I really need some help in deciding on the right cameras.

[Dashmellow]

Thanks Dashmellow, Wish they would date these articles so one would have an inkling of something not being correct or correct them themselves when things change.
With your knowledge you should open a camera store on the Internet.

You are welcome.

@Lola, if you buy a Mobius there something you will need to purchase that we haven't talked much about yet. You will need a USB 5vdc car cigarette lighter charger and a suitable cable(s).

The Mobius requires a USB-A to mini-B 5 pin USB cable. I use the 10 foot version for the side cams and a 15 foot version for the rear cam. Monoprice sells excellent quality shielded cables of this type dirt cheap and is a very reliable vendor. I recommend them highly.

You will also need a USB car charger and there are many available. You need something that puts out a minimum of 1 amp. I like the Aukeys, and the Ankers. They are of good quality, have high amperage output and come with a decent warranty. Amazon is the best place to buy these things.

 

[Lola]

You are welcome.

@Lola, if you buy a Mobius there something you will need to purchase that we haven't talked much about yet. You will need a USB 5vdc car cigarette lighter charger and a suitable cable(s).

The Mobius requires a USB-A to mini-B 5 pin USB cable cable. I use the 10 foot version for the side cams and a 15 foot version for the rear cam. Monoprice sells excellent quality shielded cables of this type dirt cheap and is a very reliable vendor. I recommend them highly.

You will also need a USB car charger and there are many available. You need something that puts out a minimum of 1 amp. I like the Aukeys, and the Ankers. They are of good quality, have high amperage output and come with a decent warranty. Amazon is the best place to buy these things.

View attachment 24923

View attachment 24924

Hi Dashmellow, What's the Aukey going to charge up? I will pick those things up, I've heard of Aukeys making good equpment.
I've been dealing with Monoprice for a long time. Watch out for some of their new thin Cables, though I have a friend that ordered 4 of the HDMI's and only 2 worked. He sent them all back and ordered the standard size.

Have you ever used a Vico Power Plus? I ordered one but don't know if it comes with fuse for the box or what. I went around checking on parts today but didn't have the time to really get into it.
I did go to the place you told me about and they had a Mobius sport cam for $68.00 but it didn't tell you if anything came with it or not, so I emailed them, asking it was a Genuine Mobius and they replied that they had to answer when their buyer came in, so I guess I will hear from them tonight or tomorrow. Actually they had a lot of the stuff one would like to have but there was no way to connect the parts to a price in order to buy, Hard to explain. Take a look:
A little down from that page you will see some info about a lens but I didn't know what it was, thought you might be interested so I copied the page link.

I'll drop by tomorrow and fill you in.

 

[Dashmellow]

Hi Dashmellow, I will pick those things up, I've heard of Aukeys being good. I've been dealing with Monoprice for a long time. Watch out for some of their new thin Cables, though I have a friend that ordered 4 of the HDMI's and only 2 worked. He sent them all back and ordered the standard size.

Have you ever used a Vico Power Plus? I ordered one but don't know if it comes with fuse for the box or what. I went around checking on parts today but didn't have the time to really get into it.
I did go to the place you told me about and they had a Mobius sport cam for $68.00 but it didn't tell you if anything came with it or not, so I emailed them, asking it was a Genuine Mobius and they replied that they had to answer when their buyer came in, so I guess I will hear from them tonight or tomorrow. Actually they had a lot of the stuff one would like to have but there was no way to connect the parts to a price in order to buy, Hard to explain. Take a look:
A little down from that page you will see some info about a lens but I didn't know what it was, thought you might be interested so I copied the page link.

I'll drop by tomorrow and fill you in.

I have not had personal experience with the Vico Power Plus but I understand it to be an excellent product.

The Banggood website I sent you to is a mixed bag. They are indeed an authorized Mobius seller and they are fine for some things and certain Mobius parts but they have a bad habit of selling products and taking your money for products they don't have in stock, even if the web page says it is. If you buy a Mobius camera from them you could end up waiting a LONG time for it to arrive.

I would recommend buying from eletoponline365 on eBay (the manufacturer) or from a trusted seller in the US like BuyMobius.Com.

Also, if you should buy a Mobius with the "A" lens and decide to the switch to a "C2" lens, the best and cheapest price is at eletoponline365. The last C2 module I bought from them, as mentioned earlier, arrived in 9 days with an unexpected free gift.

If you buy the Mobius from eletoponline365 it comes with:

• 1X Mobius ActionCam
• 1X Mounting Base
• 1X USB cable
• 1X L Shape Small Hexagon Screwdriver (for changing or refocusing lens when needed)
• 1 pair Velcro
• Gift: 1 set of Mobius TV cable (only avaiable for limited time)

 

[Dashmellow]

@Lola, to repeat what you have heard before, if you buy from a listed, trusted vendor you can be assured that you will receive the genuine article.

