Installation notes A129 Duo

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There are a few things which confused me or caught me out while installing and setting up my A129 Duo So I thought I would note them here so it may help others

The "mini USB" cable going to the rear camera is not a normal mini USB. To make my installation tidier I bought a mini USB elbow because it would have meant that I could mount the cam higher up the window, it did not work. in fact I damaged the supplied cable connector and had to buy another one. It would be better if the power cable was on the side of the unit IMHO, my rear window is resessed and the power connector gets in the way of the trim around the window.
The menus and screen do not work on the camera when you have wifi on, you are supposed to do all that stuff through your phone if you have that on.
The menus and screen do not work on the camera if you have the aux cable plugged into it, you are supposed to look at the screen that it is plugged into. I plugged mine into my head unit reverse/backup cam input, hoping it may be some use as a backup cam too, there is a setting to mirror the rear presumably for this reason. Its not really practical to use as a reversing cam though, the angle and height needed for a rear dashcam vs a reversing cam are different. The aux cable also should not be fully inserted into the dashcam, needs to be pulled out a bit to find the right contacts.
Other comments:
There is a bug where the picture in picture options are not saved, it always defaults to front cam with rear inlaid in the corner, I would prefer the opposite of that.
The picture quality is great, quite happy, though even with the viofo polarising filter I still get a reflection of my head unit from the windscreen, I may make a shield and stick it to the cam to stop that - the front cam is 195MB and rear 165MB for each 3 minute segment, not sure why rear is smaller I though they were the same settings. No corrupt files as yet, unlike my wifes A119S, I made some changes to try to cure that.
I have hard wire kit for parking mode, but have not used that much yet as the vehicle is usually parked in a garage, the one time I did turn it on it had been overwritten by the time I wanted to review it. Should be no issues with battery when I use it, its a camper van with a 300W solar panel on the roof!
 
Yes dashcams are not good as reversing cameras, people should get a proper reversing camera for that, they are reasonable cheap.
PIP bug seem to be related to the hardware, others using the same have the same bug,,,,, it is fixable in firmware i think.
The 2 cameras often use different bitrates with the rear one using a lesser bitrate, have a look at properties on the files from your 2 cameras.

196/176 MB for 3 minute files seem low, are you using a low image quality setting ?
 
Be sure to leave WiFi off when not actually using it as it will cut the Bitrate in half.
The rear camera cable is a 10 pin and most adapters are 5 pins.
 
Be sure to leave WiFi off when not actually using it as it will cut the Bitrate in half.

That too, and probably the reason for the small 3 minute files he claim.
I wouldn't mind if they taxed the hell out of wifi,,,,,, cuz i never use it. :)
 
The picture quality is great, quite happy, though even with the viofo polarising filter I still get a reflection of my head unit from the windscreen...
That shouldn't normally happen, we expect some reflection to still be there towards the sides of the image, but reflections in the centre should disappear almost completely - post a frame grab showing the reflection, and what car is it?...
 
I never thought a rear DVR was any good used as a reversing camera, too high up and the screen on the master DVR would be much too small to actually notice objects in the way

I have the lens for my reversing camera low down, maybe a bit too low but without cutting holes not many options







I agree with you about having the mini USB entering the rear DVR of the A129 from the side allowing the rear DVR to be mounted as high up as possible, something like on this mini 0805

 
Low is good, but damn that's low :eek:
Getting a new functioning head-unit, and a reversing camera are high on my list as my back don't like being flexed as much as it do when i turn to look.

BUT ! that will have to wait, just ordered 2 new headlights for my car yesterday, money that was targeted for more RAM in the computer and new GFX card, so back to saving though i never left.
Actually funny, the 2 new headlights cost the same as 16 GB of the RAM i use,,,, not exactly on the dot, but within a few USD or the price of a pack of cigarettes.
And the new lights are mailed as 2 parcels 3.7 KG each :cautious:
 
I never thought a rear DVR was any good used as a reversing camera, too high up and the screen on the master DVR would be much too small to actually notice objects in the way

I have the lens for my reversing camera low down, maybe a bit too low but without cutting holes not many options

I agree with you about having the mini USB entering the rear DVR of the A129 from the side allowing the rear DVR to be mounted as high up as possible, something like on this mini 0805
Interesting place to put it, does the lens stay clean down there? Suspect that might be the best place for it staying clean...

