i1000 / F70 / X6 720P Dual Lens DVR Dash Camera

[Michael Jenkin]

Hi all,

I just purchased one of the i1000 units from ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/131188532840
The unit seems to work ok with one exception - I have it set up with motion detection on and it works as specified without the rear camera connected ie it will stop recording after 5 secs of non-activity. However, with the rear camera connected, it will continue to cycle non-stop, recording for 5 secs at a time. The unit is connected to constant power, if that makes a difference.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? Sorry, I'm at work and don't have access to the firmware version at the moment.

Thanks & regards,

Brian

Hello,

From what I have seen with these units, it seems attaching the rear camera causes all the problems. My unit gets warm when I add my rear camera. When the unit plays up, it is the rear camera that looses footage first.
If the battery is low, adding the rear camera shuts the unit down. Many people report the unit reboot cycling when adding the rear camera (there are some samples of this on Youtube). I personally suspect you have a faulty unit or the battery is not coping. I saw someone with similar issues posted somewhere where he solved the issues by removing and bypassing the battery. Straight power from the car battery only. Makes me think that many of these issues are battery and amps related.

Have you brought this issue to the attantion of the seller on eBay ?

 

[Michael Jenkin]

Wow, there are so many variants of these things. A model number means nothing. Still have not found one online professing to use the A10 chip (It is in other DVR's).
http://www.made-in-china.com/productdirectory.do?subaction=hunt&mode=and&style=b&code=0&word=dvr+i1000

If anyone has Firmware A10_20140311

When you format the card from teh meny "On Format" which comes up on the screen means basically "I am formatting, don't push any buttons".
If you perform the speed test, the following text comes up "Do not operate!In the log". Don't look for a log.
There is none. I think it is just saying "don't push any buttons".
The results from the speed test are "ok" or "Please use high speed".

 

[Michael Jenkin]

Another update for people keenly watching this thread. I have now killed 2 i1000 units with the A10 chip. Well so I thought.
If I throw away their USB charging cable and supply my own, suddenly things work 100% better.

 

[Michael Jenkin]

ok, My latest exploration on this i1000 unit (The eBay supplier has sent me a spare and I am swapping bits between them to make a complete kit). So, my discoveries. Throw away the USB cable. It kills the unit. Throw away the in car charger. It kills the unit and causes radio interference. Swapped the rear cameras, and now have far better night vision. Formatted my Class 4 32 gb card with the unit, speed test now reports "ok". Using my own USB cables and chargers .. run for 5 hours, no issues. (With Display, both cameras and mic on, recording unlimited, selected io8op from the menu and night time light forced to on). i.e I have maxed the current draw and turned everything on. With the old USB cable, this kills the unit after 45 minutes.

Processsing in io8op is possible with the A10 chipset not sure about the supplied camera's res.
I tried recording at 720p and then io8op as I was sceptical. I can see far more in 1080p. It goes out further to the edges and seems a higher res ?
Maybe the 720 is cropped to make it look different and inferier to the 1080p setting to make the 1080p look better and maybe it is upscaled?

See codec screen grabs attached. H264 for the front and rear (mov front, avi rear).
Rear is 720x480 SD, Front is 1920x1088 (1080p)

 

[Michael Jenkin]

If you get an A10 processor unit, trying to hold the up button and powering up just locks it up (With a black screen and single red light on) and it does not go into upgrade mode. You have to presss reset to recover back to a usable possition. I tried to ID the unit today. There is nothing written any where on this unit (inside or out) to help work out whom made it. The battery also has no markings on it. I can only assume it is 800 mah as advertised.
This unit has the 4 IR leds on the rear camera (not the weatherproof version you mount over the number plate) and comes in a Blue cardboard box. Someone in this thread has already shown the same box I have but they got an F20 processor.

 

[redcast]

Which rear camera are you using? I want better night vision too.
I never used my the supplied cable to power my unit, I use this to power my unit.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00GQ75MQI

 

[Michael Jenkin]

Which rear camera are you using? I want better night vision too.
I never used my the supplied cable to power my unit, I use this to power my unit.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00GQ75MQI

Wow, 3 Amps. That is overkill but might just do the job
I am using a 1 amp, 5 volt charger with USB port from my local hardware store.

With the rear camera, I have been googling and hunting everywhere to find the model numbers for the rear cameras. I wanted to tell people what I have as it is working well .. but it looks the same as the other one I had.
As Irony would have it, I have seen a list somewhere of seperate camera's including this one and I can't find it again. I think I had googled "Replacement rear DVR camera 4 IR".

Anyway, with my rear camera, I think it was just luck of the draw. The last unit was terrible. This one looks the same and works ok.

 

[Michael Jenkin]

I have confirmed that this A10 version uses the Samsung 4AW 1.2 million pixel sensor.
I have also had to add 2x RF chokes to keep noise down on AM channels on the radio.
One with 3 windings 30 cm from the rear camera and one with 4 windings 1 meter from the master unit, on the rear camera lead.

 

[Michael Jenkin]

I have partially re-written the English manual, just for my own benefit, but thought it might be of some use to others as well. If anyone wants a copy its here...

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/m1byt/Car...p Manual.doc It works in MS Word.

If anyone can add to it, or improve on it, please feel free to bounce it back.

I have adapted parts of your manual into a manual I am writing for my specific i1000 A10 procesor model. As soon as I have somewhere to put it, I will pass you a link.