Nevertheless, if you or anyone else is in the market for a Mobius camera it would be well worth a visit to the excellent "How To Tell If A Mobius Camera Is a Counterfeit Or Fake" page posted as a public service by BuyMobius.com. These days, eBay is flooded with fake Mobius cameras and typically eBay does nothing to stop.

 

[Dashmellow]

Hi Dashmellow, What's the Aukey going to charge up?

The USB car charger will run your Mobius and keep the super-capacitor charged up.

 

[Lola]

The USB car charger will run your Mobius and keep the super-capacitor charged up.

I thought the Vico PP was going to do that, but it might only be for battery watching, I have a feeling the the Mobius cables and the Vico hook up together to control power and the battery. I know it gets a lot of highly recommended reviews so I ordered one. I have had occasions of dead batteries so if it did nothing else but give me a report on battery condition I would be satisfied.

Is your Tacoma a 4 door? Those are some pretty long cables you got, but I guess you can always hide the cables.

I bought the Mobius (narrow lens, Standard), Helmet mount, wire clamps/sticky pads, Super capacitor, extra lens caps, etc. for $95.00 this morning. So now it's a matter of waiting.

Something I forgot to ask, the Mobius C2 replacement lens is about $25.00. But right down from that they have what they call a C2 replacement module with a piece of copper colored something hanging out, it"s around $30.00 +. Why one over the other, why are there 2. Here is a link:
http://www.buymobius.com/collections/mobius-replacement-lenses-and-lens-modules.

 

[Dashmellow]

I thought the Vico PP was going to do that, but it might only be for battery watching, I have a feeling the the Mobius cables and the Vico hook up together to control power and the battery. I know it gets a lot of highly recommended reviews so I ordered one. I have had occasions of dead batteries so if it did nothing else but give me a report on battery condition I would be satisfied.

Is your Tacoma a 4 door? Those are some pretty long cables you got, but I guess you can always hide the cables.

I bought the Mobius (narrow lens, Standard), Helmet mount, wire clamps/sticky pads, Super capacitor, extra lens caps, etc. for $95.00 this morning. So now it's a matter of waiting.

Something I forgot to ask, the Mobius C2 replacement lens is about $25.00. But right down from that they have what they call a C2 replacement module with a piece of copper colored something hanging out, it"s around $30.00 +. Why one over the other, why are there 2. Here is a link:
http://www.buymobius.com/collections/mobius-replacement-lenses-and-lens-modules.

The Vico Power Plus outputs 12 volts just like your cigarette lighter plug. The USB car charger converts the 12 volt output from your truck and Vico into the 5 volts required by the camera and allows you to attach the USB-A plug on the cable.

My Toyota is an extended cab with 2 main doors and 2 "mini" rear doors. It is not a true "crew cab" with 4 full doors. I've found that a 15 foot cable is needed for the rear camera if I want to run it all the way back from the dash mounted 12V sockets, all the way around the door trim and headliner to where the camera is. The ten footer comes up short.

The differences between the two C2 lens products you are asking about are that one is just the threaded lens itself and it can be screwed into where your standard lens is currently mounted as a replacement. The "module" is the whole assembly which includes the lens, the imaging sensor and the module base. The copper thing is a ribbon cable or "wire" with pins on the end that gets plugged into a receptacle inside the camera. Either method will work if you want to convert the camera you just purchased to a "C2" but popping in a whole new module is sometimes preferable. My recommendation in this instance if you should decide to convert to a C2 lens is to pay 3 dollars more and buy a whole complete C2 module directly from eletoponline365 on eBay for $28 bucks. You will receive it in good order in about 8 or 9 days including free shipping.

Congrats on your new Mobius!

 

[Lola]

The Vico Power Plus outputs 12 volts just like your cigarette lighter plug. The USB car charger converts the 12 volt output from your truck and Vico into the 5 volts required by the camera and allows you to attach the USB-A plug on the cable.

My Toyota is an extended cab with 2 main doors and 2 "mini" rear doors. It is not a true "crew cab" with 4 full doors. I've found that a 15 foot cable is needed for the rear camera if I want to run it all the way back from the dash mounted 12V sockets, all the way around the door trim and headliner to where the camera is. The ten footer comes up short.

