Mobius Super Capacitor.

Yesterday I did the weekly check on recording integrity. The ‘newest’ Mobius had failed to record the final file.

I took Mobius indoors & connected it to a wall USB charger. I recorded for 10 minutes. The result was 3 x 3 minute files. No sign of the final 1 minute file.

Using mSetup, I formatted 2 new memory cards, also ensuring that ‘Power off Disconnect’ was set to ‘Immediate’. Repeating the exercise with the new cards gave the same result each time … 3 x 3 minute files but no final 1 minute file.

I think that the Super Capacitor is failing. I could buy a new one, but it may be time to retire this Mobius, & keep it as a source of spare parts for the other one, which continues to work fine. It certainly owes me nothing, having far exceeded my expectations re longevity, etc.
It's a good thing you are still doing the weekly integrity test and found this fault before it was too late. I suspect many of us 'set & forget' for longer than we should, or become complacent thinking the old Mobius will just keep on running....
 
Well you had a good innings there @russ331, you certainly got your moneys worth out of that set of capacitors.

I think both my Mobius cameras are still sat on batteries, whether they work anymore is anyones guess, I never did get around to fitting the caps. I lost track of a lot of stuff in the last house move years ago after the wife tidied, and it's been the same ever since :D
 
Update. I installed a capacitor in my oldest Mobius cam 7 years 9 months ago. It starts recording when the engine is started. It holds date & time correctly, & saves the last file after the engine is switched off.

It’s only in use a few times a week. My other Mobius retired from service when it’s capacitor failed after 7 years 5 months.
 
FYI, I made a supercapacitor pack out of these Eaton HV0830-2R7605-R 2.7V 6F supercapacitors, and they are working great:

Digikey p/n: 283-4204-ND approx. $3.75 each

They are 8mm in diameter and 31mm long and fit easily in the case vertically. Horizontally, you'll have to bend the pins a bit to fit to the left of the lens module.

I wired them in series like Mtz's photos in post #16. They haven't lost a file yet, and the RTC keeps its time for at least 4 days, if not longer (4 days is the longest we've gone without starting the car).

I re-used the connector and wires from the bulged battery pack that I was replacing.
 
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I just measured the lens housing, and it appears to have 18mm screw spacing, so the generics with 20mm hole spacing will not work.
The housing itself measures 15mm wide at the rectangular base (without the screw ears) and 12.5mm from front (round end, where lens screws in) to back (rectangular end, where sensor PCB is attached).
With the screw ears, the base measures about 21.9mm wide. The rectangular base measures 4.2mm tall along the center axis.

Yeah, it is very difficult to source 18mm screw hole spacing M12 lens holders. And the ones that I've found are usually plastic rather than metal and sometimes not available in small quantities. With the Mobius, if you need to replace the lens holder and want a metal one it often comes down to whether you are willing to purchase a new module. Then again, the fact that you can actually buy a replacement module that you can easily swap in is quite remarkable compared to virtually any other camera on the market. On the other hand, if you feel a plastic one might work for you, you can source them HERE (AliExpress) Some of the plastic ones you will find are made of FRP (fiber reinforced plastic) which is dimensionally stable and therefore a reasonable alternative to metal.
 
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Yeah, it is very difficult to source 18mm screw hole spacing M12 lens holders. And the ones that I've found are usually plastic rather than metal and sometimes not available in small quantities. With the Mobius, if you need to replace the lens holder and want a metal one it often comes down to whether you are willing to purchase a new module. Then again, the fact that you can actually buy a replacement module that you can easily swap in is quite remarkable compared to virtually any other camera on the market. One the other hand, if you feel a plastic one might work for you, you can source them HERE (AliExpress) Some of the plastic ones you will find are made of FRP (fiber reinforced plastic) which is dimensionally stable and therefore a reasonable alternative to metal.
Thanks very much! Sorry for posting discussion of the housing in the SuperCapacitor thread--I had two windows open and posted in the wrong one.

Anyway, to make up to the thread for the mistake, here are some photos of my supercapacitor pack made with two Eaton HV0830-2R7605-R.

IMG_2870.JPGIMG_2871.JPGIMG_2872.JPG
 
Sorry for posting discussion of the housing in the SuperCapacitor thread--I had two windows open and posted in the wrong one.
BTW, in the future, if something like this happens again, or whatever, you can delete your errant post by hitting "delete" at the bottom of the post where it says, "Report" - "Edit" - "Delete". :)
 
Update. I installed a capacitor in my oldest Mobius cam 7 years 10 months ago. It starts recording when the engine is started. It holds date & time correctly, & saves the last file after the engine is switched off. It’s only in use a few times a week in the current circumstances. My other Mobius retired from service when it’s capacitor failed after 7 years 5 months.
 
