Mobius Super Capacitor.

[Hilts]

Thanks for the suggestion GJHS, but I'm just going to leave it. I can't be bothered with all the hassle. End of day the Mobius shoots video, that's what I need it for. I'll just have to live without a time stamp

Just a thought.... Could it be your USB cable slowly dragging charge from the Cap? After just turning off there would be sufficient charge in the Cap to save your last video, but then eventually drains the charge from Cap sufficiently to stop the internal clock from working??
I had a look at the link for the USB you'd provided elsewhere. Seems awfully cheap for a 5m long USB cable!
Perhaps you could try another USB cable (from another supplier) to see if that helps.

 

[Byr0n]

Just a thought.... Could it be your USB cable slowly dragging charge from the Cap? After just turning off there would be sufficient charge in the Cap to save your last video, but then eventually drains the charge from Cap sufficiently to stop the internal clock from working??
I had a look at the link for the USB you'd provided elsewhere. Seems awfully cheap for a 5m long USB cable!
Perhaps you could try another USB cable (from another supplier) to see if that helps.

Thanks for the suggestion, can a cable do that?

 

[Hilts]

Thanks for the suggestion, can a cable do that?

Appears that I had 'tongue in top gear mind in neutral'.... again earlier! There is a USB drain wire, but it appears to be used for shielding purposes and nothing else - so 'talking out of my hat' springs to mind, apologies!
However, looking into this matter further the maximum specified length of USB 2.0 cable is 5m. The voltage drop (resistance) across a cheap cable could mean that you are not getting a full charge into the Mobius Cap when plugged into your car. Seepage from the Cap will reduce the stored charge over time anyhow (hence the ~10 days noted elsewhere re. Real Time Clock), and not being fully charged will greatly reduce this time...
I would suggest you try charging your Mobius Cap using the short USB from your PC/Laptop and leaving it for a few days to see if the Date/Time stamp holds, without installing in your car.
You may have an excess of USB cable rolled up in your car. [I use 3m length cable, which only just reaches in mine.] So the answer might be to use as short a USB cable as you can in your car, e.g., 3m length + 1m extension; after you've tried the above test that is.
Fingers crossed for you!

 

[russ331]

Thanks for the suggestion, can a cable do that?

Further to what Hilts wrote above, you could temporarily try a short USB cable from your front lighter socket straight up to the Mobius. It'll look untidy but, if Mobius holds date/time for a few days, it will divert suspicion from the capacitor to your existing cable.

 

[Byr0n]

I'll try that cheers guys. I am however now using a 3m cable as i purchased one of these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271373348083
My set up is small right angle adaptor coming out of mobius, then 3m usb lead then cigerette socket switch 1.5m adaptor

 

[jokiin]

My set up is small right angle adaptor coming out of mobius, then 3m usb lead then cigerette socket switch 1.5m adaptor

have you tried it again without the adapter, a join in a cable is always another potential point of failure, worth taking it out temporarily to test if you haven't already

 

[Byr0n]

have you tried it again without the adapter, a join in a cable is always another potential point of failure, worth taking it out temporarily to test if you haven't already

What adaptor do you mean?

Surely if the cables were not giving enough charge the last file would never save though?

 

[jokiin]

What adaptor do you mean?

Surely if the cables were not giving enough charge the last file would never save though?

the small right angle adapter

if it's draining power there must be a cause there somewhere, of course it could just be a hardware fault

you could also try just unplugging the cables from the back of the camera after you power off and see if it still loses the time and date

 

[Byr0n]

you could also try just unplugging the cables from the back of the camera after you power off and see if it still loses the time and date

That would be easier

Im sure a few others are using the right angle adaptor on here, as thats where i got the idea from?

 

[jokiin]

That would be easier

Im sure a few others are using the right angle adaptor on here, as thats where i got the idea from?

not suggesting the right angle adapter is a bad idea but if there was something wrong with it then it's better to at least rule that out as a cause I think, quite easy to test

 

[Hilts]

not suggesting the right angle adapter is a bad idea but if there was something wrong with it then it's better to at least rule that out as a cause I think, quite easy to test

@jokiin Do any of your cameras use Capacitors? If you fully discharge one would it have trouble holding full charge again?
Not sure what, if any, experience you've had. Apologies if such questions have been asked before.

 

[Grimm]

Right.. Update on my capacitor situation. I installed my new capacitor on Friday, used it then left it over the weekend. Jumped back in car today and just got home to review if the time stamp has been maintained..

Answer is no! This was after a total reset and format of the card. So I didn't have a faulty capacitor it's my camera, no idea what's causing this so I have just turned the time stamp off and it will remain off from now on as there is no point me having 01/01/2013 showing on all my vids

Shame, if anyone can add anymore tips then please do but I have given up to be honest

It could be 2 bad capacitors unless you test it with the battery (a known working setup) like GJHS suggested.

 

[jokiin]

@jokiin Do any of your cameras use Capacitors?

yes

If you fully discharge one would it have trouble holding full charge again?

no

keep in mind our product is designed to use capacitors, for the Mobius it was something they did later so I couldn't be sure the implementation is ideal, they don't have an RTC battery for starters and I don't think the firmware is optimised for use with capacitors either, the firmware problem could be addressed though

 

[fatpanda]

When the idea of the capacitor was first raised Isoprop recommended two 10 farad capacitors, unfortunately the 10 farad capacitors would not fit in the Mobius casing and 5 farad capacitors are being supplied to customers. Maybe the extra storage capacity of the 10 farad capacitors would have solved some problems.

 

[murcod]

This might not be relevant Byron, but have you left the Mobius "on charge" for an extended period with the capacitor installed? I'm wondering if the charging circuit could be current limiting the capacitor - resulting in it needing an extended time period before it is full enough to function.

 

[Isoprop]

This might not be relevant Byron, but have you left the Mobius "on charge" for an extended period with the capacitor installed? I'm wondering if the charging circuit could be current limiting the capacitor - resulting in it needing an extended time period before it is full enough to function.

For my tests I always let the capacitor charge for exactly 5 minutes before turning on the camera. I don't know how long it needs to charge when auto-power-on is enabled and recording starts immediately. My tests were done as follows:
5 min. charge, 30mins auto-power-on record and then auto-power-off immediate. The RTC (Real Time Clock) should run at least 10 days.
The initial 5 min. charge was done by connecting the camera to external USB power and then immediately turning it off.

 

[Byr0n]

This might not be relevant Byron, but have you left the Mobius "on charge" for an extended period with the capacitor installed? I'm wondering if the charging circuit could be current limiting the capacitor - resulting in it needing an extended time period before it is full enough to function.

Hi,

Yes I left it plugged in a good hour, also USB charging is turned on in the settings

 

[russ331]

I drove my car today for the first time since Monday morning. Just checked the files, & the date/time stamp is correct.

So the Super Cap held the date/time for 5 days. Isoprop reckons it should do so for around 10 days ... I don't expect to test it for that long until September.

 

[Hilts]

Hi,

Yes I left it plugged in a good hour, also USB charging is turned on in the settings

I was just wondering if you'd had any joy with the Super Cap after the various tests - in particular if the RTC (Time Stamp) held after you'd charged it from your laptop/PC short cable?

I purchased a Super Cap from Banggood at a similar time and haven't had any issues with it at all.

 

[Dashmellow]

That's a good question. Hope @ByrOn resolved his troubles after all this time. So far everything continues to work perfectly on my super-capped Mobius and I'm considering installing a super-cap in my other Mobius as the weather warms up. When I do that I will probably be able to test it to see just how long it can hold the date.