mount

[evmedievalol]

did anyone find a good easy on/off mount for cf-100?

 

[Gibson99]

The consensus seemed to be 3M dual lock.

 

[niko]

+1 for 3M dual lock.
My personal favorite is SJ3550 250

 

[Muzza]

Just beware of a trap for newbies; I used black Dual Lock for the rear camera thinking it would be stealthy, BUT the actual adhesive foam backing is white. So I now have a rectangular white patch visible through the glass of my rear window....

Not only is it unsightly, it's draws attention to the camera. So tomorrow I'm going down to the hardware store to get some clear Dual Lock. I've checked online and the clear Dual Lock uses clear adhesive. The Dual Lock stuck to the camera mount is black, so hopefully the mount will appear black through the glass and blend in. Now, I just have to remove the white foam backing.....

 

[evmedievalol]

Just beware of a trap for newbies; I used black Dual Lock for the rear camera thinking it would be stealthy, BUT the actual adhesive foam backing is white. So I now have a rectangular white patch visible through the glass of my rear window....

Not only is it unsightly, it's draws attention to the camera. So tomorrow I'm going down to the hardware store to get some clear Dual Lock. I've checked online and the clear Dual Lock uses clear adhesive. The Dual Lock stuck to the camera mount is black, so hopefully the mount will appear black through the glass and blend in. Now, I just have to remove the white foam backing.....

i found this on amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00JHKTDMAthis clear should be invisible from outside i'm guessing

 

[DT MI]

i found this on amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00JHKTDMAthis clear should be invisible from outside i'm guessing

Clear is not invisible. I'm using it to mount A118-C camera in my wife's car and it is visible from the outside - not as bad as the Dual-Lock with white backing but it can be seen.

 

[slowmotion]

I'm still researching a black dual-lock with BLACK adhesive side myself... I took a shot and bought some Scotch EXTREME fasteners (thinking they had a black backing, but it is white)...

After going through 3M's website, Scotch's website, and 3M's technical documentation. I have come to the conclusion that there are 2 products from 3M that "SHOULD" be black front and black back, and are rated for automotive/glass...
I haven't purchased any of these myself yet.

The below 2 product numbers are for the 250 stem density. Both of the following are available in 170 and 400 density as well. Check the source links at the bottom of this post for more info.

SJ3550CF (220 Fahrenheit temp resistance) ...from the SJ3550CF product spec sheet description... "The clear acrylic adhesive combined with the black backing allows for the appearance of an all black fastener. The acrylic adhesive is well suited for applications exposed to high temperatures, humidity or for high surface energy materials."

SJ3870 (some of their technical documentation shows a 140 Fahrenheit temp resistance, others show 180 degree?) ...this one is clearly shown on 3M's website, as well as other marketplace websites with a BLACK adhesive side. Seems to be more available and cheaper, but the 140 degree temp resistance may be worrisome to someone in hot climates.

The application guide linked below mentions preparing the glass surface with 3M™ Primer 94, OR 3M™ Silane Glass Treatment AP 115, OR a similar silane coupling agent in rubbing alcohol mixture. But I'm sure a normal rubbing alcohol prep would suffice unless you are mounting on some crazy dirty/blemished glass.

SOURCES...
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...ual-Lock-Reclosable-Fasteners?N=5927706&rt=r3 (3M website - dual-lock section)
http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/372489O/adhesives-and-tapes-design-guide.pdf (PAGE 87 - shows exactly what I was looking for)
http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/738289O/3mtm-reclosable-fasteners-design-selection-guide.pdf (page 6 shows a nice chart)
http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/564564O/dual-lock-reclosable-fasteners-sj3872-sj3870-sj3871.pdf (SJ3870 product spec sheet)
http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/...able-fasteners-sj3550cf-sj3551cf-sj3552cf.pdf (SJ3550CF product spec sheet)
http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/495499O/dual-lock-reclosable-fastener-w-acrylic-foam.pdf (3M Acrylic Foam Tape application guide, may be useful for some users)

 

[evmedievalol]

i went to Home Depot and they had the black front and back dual lock.
I bought it for different purpose though since i bought a street guardian that came with better mount

 

[Muzza]

My experience with using 3M Dual Lock to mount both the front and rear cameras of the CF-100 has been unexpected and a little disappointing.

I had assumed that once the two pieces of the tape were engaged, that there would be a rigid join between the camera and the windscreen; in practice what happens is that there is a fair bit of play between the pieces allowing the camera to pivot/rock a millimetre or two relative to the windscreen. This is primarily because the area that the mount contacts the glass is quite small. I think two or more separate pieces widely spaced would result in a rigid mount, but this is not possible with the CF-100.

