DT MI
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- Joined
- Oct 10, 2014
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- Location
- Michigan
- Country
- United States
- Dash Cam
- More than my wife thinks I need.
Earlier today I installed a 'spare' G1W-H, battery version, camera in my wife's car as a rear cam. (In part because earlier this week she was rear ended coming home from work - no damage and no injuries so that's good.)
I mounted the camera directly on the rear window/windshield/windscreen using my modified rearview mirror mount (https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/convert-mirror-mount-to-stick-on-mount.11457). The rear glass has the dual function defroster/antenna wires. I used a 12V splitter similar to this - (https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00ULTDWDM) for power as her car has only a single power socket and that was being used for the front camera (A118-C at the moment). All works well with a single exception.
When she first started the car and turned on the radio there was a horrific electronic 'squeal' coming from the radio. It was so bad that it completely overrode the broadcast signal. After a few minutes it began to subside and eventually went away altogether.
Moving forward in time, she went out to run a few errands and when she returned I reviewed the video clips and noticed a pattern. Every time she started the car the 'squeal' came back for a short period then went away. The period was proportional to how long the engine had been shut off.
I thought it may have been an issue with the G1W-H so, having another one not in use, I swapped it and the second camera has the same issue.
(As a side note, with experimentation I eventually determined the 'squeal' only affected the lower frequency AM stations - 580, 760, 800, etc. The lower the frequency the more the interference. By the time I get up to 1270 there is none. I thought initially it may have been caused by corrosion on the splitter/adapter but removing it from the installation did nothing and the problem persisted.)
After thinking about this for a while I came to the conclusion that the charging circuit in the camera is the culprit. Neither G1W-H cameras had been used for at least a month or more and the batteries had to be pretty much depleted. This explains why the initial interferance lasted for quite a long period but subsequent episodes were fairly short and proportional to how long the engine had been shut off. Once the battery is recharged the interference stops.
Now with all that background out of the way here's my question.
Is there any way to eliminate the problem?
With a bit of work I can probably mount the camera somewhere other than directly on the glass but I'm not sure that will be adequate, and I would still have to route the power cord around and alongside the window. Does anyone have any idea of what the 'range' of the interference might be?... Could it be 'transmitted' down the power cord so moving the camera would have no effect unless I also moved the cord?
Both G1W-H cameras have been used in our vehicles before, but as front cameras so they were not located anywhere near the antennas.
(Buying another camera is not an option - yet - given that I already have 5 and only 2 vehicles.) My wife likes to listen to 'talk radio' and has her favorite stations so not using the AM frequencies really isn't an option either.
Thanks in advance for any ideas.
I mounted the camera directly on the rear window/windshield/windscreen using my modified rearview mirror mount (https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/convert-mirror-mount-to-stick-on-mount.11457). The rear glass has the dual function defroster/antenna wires. I used a 12V splitter similar to this - (https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00ULTDWDM) for power as her car has only a single power socket and that was being used for the front camera (A118-C at the moment). All works well with a single exception.
When she first started the car and turned on the radio there was a horrific electronic 'squeal' coming from the radio. It was so bad that it completely overrode the broadcast signal. After a few minutes it began to subside and eventually went away altogether.
Moving forward in time, she went out to run a few errands and when she returned I reviewed the video clips and noticed a pattern. Every time she started the car the 'squeal' came back for a short period then went away. The period was proportional to how long the engine had been shut off.
I thought it may have been an issue with the G1W-H so, having another one not in use, I swapped it and the second camera has the same issue.
(As a side note, with experimentation I eventually determined the 'squeal' only affected the lower frequency AM stations - 580, 760, 800, etc. The lower the frequency the more the interference. By the time I get up to 1270 there is none. I thought initially it may have been caused by corrosion on the splitter/adapter but removing it from the installation did nothing and the problem persisted.)
After thinking about this for a while I came to the conclusion that the charging circuit in the camera is the culprit. Neither G1W-H cameras had been used for at least a month or more and the batteries had to be pretty much depleted. This explains why the initial interferance lasted for quite a long period but subsequent episodes were fairly short and proportional to how long the engine had been shut off. Once the battery is recharged the interference stops.
Now with all that background out of the way here's my question.
Is there any way to eliminate the problem?
With a bit of work I can probably mount the camera somewhere other than directly on the glass but I'm not sure that will be adequate, and I would still have to route the power cord around and alongside the window. Does anyone have any idea of what the 'range' of the interference might be?... Could it be 'transmitted' down the power cord so moving the camera would have no effect unless I also moved the cord?
Both G1W-H cameras have been used in our vehicles before, but as front cameras so they were not located anywhere near the antennas.
(Buying another camera is not an option - yet - given that I already have 5 and only 2 vehicles.) My wife likes to listen to 'talk radio' and has her favorite stations so not using the AM frequencies really isn't an option either.
Thanks in advance for any ideas.
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