Update: About 6 months after purchase now. The cam sat idle for about 6 weeks then last week went back into service. Yesterday it would not start, which I thought might have been from sitting in a hot van all day long. On bench testing today, it would load the start-up screen image but got no further- locked up completely. After a few hard resets it finally began working, but the screen filled with vertical lines than it locked up completely again. Reformatted the card in the PC, let the battery charge 10 minutes, then tried again with success. The date/time was off but the other settings were OK.
As I've had a similar problem with a real G1W-C before, I expect this is an omen of impending cam death. The likely culprit is an overheating chip or electronic component. I'm ordering another G1W-S in a moment and hoping this one will last until it arrives. Getting 5-6 months usage from this cheap cam was all I expected to get, so no complaints really but I still cannot recommend it at all π
Phil