Has anyone else had this experience?

So for the rear camera, I've reverted to using the original high-strength double-sided tape supplied with the camera. For the front camera, I've left the Dual Lock in place as the camera hanging down acts like a plumb-bob - it doesn't rock unless it is touched and the recorded video remains stable.

 

[2000rpm]

I bought a CF-100 a while back to try.
I sanded/filed down the ball of a cheap generic suction-cup mount for a Garmin to create a movable mount for testing purposes (ground down the Garmin mount 'ball' from 16-17mm to 14-15mm).
Link to genuine item here (but I paid £2.50 for two generic version from China):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B000F7857S

 

[Muzza]

I bought a CF-100 a while back to try.
I sanded/filed down the ball of a cheap generic suction-cup mount for a Garmin to create a movable mount for testing purposes (ground down the Garmin mount 'ball' from 16-17mm to 14-15mm).
Link to genuine item here (but I paid £2.50 for two generic version from China):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B000F7857S

Funnily enough, I was intending to do the same thing using an old Garmin GPS suction cup mount, but was stymied by the larger diameter of the ball mount.

How did you manage to sand/file down the Garmin ball? You must be a very patient person!

 

[2000rpm]

Funnily enough, I was intending to do the same thing using an old Garmin GPS suction cup mount, but was stymied by the larger diameter of the ball mount.

How did you manage to sand/file down the Garmin ball? You must be a very patient person!

An old woodwork file soon shrank the ball size, then some sand paper tidied it up. I periodically checked the ball in the CF-100 socket to ensure I hadn't taken too much off, although if I had made the ball too small I would have used some heat-resistant packing.

 

[slowmotion]

i went to Home Depot and they had the black front and back dual lock.
I bought it for different purpose though since i bought a street guardian that came with better mount

That is interesting. Was it a genuine 3M product? Can you provide the product/model number information, or a link to the product on their website? Do you remember how much you paid, and the length of the tape? I am having a hard time locally sourcing either of the products that I listed above, and my online searches are coming up with astronomical prices for large bulk quantities of the stuff.

 

[jaro]

This is a carry over from the mobius mounting solution thread.

Holding the CF-110 with its mount seems it is no heavier than any smartphone (I don't have the exact numbers though).

Wondering if any of these two would work.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00I608BFWhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/B00ZQO3UFW

 

[RIMD]

I find many folks expressed the fixed mount of CF-100 as a drawback and presented workaround.

Does Blacksys team know about this drawback?

What could be the reason for Blacksys release CF-100 with fixed mount (negative) and good features (positive)?

Will Blacksys release next version CF-100 with flexible mount options?

Does Blacksys folks visit this forum?

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Gibson99]

Some people like to remove the camera while parked as it may present a theft risk. But then you don't get parking mode.

The newest camera by blacksys, the ch-100b, has a kind of semi-quick release where you can slide the camera off the mount, and when you put it back on, it will still be aimed correctly. Doesn't look like it would stand up to doing that every day though since it's just a friction fit, and it's all plastic. But if you needed to grab it quick you probably could.

And I doubt they visit this forum.

 

[niko]

"3M dual-lock" is probably the cheapest and most practical solution for CF-100 ?

 

[Muzza]

New Mount

Whilst rummaging through the bargain bin of a technology store, I came across a small smartphone car mount which I initially intended to use for my Sony Z3 Compact. It then occurred to me that it would likely fit my CF-100 if the mount were turned upside down.



Short answer is that it does fit . So far I'm very pleased with it after making one simple modification that had a major effect - see later. Note that in the last photo showing the camera in the car, I had to move the camera to a lower position as the binnacle behind the mirror was showing up in the video. BTW, that massive binnacle has meant it is impossible to mount the camera except in plain sight.

First the good news:
- The mount is easy to fit and can be removed one-handed by rotating the round piece behind the suction cup; two hands should be used to remove the camera from the mount as the jaws are spring-loaded. Feedback on some sites suggest that the mount does not hold well to the windscreen, but I've had it on over a week and have had no issues. I made sure to wipe both the glass and suction cup with alcohol first.
- Easy to adjust. Rotates and angle can be changed.
- Camera can be positioned to allow access to the micro SD card and power connections.
- Camera is held securely between spring-loaded, EVA foam-faced jaws.
- Holds the camera close to the windscreen.
- Inexpensive. Only cost NZ$10 (<US$7).