 

[niKoGran]

Hello everyone,
Just received my I1000L,
Did some testing, the quality, eh pretty crapy,
Well yes it is 720P, but looks like the pretty the same as my phone records with 480p...
In the dark it does pretty bad job, I can barely see something at the night, I might see something only if
I am directly under streetlight...
The rear camera god ****y quality, but it does a good job in the dark..
Rear's camera view angle seems to be 90...
It wasnt realy effective inside the car, so I decided to mount it outside,
I guess it won't last for long but atleast I can see something, and use it as a backup camera..
Added a photo of the temporary mount.
Another thing, I don't know if its good or bad, but the rear camera isn't mirrored...
Have someone found anything that can improve the night vision of the front camera?
I thought taking out the IR filter...
And maybe someone know how to mirror the rear camera?

Thanks!

 

[Michael Jenkin]

Hello,

Being happy with an i1000 is a trick with perspective. If your perspective is that the unit is a cheap, entry level into buying a DVR and a stepping stone (or even seen as a disposable unit) to a better unit later where it is very light, small and easy to conceal, then you will be happy. If you don't turn everythign on, max out the processor and don't beleive the 1080p lies told by suppliers, then you will be happy with your purchase.

If you have seen a real HD 1080p, expect real night vision and expect eth unit to do everything it is promoted as having, you will be dissapointed. Mind you, to get all the features in a real 1080p unit, you are looking at a lot more $$$.

The footage is pretty crappy, but it will do in an accident. The nighttime IR can't really do much over any real distance through glass. The view angles are never 120 degrees.

One think I like about this unit is it is cheap enough to try some hacks on it. I have already boosted he power supply, added RF chokes to the rear camera and tried upgrading the cmos detector (Mine has the A10 chip which can process 1080p, but the HD720p Samsung 4aw by default).

 

[Michael Jenkin]

BTW, I like your mount. I also used tape for my rear one until I got it in the right place.

Be aware .. the units are not waterproof !

 

[Michael Jenkin]

so I now have another unit. Also an i1000 and from the exact same supplier. This one does not have the 720p option and used the F20 processor. It has a Hynix H5PS5162GFR 512 Sdram and a much older firmware.
I am now going to have a play with this one. Same annoying sound at startup, same badly written manual, same OEM box.

 

[niKoGran]

Yeah I know its non water proof...., I used some tape inside like to close the hole from the side.
And the tape on mount I used only for the photo , mounted it with 3 screws,
and would be better if the rear's camera cable would be slighly longer...
I ordered another rear camera, with wider angle, hope I will be able to install it.

Anyway, maybe someone know how to make the front camera brighter ?
anyone tried to take out the IR filter?

 

[Michael Jenkin]

Please see my draft for the i1000 manual. Likely needs some work however it might be of use to someone.

 

[niKoGran]

By the way,
I am not sure if my camera turns off automatically in motion mode when the car is off...
I didn't had enought time, but I am pretty sure it didn't turn off.
Do I need to change the auto shutdown time?
I don't what the camera to turn off when there is no motion but the car is on.

 

[Michael Jenkin]

Please see my draft for the i1000 manual. Likely needs some work however it might be of use to someone.

If anyone wants the latest revision of my unofficial manual (Too big to upload here), let me know

 

[niKoGran]

Replaced the standard rear camera with "170 mini backup camera" from ebay...
much better, its waterproof, wide angel, smaller, and I think the quality slightly better
mounted it outside the car, haven't tested at night yet
Had to cut the wires and solder as the 170 camera comes with power and video cable seperated,
usually there are 3 cables inside, red yellow and black.

 

[niKoGran]

The charger that came with the camera isn't charging the battery for some reason :|
It does work, turn on automaticly with switch on,
but the battery simple isn't charging... :\
I tried different charger (from my gps) and it worked well.
I had this problem with my previous camera as well,
and I don't get if the problem is with the charger,
or maybe my car's power output is too low? XD

 

[Michael Jenkin]

The charger that came with the camera isn't charging the battery for some reason :|
It does work, turn on automaticly with switch on,
but the battery simple isn't charging... :\
I tried different charger (from my gps) and it worked well.
I had this problem with my previous camera as well,
and I don't get if the problem is with the charger,
or maybe my car's power output is too low? XD

Hello,
There are many mod's and "changes" people have made to these units to put in better batteries or bypass the batteries.
In my observations, I suspect that the charging amps is almost the same as the amps drawn for normal use. I.E the battery really does not get a chance to charge under normal use.
This is more obvious when you have everything turned on (i.e. rear camera atatched, LCD on, recording, IR on etc).
I find for every 6 hours of recording, I need to charge the unit for at least 30 minutes with everythign off. In fact, I take mine out of the car, attach to my laptop and when it boots off, I shut it down and let it sit there for at least 30 minutes, then I am all good for another 6 hours.
It is not helped by the super long 5 meter cable the unit comes with. I bought a cheap 1 amp 5v car charger and use a 1 meter USB cable and things improved, but it did not solve it.
These units are cheap. If you see them for what they are and their cost, they are amazing. Unfortunatly anything built on a budget has issues and the charge circuit, battery is one of them.
I assume your GPS charge cable is shorter ? Is it just a USB lead or plug direct into the car assessory point ? (If it does, does it have a voltage/amp reading on it ?)
thanks