Need A Better Dash Cam After Car Being Hit On Christmas Eve

[tinnitus]

The only problem is what do you do while it's charging up? Use a cheap powerbank I suppose..

Well, it supports pass-through charging for smaller devices (I do believe dashcams are inclusive) so you could theoretically charge it using the cigarette port while driving around. However that is slower so I prefer bringing it home and charging it in 4-5 hours over AC.

It's more expensive but it looks like it ships from the UK so no customs to worry about.

Sucks that it's nearly twice as expensive there but local stock is important as they cannot ship this via air.

Weirdly the cellink batteries are easy to hold of in the UK, but just about everything else (other LiFeP04, or large powerbanks above 25000mAh) are like gold dust here.

$300+ here as well! That's what pisses me off the most, why is cellink so expensive?

 

[joe384]

Well, it supports pass-through charging for smaller devices (I do believe dashcams are inclusive) so you could theoretically charge it using the cigarette port while driving around. However that is slower so I prefer bringing it home and charging it in 4-5 hours over AC.

Sucks that it's nearly twice as expensive there but local stock is important as they cannot ship this via air.

$300+ here as well! That's what pisses me off the most, why is cellink so expensive?

That's good that it supports pass-through. The beaudens is still great value, a lot cheaper than a neo 6 and twice the capacity.
It has good reviews on amazon compared to similar devices, plus you get a mains output as well.

The slower charging wouldn't bother me either as I can charge at home.

 

[SawMaster]

$300+ here as well! That's what pisses me off the most, why is cellink so expensive?

Because they want it to be. There's not a lot of difference in the costs of building and supporting some of the "premium" cam brands which cost 3X what similar cams cost, but they do it anyway and some people spend their money on them anyway. If there were a larger market for devices like this, perhaps lower-cost alternatives would appear here as well. Till then it's either get what's being made or DIY the system.

Phil

 

[jokiin]

The cost price of the battery is expensive, it's not the sellers that are making it as dear as it is

 

[DT MI]

...why is cellink so expensive?

Years ago a General Motor's exec was reportedly asked why a Cadillac cost $5000 more than a Chevy when it only cost $1000 more to manufacture. His answer was "Because people will pay $5000 more."

Pretty much all you need to know about product pricing.

 

[Nigel]

That's what pisses me off the most, why is cellink so expensive?

Because it is the only battery available that will charge fast enough to power a dashcam for 24 hours with a 40 minute charge or 2x 20 minute charges - a commute to work and back.

Some of the Zendure powerbanks can manage it but don't come with a car charger and I've yet to see a 100W USB PD car charger so they are effectively limited to 40W charging like the above battery and roughly a 1.5 hour charge time which is too long for a typical commute.

Some people are prepared to pay the price for a device that does the job, until someone makes a 100W USB PD car charger, and then the Zendure powerbanks at much lower cost may take over the market and Cellink will have to drop their prices.

 

[No1VIPER]

So I received my VIOFO A129 and have fitted it using the 3 wire hardwire kit. I took the car out to test it, and immediately caught this.

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[an1uk]

Cars sometimes have larger battery trays to accommodate batteries for cars fitted with diesel engines etc. You can measure the existing battery box, and based on existing battery there are some tables on the internet that will list various types, their dimensions and battery terminal position etc. My car comes with a 063 battery as standard, but an 096 can be fitted which is larger.

 

[SawMaster]

The cost price of the battery is expensive, it's not the sellers that are making it as dear as it is

I'm quite aware of what these batteries and related systems cost at retail individually. They're not "making a killing" on them but they could be made much more cheaply. It's a somewhat limited market and that too drives prices up as fewer sold units have to cover all costs. Just my thoughts on the matter and as always, the prices always reflect what the people are willing to pay to get the product being offered.

Phil

 

[Nigel]

I'm quite aware of what these batteries and related systems cost at retail individually. They're not "making a killing" on them but they could be made much more cheaply. It's a somewhat limited market and that too drives prices up as fewer sold units have to cover all costs. Just my thoughts on the matter and as always, the prices always reflect what the people are willing to pay to get the product being offered.

Phil

I can buy a decent 20,000mAh USB powerbank for less than $20, the Cellink has approximately the same capacity, so it is not the cells that have the high cost. If they are selling as many as they appear to be then they are making a killing just for a specialist charger.

