Opening the Mini 0826 ( I damaged mine working out how to do it ) So here is the right way

old4570

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Dash Cam
Front: 70MAI , Ausdom A261, Mini 0826 , Rear: A118c
2ia4qcz.jpg


wi4ldt.jpg


As can be seen , I did my 0826 quite a bit of harm opening it up ...
Why you ask , well I have had the cam for half a year , its been reliable , but just one nag-in little thing ..
The cam was pretty much out of focus :

Dont want to damage your 0826 ...
Look at the pictures and follow the instructions ...

1) Unlike other Mini cams , the 0826 has these plastic caps ( inserts ) that you need to lever out with something like an exacto knife ...

2) Once the inserts are removed you can remove the screws , 4 on the side of the on off switch and two on the other side ..

3) Now remove the end covers ... On the switch side ( on off ) there is a little steel ball that is used to lock the rotation of the cam , when you remove the GPS / mount , watch you dont lose the steel ball ..

4) once the end covers are off and the GPS / mount is removed , just pry open the body gently ...
Watch out for the GPS wire , and then the speaker wires inside ....
The guts of the cam should hold together nicely while you tweak the cam focus or do what ever ...

My pain = Your gain ...

Oh , the cam still works ... And I have tweaked the focus , re assembled and put it back in the car ...
Fingers crossed !
 
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I will let you guys decide if it was worth it ...
Lens was tweaked about ( 5mm twist clockwise )
 
Thanks for this information mate! I am based in Australia and we are moving into hotter weather... I've owned my cam for a month now and it has expanded! I took it apart and removed the budged battery.. I have no need for it as I have it hard wired to a power source, just glad the battery didn't go up in flames and ruine my camera..
 
Ow, you chewed it up good!
I had a lot of trouble getting the endcap off my 0806. It would have helped a lot if I'd known exactly where the two clips holding it in place were. I should have looked it up. (But then I didn't know there were two clips, so...)
Luckily all I lost was time. The camera was mostly unscathed.
 
Ow, you chewed it up good!
I had a lot of trouble getting the endcap off my 0806. It would have helped a lot if I'd known exactly where the two clips holding it in place were. I should have looked it up. (But then I didn't know there were two clips, so...)
Luckily all I lost was time. The camera was mostly unscathed.

It still works , doesn't look as nice as a new one but put back together its hard to see my butchery
 
At the end of the day it's a tool not an ornament. A dash cam would have to be in an incredibly bad state before I'd be embarrassed to fit it. E.g. bits of the case missing and circuitry hanging down. :cool:
 
My Mini 826 died during our Australian summer. I think mini should replace all their unit batteries with super capacitors... Anyway I am now using Viofo a119
 
Thanks for this information mate! I am based in Australia and we are moving into hotter weather... I've owned my cam for a month now and it has expanded! I took it apart and removed the budged battery.. I have no need for it as I have it hard wired to a power source, just glad the battery didn't go up in flames and ruine my camera..
Mr.Gomo, could you give me some instructions on hardwiring, as mine got hang once again?! I think the lithium-ion battery has melted this time. I have an auto-dimming mirror, which has some cables entering, but it might be better to make it separate along with a fuse. I'll try make some pics later on.
Best regards,
Kostadin
 
Batteries and capacitors are needed for the shut down process to save the last file ...
Not sure if a capacitor will fit in a mini ...

Been thinking of doing a capacitor mod to a battery cam to see what happens ...
Problem is the shut down time and the ability of the capacitor to supply power ..
I have a few cheap nasty cams in a box , might see about doing a capacitor mod for the hell of it ...
 
I destroyed mine as well - it wasn't responding to any soft actions to start recording, so I set it on the bench :)
Here's how it looked and a couple of additional notes for the disassemblers:
nK42Wpn.jpg

1)Beware with the display cable - it should pop out with your fingers, but there's a plastic counter plate that supposed to hold it in. I managed to tear the cable with the flat screwdriver while trying to remove that plastic(not shown on the picture) which must've been burned out by the heat as it was breaking apart.
2)I don't know how, but I must have torn one of the so called smd resistors, which I tried resolder - but with my knowledge and tools I couldn't find much of a difference. So, be careful with those especially at the edges.
3)The magnet for the cpl filter will attract the tools and screws - so have that in mind as well. That seem to not affect me, but detach the cover(you need to desolder the gps connector - I suggest from the connector end itself, as the other end at the PCB is soldered with some brownish stuff; the same applies to the speaker).
Hope that helps!
 
