Koonlung K1S Review

the market is there, plenty of manufacturers know that, the necessary hardware is not up to the task as yet which is why you see problem products like this one
 
As I cannot find another Dashcam that has exactly that features especially small stealth cams+blackbox I decided to risk it and order a K1S via Spytech UK, as it costs me nearly 160CHF and can be returned if it does't work. Additionally I will get a Thinkwave F50 used only for parking surveillance.

Thank you all for the warnings regarding reliability which made me search:
after reading techomoan's review AND all the comments below and a lot others found on Amazon etc. I came to the conclusion that 90% of the problems with the k1S come down to 5 main issues:
1. SD Card: most failures come from a "wrong/incompatible SD card. Common solution was a lexar 32GB U3 Card works
2. Battery: Stock factory batterie sulfates and therefor overheats + damages the DVR Blackbox, can be replaced with GoPro 4 or earlier batteries
3. Audio: very low level of Audio recording.
4. Origin/manufacturer unknown: K1S from somewhere unknown, not official retailer etc and is it really a K1S or only looking like one with no support from seller
5. Cableing/Connectors: Connectors are very sensitive...

4 of the issues are non for me:
1. SD Card: I will use the Lexar 32GB u3 card that proofs to work
2. Battery: no issue at all as I will use the K1S only while driving/igintion on and install it without the battery. so no additional costs for a replacement battery too.
3. Audio: I don't need audio
4. Origin: I will get mine over Spytech UK/Amazon, official retailer and support available.

only number 5 can be an issue plus the rest 10%: no risk no fun....
5. Cableing/COnnectors: experience with cabling so I do my best to get the 4 USB Connectors stabilized, e.g. 2 drops of hot glue when connected and a tiny bit ice spray directly(!) on the drop and it is fixed to the box itself and a little push still releases it without any issue to connector...if my DVR unit has an issue there is warranty and send back to Spytech.

=> will test it for some weeks freely wired (except of the DVR 4 connectors, here I will be very careful) and lets see how it works. If not sent back and 20 bucks lost on postage, if it does I get what I was looking for.
...looks like I will have a bit more interaction with the DVR unit than original planed so I will check if I can stealthy mount it somewhere in the center console e.g. ashtray...instead of the glove box.
Additionally I found out that Innovv has waterproof cameras for motorbikes for the K1S which I can also use alternatively. So if K1S is ok perfoming I will install the cameras front in the front grill and back at the number plate so glare&windscreen problems are solved and even more stealth...
 
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As I cannot find another Dashcam that has exactly that features especially small stealth cams+blackbox I decided to risk it and order a K1S via Spytech UK, as it costs me nearly 160CHF and can be returned if it does't work. Additionally I will get a Thinkwave F50 used only for parking surveillance.

Thank you all for the warnings regarding reliability which made me search:
after reading techomoan's review AND all the comments below and a lot others found on Amazon etc. I came to the conclusion that 90% of the problems with the k1S come down to 5 main issues:
1. SD Card: most failures come from a "wrong/incompatible SD card. Common solution was a lexar 32GB U3 Card works
2. Battery: Stock factory batterie sulfates and therefor overheats + damages the DVR Blackbox, can be replaced with GoPro 4 or earlier batteries
3. Audio: very low level of Audio recording.
4. Origin/manufacturer unknown: K1S from somewhere unknown, not official retailer etc and is it really a K1S or only looking like one with no support from seller
5. Cableing/Connectors: Connectors are very sensitive...

4 of the issues are non for me:
1. SD Card: I will use the Lexar 32GB u3 card that proofs to work
2. Battery: no issue at all as I will use the K1S only while driving/igintion on and install it without the battery. so no additional costs for a replacement battery too.
3. Audio: I don't need audio
4. Origin: I will get mine over Spytech UK/Amazon, official retailer and support available.

only number 5 can be an issue plus the rest 10%: no risk no fun....
5. Cableing/COnnectors: experience with cabling so I do my best to get the 4 USB Connectors stabilized, e.g. 2 drops of hot glue when connected and a tiny bit ice spray directly(!) on the drop and it is fixed to the box itself and a little push still releases it without any issue to connector...if my DVR unit has an issue there is warranty and send back to Spytech.

=> will test it for some weeks freely wired (except of the DVR 4 connectors, here I will be very careful) and lets see how it works. If not sent back and 20 bucks lost on postage, if it does I get what I was looking for.
...looks like I will have a bit more interaction with the DVR unit than original planed so I will check if I can stealthy mount it somewhere in the center console e.g. ashtray...instead of the glove box.
Additionally I found out that Innovv has waterproof cameras for motorbikes for the K1S which I can also use alternatively. So if K1S is ok perfoming I will install the cameras front in the front grill and back at the number plate so glare&windscreen problems are solved and even more stealth...

Hey HellDriver, it's been some 10 months since your KS1 purchase. How are you doing? The KS1 registers a 4.5 out of 5.0 in customer satisfaction in Amazon reviews. Even when adjusted for statistical errors, that's a pretty darn high score for a cam that is repeatedly getting shot down by some at DCT. Please share you experience when you have a chance.
 
we're testing engineering samples at the moment, still a while to go before we'll be doing any public release though

Hi. So, how about now (Nov 2017)? How far are you know, 10 months after your last update on this?
 
Hardware is sorted, we have some tooling adjustments still to do, early next year we should be doing field testing if all goes well
 
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