Zendure manage to produce apparently high quality USB powerbanks that have 28,000mAh capacity and similar charge rate to the Cellink for well under half the cost, and their sales are quite likely less but they will still be making a big profit since there isn't really anyone competing with them. Of course you still need to provide a 12V to USB PD 100W charger to use their powerbanks.

 

[No1VIPER]

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[kamkar]

I don't think the price between lipo and lifepo4 are not that great for smaller cells like 18650 ASO.

BUT ! i think i would go strait to a larger lifepo4 battery with build in BMS
You can get a 12 V 20Ah / 256Wh battery for 225 USD ( that's expensive Danish price converted to USD )
Then you also need a 10 - 15 A charger as it can not charge as fast as a regular car battery.

Wham Bam thank you mam, and memory card size will be your #1 problem if you park a long time.

Actually i think someone should make a charger / wiring kit for these batteries, and sell those

And look !!!!! you even get BT with the battery so you can monitor your power,,,,,, as if people don't look at their phone enough while driving.

 

[joe384]

I can buy a decent 20,000mAh USB powerbank for less than $20, the Cellink has approximately the same capacity, so it is not the cells that have the high cost. If they are selling as many as they appear to be then they are making a killing just for a specialist charger.

I haven't found anywhere that sells cheap, good quality LiFEPo4 cells and I wouldn't risk buying them from any of the china wholesale sites.
When I did find some I typically couldn't find a spec sheet. Then you've got the cost of packaging, assembly, BMS /charging system.

If cellink is making a killing, surely lots of competitors or diy projects would be cropping up?

 

[Nigel]

I haven't found anywhere that sells cheap, good quality LiFEPo4 cells and I wouldn't risk buying them from any of the china wholesale sites.
When I did find some I typically couldn't find a spec sheet. Then you've got the cost of packaging, assembly, BMS /charging system.

If cellink is making a killing, surely lots of competitors or diy projects would be cropping up?

You don't need LiFePo4, modern LiPo cells are just as good, similar temperature range, similar life if you use a proper charger and only ever charge them to 80% of rated capacity and similar capacity for the same price even if you only use 80% of their rated capacity. The only real problem with them is that you must not charge them below freezing and it is bad for their health to charge them above 45 degrees C, but both those issues apply to LiFePo4 too.

Not sure why nobody else is making dashcam batteries, until recently there hasn't been much of a market, and maybe there is nobody else prepared to take the risk, since charging at near 100W requires electronics that could easily fail before the warranty runs out if it isn't designed well enough. The more powerful Zendor powerbanks with passthrough charging and UPS mode would do the job, although they don't have parking mode signal passthrough and don't come with a 100W car adaptor ... maybe someone can convince them to do a dashcam battery with all the required features...

For most people I think it is still cheapest to use a standard hardwire kit with low voltage cutoff, and if the standard car battery is not up to the job then replace it with an AGM battery that will charge far faster than the CellLink, has higher capacity, can use a lower cutoff voltage than the standard batteries, and is likely to last as long as most people keep cars.

 

[joe384]

I don't think the price between lipo and lifepo4 are not that great for smaller cells like 18650 ASO.

BUT ! i think i would go strait to a larger lifepo4 battery with build in BMS
You can get a 12 V 20Ah / 256Wh battery for 225 USD ( that's expensive Danish price converted to USD )
Then you also need a 10 - 15 A charger as it can not charge as fast as a regular car battery.

Wham Bam thank you mam, and memory card size will be your #1 problem if you park a long time.

Actually i think someone should make a charger / wiring kit for these batteries, and sell those

And look !!!!! you even get BT with the battery so you can monitor your power,,,,,, as if people don't look at their phone enough while driving.

Yes, they are some of these around and they tend to work out cheaper then buying the cells individually. You usually don't have to worry about balancing or a BMS.

If someone made a charging kit that would be cool, most of the projects I have seen are for ebikes where the users seem to be more interested in discharge current rather than fast charging.

 

[Data Thunderstorm]

After suffering the indignity of some young “Fast & Furious” pup in an old, tatty 3 door VW Golf slamming into the back of my immaculate Prius Tspirit (before speeding off safe in the belief he’d never be caught), followed by my catalytic converter being stolen from under the vehicle while I was attending a funeral......I was literally at my wits end.

