Mobius heat tolerance

sam81

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We are receiving temperatures up to 104 degrees and beyond in northern California and I wonder how long a Mobius can operate before burning out. I touch the heat sinks occasionally and they get extremely hot, not surprisingly.

Any tips on how to keep the little camera cool while driving? Are there any kits or ideas? Occasionally I dismount the camera and place it in front of the air vent for a minute to cool it down but this isn't always feasible while driving.
 
I am in Australia & i use 2 Mobius.....one mounted on a Arkon bean bag which i can put on the floor when parked .And the rear one is mounted on the head rest post & out of most direct sun. Both have super capacitors instead of the battery.I just put a suction cup mount on the bean bag plate , a long version to get some height & the weight of the bean bag keeps it in place .http://www.arkon.com.au/arkon/smartphone-mounts/arkon-bean-bag-dash-mount-sm012.html.
 
We are receiving temperatures up to 104 degrees and beyond in northern California and I wonder how long a Mobius can operate before burning out. I touch the heat sinks occasionally and they get extremely hot, not surprisingly.

Any tips on how to keep the little camera cool while driving? Are there any kits or ideas? Occasionally I dismount the camera and place it in front of the air vent for a minute to cool it down but this isn't always feasible while driving.

From my experience it shouldn't really be a problem, but some people have installed an inexpensive heat sink using thermal cement to improve cooling of the processor.

mobius-heat-sink.jpg
 
Where can I get that heat sink and thermal cement?
 
Where can I get that heat sink and thermal cement?

If you are willing to wait a few weeks for delivery from China, DX (Deal Extreme) sells a huge variety of heats sinks, thermal compounds and cements.
For a high quality name brand thermal cement many people swear by Arctic Silver which is widely available if you search for it on the web. http://www.arcticsilver.com/ta.htm

Here are some typical examples of what you will find on DX.

http://www.dx.com/s/heat+sinks

http://www.dx.com/p/adhesive-solder-heatsink-plaster-for-pc-hard-parts-5g-37514

http://www.dx.com/p/fujik-silicone-thermal-glue-50ml-grease-like-4579

http://www.dx.com/p/hzdz-l-5-aluminum-radiator-power-module-heat-sink-black-19-x-19-x-5mm-276911

http://www.dx.com/p/yaosheng-ys95-aluminum-heat-sink-black-10-x-22-x-22mm-5pcs-255454
 
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I'm in the hot part of the Bay Area (Brentwood, Concord, Walnut Creek) and my Mobius cameras have seen those temps many times. The key is to replace the battery with the super cap and then shield them from direct sun as best you can.
My rear Mobius is mounted to the bottom of the center brake light at the top of the rear window. I just used double stick tape and the housing of the brake light shields it from most direct sunlight.
The front mounted Mobius on my wife's isn't shielded from the sun other than being under the dot matrix of the windshield near the rear view mirror.
They are both working fine with super caps. But when my wife's setup had a battery, it killed the battery in less than a week.
 
I'm in the hot part of the Bay Area (Brentwood, Concord, Walnut Creek) and my Mobius cameras have seen those temps many times. The key is to replace the battery with the super cap and then shield them from direct sun as best you can.
My rear Mobius is mounted to the bottom of the center brake light at the top of the rear window. I just used double stick tape and the housing of the brake light shields it from most direct sunlight.
The front mounted Mobius on my wife's isn't shielded from the sun other than being under the dot matrix of the windshield near the rear view mirror.
They are both working fine with super caps. But when my wife's setup had a battery, it killed the battery in less than a week.

I have three Mobi in my vehicle (rear facing and both sides) and my experience has been about the same. No significant heat related issues regardless of the weather as long as super-caps are used. Also, FWIW, I happen to drive a midnight blue pick-up truck that can feel like an oven on a hot day.
 
You also might find reading this older thread from @BobDiaz to be helpful and interesting.

