Nextbase car volume interference?

[Wannabee]

I finally got round to installing the first of my Nextbase 522GW dash cams (with separate rear camera) in to my 2018 Skoda Kodiaq 2.0TDi SEL SUV. The car has the in-built Columbus 9.2" Sat Nav head unit. Hardwired into fuseboard 'piggyback' onto rear wiper fuse, an ignition 'switched live' supply. All good so far.

A couple of surprising problems, if anyone has encountered this before?

1. The unit interferes with the car volume control, when switched on the volume is disabled and I'm unable to turn it up. Switch off the cam and control is restored. Very strange, it's as if it is interfacing with the car CANBUS in some way. The volume control is 'redded out' in the App, and the recordings do not have sound. Interestingly, before I paired with my phone (the car did a journey before I'd downloaded the software), the unit recorded a clip with sound perfectly, so could it be the app/phone/WiFi/Bluetooth I wonder?
2. The unit powers down after a very short period, so that if waiting at lights etc then it powers off. I see from other postings that if the Parking mode is disabled, then this is reduced/solved. Is there a way to cure this as I would like to retain that feature, but obviously if it powers down at every delay, then the object is defeated!
3. Linked to 2. above, if I try and download a video file onto my smartphone, it 'times out' mid process and the download is aborted. Is there a way of keeping it alive until the file(s) have been accessed?

I'm still familiarising myself with the unit, there may be some other related factors as yet undiscovered...I want to resolve these before I tackle the other install in my other even newer car.

Cheers!

 

[Wannabee]

Seems turning off Parking mode solves the issue. Shame as that's one of the main buying points.

Anyone found a workaround for this bug?

 

[Wannabee]

After having resigned myself to the fact I can't use Parking Mode, also now discovered the DAB radio is attenuated so the radio doesn't work on DAB unless the Dash Cam is turned off. If you turn it off then magically it comes back on and finds a viable signal. The whole system is not fit for purpose, and unless Nextbase has a solution tomorrow, back they go to Halfords.

Two complete systems including rear cameras to go back. Shame, are there any that are any better or should I re-visit this in a few years when they are actually viable with modern cars and in-built audio systems?

 

[Paul Iddon]

Your DAB radio will have the same problem with almost (possibly all) different brands if it does it with the NB.

 

[Wannabee]

Thanks Paul, what worries me is what it's doing with the other parts of the car I CAN'T see, such as the various side airbags and other safety equipment (of which there are many on this car and many late models) that might be impacted. The radio is the one you can see...

In order for these to be viable, they need to sit alongside other vehicle systems, I don't want to discover the airbags (say) don't deploy due to some RFI or EMC issue. The same applies to my other newer car, which has some similar features. So I've lost faith, and they'll be going back.

 

[SawMaster]

It's extremely unlikely that RFI/EMI will affect anything except systems using a wireless (radio) signal such as car audio, GPS, key fob locking, TPMS and such. Wired systems are much more resistant to interference. If it's the cam itself causing the issue, then another cam which uses a different processor might help. The PS can also be the source of these issues.

There are no certain fixes for these issues and no way of knowing what any cam/car combo will do until it's tried. About all a user can do is to move the cam, it's cabling, and the PS stuff to different locations in experimenting and to try snap-on ferrite chokes near the cabling ends. Often this will reduce the issue to an acceptable level but sometimes nothing works. Car manufacturers need to build more interference-resistant systems and cam makers need to do a better job with their shielding, but there are no industry or legal standards regards this yet.

Phil