Rear Infrared Camera Coaxial Cable for Thinkware F100 too short?

FatStrawPDX

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Hey guys,

Why is the "Rear Infrared" Camera cable so short (It's about 1 foot long)?

I bought this unit from DashCamBros ( https://dashcambros.com/products/thinkware-f100-dash-cam?variant=4807387611167 ) and according to their website, it says:
The Regular Rear Camera comes with a 18 foot cable, the Infrared Interior Rear Camera comes with a short cable, and the External Rear Camera comes with a 50 foot length cable.

This cable is only 1 foot long... is it safe to get a longer cable?

I'm trying to mount my rear infrared camera in the front facing towards the back of the cabin and use the front camera of the F100 for one of the rear side windows.

In addition, how come the Rear Infrared Camera come with a fixed mount instead of a rotatable one like the F800 Pro rear camera?
 
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The Thinkware F100 IR camera comes with a shorter cable because Thinkware created the camera and cable with the intended usage that both the front and IR cameras will be mounted on the front windshield, in proximity to each other with the front facing forward and the rear facing inward. This is how a majority of the Dual Channel w IR Cam users mount their cameras, so this helps remove the need to hide 20 ft of cable when mounted this way.

As for the rear camera rotation, Thinkware does say the rear camera is rotatable, although it is alot more stiff than the F800 Pro Rear Camera.

We have seen Thinkware cameras behave strangely when using a third party Micro USB cable to connect the front and rear, so we wouldn't suggest it. Thinkware does make spare Thinkware micro USB cables - we are waiting to have them made available to us in the US and will carry them as soon as they are.
 
It is your out of the ordinary placement of the main camera that's the problem.
Unsure if you can put a extension cable in between IR camera plug ( assume its a USB one ) and the main unit on the side window.
 
The Thinkware F100 IR camera comes with a shorter cable because Thinkware created the camera and cable with the intended usage that both the front and IR cameras will be mounted on the front windshield, in proximity to each other with the front facing forward and the rear facing inward. This is how a majority of the Dual Channel w IR Cam users mount their cameras, so this helps remove the need to hide 20 ft of cable when mounted this way.

As for the rear camera rotation, Thinkware does say the rear camera is rotatable, although it is alot more stiff than the F800 Pro Rear Camera.

We have seen Thinkware cameras behave strangely when using a third party Micro USB cable to connect the front and rear, so we wouldn't suggest it. Thinkware does make spare Thinkware micro USB cables - we are waiting to have them made available to us in the US and will carry them as soon as they are.


Edit: I got the camera to rotate. So stiff.

Another note: These Infrared Cameras set off the Laser detection on the Valentine 1 Radar Detector if you don't point it in a good direction.

I'm in need of a Coaxial Cable for the rear camera and was wondering if there are any good generic ones that would work without compromising video quality. The Thinkware F100 Rear Infrared Camera Coaxial Cable is a banana style plug and not micro-usb.

The reason I wanted the F100 Front Camera (that holds the micro sd card) to be as far away from the infrared one is also for security reasons. If someone breaks into my car without wearing a ski-mask or something, they might notice the infrared rear camera capturing their face and try to get the micro sd card. If I hide the front camera somewhere not so obvious, the memory card would then be safe. I've also thought the same idea for mounting a camera inside of my sedan's trunk so that when someone opens it up it will record their face.

Dashcam companies should really think outside the box and make a 3 channel dashcam already and maybe even have the option of choosing which camera to hide the microsd card into. Imagine, front + rear and a hidden one in the trunk that holds the microsd card.

Thanks
 
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We're waiting for 3 channel systems to be released as well. Our customers have been purchasing additional 1 channel cameras to add to their 2 channel systems as a third channel.
 
Hmm. Does anyone have any suggestions to where I can buy a longer cable to connect the Front Camera and Infrared Rear Camera on the Thinkware F100? It's a non-micro-usb cable.
 
Can one of the vendors test to see if the rear cable for the normal rear camera on the F100 would work with the Infrared Rear Camera? I really need this cable to complete my install.
 
I've just read this. I've bought the Thinkware F100 front and rear camera, with GPS and the Thinkware 64gb SD card and hardwire kit and is being professionally installed next week.

My intention is to have the front dashcam on the front windscreen pointing forward and the rear camera on my rear windscreen point to the rear.

Is the cable long enough to do this ?
 
It's not possible. I've already contacted Thinkware and BlackBoxMyCar.

"
Thank you for contacting Thinkware Dash Cam.
We unfortunately do not sell any longer ir camera cables
Please feel free to contact us again if you encounter any other issues.
Kind regards,
Customer Support
THINKWARE Dash Cam™ (North America)

"

I also asked if there were any third party cables we could use for it.
"Using any third party accessories could make the camera constantly reset, we do apologize that we do not have a longer cable " - Thinkware


This is a shame because I wanted to hide the Front F100 (The Brain) somewhere in the trunk and keep the infrared at the driver side pointing inwards. That why I have video of any breakins and it would be hard to find the 'brain' that holds the microsd.


By the way, if you use the non-infrared rear camera for the F100, the cable is actually long enough to do your application. The Infrared rear camera, however, is only about a foot long.
 
Thanks for the feedback and answers my questions.

I am aware of the external rear camera, but I don't fancy drilling holes on the outside of my car anywhere !!! Besides, it wouldn't look right on a car, as they are designed for large vehicles and trucks.

I suppose I could get one and mount it inside the car pointing out through the rear window !!

I'll look on YouTube and see if I can see one so that I can gauge the actual size of it.

Cheers.
 
Has anyone fitted the external camera inside pointing out through the rear window ? Not ideal, but would not look too bad in my Toyota RAV4, as it's pretty roomy in the rear.
 
Has anyone fitted the external camera inside pointing out through the rear window ? Not ideal, but would not look too bad in my Toyota RAV4, as it's pretty roomy in the rear.

The F100 Rear camera has 3 camera options. Normal Rear Camera, External Rear Camera for Truck Drivers with no rear window and the Infrared Rear Camera.

Use this as a reference:
https://dashcambros.com/products/thinkware-f100-dash-cam?variant=4807387611167

I'll try and upload a night time video of the F100 Front and Rear Infrared Camera as an example video footage for you. later this week. The infrared is awesome and can actually catch your face in pitch blacks but I just hate that the cord is too short. The F100 looks good in the Daytime but at night it kinda sucks compared to the F800 Pro.
 
Thanks, I know the options of the rear cameras that fit the F100, I'm just trying to find out if anyone is or has used the external camera inside their vehicle pointing to the rear through their rear window and does it look ok or look out of place !!!
 

Here's the F100 infrared nighttime clip. POsitioning the Infrared light beams is crucual if you decide to use this camera because it only captures a small angle. As you can see in my video, it doesn't capture the passenger's face at night but does a greeat job capturing the driver's face (I censored it in the video but it's pretty clear).

The F100 Front Camera is mounted on my driver side window in the video. It will probably look fine at night if you mount it normal in the front windshield sicne your headlights will provide enough light. But for my side mount, it looks really bad on the freeway at night because there's not enough lighting.
 
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