New Firmware for 808 #18 DR32

Hi all, I am new to this forum, but I picked up a DR32 to replace a dodgy dashcam I got shipped 6 months ago. Mine had the new firmware on it (from Foxoffer), but I suffered repeated lock-ups from day one, even though I am usually only driving for 30 minutes a day it would lock up at least once.
I tried (and am still running), the Patriot firmware, but it made the stability issues worse- - locking up 3-4 times a day; however, about a week after it arrived (and a couple of days after the firmware update), I made a 4 hour run down to London, and the camera didnt lock up once, in fact it has not locked up in the last 10 days, so perhaps some of the lock up issues reported were actually "burn in" issues; however I would like to see a fresh firmware update or advice from the makers to explain the problems that are dragging down what could be a top rated camera.
 
Sods Law - Mine locked up yesterday; I wish there was some hack to get the display to stay on all the time - it would making spotting a problem much easier.

Once again it was during a sequence of short drives and stops, so perhaps it is a dry joint or poorly made connection; I am tempted to pull it apart and have a go with my soldering iron over Christmas (if I have the time).

The blurb says 5Volt 1Amp; anyone know the exact current draw?? I might just wire it in so I can switch it independently of the ignition.
 
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I used to have many problems with dashcams not working properly - then realised, it was to do with when I start the car.
The cam gets power on ignition - but when I turn the engine over, the car cuts power to just abouit everything else to ensure maximum output to starter.
This means, that no sooner has the cam started, it then detects no power so goes into shutdown mode - saving files etc.

Within a second or two, the engine fires, I release the ignition key & power is restored - meanwhile, the cam is still powerting down.
I solved this by buying a simple delay timer off ebay.
Now, when the timer detects power, it counts 10 seconds - I turn the engine over, power is cut. Engine fires, power is resumed & the timer goes through another 10 second count - more than enough time to put my seatbelt on!
At the end of 10 seconds, the timer allows power through & into the camera...
Since using this solution, I haven't had any other problems.

Best of all, I incorporated the timer into an extension socket - so everything plugged into the socket has the same delay.

If you were doing a lot of short start/stops, it may be that you sometimes turned the key in the ignition slower than others - causing the camera to get 'confused', other times, you turned the key so quick that the camera didn't 'see' the first tiny burst of power ?
 
I used to have many problems with dashcams not working properly - then realised, it was to do with when I start the car.
The cam gets power on ignition - but when I turn the engine over, the car cuts power to just abouit everything else to ensure maximum output to starter.
This means, that no sooner has the cam started, it then detects no power so goes into shutdown mode - saving files etc.

Within a second or two, the engine fires, I release the ignition key & power is restored - meanwhile, the cam is still powerting down.
I solved this by buying a simple delay timer off ebay.
Now, when the timer detects power, it counts 10 seconds - I turn the engine over, power is cut. Engine fires, power is resumed & the timer goes through another 10 second count - more than enough time to put my seatbelt on!
At the end of 10 seconds, the timer allows power through & into the camera...
Since using this solution, I haven't had any other problems.

Best of all, I incorporated the timer into an extension socket - so everything plugged into the socket has the same delay.

If you were doing a lot of short start/stops, it may be that you sometimes turned the key in the ignition slower than others - causing the camera to get 'confused', other times, you turned the key so quick that the camera didn't 'see' the first tiny burst of power ?


That sounds like a possibility, although not all of the lock-ups are at start-up; some seem to be during the first
 
I had a "reverse" try today, I stopped the engine but left the radio (and hence the camera), "on" while I made a quick stop, then restarted the engine - and Lo!! The cam froze!!!

I will be out looking for timer relay kits next weekend. I have been trying to get around to wiring a WiFi Hotspot and PSU into the dash; this gives me some extras incentive to get going!!!
 
I bought 2, one came over from america, cost me a fortune. The second came from ? somewhere in Europe? Poland? Much cheaper & works just as well.
 
Well, time to look for a new cam. Seems the DR32 is just a pile of junk. Pulled the SD card at lunchtime to drop a few files onto my computer - only to discover they're mostly missing.
Started driving at 07:45 & found about an hour's worth of files.
Put a different card in after lunch, formatted it in the cam and...
got about an hour's worth of files before it stopped!
Annoyingly, the tiny red light is still lit, so even with the screen off, I thought it was doing something. Looking at the screen, The red numbers are showing - but they don't count up.
The ONLY way to break it out of this seems to be to get it to the "play files" screen. with the last file ready to view, get it to switch back to record screen - even turning off/on by unplugging doesn't work!
Might have a go at reinstalling the firmware first.
 
