Review: 2nd Batch-BULLETHD BIKER PRO, 1080p, Wi-Fi, Water Resistant Motorcycle Camera DashCam

Thanks Knolly. Well done. How did you patch into your bike power? Is your battery good condition? Can you post some pics of your install. I've just borrowed a phone charger battery pack to check my power supply. Going to check battery and alternator. Cheers
I did a writeup on it here: http://www.triumph675.net/forum/showpost.php?p=4574897&postcount=4

But basically my bike had a circuit for heated grips that I made a plug for and ran that to the included USB adapter. My bike's battery is probably about 3 years old but mostly always kept on a tender, so I'd say it's in good condition. It's been a while since I had to pull any footage so I'll pop out the SD Card tonight and post up the config file and whatnot. I know it's not super helpful for me to say "it just worked," but that was basically what happened on my end.
 
Thanks for that Knolly. Good looking install. If you can't see the recorder lights, how do you know every trip that its working. Do you listen for the beeps? Do you have the power for the USB running through a relay? Kind regards
 
I think he just assume it do what its supposed to do, and you can do that with a good product and regular SD card care.
 
So I might have spoken too soon. I pulled my card and some (maybe a quarter) of my videos have corruption... I kind of just "set and forget" the Biker Pro so I never investigated further after seeing that it worked a few times.

I think it is definitely power related though. I have one video file where when I turned the key it started recording, and then the moment I hit the starter, the audio kept recording but the video froze. I'm sure the power surge wasn't a coincidence.

What I'm thinking might be a decent solution is getting the smallest power bank you can find and hooking the camera up to that, then the bike to the power bank, to help provide steady power. It'll keep recording after you stop, but I think that seems like a decent tradeoff.

My settings file:

##########################################################################################
#system setting
# CAUTION: TO PREVENT SERIOUS SYSTEM CRASH, ONLY ENGLISH ALPHA-NUMERICS CAN BE USED FOR BELOW PARAMETERS AND CAMERA NAME
##########################################################################################
VERSION = BP2015091801 # DO NOT CHANGE
WIFI_NAME = BIKER-PRO # wifi name,length 1-32 (a-z, A-Z, 0-9)
WIFI_PASSWORD = 00000000 # wifi password, length 8-32 (a-z, A-Z, 0-9)
RESOLUTICON = 0 # (0=1080p@30fps, 1= 720p@60fps)
VIDEO_TIME = 3 # (0=1mins, 1=2mins, 2=3mins,3=5mins,4=10mins,5=15mins) recording interval time
QUALITY = 0 # (0=fine, 1=good, 2=normal)
LOOP_RECORD = 1 # (0=off, 1=on)
DATE_STAMP = 1 # (0=off, 1=on)
G-SENSOR = 2 # (0=high, 1=mid,2=low,3=off)
TIMELAPSE = 0 # (0=off, 1=1s,2=2s,3=5s,4=10s,5=30s,6=60s)
AUDIO_RECORD = 1 # (0=off, 1=on)
AUTO_POWER_OFF = 1 # (0=Off, 1=3min,2=5min,3=10min)
TIME_SET = N2015.01.01.00:00:00 # (Y=change N=No change
DEFAULT_SETTING = 0 # (0=false, 1=true) when set to 1, the camera will ignore other settings, set to system default and write the default settings in this file
CAMERA_NAME = BIKER-PRO # Device ID
##########################################################################################
#end
##########################################################################################
 
a consistently stable power supply is needed but not always achievable on a bike, voltage can fluctuate quite a lot on some models which is a challenge to deal with
Which explains a lot.
Not sure how possible this is but having something like a power pack to give the camera a constant, stable power supply but for the power pack itself to get a charge from the bike.
There'd also need to be something to make sure the power turns off to the cam when it's not needed - even a simple 'key' on a chain attached to the ignition key so it has to be removed when the keys come out or an illuminated switch...
 
probably needs something designed to deal with the fluctuating input that can give a nice clean output, your typical USB type chargers aren't really that suitable as cars don't generally have much of an issue with this
 