I was really pleased with how easy it was to set up but on my first drive, the g-sensor was going off like crazy! I checked to see whether the camera was touching the glass or the sensitivity setting had changed, but neither were the case. However, the EVA foam on the jaws was compressed and the camera was touching the plastic part of the jaws. When I compared before and after videos (previous mount was the original Blacksys mount attached with 3M Dual Lock), the previous was completely smooth whilst the new was very jittery.

Basically, the smartphone mount is TOO rigid and was transmitting all the road vibrations to the camera. I've largely fixed it by cutting-to-shape a piece of rubberised, non-slip drawer liner to wrap around the camera where it touches the mount - see 5th photo. The jittery video has gone and it only activates the g-sensor slightly more when compared to the Dual Lock. The liner will likely compress over time, so when it becomes ineffective, I'll just replace it.

I think the trick is to stop the road vibrations from being transmitted through the mount to the camera by "uncoupling" the glass from the camera, either where the mount is attached to the windscreen or where the mount contacts the camera. In a previous posting, I noted that there was a degree of movement in my Dual Lock mount, but in hindsight, it's this very sloppiness that appears to act as a vibration dampener. If you look at the construction of Clear Dual Lock, it has a 0.5mm of gel backing on each piece of the tape and when the two pieces are connected, there is about 0.5mm of movement. We all know how gel insoles etc are supposed to be good at absorbing vibrations, so it seems it may have the same effect on reducing the g-sensor sensitivity. Note that Black Dual Lock has foam backing so there may be less dampening??

So for those who have over sensitive g-sensors, a simple fix may be to use Dual Lock and/or put some sort of padding such as foam between the camera and the glass.

Hope this helps

 

[niko]

New Mount

Whilst rummaging through the bargain bin of a technology store, I came across a small smartphone car mount which I initially intended to use for my Sony Z3 Compact. It then occurred to me that it would likely fit my CF-100 if the mount were turned upside down.

View attachment 22100 View attachment 22101 View attachment 22102 View attachment 22103 View attachment 22104 View attachment 22105

Short answer is that it does fit . So far I'm very pleased with it after making one simple modification that had a major effect - see later. Note that in the last photo showing the camera in the car, I had to move the camera to a lower position as the binnacle behind the mirror was showing up in the video. BTW, that massive binnacle has meant it is impossible to mount the camera except in plain sight.

First the good news:
- The mount is easy to fit and can be removed one-handed by rotating the round piece behind the suction cup; two hands should be used to remove the camera from the mount as the jaws are spring-loaded. Feedback on some sites suggest that the mount does not hold well to the windscreen, but I've had it on over a week and have had no issues. I made sure to wipe both the glass and suction cup with alcohol first.
- Easy to adjust. Rotates and angle can be changed.
- Camera can be positioned to allow access to the micro SD card and power connections.
- Camera is held securely between spring-loaded, EVA foam-faced jaws.
- Holds the camera close to the windscreen.
- Inexpensive. Only cost NZ$10 (<US$7).

I was really pleased with how easy it was to set up but on my first drive, the g-sensor was going off like crazy! I checked to see whether the camera was touching the glass or the sensitivity setting had changed, but neither were the case. However, the EVA foam on the jaws was compressed and the camera was touching the plastic part of the jaws. When I compared before and after videos (previous mount was the original Blacksys mount attached with 3M Dual Lock), the previous was completely smooth whilst the new was very jittery.

Basically, the smartphone mount is TOO rigid and was transmitting all the road vibrations to the camera. I've largely fixed it by cutting-to-shape a piece of rubberised, non-slip drawer liner to wrap around the camera where it touches the mount - see 5th photo. The jittery video has gone and it only activates the g-sensor slightly more when compared to the Dual Lock. The liner will likely compress over time, so when it becomes ineffective, I'll just replace it.

I think the trick is to stop the road vibrations from being transmitted through the mount to the camera by "uncoupling" the glass from the camera, either where the mount is attached to the windscreen or where the mount contacts the camera. In a previous posting, I noted that there was a degree of movement in my Dual Lock mount, but in hindsight, it's this very sloppiness that appears to act as a vibration dampener. If you look at the construction of Clear Dual Lock, it has a 0.5mm of gel backing on each piece of the tape and when the two pieces are connected, there is about 0.5mm of movement. We all know how gel insoles etc are supposed to be good at absorbing vibrations, so it seems it may have the same effect on reducing the g-sensor sensitivity. Note that Black Dual Lock has foam backing so there may be less dampening??

So for those who have over sensitive g-sensors, a simple fix may be to use Dual Lock and/or put some sort of padding such as foam between the camera and the glass.

Hope this helps

Very nice out of the box thinking !

 

[tomintx]

New Mount

Nice find Muzza, I am going to get one! Thanks for posting!