NAVMAN MiVue580 with Lukas LK-290

John.L

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Hello,

I have been searching for the "right" dashcam for quite sometimes and finally purchased NAVMAN MiVue580. Just thought to share my experience since I cannot find any particular feedback online with the unit and installation.

1. DashCam: NAVMAN MiVue580
2. Memory Card: SanDisk 32GB Micro SD Micro SDHC UHS-I 48MB Class 10 Ultra TF Mobile Memory Card
3. Hardwire with battery protector: Lukas LK-290

The dashcam needs almost no configuration out-of-the-box (except I just need to turn off the microphone). The memory card that I bought is compatible and working properly (according to compatibility chart from NAVMAN website). This unit comes with GPS and parking mode. The default setting works fine with my driving behavior i.e. G-Sensor sensitivity is ok, no sudden changes in recording mode during normal driving (start and stop).

Update: The parking mode works great! I parked for an hour, it switched the recording mode to Parking after 5 min of idle. The parking mode works tandem with motion sensor. It will start recording when it detects motion i.e. changes in lights or any movement in front of the camera then stop recording if no motion is detected after a few seconds; So it is not recording continuously (ad-hoc only). In an hour later, I returned to my car and started driving, as soon as it hits 5km/h; the recording mode switched from parking to normal recording mode.

The battery protector <Lukas LK-290> is also working as I expected. It was wired such that:
1. The power is automatically supplied to the dashcam when the ignition is on (regardless the killer switch is turned-off on the battery protector). I believe this is mentioned as Multi Boot Switch feature in the user manual.
2. The killer switch can be used to turn off/cut off the power supply ONLY when the engine is off. (if you don't want to use parking mode i.e. no power is supplied to the dashcam). Turning off the killer switch when engine is running will not cut off the power to dashcam.
3. When engine is just turn-off, if decided to use parking mode, the power will be only supplied up until the car battery reach 12.4Volt, it will cut-off the power when it drops below the voltage setting.
4. If you try to provide power to the dashcam when engine is already off/idle for a while AND battery protector is also in OFF state; you can override the battery protector by <Turn on the killer switch + press the RED button for 2 sec>. It will only supply the power when voltage is above 12.4V, if it drops, the power will still cut-off in 30sec.

** Power supply is not interrupted with Start-Stop Engine technology i.e. dashcam is still charging when stopping at traffic light/heavy traffic. Battery voltage is not easily drop below 12.4Volt in 5 min.

It is best for Lukas LK-290 buyers to go through the checklist of how the unit should be working before leaving the workshop/ask the auto electrician to demo ALL the above scenario, including when the voltage drops below 12.4Volt and the unit cut off the power, killer switch can turn off/override the power supply when engine is off, etc.

My auto electrician showed me by turning all headlights on <engine is off> and using voltage meter attached on the battery; to show how the battery voltage level drops and LK-290 cuts off the power (scenario #3 and #4 above). To test scenario #4, make sure the battery voltage is already below 12.4V/below your own setting before turning LK-290 on <Turn on the killer switch + press the RED button for 2 sec>. This is to ensure that LK-290 cuts off power within 30sec once voltage detected is lower than your setting.

And also, make sure the auto electrician does follow the instruction to install the unit. My auto electrician was over confident in the first 2 attempts :).

Installation guide: http://www.lukashd.com/gnuboard4/bbs/board.php?bo_table=eng_automanual&wr_id=10

Above is to ensure, the engine can ignite properly.

(No wire dangling out AND No protruding power charger/plug from the cigarette lighter). It was wired directly on the fuse box.

The reason I chose the above combination is because NAVMAN is considered one of the big brands with local warranty where I can just go back to the shop and exchange without any hassle if it has any defects. The unit/software is also STABLE, which is very important for me. I like to "Set and Forget" and move on with life. I don't want to stress with the dashcam (spending too much time to troubleshoot) i.e. not working due to software issue, video clip corrupted, dashcam not recording etc. I also find that the website and software support are also tailored to Australia specific region. The unit built looks durable and professional, all available features are working consistently. Same as the memory card.

Based on my usage behavior, I don't park at hot area/direct sunlight. The dashcam built-in battery and the car battery (before it drops below 12.4Volt) also provides additional recording time during parking mode.

Overall, I am happy with my configuration. I hope my experience can help others in installing and understanding LK-290 better. Happy to answer any questions regarding my setup :).
 
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Hello All,

I need some help to confirm the battery charging behavior for Mivue580. Based on the manual, If the power cable is connected and the recorder is on:
- The battery is fully charged and the recording is in progress >> LED 1 will turn Red/Blinking. This is behaving as expected.

Having said that, I notice that the battery icon also changed to no charging/no lightning icon at the same time. This happened in the middle of driving, say after 45 min and I can confirm the battery level is full.

No beeping sound to indicate that there was a power lost. (recording mode does not change to Parking Mode i.e. LED 1 indicator = Red/Blinking [power is disconnected]). I can't seem to confirm this information from the manual.

I unplugged and plug back the power cable and it starts charging again but it will stop again after (3-5 Min). Suspecting battery is full.

My question is this:

When the battery is fully charged and recording is in progress (with power cable is connected), will the battery icon change to "no charging"/"no lightning icon" i.e. stop charging?
(When LED 1 color changed from Green Amber/Blinking to Red/Blinking)

When battery level drops, will it automatically feed the power again?

Can any owners please confirm this behaviour?

Thanks.

**Update 1: I confirmed that it is working as design. I did isolation test by charging the unit directly using power adapter on the wall socket while the camera is on recording. As soon as it is fully charged, LED 1 turned Red/Blinking and the lightning icon on battery disappeared.

