Not a Happy Camper with the A139

SawMaster said:
It is unrealistic to expect anything to work beyond the limits which the manufacturer says it has. It is unrealistic to blame a cam manufacturer for the limits of the card or the reverse of that. And it is unrealistic to expect a high-performance multi-channel cam to be among the most heat-tolerant when it clearly can't be.

I'm finding very few instances where it's claimed that the A139 is overheating, yet I'm seeing many instances where it isn't- even in more severe conditions. So I can't see this as a cam design problem, for if that was true then everyone (or nearly everyone) would be similarly affected, such as occurred with the T3. If there is an issue here then it would be due to faulty components or improper assembly, or it is card overheating. It's certainly not a cam design problem.

Phil
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With the camera powering off, it's safe to assume the camera is overheating. If it were the memory card failing right now, I presume the camera would remain on and simply be saying "Insert Memory Card".

So I'm trying to determine if I have a faulty unit or if this is a design flaw.

I reached out to support to ask for a replacement camera.
 
HonestReview said:
There's no way to get thermometer to remain on the surface of the camera unless I want to tape it to the camera itself. Which I do not, because the car gets hot and the tape may damage the camera.

So I am not sure any better means of making the thermometer stay.

FYI: It was cloudy today and weather expects clouds. So this test might have to be postponed until we get another sunny day with no clouds for the sun to hide behind.
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We want air temperature, not camera surface temperature, so it is fine as it is, I was just checking that you aren’t resting the tip against something hot/cold so that we can understand the results.

What is it reading on cloudy days?
 
Nigel said:
We want air temperature, not camera surface temperature, so it is fine as it is, I was just checking that you aren’t resting the tip against something hot/cold so that we can understand the results.

What is it reading on cloudy days?
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I had rearranged thermometer today and had the tip against the glass instead of going straight. Not sure which is more accurate. Tip Touching Glass or tip seated in the gap in the plastic housing with body resting on camera.

1. https://kb.sandisk.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4687/~/sandisk-cards-environmental-tolerance-(waterproof,-temperature,-magnetic-and

Temperature proof:
SanDisk SD, SDHC, microSD and microSDHC memory cards are capable of withstanding operating temperatures from -13ºF to 185ºF (-25ºC to 85 ºC).

2. Temperature on Thermometer on cloudy day (but with tip against windshield) and about 26/27C read about 165F / 73C.

3. Camera did not shut down today.

Image of cloudy day and thermometer adjusted placement.

Please advise which is better:

1. Adjusted Thermometer today touching Windshield Glass

adjusted.jpg

ORIGINAL SETUP

therm.jpg
 
jokiin said:
the memory cards are only rated up to 85°C, if his thermometer gets up to 93°C during testing then anything over that doesn't much matter, it would already be hotter than the hardware can support
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@jokiin @Nigel Please advise based upon my pictures above, which is the more accurate way of measuring the temperature. Tip against windshield of glass or Tip inserted into plastic housing thermometer resting on camera.
 
Conventional electronic components are designed to operate over a specified temperature range with upper limits generally set at 70°C for commercial applications, 85°C for industrial applications, and 125°C for military applications.
Most (if not all) dashcams on the market today will use general (aka cheapest) components that are not rated for more than 70°C.
Your dashcam on the windshield on a sunny day will be pushed beyond hardware limits.
Remember ALL components must be able to withstand extreme temperatures, lens, PCB, sensor, plastics, resistors, capacitors, etc.

I believe Viofo operating temperature spec is -10℃ - 65℃ so in your case you are way over.
 
lacibaci said:
Conventional electronic components are designed to operate over a specified temperature range with upper limits generally set at 70°C for commercial applications, 85°C for industrial applications, and 125°C for military applications.
Most (if not all) dashcams on the market today will use general (aka cheapest) components that are not rated for more than 70°C.
Your dashcam on the windshield on a sunny day will be pushed beyond hardware limits.
Remember ALL components must be able to withstand extreme temperatures, lens, PCB, sensor, plastics, resistors, capacitors, etc.

I believe Viofo operating temperature spec is -10℃ - 65℃ so in your case you are way over.
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I do see where Viofo states operating temperature is -10 to 65C.

www.viofo.com

A139 3CH 3 Channel Dash Cam Front 2K 1440P + Interior 1080P + Rear 1080P 5GHz Wi-Fi GPS Dash Camera

VIOFO A139 3CH 3 Channel dash cam supports 2K 1440P 30fps video recording, it takes Sony sensors for the front, interior and rear cameras. Built-in 5GHz Wi-Fi and GPS Logger, support remote control and CPL filter, external microphone.
www.viofo.com www.viofo.com

But then why isn't anyone else having overheating issues? Clearly, people like @SawMaster and others live in much hotter areas. And neither of them have experienced overheating of their camera???
 
HonestReview said:
@jokiin @Nigel Please advise based upon my pictures above, which is the more accurate way of measuring the temperature. Tip against windshield of glass or Tip inserted into plastic housing thermometer resting on camera.
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Can you put it the other way around, with the tip where the dial currently is? Then it would truly be measuring air temperature, even if the very tip is touching the glass, and then I would expect it to work within the Viofo specification.

If not then the tip against the plastic would be better, with it resting on the camera you will get a higher reading due to the heat from the camera, and that would not be very useful.
 
Nigel said:
Can you put it the other way around, with the tip where the dial currently is? Then it would truly be measuring air temperature, even if the very tip is touching the glass, and then I would expect it to work within the Viofo specification.

If not then the tip against the plastic would be better, with it resting on the camera you will get a higher reading due to the heat from the camera, and that would not be very useful.
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I cannot put it the other way around due to large head of thermometer. I can flip it back to original position and run test again on sunny day.
 