Was there battery or capacitors?
 
2ia4qcz.jpg


wi4ldt.jpg


As can be seen , I did my 0826 quite a bit of harm opening it up ...
Why you ask , well I have had the cam for half a year , its been reliable , but just one nag-in little thing ..
The cam was pretty much out of focus :

Dont want to damage your 0826 ...
Look at the pictures and follow the instructions ...

1) Unlike other Mini cams , the 0826 has these plastic caps ( inserts ) that you need to lever out with something like an exacto knife ...

2) Once the inserts are removed you can remove the screws , 4 on the side of the on off switch and two on the other side ..

3) Now remove the end covers ... On the switch side ( on off ) there is a little steel ball that is used to lock the rotation of the cam , when you remove the GPS / mount , watch you dont lose the steel ball ..

4) once the end covers are off and the GPS / mount is removed , just pry open the body gently ...
Watch out for the GPS wire , and then the speaker wires inside ....
The guts of the cam should hold together nicely while you tweak the cam focus or do what ever ...

My pain = Your gain ...

Oh , the cam still works ... And I have tweaked the focus , re assembled and put it back in the car ...
Fingers crossed !
My battery has died - 0826 works fine if I switch it off at its switch but when power is just removed it shuts down and does not save files. In another thread I have asked for advice on a new cam but I thought I would have a go at replacing the battery in the 0826 and came across this thread. Without the pics I am having trouble following items 1 and 2 above - not following what these plastic caps (inserts) are.

So does anyone know of a vid that explains this or another thread that I may have missed that I can follow - or even someone can explain what these plastic caps are as I cannot see them.

Also - can the battery be replaced - can it be removed from the circuit board without damaging something else?

To old4570 - great post but needs the pics to make the words work.

Thanks
 
You can replace the battery with one of suitable dimensions and number of wires ( probably hard to get a factory battery ) these little 1 cell lipo batteries are for sale all over the net, getting one that is smaller MAH than the old one will not hurt.
 
My battery has died - 0826 works fine if I switch it off at its switch but when power is just removed it shuts down and does not save files. In another thread I have asked for advice on a new cam but I thought I would have a go at replacing the battery in the 0826 and came across this thread. Without the pics I am having trouble following items 1 and 2 above - not following what these plastic caps (inserts) are.

So does anyone know of a vid that explains this or another thread that I may have missed that I can follow - or even someone can explain what these plastic caps are as I cannot see them.

Also - can the battery be replaced - can it be removed from the circuit board without damaging something else?

To old4570 - great post but needs the pics to make the words work.

Thanks

Not exactly the same camera but this should help. Once you get the plastic cap off you'll see the screws that will allow you to open the camera.

https://dashcamtalk.com/mini-0806/#Known_problems
 
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kamkar - thanks for your response - if I manage to crack the unit open I will see what battery is fitted and try to match it.

Dashmellow - thanks for that link - yes as I thought the ends should come off but mine will not move and will end up wrecking the case so I am not sure where too from here. On a positive side through testing, I have confirmed that the dash cam works fine with a dead battery and all the files are saved except for the very last file being written when power is lost - so at least that is something. Also if I turn the cam off at its switch when power is still on all files are retained.

Thanks for both responses - much appreciated.

Garry
 
Ok got it worked out - caused a little damage though - the end caps are not initially removed as they screwed in so cannot be prised off like in the above video of the 0806. The end caps are two piece have a cover plate that has to be removed first.
PXL_20220310_224102972 (2).jpg

You then gain access to two screws that allows the end cap to be removed.
PXL_20220310_223741096 (2).jpg
 

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Ok - pulled the unit apart - this is the battery
PXL_20220315_064955664.jpg
I was expecting the descriptor to be Li - ion but it has M-H so is the battery a Metal Hydride?

Also has this little circuit board - I guess it is the controller - looking at battery pics online it looks as if it is actually part of the battery - is that correct? If I go ahead, I am thinking of actually putting the battery outside the unit, velcroed to the underside of the unit with a plug and socket.
PXL_20220315_070034351.jpg
 
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