I am going to leave the charging on (stress testing) and observe again tomorrow, if in fact the unit has internal power management software/circuit i.e. continue charging when the battery level drops hence the lightning icon appears again.

**Update 2: The lightning icon does not appear when the battery is fully charged (while constant power is supplied to the dashcam) and the recording has been going for 8 hours.

Case Closed: Lightning icon on battery disappeared when full charged while still charging. This is working as design.
 
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With regards to LK-290, I wonder who is using the voltage mode and set the cut-off voltage to be 12.4V? In this case, how long can the parking mode last?

My problem is I find my battery only has 12.60V sometime but it could be as low as 12.40V. I currently set the cut-off voltage of LK-290 to be 12.4V as I am afraid anything lower than that may make the engine fail to start.
 
With regards to LK-290, I wonder who is using the voltage mode and set the cut-off voltage to be 12.4V? In this case, how long can the parking mode last?

My problem is I find my battery only has 12.60V sometime but it could be as low as 12.40V. I currently set the cut-off voltage of LK-290 to be 12.4V as I am afraid anything lower than that may make the engine fail to start.

I am still using factory supplied battery (small battery) - Voltage mode/12.4V cut-off. It is winter here so I set it to 12.4V (voltage mode). Lowest temperature around 3-5 degree Celcius. In summer, I think we can get away with 12V or below. Still depending on the car battery size and age.

When my dashcam internal battery is flat and car is in parking mode, the cut-off happened within 30 minutes for me so it is not very long. This is also because I don't drive often to charge the car battery. It might be longer before voltage cut-off, if car battery is full state.

When my dashcam internal battery is full charged and car battery is in full state, it last me over night (8pm to 8am), dash battery still in full state when I started my car engine, voltage has not cut-off yet.

** My priority is be able to start the car engine. I have no specific requirement on how long the dashcam can operate in parking mode. I guess if something happens after voltage cut-off (no recording), I am willing to accept that risk rather than not able to start the car. :)
Hope that helps.
 
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Thanks John for sharing your experience.

I've experienced a even shorter time of cut-off (within 15-20 mins) when I don't drive the car that often or when the trips are short. But on the other hand, it could last for a few hours when the car batter is in full state. I am using Lukas LK-7900 ACE which doesn't have an internal battery and so the parking mode is even shorter. So for my case, I will just limit the use of parking mode as I don't want to take the risk of not able to start the car or significantly lowering the battery life. Our Canadian Winter even has much lower temperatures than yours. :)
 
Thanks John for sharing your experience.

I've experienced a even shorter time of cut-off (within 15-20 mins) when I don't drive the car that often or when the trips are short. But on the other hand, it could last for a few hours when the car batter is in full state. I am using Lukas LK-7900 ACE which doesn't have an internal battery and so the parking mode is even shorter. So for my case, I will just limit the use of parking mode as I don't want to take the risk of not able to start the car or significantly lowering the battery life. Our Canadian Winter even has much lower temperatures than yours. :)

No worries. Happy to help. (15-20mins) cut-off sounds about right. I did experience the same when I parked my car for more than 2 days. I agree with limiting the use of parking mode, but the purpose of using battery protector is to "set and forget". Once you set the cut-off to 12.4V, your battery will NOT supply power to your dashcam hence it will shut off (i.e. protecting battery life). You don't have to limit the use of of parking mode by setting it "manually" when you park you car (assuming your dashcam automatically switch to parking mode when car is idle more than 5 min and stop recording when voltage is cut-off).
 
With regards to the scenario #2

The battery protector <Lukas LK-290> is also working as I expected. It was wired such that:
1. The power is automatically supplied to the dashcam when the ignition is on (regardless the killer switch is turned-off on the battery protector). I believe this is mentioned as Multi Boot Switch feature in the user manual.
2. The killer switch can be used to turn off/cut off the power supply ONLY when the engine is off. (if you don't want to use parking mode i.e. no power is supplied to the dashcam). Turning off the killer switch when engine is running will not cut off the power to dashcam.
3. When engine is just turn-off, if decided to use parking mode, the power will be only supplied up until the car battery reach 12.4Volt, it will cut-off the power when it drops below the voltage setting.
4. If you try to provide power to the dashcam when engine is already off/idle for a while AND battery protector is also in OFF state; you can override the battery protector by <Turn on the killer switch + press the RED button for 2 sec>. It will only supply the power when voltage is above 12.4V, if it drops, the power will still cut-off in 30sec.

Is the "killer switch" can be a some sort of mode switch between BAT and ACC ?

Since turning off the killer switch when engine is running will not cut off the power to dashcam, how about the other way around? when "killer switch" is off and you start the car , does the camera also start?
 
Hi Jaro,

When the car engine is running-> Turning "Off" the Killer switch during the car engine is running - will not cut off the power to dashcam. Basically, you can imagine as if there is a direct power source to the dashcam (charging dashcam internal battery at the same time).

When car engine is OFF; (Initial State: killer Switch OFF) --> Starting the car engine will also NOT cut off the power to the Camera as well. It will still supply power to the dashcam. (Same logic as above).

The killer switch is only effective when the car engine is OFF such as that to supply power to dashcam until the desired voltage setting is set (If Killer switch is turned ON). It will then stop supplying power to dashcam once it reaches that setting (to protect car battery). Additionally, the dashcam internal battery will kick in so I got extra juice on the parking mode.

Hope that helps.
 
When car engine is OFF; (Initial State: killer Switch OFF) --> Starting the car engine will also NOT cut off the power to the Camera as well. It will still supply power to the dashcam. (Same logic as above).


thanks @John.L , this is the info I was looking for
 
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