Managing Expectations.... High Heat and Unit Longevity?

[NT55693]

Hello All,

I've been lurking around the forum on and off for some time now and I finally registered as I have some questions that I would like to pose before I step out and buy matching units for my (2) vehicle household.

After reading several threads and reviewers notes I wonder how to manage my expectations for $$$ spent vs. unit longevity when it comes to high heat environments?
It seems that forum users/reviewers "mileage varies" when considering how long a given unit lasts until something goes wrong and the unit is dead, corrupted, or melted and thus necessitates buying a new unit.
I am more than willing to spend $300 - $800 per unit for a quality image, but I wonder; is this money "well spent" or should I just get cheaper units with semi-passable images and just plan on replacing them every 1-2 years?
If I am going to spend $800 on a unit I would expect (5) years or more of lifetime performance... Is this an unreasonable expectation?

My usage environment:
I am based in North Texas so summer time heat is a given.
The wife and I both use "vehicle fit specific" Covercraft UVS100 Sun Screens when parked at home or on errands.
I plan to hardwire these units into the vehicles and leave the units installed as we do not live in a high theft area and do not want to remove the units nightly to bring them inside.
I want a (2) camera system for each vehicle to allow for front and rear coverage.

 

[Nigel]

If you have the dashcam turned off while parked, and you have a dashcam without a lithium battery then there is not much to worry about, should last 10 years.
It is not recommended that you trap the camera on the sunny side of that sunshield, either cut a hole for it, or better, if you vehicle design allows, mount the camera on the vehicle sensor pod so that it can be shielded by the sun shield.

If you want parking mode, I suggest you use a camera that can easily be set to not use parking mode at home, occasional use at the supermarket carpark won't make much difference to lifespan, but leaving it recording all day while parked in your driveway will. The radar activated parking mode of the Thinkware U3000 is a possible solution since with that the camera is powered off unless there is movement outside, otherwise the Viofo cameras can be set to only record for the first hour of parking, which covers most supermarket stops and turns off before the car gets really hot, while it takes zero effort from the user.

 

[kamkar]

Welcome to the forum NT55639.

Lots of people in the great state of Texas use dashcams, and should have no problems if the camera just sit there on the windscreen, and record when you drive.
If you want to use parking guard, that i assume with me meager knowledge of the Texan climate, would be a challenge, CUZ all electroniucs have a upper temperature limit, and as you know a car can get blast furnace hot when parked in the sun.
So you guys keeping it out as best you can, probably not a bad idea, but having a dashcam between such a sun shade and the glass, lets just say we have seen cases where melting have occurred. And you of course even less want the dashcam in parking mode trapped in what is a rock and a hard place for a dashcam at least.

IMO the best option to do parking guard in really hot places,, and expecting to get a little more than a conventional on glass system, well that would be one of the exceeding rare remote systems, where the cameras are remote on wires from the main unit, a main unit you can then stash out of the sun and down low in the car where it should be coldest.
The problem is, the remote systems are very hard to find, and for sure the ones i know off are no longer on moderen more relevant hardware.

I personally use the low bitrate always recording mode for parking guard, so the camera record all the time but in a lesser bitrate so files are much smaller then the files generated while driving.
BUT ! i just use that for 3 hours on the build in times some brands have as that cover all my shopping needs, at home i have CCTV on the car parked in the back yard behind apartment building, have IP camera on my 2 floor balcony door.
Also back yard have no / little light ( PIR sensor ) so dashcam would be bad, IP camera have IR light and optical zoom, so zoomed in as i am, well i have a very high chance of getting a identifying capture.

My car a little JAP 5 door not at all hot hatch, well it have a equally small battery so i do not want to load it too hard, and with 45Ah it would not last long anyway, also i dont drive much, on average 15 - 20 min daily, and thats not enough to keep car battery topped up in case you use long duration parking guard.


dual channel systems are a MUST for Americans, to deal with the 1 plate in the back issue, but also in general it give you 2 chances of a capture of other things.

At home if possible ( HOA ) and that is a place you might see issues, you should consider CCTV to cover cars and of course house / property

 

[NT55693]

Thank you for the replies.

Not using parking mode at home works for us as we have PoE CCTV cameras on our driveway and home exterior.
A system that only runs parking mode for ~30 mins to 1 hour after full unit running seems like a happy compromise as it will cover our running of errands and the like.
What I fail to understand is how not running full-time parking mode at home will actually prolong the units potential life..?

Capacitor based systems are a given in my climate, but I thought the capacitors failed because of the general exposure to the 140-160F internal car temps overall, not because the systems are running parking mode in those temps.
One way or the other the capacitor will be exposed to 140-160F for 3-4 months of the year where I live.
Am I to understand that the capacitor overall life will be OK in those temps long term so long as it is not discharging and running the system in parking mode?