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/mobius-thermal-tests.3423/

That's a good thread- I think I posted about my experiences in there. I had stuck RAM heatsinks onto my Mobius, but the in car heat proved too much and they fell off after about 12mths.

I've been running them with no heatsinks since then and they've been fine (apart from a near new higher capacity battery bloating... the original batteries never did that...)

So I wouldn't get too hung up over the necessity of putting a heatsink on.
 
Has anyone used graphite heat dissipation stickers?
5set-Anti-static-Sticker-Heat-Sink-sticker-for-iPhone-6-Plus-Logic-board-motherboard.jpg_220x220.jpg

http://www.ziitek.com/en/faq/201704063067.html

https://www.laptopmain.com/vivo-x9s-teardown/



Or copper ones
https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-9/general/nexus-9-mod-cooling-heatsink-mod-t2989626
 
I wouldn't bother going to the trouble. I had one of mine modded with extra heatsinks, then they fell off, the camera is still working fine years later.

The batteries are more likely to give you problems in the heat (if you aren't using super caps?) I had a Mobius melt, the plastic case was distorted from heat and the (aftermarket high capacity) battery bloated, but the circuitry is still working fine in a new case. I leave them in parked cars in up to 45 degrees C temperatures (not operating- that would be asking for trouble.)
 
I leave them in parked cars in up to 45 degrees C temperatures (not operating- that would be asking for trouble.)

I have regularly operated super-capped Mobius cameras while parked at this temperature for almost three years now often for several hours at a time and surprisingly have not experienced any issues. I started out doing this as an experiment with a single camera more or less expecting the worst but after all this time I don't worry about it too much. If I expect temps to go much higher I limit the run times and make sure to increase the cross-flow ventilation in my truck.
 
I have regularly operated super-capped Mobius cameras while parked at this temperature for almost three years now often for several hours at a time and surprisingly have not experienced any issues. I started out doing this as an experiment with a single camera more or less expecting the worst but after all this time I don't worry about it too much. If I expect temps to go much higher I limit the run times and make sure to increase the cross-flow ventilation in my truck.

Dashmellow are you talking vehicle interior temperatures or the external weather conditions? I was referring to the external weather temperature as being 45 degrees C, inside the vehicle I'd hate to think what it would reach (that car is normally parked in the sun.)
 
Dashmellow are you talking vehicle interior temperatures or the external weather conditions? I was referring to the external weather temperature as being 45 degrees C, inside the vehicle I'd hate to think what it would reach (that car is normally parked in the sun.)

Yikes! That's hot! :eek: I'm only talking interior cabin temps in a dark blue vehicle on a summer day in the sun so now I get what you were saying. Top external temperatures for me are probably in the neighborhood of 35º C or thereabouts. I would never risk running cams while parked if the exterior temps were so high. And now I understand why your Mobius melted!
 
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Yikes! That's hot! :eek: I'm only talking interior cabin temps in a dark blue vehicle on a summer day in the sun so now I get what you were saying. Top external temperatures for me are probably in the neighborhood of 35º or thereabouts. I would never risk running cams while parked if the exterior temps were so high. And now I understand why your Mobius melted!

what we live with in Australia, interior temps of over 90°c (194°f) are easily achieved in summer while parked
 
what we live with in Australia, interior temps of over 90°c (194°f) are easily achieved in summer while parked

Yeah, I know it gets hot in Australia but I didn't think through that @murcod was describing the outside ambient temperature. I'm almost surprised interior car temps can survive that for too long. Years ago when in my college days I had an old dark colored car with a broken sun visor that kept falling down, so I stuck a ball point pen behind it to hold it up. One day it reached about 100º Fahrenheit outside and I returned to the car to find the visor hanging down and the pen melted and looking like something out of a Salvador Dali painting. Aussie summers in some parts must be like Hell on earth!

Edit: Driving that same car the next winter it went down to -20º F (-28.8º C) below zero and when I started the car and turned on the heat the dashboard cracked in half! :eek: Amazed the car even started.
 
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