Update. I installed a capacitor in my oldest Mobius cam 7 years 11 months ago. It starts recording when the engine is started. It holds date & time correctly, & saves the last file after the engine is switched off. It’s only in use a few times a week.

My other Mobius retired from service when it’s capacitor failed after 7 years 5 months. I considered buying a replacement capacitor, but decided against it. This Mobius owes me nothing, & will serve as a source of spare parts (if needed in the future) for the one that continues to work perfectly.
 
Update. I installed a capacitor in my oldest Mobius cam exactly 8 years ago. It starts recording when the engine is started. It holds date & time correctly, & saves the last file after the engine is switched off. It’s only in use a few times a week.

My other Mobius retired from service when it’s capacitor failed after 7 years 5 months. I considered buying a replacement capacitor, but decided against it. This Mobius owes me nothing, & will serve as a source of spare parts (if needed in the future) for the one that continues to work perfectly.
 
Update. I installed a capacitor in my oldest Mobius cam exactly 8 years 1 month ago. It starts recording when the engine is started. It holds date & time correctly, & saves the last file after the engine is switched off. It’s only in use a few times a week.

My other Mobius retired from service when it’s capacitor failed after 7 years 6 months. I considered buying a replacement capacitor, but decided against it. This Mobius owes me nothing, & will serve as a source of spare parts (if needed in the future) for the one that continues to work perfectly.
 
Update. I installed a capacitor in my oldest Mobius cam exactly 8 years 2 months ago. It starts recording when the engine is started. It holds date & time correctly, & saves the last file after the engine is switched off. It’s only in use a few times a week.

My other Mobius retired from service when it’s capacitor failed after 7 years 7 months. I considered buying a replacement capacitor, but decided against it. This Mobius owes me nothing, & will serve as a source of spare parts (if needed in the future) for the one that continues to work perfectly.
 
My oldest Mobius (2013 V1 model) is on its second capacitor but it's still unreliable on startup and loses time & date occasionally.

I've had plenty of use from it over these 9 years. It's my 6mm rear camera, recording alongside an A139 regular rear camera, so it's not mission critical. Perhaps it's time to replace it with the MM4K.
 
Hello friends! Another two years added to the working time of my Mobius B capacitor cam and nothing to add to my last message left here
Hello. My Mobius B Lens is still working just fine despite his age. The only bad thing I have noticed is that it is loosing the date if i do not start the car engine for periods longer than 7 days. But given the current circumstances, I can live with this. Be safe and sound! Cheers!
Keep well and Happy Easter for all the people that will celebrate tomorrow!
 
I had the weirdest experience! For three or so weeks now, my Mobius is unable to record because there was something wrong in my hardwire cables. All of a sudden today, everything started working again! How odd!
 
Update. I installed a capacitor in my oldest Mobius cam 8 years 3 months ago. It starts recording when the engine is started. It holds date & time correctly, & saves the last file after the engine is switched off. It’s only in use a few times a week.

My other Mobius retired from service when it’s capacitor failed after 7 years 5 months. I considered buying a replacement capacitor, but decided against it. This Mobius owes me nothing, & will serve as a source of spare parts (if needed in the future) for the one that continues to work perfectly.
 
Update. I installed a capacitor in my oldest Mobius cam 8 years 4 months ago. It starts recording when the engine is started. It holds date & time correctly, & saves the last file after the engine is switched off. It’s only in use a few times a week.

My other Mobius retired from service when it’s capacitor failed after 7 years 5 months. I considered buying a replacement capacitor, but decided against it. This Mobius owes me nothing, & will serve as a source of spare parts (if needed in the future) for the one that continues to work perfectly.
 
Update. I installed a capacitor in my oldest Mobius cam 8 years 5 months ago. It starts recording when the engine is started. It holds date & time correctly, & saves the last file after the engine is switched off. It’s only in use a few times a week.

My other Mobius retired from service when it’s capacitor failed after 7 years 5 months. I considered buying a replacement capacitor, but decided against it. This Mobius owes me nothing, & will serve as a source of spare parts (if needed in the future) for the one that continues to work perfectly.
 
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