Would be difficult to put it too high up on your car!

I agree with you about having the mini USB entering the rear DVR of the A129 from the side allowing the rear DVR to be mounted as high up as possible, something like on this mini 0805
The new IR cabin/rear cameras do have the USB on the side, but for most people, if the camera is within the area swept by the rear wiper then the vertical entry is appropriate.
 
And the new lights are mailed as 2 parcels 3.7 KG each :cautious:
I was going to suggest you ebay the old ones for refurbishment, but if they weight that much then the postage will be too much!

Surely they are only plastic, we don't use glass anymore!
 
Yes, and that's the problem, the "glass" in front of the main bulb in mine are now crackling so much so the left one have cracked and take in water, and the outside of the glass feel like 60 grit sand paper.
It is funny i have tried to keep a eye on other older Splash cars i see but i haven't seen one with the same problem i have.
When i showed it to the dealer they asked if i had been running after market bulbs, which i have not as i could not care less about the light on my car.

I have contemplated replacing the little bulbs in the headlights with LED ones, which i think are legal to do, also need to get a new main bulb for the L side as its the original from 2012 and it is not the same hue as the one i just have changed for the #2 time in the right headlight.
 
Low is good, but damn that's low :eek:
Getting a new functioning head-unit, and a reversing camera are high on my list as my back don't like being flexed as much as it do when i turn to look.
can't help you out with the headunit but the reversing camera is no problem
 
I know.
Thank god head units can be had fairly cheap if you like me have shed your audiophile tendencies. so it will not be a big problem, even if DK customs are finally acting upon all the 2 dollar value parcels from China :)
They cant check over 45,000 parcels every day, and if need be i can pay customs and fees on a cheap head unit,,,,,, just not right now or should i say i choose not to do that at the moment.

Main focus are on trying to be happy with what i got and what kind people gift to me, then the rest must come down the road in baby steps.
 
I'll check back with you before I send you something next and you can let me know which camera type you want that's going to be the best type to mount
 
The menus and screen do not work on the camera when you have wifi on, you are supposed to do all that stuff through your phone if you have that on.
Yeah, that one is a bummer, I received my first brand new unit of A129 yesterday and for the first 30 minutes I was trying to figure it out, is my unit faulty or what...


Also, I would personally add:


When camera is NOT recording, left LED is blinking... which is confusing - it should be off, not blinking.
LED should be blinking only in case of firmware update or something. Blinking LED is indicating, that something is going on.


Installation (adhesive tape) - owner's manual says do not mount dashcam on window tint:
Yet, almost every tutorial I've read on this forum, including this one: https://dashcamtalk.com/viofo-a129-duo/ shows dashcam installed directly on window tint:

I'm confused - what is the optimal mounting place?
 
I think they mean aftermarket tint, as in film applied to the inside of your glass. At least that's how I interpreted it.

On my windshield, there is a darkened band going all the way across the top, about 5-8 cm in height. The windshield came this way from the factory. I think the tint band is baked into the outer layers of the glass. I had to move my front A129 camera once already & peeling off the old adhesive was no problem, because the tinting is actually on the outside of the glass (or at least not on the inside surface). Maybe your tinted area shown is similar?
 
The "mini USB" cable going to the rear camera is not a normal mini USB. To make my installation tidier I bought a mini USB elbow because it would have meant that I could mount the cam higher up the window, it did not work. in fact I damaged the supplied cable connector and had to buy another one. It would be better if the power cable was on the side of the unit IMHO, my rear window is resessed and the power connector gets in the way of the trim around the window.

I was in the same situation as yours, until I (accidentally) found out that the camera connection doesn't fit in mini USB port & rushed to cancel the 90 degree mini to mini USB adapter order from Amazon.
I also found that Viofo actually has 90 degree camera connection on both ends under Accessories on their site
 
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