After 2 weeks of driving a 2018 Hyundai i20 while waiting for insurance to repair my Prius, now paranoid as hell, I duly ordered a Thinkware F800 Pro twin channel dash cam system, with a Neo Cellink 6 auxiliary battery system. Had it professionally installed at great cost too. 2 x 128GB MicroSD swappable cards completed the combo.

The 12v battery in the 2nd Gen Prius is the size of a motorcycle battery. It’s role is doesn’t include turning any starter motor. Rather, it boots up the propulsion system’s electronics - they in turn switch power over from the 12v to the High Voltage Traction Battery which starts the main engine - though by then (7 seconds after pushing the start button), you could already be underway riding on electrical power - but, I digress.

T’was worth every penny.[emoji18]

For my expensive security upgrade, I ended up with 36 hour dual cam parking mode recording capability, and an awesome feeling of video protection back and front, when commuting, safe in the knowledge that any hit and run jackasses WILL be caught in the act (in FULL HD) - and more than likely tracked down and prosecuted.

The Thinkware F800 Pro also verbally and competently warns me about speed cameras, speed limits, average speed cam zones and much more. I love the idea of 36 hours of time lapse recordings in parking mode. [emoji2][emoji106]
I’m ecstatic with the whole setup.

Oh, as for the VW Golf perp, my original rudimentary forward looking dash cam caught him in the act of escaping with front tyres smoking, very narrowly running down a couple crossing the road.
The jerk was subsequently tracked down and prosecuted by the Police based on evidence from my old dash cam.
He got 6 points on his license, a £660 fine and £166 costs. And my insurance got to screw him over too!

A good front and rear dash cam is an absolute must.




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[DT MI]

Oh, as for the VW Golf perp,...
The jerk was subsequently tracked down and prosecuted by the Police based on evidence from my old dash cam.
He got 6 points on his license, a £660 fine and £166 costs. And my insurance got to screw him over too!...

Nice to read a story with a happy ending (for some anyhow ).

 

[jokiin]

I'm quite aware of what these batteries and related systems cost at retail individually. They're not "making a killing" on them but they could be made much more cheaply. It's a somewhat limited market and that too drives prices up as fewer sold units have to cover all costs. Just my thoughts on the matter and as always, the prices always reflect what the people are willing to pay to get the product being offered.

Phil

yeah it's not the seller, nor is it the distributor (Cellink or Blackvue) that is making the profit on these, I've seen the factory cost and they are way overpriced, I think it's more a case of no competitors so they can charge what they like

 

[HonestReview]

I woke up Christmas morning to find that my car had been hit. Not a very Merry start to my Christmas [emoji35][emoji22]

To make things worse my current dash cam, the Aukey DR02 D, which I've only had since July, didn't capture the incident. So now I'm looking for a new dash cam. I've done quite a bit of research and I think the VIOFO A129 Duo is the one I'm going to go for. I was debating going for the Thinkware F800 Pro, but I don't think the difference in price is worth it.

The main question I have is, does the VIOFO have an option for buffered impact parking mode? As I park my car on quite a busy street, so having the motion detection on just results in it constantly recording and draining the car battery more quickly, as well as filling the SD card with with needless files. The other reason I need such a mode is because I work nights, and they are long shifts 12 and half hours. So the car is sat parked up for a long time whilst at work, then again once I finish and go straight to bed. It can also be sat for a few days without being used too.

Also is there an OBD-II cable available for the VIOFO A129? As I currently use one for my Aukey DR02 D and would prefer to use that instead of having to hardwire it.

Any help or suggestions would be very welcomed.

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Low Bitrate Recording with Park Mode. Screw Buffered Park Mode. I want real time! And yes, Viofo supports this feature.

 

[HonestReview]

I ran my A129 for a little while using the 12.4v cutoff on the hardwire kit.
The first week or two it would last 8 hours before hitting the cut-off, but I wasn't doing enough driving over time so my battery would last less and less.

Assuming CCTV is not an option, I would probably consider getting a couple of power banks to use when parked.
You could have one charging at home while using the other in the car.
It's not very elegant, but like kamkar1 said the amount of parking time depends on the amount of driving you do and the battery size.

12.4 Cutoff was your problem! You want it at 12.2! 12.6 = 100% full battery. As a battery ages, it weakens over time. 12.4 = 75%. A battery as it ages will generally site around this level. I have mine at 12.2 - 50% battery. Plenty of leeway to not worry about your vehicle not starting, and also plenty of juice to keep the camera running for a full day without shutoff!