The other day while at work we had a thermometer that was sitting out in the cab of one of our cranes. While sitting in direct sunlight the thermometer pegged at almost120 degrees with the door open and the air temp outside only 89 degrees. Just for giggles and $#@! I moved it under the seat and it dropped to 97 which was the temp of the cab. It made me start to question the wisdom of the design we are currently accustomed.
Is it a good idea the "brains" and the major electronics are all in a package that is kept mostly in direct sunlight? If these companies were based in Southern Arizona, Texas, or Florida would the designs be different using a recorder separate from the cameras that must be in the "light"? And finally if a separate recorder had the same video qualities as the U1000, and the same feature packed system as the DR900xx and ability to connect 4+ cameras would you be interested?
Im not looking to start manufacturing but the question got me looking into what was available. Recorders with dual SD card slots, or HD slots, options for cellular, WiFi, and GPS and the ability to "check-in" remotely sure seems to be going in the right direction. I do realize most of these systems are marketed toward the fleet industry as a big brother type of system, but i have to ask what the life expectancy is on these systems compared to the ones we are purchasing.
