, there are two issues left that I need to solve first:
1.) The Wifi password is always reset to "12345678" after rebooting the dashcam. All other settings, including the SSID of the dashcam's Wifi are still there. Is this a problem unique to the beta V2.3 firmware, or does this also occur in earlier firmware versions?
2.) The http API works, but it's not possible to open a RTSP connection. Does anybody know what could be the cause of this?

 

[HonestReview]

I did first tests at home on my desk.

The B-124X battery pack can power the Viofo Duo and the Raspberry pi with its Huawei LTE stick at the same time.
When both devices are performing tasks, then the App for the battery pack claims that there was still power for 24+ hours left. I hope that this is true.
Surprisingly, everything worked on the Raspberry Pi without additional network configuration. I have only connected the builtin Wifi of the Raspberry Pi 3+ to the Viofo, and put the LTE stick in one of the USB port.
Now, when a Raspberry script accesses the Viofo API at 192.168.1.254 then Raspbian correctly uses the Wifi connection. When the rest of the internet is accessed, then it automatically takes the LTE stick.

Next step would be to write the full test script and put all devices for a test into the trunk of my car.
However, there are two issues left that I need to solve first:
1.) The Wifi password is always reset to "12345678" after rebooting the dashcam. All other settings, including the SSID of the dashcam's Wifi are still there. Is this a problem unique to the beta V2.3 firmware, or does this also occur in earlier firmware versions?
2.) The http API works, but it's not possible to open a RTSP connection. Does anybody know what could be the cause of this?

One issue you may run into is that the Viofo A129 Duo records at a less bitrate in Wifi Mode and may overheat. Wifi mode isn't meant to be used long term. For this type of application, you may need to consider something like a Blackvue or Thinkware. Where internet connectivity is one of the advertised features.

 

[Dacug]

One issue you may run into is that the Viofo A129 Duo records at a less bitrate in Wifi Mode and may overheat. Wifi mode isn't meant to be used long term. For this type of application, you may need to consider something like a Blackvue or Thinkware. Where internet connectivity is one of the advertised features.

Please see my older replies here:

How to connect the Viofo A129 Duo to a Blackvue B-124X battery ?

I would like to connect the dual version of the Viofo A129 to a Blackvue B-124X battery. The Cellink NEO is no option, as I need the additional USB port of the Blackvue B-124X for powering 24h a LTE router. Does anybody sell a cable that directly connects the Viofo to the "Dashcam" port of the...

dashcamtalk.com

and here:

How to connect the Viofo A129 Duo to a Blackvue B-124X battery ?

I would like to connect the dual version of the Viofo A129 to a Blackvue B-124X battery. The Cellink NEO is no option, as I need the additional USB port of the Blackvue B-124X for powering 24h a LTE router. Does anybody sell a cable that directly connects the Viofo to the "Dashcam" port of the...

dashcamtalk.com

 

[HonestReview]

Please see my older replies here:

How to connect the Viofo A129 Duo to a Blackvue B-124X battery ?

I would like to connect the dual version of the Viofo A129 to a Blackvue B-124X battery. The Cellink NEO is no option, as I need the additional USB port of the Blackvue B-124X for powering 24h a LTE router. Does anybody sell a cable that directly connects the Viofo to the "Dashcam" port of the...

dashcamtalk.com

and here:

How to connect the Viofo A129 Duo to a Blackvue B-124X battery ?

I would like to connect the dual version of the Viofo A129 to a Blackvue B-124X battery. The Cellink NEO is no option, as I need the additional USB port of the Blackvue B-124X for powering 24h a LTE router. Does anybody sell a cable that directly connects the Viofo to the "Dashcam" port of the...

dashcamtalk.com

I realize you are stress testing and doing this as proof of concept. But from the get go, wifi lowers video quality. So even if the unit doesn't overheat, your video quality is going to suffer.