Mobius mounting solutions

[Shep]

So it's like velcro but the one side is already prepped? I had no idea you could do that, but it makes perfect sense.

I'm with you on magnets but for a different reason -- I don't trust they would stay put during a collision. I've been in four accidents, three considered "minor" (one total loss), one of the minors was a hit-and-run, one involved the driver on her cell phone (illuminated face at night with passenger face not lit on footage I supplied -- "dead giveaway" according to insurance), and the most recent was a T-bone (lawsuit is still ongoing). In any case, the magnet cameras would bare minimum fall, worst case likely become projectiles.

My total loss had my radio from my 2014 Subaru Impreza fly out directly into the passenger seat (I was solo thank god), bounce off into the footwell, and in the process ripped a bunch of cabling, the flash drive was toast, the radio is now unusable (it was cheap anyhow), but only reason it flew out was I had been replacing it and didn't screw anything in. Held by gravity mostly and I guess inertia too. A mount with magnets wouldn't hold up much better honestly. Something needs to more or less adhere the camera in place, and with something like velcro (or the next best thing) I think it's as good as anything else will do, especially in that area.

Glad this thread got bumped though, I don't have my rear connected and really need to add my Mobius guys to the sides... project for today!

 

[Dashmellow]

A N52 40mm x 3mm neodymium disk magnet used between two sheets of steel has a pull strength of 159.1 lbs. This exceeds the tensile strength holding power of a similar sized piece of 3M VHB tape which is about 90 lbs.

While there are various factors involved in how well a neodymium magnet will hold a dash cam, especially in a crash, with the proper selection of magnets and the proper approach to installing them they should hold a small lightweight camera like Mobius pretty well. Either way strong enough magnets will not likely rotate on their own if the cable has some strain relief and is not tugged on.

I prefer a permanent, solid mount myself but neodymium can work well, especially for someone who needs to remove the camera frequently.

I like those Scotch fabric mount tabs and may try some. I've used cable clips with Velcro applied using just the hooked side pressed up against my fabric headliner to keep a cable in place and it works reasonably well like that.

 

[Shep]

Holding strength is only right up against metal though right? The headliner provides enough of a gap to lower that strength, especially in a crash where the metal unibody design of most cars wrinkles up like tin foil (I can post pics of my first accident if it would help visualize an actual accident -- glass and interior survived fully, the outside was demolished, 2014 Impreza rear ended so recent car). Unless you put the magnet on the headliner, which begs the question of why not go with other "less effort, better results" options? Left-to-right alignment in particular would be a moving target I would think, velcro-style approaches don't succumb to that problem.

I would also be highly hesitant of how the camera itself would hold up. I don't know enough about the electronincs (I dabble enough to make stuff, but any "electrical signal" discussions and I jump ship, I'm moderately versed and mostly self-taught), especially the supercapacitor add-on. However, my biggest concern would be phantom problems cropping up with the memory cards, which already are in an environment that typically sees extreme temps and conditions, and can even be voltage sensitive. Can't imagine magnetic forces on top of that wouldn't somehow impact things (EMP has been used to entirely destory circuit deisgns like this, it is not at all far-fetched that an accident would see enough EMF interference just from the other car alone to cause issues).

Not saying magnets can't be done. Just that, in this particular context, better options exist that I would in a heartbeat go for. Unless you drive a Corvette or literally anything Lotus, then magnets literally will not work due to the fiberglass bodies. (Don't know if my DeLorean counts as "fiberglass body with a stainless steel skin" or "stainless steel body", it's subjective I guess sans the all-stainless doors).

That all said, I agree 100% on the sturdy mount being best, I don't think anything short of adhesive or wedge will be considered 100% "stable" (velcro does come close). And by wedge, I mean like the one I saw on the Street Guardian GC where it has a long section designed to stick well into the gap between headliner and car body and simply be sandwiched in place (at the potential cost of shakiness on impact, depends on design and fitment -- although I ran these for a few years with VERY short wedges without any issues on side cams). Adhesive can go anywhere, glass or even dashboard/rear deck/trim/etc.