The differences between the two C2 lens products you are asking about are that one is just the threaded lens itself and it can be screwed into where your standard lens is currently mounted as a replacement. The "module" is the whole assembly which includes the lens, the imaging sensor and the module base. The copper thing is a ribbon cable or "wire" with pins on the end that gets plugged into a receptacle inside the camera. Either method will work if you want to convert the camera you just purchased to a "C2" but popping in a whole new module is sometimes preferable. My recommendation in this instance if you should decide to convert to a C2 lens is to pay 3 dollars more and buy a whole complete C2 module directly from eletoponline365 on eBay for $28 bucks. You will receive it in good order in about 8 or 9 days including free shipping.

Congrats on your new Mobius!

Hi and thanks, I received an email from them today saying everything has been shipped. The Vico should be here Friday. Ordered a Scosche USB 242M (USB charger for truck from Ebay (It's rated as the #1 charger several places on the Internet). I tried ordering a Aukley from Amazon but we haven't been seeing eye to eye lately, every time I try to get anything from them they keep trying to run their Prime credit card down my throat (I don't want it). They wanted over $10.00 to ship an Aukley so I turned it down and took my business else where.
I started thinking about the cable and running it in my mind and came to the conclusion you are probably right so I ordered a 15 foot one from monoprice today for the outlandish price of $4.40! The cable was $2.19 and the rest shipping. I checked around and saw prices up in the $40's. I think that about takes care of everything except maybe something in the fuse box

I'm still not up to speed mentally on hooking up the Vico/long cable. I can see plugin the mini B connector into the rear cam and routing it around to the front where the "A" end of the cable plugs into the charger but I can't see how to hook the Vico in there somewhere.
I'll post another thread on the Vico maybe someone has one and can clear things up some what.

As for the C2 lens if I find I need to switch or just want to, I'll do as you say and contact eletoponline365 .

 

[Dashmellow]

I'm still not up to speed mentally on hooking up the Vico/long cable. I can see plugin the mini B connector into the rear cam and routing it around to the front where the "A" end of the cable plugs into the charger but I can't see how to hook the Vico in there somewhere.
I'll post another thread on the Vico maybe someone has one and can clear things up some what.

Once the Vico PP is connected to your truck's electrical system, all you need to do is plug the Scosche USB car charger you just purchased into the 12 volt cigarette lighter receptacle supplied with the Vico and then run the USB cable(s) from there.

 

[Lola]

Once the Vico PP is connected to your truck's electrical system, all you need to do is plug the Scosche USB car charger you just purchased into the 12 volt cigarette lighter receptacle supplied with the Vico and then run the USB cable(s) from there.

View attachment 24987

That's simple enough DM, thanks. I read on here some where about a fuse type link I need to plug into the fuse box. I've never blown a fuse in the truck, so I don't even know if there are open fuse receptacles in there are not. I know I can use the "add a link" thing to existing used fuse location.The Vico should come with a wiring diagram so that will take care of that. I will mount everything before I wire it.
However I will need 2 fuse links, one for the battery (12 volt) and one for ACC (? volt) I don't know what the "Blow rating" should be for these two fuses?
The Blow rating is those numbers you see on the side of the fuse isn't it?

Actually I have never had a fuse blow in my house, or anything else, been lucky I guess!

 

[Dashmellow]

That's simple enough DM, thanks. I read on here some where about a fuse type link I need to plug into the fuse box. I've never blown a fuse in the truck, so I don't even know if there are open fuse receptacles in there are not. I know I can use the "add a link" thing to existing used fuse location.The Vico should come with a wiring diagram so that will take care of that. I will mount everything before I wire it.
However I will need 2 fuse links, one for the battery (12 volt) and one for ACC (? volt) I don't know what the "Blow rating" should be for these two fuses?
The Blow rating is those numbers you see on the side of the fuse isn't it?

Actually I have never had a fuse blow in my house, or anything else, been lucky I guess!

I don't own a Vico PP and have no experience installing one. I'm sure others here can advise you on this far better than I can.

As for "blow" rating, as long as the cameras don't exceed the existing rating of the fused circuit you'll be fine. Mobius cameras require only about .50 amps, although it is suggested to provide at least 1 amp of current for each Mobius camera. So, running two Mobius cameras off a typical cigar lighter circuit should be just fine.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Search Amazon (or our site) for add-a-circuit

Take out your fuses and compare against photos to see which type you need so it fits.

5A is good for fuse ratting on new tapped side.

 

[Lola]

Search Amazon (or our site) for add-a-circuit

Take out your fuses and compare against photos to see which type you need so it fits.

5A is good for fuse ratting on new tapped side.

Thanks Pier28, will do.

 

[Lola]

Dashmellow do you happen to have a picture of the way you mounted your Mobius on the center rear of your truck ? I haven't tried mounting mine yet, I might have a problem. I was sure my rear window was totally clear but there is about 1 inch of dark glass across the top of the sliding area/section!