When the things lock up, the only way out is to push the reset, sadly mine is also playing up, having locked up daily for most of last week. I have been playing with the options menu as some options seem to make a lock up more likely. I have set it to 5 minute recordings and turned off the beeps and zero'ed the beep volume - this seems to help a bit.

I know you are not supposed to do it, but I prod the camera button to keep the screen active - so I can spot if it is locked up.

I do wonder if heat plays a part, the lock ups only started again after the weather turned and I started heating the windscreen to stop it fogging. Over Christmas (if I have time), I will open it up and look to improve ventilation - and also check for bad joints on the circuit board and wiring.
 
I pressed the reset button a couple of times today AND format the card a couple of times as well - but still the cam stopped recording.
Next step is to trawl back through my emails & reinstall the firmware.

I'm not really sure if this is a good advert for the cam but my cam's done about 8hrs per day, 5 days a week since April (and had around 4 weeks off).
Shouldn't it last longer than this?
 
Which firmware are you running?? I am currently on the "Patriot" firmware.
 
It's the one linked to on P1 of this thread - from the manufacturer.
 
Mine came loaded with that one, I wish the old "sound issues" version was available to try - I dont really care about sound playback as long as the video feed is fine and can be relied upon in the event of an incident.

There are several different "brands" for the DR32, including one called the "Patriot"; after reading about other people using their firmware I visited their site and gave it's firmware a try.

Solving the lock-up issues seems to be hit-n-miss, I am guessing build quality might have something to do with it, although the totally random nature of my recent lock-ups has me stumped. It DOES seem to prefer long journeys though, so it may well be thermal expansion/contraction issues.
 
And today, I get an email from Rock, saying "We are contacting you because you has purchased DR32 to be our respected customer." and introducing their stylish new camera.

They do say "once bitten, twice shy".

We're so "respected" that they lied to us by telling us they were developing new firmware to solve our audio issues - the reality being, they simply sent us their original firmware.
Well, after spending over a day's hard-earned wages on a DR32 that is now a pile of junk I don't think I'll be buying another from this company.
I don't want to be stuck with another piece of junk that needs major surgery to get it working properly because the company simply washed their hands of us once they had our cash.
 
I too got an email from this company, probably all DR32 buyers did. Anyway, I bought the DR32 when it first came out and I have been using it ever since. I was so impressed with the video quality that I did not see any reason to change. I must admit that I was not aware of the audio problems for some time as I never did turn on the audio record feature, I am known to swear quite a bit while driving, so that was never an issue for me. What I wanted was a visual record in case of accident, and for that, the DR32 is very good and has a permanent spot on my windshield. Having said that, I am interested is seeing what the new product from this company is like and have placed an order for one, I am not prepared to vilify them for an imperfect product. We buy imperfect products from big name manufacturers all the time.
 
It's not just the imperfect product though. It's the fact that they kept us hanging whilst they created "new firmware" - which turned out to be months old & did little to solve the problem.
And whilst you can get the odd imperfect product, manufacturers also stand by their products. I got a full refund for my last dodgy ebay purchase & they didn't expect me to send it back - in the case of the DR32, they simply stopped communicating.
 
I'm 100% with you sludgeguts, once bitten twice shy, they can keep their dodgy cameras.
 
Hello, I need some help if someone can help me.
I own two different DR32 cameras, one I purchase it some time ago and has the firmware 20130515-1 it has in the menu the function to flip the video 180 degrees, it works great, it auto-starts recording when I power the car, no problem with it, it works great.
The second one I purchase recently however it didn't start automatically to record, it always shows the screen with the option of setting the date when I power it.
All I could find online was ONLY the firmware 20130122, I put that and now all my menus are messed up. (for example on volume I have the time setting, on this tip is the EV setting, on language I have TV System and so on is all messed up) And it still does not auto-start.
Can someone help me and provide a working link or send me a firmware DIFFERENT from 20130122 or the one for patriot F3 because I read that it might work. It would be grate and I would highly appreciate that.
Thank you very much!
 
Hello, I need some help if someone can help me.
I own two different DR32 cameras, one I purchase it some time ago and has the firmware 20130515-1 it has in the menu the function to flip the video 180 degrees, it works great, it auto-starts recording when I power the car, no problem with it, it works great.
The second one I purchase recently however it didn't start automatically to record, it always shows the screen with the option of setting the date when I power it.
All I could find online was ONLY the firmware 20130122, I put that and now all my menus are messed up. (for example on volume I have the time setting, on this tip is the EV setting, on language I have TV System and so on is all messed up) And it still does not auto-start.
Can someone help me and provide a working link or send me a firmware DIFFERENT from 20130122 or the one for patriot F3 because I read that it might work. It would be grate and I would highly appreciate that.
Thank you very much!

Please contact your seller, they should have resource.
 
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