 

[Dashmellow]

Holding strength is only right up against metal though right? The headliner provides enough of a gap to lower that strength, especially in a crash where the metal unibody design of most cars wrinkles up like tin foil (I can post pics of my first accident if it would help visualize an actual accident -- glass and interior survived fully, the outside was demolished, 2014 Impreza rear ended so recent car). Unless you put the magnet on the headliner, which begs the question of why not go with other "less effort, better results" options? Left-to-right alignment in particular would be a moving target I would think, velcro-style approaches don't succumb to that problem.

I would also be highly hesitant of how the camera itself would hold up. I don't know enough about the electronincs (I dabble enough to make stuff, but any "electrical signal" discussions and I jump ship, I'm moderately versed and mostly self-taught), especially the supercapacitor add-on. However, my biggest concern would be phantom problems cropping up with the memory cards, which already are in an environment that typically sees extreme temps and conditions, and can even be voltage sensitive. Can't imagine magnetic forces on top of that wouldn't somehow impact things (EMP has been used to entirely destory circuit deisgns like this, it is not at all far-fetched that an accident would see enough EMF interference just from the other car alone to cause issues).

Not saying magnets can't be done. Just that, in this particular context, better options exist that I would in a heartbeat go for. Unless you drive a Corvette or literally anything Lotus, then magnets literally will not work due to the fiberglass bodies. (Don't know if my DeLorean counts as "fiberglass body with a stainless steel skin" or "stainless steel body", it's subjective I guess sans the all-stainless doors).

That all said, I agree 100% on the sturdy mount being best, I don't think anything short of adhesive or wedge will be considered 100% "stable" (velcro does come close). And by wedge, I mean like the one I saw on the Street Guardian GC where it has a long section designed to stick well into the gap between headliner and car body and simply be sandwiched in place (at the potential cost of shakiness on impact, depends on design and fitment -- although I ran these for a few years with VERY short wedges without any issues on side cams). Adhesive can go anywhere, glass or even dashboard/rear deck/trim/etc.

That's quite a rant mate!

The short answer is that if you don't wish to use neodymium magnets to mount your dash cam, or they don't work in your particular car, then don't.

Many folks here do use magnetic dash cam mounts with good results. It's simply a matter of choice or a matter of one's requirements.

FYI, magnets have no detrimental effect on memory cards.

 

[Shep]

Heh, yeah I tend to be verbose at times...

Good to know on the magnetic bit, didn't know it was as widely used. Learned something new today! (Probably would if I were more active here though, shoot... need to get back on top of dash cams in general!)

 

[Dashmellow]

Heh, yeah I tend to be verbose at times...

Good to know on the magnetic bit, didn't know it was as widely used. Learned something new today! (Probably would if I were more active here though, shoot... need to get back on top of dash cams in general!)

You'll find some good neodymium magnet mount projects in the DIY forum.

Here are a few "oldies but goodies" from @niko.

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...-quick-attach-detach-instead-of-3m-tape.4083/

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...ch-power-diy-magnetic-car-mount-bracket.3398/

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/rx300-magnetic-bracket-mount-quick-attach-detach.3790/

Edit: Actually, if you browse through this thread you'll probably come across quite a few magnetic Mobius mount projects too.

 

[Tony lovelock]

Here’s my mobius v1 c3 on a 3m Flat magnetic plate with a magnetic mount. Easier to remove in & out of the car instead of a proper dedicated dash cam with a suction cup mount in full view

 

[Lola]

Here’s my mobius v1 c3 on a 3m Flat magnetic plate with a magnetic mount. Easier to remove in & out of the car instead of a proper dedicated dash cam with a suction cup mount in full view

From the pictures it looks like the camera is pointed at the cars hood, I hope this is just a optical illusion.

 

[Dashmellow]

Here’s my mobius v1 c3 on a 3m Flat magnetic plate with a magnetic mount. Easier to remove in & out of the car instead of a proper dedicated dash cam with a suction cup mount in full view

I'm thinking the same thing @Lola mentioned. That's a pretty steep looking downward angle for good coverage. There are a few very similar magnetic Mobius mounts posted here in this thread and in the DIY forum where the members added a piece of angled metal which can be bent and adjusted for the best FOV, yet still magnetic, secure and easy to install and remove.