 

[Dashmellow]

Dashmellow do you happen to have a picture of the way you mounted your Mobius on the center rear of your truck ? I haven't tried mounting mine yet, I might have a problem. I was sure my rear window was totally clear but there is about 1 inch of dark glass across the top of the sliding area/section!

I'll have to see if I can come up with a photo of my actual rear view installation but in the meantime you can look at this.

I modified a ball joint style mount like the one on the left below to make it shorter and more stealthy and have screwed it to the headliner so that the camera points out the top part of the rear window. Perhaps the original version of this mount might stick down far enough to get below the one inch strip of dark glass? If your truck is anything like my truck the 1 inch dark strip is the metal window frame but either way you do need an inch or more of reveal for the lens to see through unobstructed glass. I happen to find the adjustability of a ball joint mount to be preferable for the rear mount anyway because it allows me to align the camera perfectly level with the bed and tailgate of the truck.

You can buy these mounts very cheaply on eBay. For some of my DIY projects, I've purchased quite a few of these from a Chinese vendor on eBay and they have been very reliable and I highly recommend these guys.

 

[Dashmellow]

Dashmellow do you happen to have a picture of the way you mounted your Mobius on the center rear of your truck ? I haven't tried mounting mine yet, I might have a problem. I was sure my rear window was totally clear but there is about 1 inch of dark glass across the top of the sliding area/section!

@Lola, Here is the photo you requested of my rear facing Mobius mount. You'll see that it is the DIY ball joint mount mentioned above in my previous post.

 

[Lola]

@Lola, Here is the photo you requested of my rear facing Mobius mount. You'll see that it is the DIY ball joint mount mentioned above in my previous post.

View attachment 25026

That is a very unique way of doing it, Cool. Does the little bolts/screws you added through the plate hold the camera securely without adding sticky 2 sided tape between the plate and headliner?

What is the big O-ring (looks like) for?

 

[Dashmellow]

That is a very unique way of doing it, Cool. Does the little bolts/screws you added through the plate hold the camera securely without adding sticky 2 sided tape between the plate and headliner?

What is the big O-ring (looks like) for?

Actually, I needed to put some putty up behind the headliner material to give me something secure to screw into. I found the camera wasn't stable enough unless I did that. Depending on how they did the headliner in your model year Toyota truck you may have to do something similar.......or not. I probably should have mentioned this before but I did the installation so long ago that I forgot all about that. 3M tape doesn't adhere too well to the fuzzy headliner material. (but Velcro does!)

The big O-ring is basically just cosmetic and is simply there to hide the seam between the modified/cut-down top part of the mount and the base platform. I happened to have that big O-ring on hand and it made my DIY project look more finished and just kinda' looked cool. There's actually two O-rings on there, one skinny one and the big one.

 

[Lola]

Actually, I needed to put some putty up behind the headliner material to give me something secure to screw into. I found the camera wasn't stable enough unless I did that. Depending on how they did the headliner in your model year Toyota truck you may have to do something similar.......or not. I probably should have mentioned this before but I did the installation so long ago that I forgot all about that. 3M tape doesn't adhere too well the the fuzzy headliner material.

The big O-ring is basically just cosmetic and is simply there to hide the seam between the modified/cut-down top part of the mount and the base platform. I happened to have that big O-ring on hand and it made my DIY project look more finished and just kinda' looked cool. There's actually two O-rings on there one skinny one and the big one.

Hi Dashmellow, I very well (probably will) might have to do some fabricating, just not sure yet.
Putty, what did you do, cut a little slit in the fabric and squeeze putty/something up in there to give you the base for the screws?
Do you remember what kind of putty, I can't think of anything that would work really well off hand?

 

[Dashmellow]

Hi Dashmellow, I very well (probably will) might have to do some fabricating, just not sure yet.
Putty, what did you do, cut a little slit in the fabric and squeeze putty/something up in there to give you the base for the screws?
Do you remember what kind of putty, I can't think of anything that would work really well off hand?

Originally, I just used a big wad of Blu-tack (Sometimes known as Fun-tack) that I bought at the local dollar store. It worked fine to hold everything in place and gave the screws some purchase. (those are short but big FAT screws, btw). Then a contractor working on my house gave me a bunch of special epoxy putty that is sandable and drillable when it hardens. It's used for patching holes in wood. So I switched to that. I just wadded up a ball of it and carefully pressed it into place behind the headliner.
If you visit your local hardware store, I'll bet there is a product that they can recommend for the job.

As for the headliner, it is very easy to get a putty knife under the edge and simply pull it back away a little bit to get behind it. I guess a more professional manner of doing what I did would be to remove the headliner and install a metal bracket for the camera mount to attach to instead of the putty method.