Original G1W Pulsatig/Vibrating Problem

[Luke Davis]

Hey all,

I have an original G1W (file extensions are .mov, have HDMI port, and checked the bitrate to confirm it is genuine), and am getting some really, really bad deep pulsating/vibrating sounds from the microphone, along with this intermittent high-pitched interference/electronic kind of sound.

Here's a video illustrating the problem:

I've been looking at other threads and the vibration is very different from the sounds people get from loose buttons or a loose battery -- I've since secured both of them (battery with super glue, and buttons with tape), but the sound hasn't gone away. This sound, instead, is very deep-pitched, louder, and seemingly independent of how I am revving my engine (you can see this, since I accelerate in the beginning of the video).

Does anyone know what could be going on here? I'm wondering if it has to do with the sd card sampling -- I have a class 10 card which I've read can be a problem, so I ordered a class 4 micro SD which will come next week.

Also, I have a diesel engine (VW TDI), so maybe it's just knocking around the whole camera somehow, or the camera is loose in its holder, as opposed to the buttons? Although I'd be surprised because like I said, it seems to be independent of the engine RPM.

Maybe it's just a lemon, and I'm screwed here. But hoping someone has suggestions or experienced a similar problem. Thanks.

 

[Deleted member 46308]

Welcome to the forum Luke

 

[parklawn]

Video listed as 'Private' unable to view.

 

[Luke Davis]

Video listed as 'Private' unable to view.

My bad, it's public now.

Welcome to the forum Luke

Thanks!

 

[Module 79L]

Have you tried recording outside the car, with the camera's battery power or inside the house with a different power supply? It sounds like an induced audio interference, not something that's been captured acoustically by the mic.

 

[Luke Davis]

Have you tried recording outside the car, with the camera's battery power or inside the house with a different power supply? It sounds like an induced audio interference, not something that's been captured acoustically by the mic.

Just tried it, still records the same sound!

I recorded while charging to a standard wall outlet (don't seem to have any battery power, so that might be another problem... I started another thread describing issues with powering up/down, so this could be related to that).

Maybe it's some kind of sampling error with the Class 10 MicroSD? Or some weird unforeseeable issue with mic hardware, and I have to throw the unit in the trash and burn $50 (return period has long passed). Unless you guys have suggestions I guess I'll just wait to see if the Class 4 card resolves the issue.

 

[Module 79L]

I don't think it's a card related problem, since you haven't got corrupted files or issues like the camera not recognizing the card. The Class 10 is the recommended for these cameras. Now, you raised an interesting subject there: the battery not having any power. I'll go check the other thread.

 

[Luke Davis]

I don't think it's a card related problem, since you haven't got corrupted files or issues like the camera not recognizing the card. The Class 10 is the recommended for these cameras. Now, you raised an interesting subject there: the battery not having any power. I'll go check the other thread.

Really? I was going off of what some reviews on amazon said.

So when it's on, the battery picture has an "X" across it (I'm guessing that means battery will not charge). I'm thinking I should buy a new one. Also some video files were actually randomly corrupt before it started doing the on-and-off thing (my other thread). I should have mentioned that. And when it started the on-and-off thing, the unit produced a ton of small, unreadable MOV files.

The new SD comes Monday, if that doesn't solve this then maybe I'll try to find a replacement battery somewhere.

Though I'm having a hard time nailing down the behavior here, it's totally erratic. It's worked a few times in the past days, but eventually it goes back to the on-and-off thing.

 

[Module 79L]

Really? I was going off of what some reviews on amazon said.

Are you familiar with the expression "Don't believe everything you read in newspapers"? Well, the same apply to most Amazon reviewers.
He was using a Class 10 Transcend card, had some problems (probably not card related) and, of course, the seller told him to buy a Class 4 or 6 card and he followed the recommendation blindly, without even questioning if a Class 10 card from a different brand would work, and now he's saying that people shouldn't use Class 10 cards in the G1W. I have a Class 10 Kingston (recommended by the manufacturer) and I've used it non-stop in the G1W and now in the G1W-H without ever having any problems.

So when it's on, the battery picture has an "X" across it (...)

You know what an "X" across something means...

Though I'm having a hard time nailing down the behavior here, it's totally erratic. It's worked a few times in the past days, but eventually it goes back to the on-and-off thing.

That behavior is typical of an almost dead battery. There are probably some cells that still charge and that causes the erratic behavior.
I've never experienced a dead battery situation (some members will say "yet" ) but it seems that the battery is an active part of the circuit and the its state affects the camera's work, like in an UPS.

 

[Luke Davis]

Thanks for the help, that's definitely the problem then. So I'd need to buy a new battery (found some on ebay, ~$4), and buy a soldering iron (there's a cheap one ~$6).

However... I'm realizing that since I am often in very extreme climates (down to -20-25C where I go to school, then in summer up to +35-40C), and many suggest capacitor is better for temperature extremes, I'm going to be having issues again before long even after fixing this. In fact I'm wondering if the heat is what screwed up this battery in the first place. So... I should probably do a capacitor mod. Which many seem to think is difficult if not impossible, from posts on here.

At this point I'm thinking I should take the loss and get the G1W-C, then I won't have to think about this again. If I'm feeling up for it, I could buy a soldering iron, new battery, fix this damn brick, and sell it on ebay with the extra micro SD card, but I'm not even confident the noise problem would go away.

 

[Luke Davis]

In fact, one of the sellers this site recommends (GearBest) is having a big sale, selling new G1W-CB units for $40. So yeah, I think that's what I'll do. I can try to fix and sell the old unit after the fact.

 

[Module 79L]

Exchanging the battery for a capacitor raises another issue: you'd have to flash the camera with a different firmware suitable for working with capacitors, otherwise it'll start corrupting the last recorded file, among other potential problems.

 

[Nicolai Fusdahl]

Just tried it, still records the same sound!

I recorded while charging to a standard wall outlet (don't seem to have any battery power, so that might be another problem... I started another thread describing issues with powering up/down, so this could be related to that).

Maybe it's some kind of sampling error with the Class 10 MicroSD? Or some weird unforeseeable issue with mic hardware, and I have to throw the unit in the trash and burn $50 (return period has long passed). Unless you guys have suggestions I guess I'll just wait to see if the Class 4 card resolves the issue.

In your latest video, you can hear that the hum changes character exactly every second, just before the second changes on the video. As suggested above, I suspect that the camera needs a working battery (or a capacitor in "C" models) to smoothen the ripple on top of the internal DC voltage. After you have installed a new battery, before you reassemble the unit, you should check that the battery gets charged (using a multimeter) when the mini USB is connected and camera is turned on.

I just received my first dash cam ever, and I am therefore a very new member in this forum. I got the G1W-CB. I really like the daytime video quality. I haven't tested it at night as of yet. Crisp 1080P video, no sound issues. Firmware version is "W2015.0316.11". I will never update this FW.

 

[Module 79L]

Welcome to the forum, Nicolai!

I just received my first dash cam ever, and I am therefore a very new member in this forum. I got the G1W-CB. I really like the daytime video quality. I haven't tested it at night as of yet. Crisp 1080P video, no sound issues. Firmware version is "W2015.0316.11". I will never update this FW.

I can only speak for my G1W-H but I don't find anything wrong with the night time video quality.

 

[SawMaster]

G1W-C (or -C/B). If you get a good one you'll really like it, but it seems that the QC has been rather variable with them. There may be a firmware which lets you switch your old one to caps, I'm not sure, but I say just go for new. Then if you feel like it, replace the battery in the old one and sell it, gift it, or keep it to play with.

Phil