HonestReview said:
This is the American South. Very hot and Humid if you've ever visited this place.
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Only time I got that far south in that part of the world, I never made landfall, stayed out in the Atlantic, didn't even see the coast!

So you are in the American North?
 
Nigel said:
Only time I got that far south in that part of the world, I never made landfall, stayed out in the Atlantic, didn't even see the coast!

So you are in the American North?
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I have been to Charleston, SC. You never travel? UK is a rainy and dismal 300 days out of the year. Mother Nature's Joke was throwing you on an island, giving you year round rain, and very little sun!

Rained in Dublin, Ireland when I visited. Rained in Manchester, UK When I visited. Rained in Edinburgh, Scotland when I visited...
 
Upstate SC here, at the base of the Appalachian Mountains. Summers (and this season here normally runs from late April/mid May to late September) rarely see highs below 81F (27C) and later it will be more like not under 88F (31C), with several days around and in August hitting highs of 100F (38C) and sometimes a bit higher. High temps are reached about noon (sometimes sooner) and go till about 7PM. Humidity is never below ~70% and is usually 90% or higher. The only redeeming feature is that most days there's at least a slight breeze, and we often get showers and thunderstorms in the evenings to cool things down.

Hot? Yep. On our worst days there are sightings of the Devil himself walking around in full comfort :ROFLMAO:

My A139 has not shown a single heat-related issue so far, with outside temps of around 88F (31C) and the closed van in full sun a few times already using low-bitrate parking mode. May be problems later but so far so good. Testing it every workday as I'm parked in near-full shade here at home which makes a huge difference in the cabin temps.

Phil
 
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SawMaster said:
Upstate SC here, at the base of the Appalachian Mountains. Summers (and this season here normally runs from late April/mid May to late September) rarely see highs below 81F (27C) and later it will be more like not under 88F (31C), with several days around and in August hitting highs of 100F (38C) and sometimes a bit higher. High temps are reached about noon (sometimes sooner) and go till about 7PM. Humidity is never below ~70% and is usually 90% or higher. The only redeeming feature is that most days there's at least a slight breeze, and we often get showers and thunderstorms in the evenings to cool things down.

Hot? Yep. On our worst days there are sightings of the Devil himself walking around in full comfort :ROFLMAO:

My A139 has not shown a single heat-related issue so far, with outside temps of around 88F (31C) and the closed van in full sun a few times already using low-bitrate parking mode. May be problems later but so far so good. Testing it every workday as I'm parked in near-full shade here at home which makes a huge difference in the cabin temps.

Phil
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Have you attempted to park the car in the sunlight during work days or is the vehicle only parked in shade? My guess, and I'll confirm tomorrow, is that my camera is cutting within a few degrees of the -10 to +65C "cutoff". So if it is shutting down at 65C (150 Degrees F) or within a few degrees Fahrenheit / Celsius, then I'd like others to confirm this fact.

As you would be the perfect person to park your car in direct sunlight on a 27C / 81F day, let the camera bake for an hour or so, and come back to see if the camera is still recording.

I guess if it ends up mine is shutting off at 150 Degrees / 65C and everyone else is seeing better results, than maybe I have a unit with a lesser tolerance and I'll ask to swap it out.

Btw, my A129 never shuts down. I've had that thing with 70C cabin temperatures before, and never saw it bat an eye!
 
HonestReview said:
Have you attempted to park the car in the sunlight during work days or is the vehicle only parked in shade? My guess, and I'll confirm tomorrow, is that my camera is cutting within a few degrees of the -10 to +65C "cutoff". So if it is shutting down at 65C (150 Degrees F) or within a few degrees Fahrenheit / Celsius, then I'd like others to confirm this fact.
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65°C is a rating, not a shutoff point, if it was a shutoff point it would close the file and shutoff

another test you can do is run it two channel and single channel and see if it still shuts down in the same sort of ambient temps
 
jokiin said:
65°C is a rating, not a shutoff point, if it was a shutoff point it would close the file and shutoff

another test you can do is run it two channel and single channel and see if it still shuts down in the same sort of ambient temps
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From a quick test yesterday, but I am not sure how well I had thermometer situated, it appeared as if the camera was shutting itself down somewhere around the 65-67C mark as approximation. However, I am not sure how well I had thermostat situated which is why I didn't post those results. I wanted to follow @Nigel's advice on better placement of thermometer.

Either way, if we assume my test is repeatable, and camera is dying at 65-67C then is there an issue with my A139? It is obviously shutting down improperly as the image I posted here showed last file as being corrupt. Meaning unexpected shutdown in the middle of writing a file.

And I doubt the error is memory card. Again, the camera itself wouldn't be shutting down if memory card error. It would be saying please insert memory card or giving read error.

Your Thoughts?
 
how close the thermometer is isn't going to matter, temps are what you'd expect, the camera is processing three channels of video, the processor was likely up into the 90's at that point
 
jokiin said:
how close the thermometer is isn't going to matter, temps are what you'd expect, the camera is processing three channels of video, the processor was likely up into the 90's at that point
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So what's your opinion here, being a camera manufacturer. Do you think my unit is faulty and overheating prematurely? Is my unit working to spec and simply overheating? If my unit is working to spec, why are people like @SawMaster who sees 30C temperatures not experiencing similar failures?

I emailed Viofo Support for guidance. I am curious if swapping this unit out for another would be worthwhile? Or if you think this will be endemic to all A139s no matter if I replace out the one I got now?
 
I'd probably monitor what's happening with other A139 owners as the weather starts to warm up and see if yours is a one off or it's a wider issue, processing 3 channels of video isn't a light task though, which mode do you use when parked?
 
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