 

[Tony lovelock]

I will put up a picture of the front facing view, yes it does give that impression as it is a steep rake being a seat Ibiza 09 car. But the view does show a great detail of the road ahead l, I would love to know where or how to adapt this magnetic metal plate to get a better view... suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I did have the mobius cycle helmet mount on the windscreen but it showed the same view as to what the magnetic mount does...

 

[Shep]

60/40 ratio of sky/road is still recommended right? I remember more sky than road at least, which sounded odd to me until I realized you're capturing footage of circumstances, not as someone plows into you.

Adjusting: if you have a 3D printer, there's a plethora of "wedge" mount designs for the Mobius on Thingiverse, you can fairly easily play around with angles on your end to see what works best. That arm looks maxed out though and doesn't provide much wiggle room. Failing that, I'm sure Dashmellow has a few bookmarked!

EDIT: Wait, I'm seeing things, there is no arm is there? So nevermind the "maxed out arm" bit.

 

[Dashmellow]

I will put up a picture of the front facing view, yes it does give that impression as it is a steep rake being a seat Ibiza 09 car. But the view does show a great detail of the road ahead l, I would love to know where or how to adapt this magnetic metal plate to get a better view... suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I did have the mobius cycle helmet mount on the windscreen but it showed the same view as to what the magnetic mount does...

(Nothing bookmarked @Shep, but a quick search turned up one of the ones I was talking about.)

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...mount-bracket-with-quick-mount-dismount.4138/

So, here's a really nice DIY magnetic Mobius mount that @niko did several years ago.

 

[Tony lovelock]

Here’s my mobius cycle helmet mount, removed the big turn thumb knob screw, kept the existing m4 dome headed long bolt but shortened it down in length & added x2 m4 nuts, got a black permanent marker & coloured them in. May have another dabble with this mount & adjust angle as necessary. I’ve tried to keep the 3m mount in a hidden as possible position on the black dotted area on the windscreen to make it less obvious there’s a camera up front

 

[Shep]

The angled metal Dashmellow showed would fit between the top of the mount (as seen in your most recent pics) and the magnetic windshield mount.

Do you have a screenshot of Mobius footage? Any random picture, gives an idea of where it's aiming.

 

[Tony lovelock]

This is what I can see currently, obviously because it’s on a magnet mount with no adjustment you can see more dash board I know but you can see still the toad ahead quite clearly. May revert back to the cycle mount & make adjustments see what I can do. Any feedback will be appreciated... be gentle lol

 

[Tony lovelock]

Here is the camera on the passenger side on the cycle helmet mount & adjusted as best as possible... think there is a difference compared to when mounted on the magnet mount on the driver side

 

[Dashmellow]

This is what I can see currently, obviously because it’s on a magnet mount with no adjustment you can see more dash board I know but you can see still the toad ahead quite clearly. May revert back to the cycle mount & make adjustments see what I can do. Any feedback will be appreciated... be gentle lol

This seems seriously less than optimal to me. It's not really providing adequate coverage and having the camera at that angle where most of the sky is eliminated from the FOV will have an adverse affect on the camera's ability to expose properly. The general rule of thumb is a 60/40 balance between sky and bonnet. This camera angle also seems to be exacerbating the reflections of the dashboard in your windscreen.

The helmet mounted FOV is more of what you want, I think. Perhaps a level horizon might help as well. Always important to have a good view of the "Toad ahead!"

 

[Tony lovelock]

Ta for your feedback @Dashmellow

 

[Tony lovelock]

May invest in a new mobius soon as I’ve posted on here in the past that the mini usb connection is slightly loose when putting the lead in, Ive taken the mobius apart & have pushed down slightly on the connector prong seems to work for a While... also the cycle helmet mount isn’t 100% secure in terms of stability as it slightly moves about not sure what others have done about this that’s why I opted to go with the magnet mount as it was much more secure but due to vision on the road ahead I reverted back

 

[Rajagra]

Just a suggestion - I think these mobile phone holders would be useful in some situations. I used one for my phone for a long time and it is very stable, yet easy to adjust / remove when needed. A thin metal plate sticks to your phone/camera (you can buy others in various shapes & sizes.) That attaches to the strong circular magnet which attaches in turn to the metal ball, which you stick to your desired surface.

I've noticed some YouTubers like to move their dash cameras around. This would make that very easy to do.

You could also ignore the metal ball part and mount on to a flat metal surface (see the last pic.)

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