The sunscreen we use fits the glass opening quite tightly on all 4 sides except around rearview mirror (vehicle specific cut out shape); but the external surface is a matte material/fabric finish and the whole thing is foam core construction.
I understand that many people here say that any sunscreen is a no-no, but those people are also likely using the highly reflective silver/mylar type units which do amplify the suns thermal effects (like a solar oven does) in the space between glass and shield.
I have not tested ambient cabin temps vs. sunscreen front surface temps but given how my shade is constructed I cannot imagine it is increasing the temps that significantly.
The shade we use mostly acts as a UV blocker to protect the dash from chalking and cracking.


Thanks for seconding the ThinkWare U3000 as a recommended unit that might suit most of my needs as I have shortlisted it as well by combing the forums.
- I am waiting on a pending video review for thermal performance from BlackBoxMyCar that is supposedly dropping soon on YT before I pursue further research into a $600 unit.
I also have the StreetGuardian SG9667DC2k on my shortlist as I have a friend in a more mild climate rave about the image quality he gets on his ~1yr old unit.
BlackVue apparently offers a remote computer/battery setup as well.
Though I just found out about them so I am not too up to speed on their offerings. I don't anticipate the need for LTE or cloud backup so that might be wasted $.

 

[Nigel]

One way or the other the capacitor will be exposed to 140-160F for 3-4 months of the year where I live.
Am I to understand that the capacitor overall life will be OK in those temps long term so long as it is not discharging and running the system in parking mode?

The main issue is that if the camera is operating, then the temperature inside the camera will be around 20 degrees celsius higher than if it is powered off. Your 160F is no problem for a capacitor, at that temperature it may have a 30 year life, but add another 20 celsius and it is above its normal operating range, and the rate at which it loses lifespan accelerates exponentially with increasing temperature, a. few extra degrees makes for a significant reduction in lifespan once they are above 90 degrees celsius, and a very big reduction above 100 celsius. So turning the power off during hot periods can make a big difference to lifetime. Same happens with the lithium batteries, and most other components, but the lithium batteries start life with a shorter lifespan and can withstand a few degrees less. So yes, with the camera powered off at times when it is hottest inside the car, a lithium battery will probably last 2 years, a capacitor will probably last 10 years, still a limited life, but a far more acceptable one and long enough that an occasional use in high temperatures doesn't need to cause concern, whereas the occasional use of a lithium battery in high temperatures can shorten its life to unacceptable.

The shade we use mostly acts as a UV blocker to protect the dash from chalking and cracking.

It will also protect the camera case and image sensor if you can mount the camera on the interior side, trapping the camera between the shade and the glass is definitely to be avoided, that can get the camera's temperature up to boiling point.

Thanks for seconding the ThinkWare U3000 as a recommended unit

I only recommend it if you need to use parking mode either in the heat or for long periods, otherwise it is excessively expensive with not particularly good image quality.

I also have the StreetGuardian SG9667DC2k on my shortlist a

That is a little outdated now, but should be reliable in the heat.

 

[Panzer Platform]

how long a given unit lasts until something goes wrong and the unit is dead

I would expect (5) years or more of lifetime performance... Is this an unreasonable expectation?

If your dash cam lasts one day longer than the original / factory warranty period (12-18 months) you're making free money. lol
Plan for the worst, hope for the best.
3rd party extended warranty, or "insurance" was less than helpful.
I bought the "deluxe plan" from BBMC with my A129 Plus back in 2020.
Recently, still under extended warranty the rear camera died.
The process to file a claim is cost, and time prohibitive, and set up in a way the consumer never gets an equitable "fair resolution".
I feel like such an idiot for buying the house insurance when the dealer was showing an Ace.
I cut my losses, disconnected the rear camera, and just run the front / main channel.
By the time 18 months elapse there'll probably be advancements in image quality, and you'll be wondering about upgrading anyway. lol
-Chuck

 

[DAP]

Don't limit your options to dual channel systems. Using two single channel cameras, one for forward and the other for rear has some advantages over dual channel systems. The primary advantage is redundancy, but using two cameras also means the rear camera can have the same high resolution as the front camera, and both can have a higher data rate (fewer compression artifacts) since dual channel systems often limit the data rate when using both cameras.

 

[NT55693]

Nigel. Thank you for the considerate reply. I found it enlightening to read that in my temperature scenario I am seeing the upper end of typical dashcam capacitor capability.
Pushing the temps a little past this threshold (by actually running the camera) is what will cause problems.

Panzer, I agree with warranty issues. I've faced the same roadblocks with other products and MFG's in the past so I know what you reference as far as how engineering failure rates seem to align perfectly with warranty periods
Don't even get me started on planned obsolescence...

DAP - I appreciate the feedback of not limiting myself to 2CH systems. I hadn't considered shared bit rate data stream limitations. I'll take that research point into consideration, and on to another thread for another day.

Thank you all for the replies. This was helpful to me and hopefully others in the future.