What I'm thinking might be a decent solution is getting the smallest power bank you can find and hooking the camera up to that, then the bike to the power bank, to help provide steady power. It'll keep recording after you stop, but I think that seems like a decent tradeoff.
a capacitor (not necessarily a "super cap") would be a better solution, since caps aren't affected by heat like batteries are. and many usb power banks don't support "pass thru" charging. and on top of that - since it will keep recording when you park it, the battery pack will then be dead when you go to start it next time, and thus won't help survive the power drop from starting. to get around that you'd have to re-engineer the power bank's power button so that it gets turned off when you turn off the key.

you could have a 12v cap in line with the lead going to the cam's power supply. caps charge FAST, so turning on the key, waiting one second, and then cranking, would probably be enough. i don't know what capacity (rated in farads) the cap should be, but i can't imagine that it'd have to be very large, as long as the engine starts quickly. might need a larger one if your bike doesn't have automatic choke or takes a while to build fuel pressure or whatever.

one other simple thing to try is to maybe try giving the camera's power supply a better ground. if it doesn't have a good solid ground, you get more noise and thus more instability. if you can go direct to the battery's (-) post, even better, but most times a solid connect to the frame (unpainted or sanded-down section) is all you need.
 
a capacitor (not necessarily a "super cap") would be a better solution, since caps aren't affected by heat like batteries are. and many usb power banks don't support "pass thru" charging. and on top of that - since it will keep recording when you park it, the battery pack will then be dead when you go to start it next time, and thus won't help survive the power drop from starting. to get around that you'd have to re-engineer the power bank's power button so that it gets turned off when you turn off the key.

you could have a 12v cap in line with the lead going to the cam's power supply. caps charge FAST, so turning on the key, waiting one second, and then cranking, would probably be enough. i don't know what capacity (rated in farads) the cap should be, but i can't imagine that it'd have to be very large, as long as the engine starts quickly. might need a larger one if your bike doesn't have automatic choke or takes a while to build fuel pressure or whatever.

one other simple thing to try is to maybe try giving the camera's power supply a better ground. if it doesn't have a good solid ground, you get more noise and thus more instability. if you can go direct to the battery's (-) post, even better, but most times a solid connect to the frame (unpainted or sanded-down section) is all you need.
I was originally thinking about a super cap (my son has a honking great big one to drive his monstrous speaker system!).
Maybe link this suggestion to a delay timer? Power gets to cap, delay timer holds output to cam for 5 - 10 seconds, giving enough time for cap to charge ... ?

I'm watching this with interest. I don't have a bike but I would like to see a good, reasonably priced, system with remote lens that actually works really well. Especially waterproof lenses.
I'm wondering if these lenses could be incorporated into something like roof rails - mine has thick chunky plastic end pieces bolted to the roof so not too great a leap to carefully drill out a hole for the lens to sit in & feed the cable down through the base & into the roof lining. Of course, I'd need to make a matching hole with dummy lens (or even additional cam) on the other side.
 
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Did you try my 'switch' theory?
Start the bike THEN connect power to the dvr. Check that the unit is recording (assuming the 'eyes' indicate this?) then set off on a ride.
Since it runs fine off a powerbank, the cam is obviously OK, there is obviously something wrong with the power supply from the bike. Maybe the cam isn't getting a constant supply? Scotchloks aren't always the best connectors. Fuses can wriggle loose, even USB plugs can wriggle free.
Perhaps something else on the same circuit (or even on the bike) is drawing a lot of power - a pair of indicators (for example). Is the battery on the bike in decent condition? Is the alternator putting out enough power for everything that's running?

Unit is powered from a spare switched supply behind the clocks, supplied by Yamaha. This supply is live after the bike is started. The charging indicator only lights up after the engine has started, the unit then beeps as it should. Scotchlocks weren't used; I've never liked them. All connections are either soldered or crimped. There's nothing else on the circuit, that's why I chose it. Bike is only a year old and the battery is fine.
Finally made contact with the manufacturer who is sending a complete replacement unit. I'll see where we go from there.
 
probably needs something designed to deal with the fluctuating input that can give a nice clean output, your typical USB type chargers aren't really that suitable as cars don't generally have much of an issue with this
Since the BulletHD cam comes with a 12v -> 5v converter, wouldn't it be ideal to design that converter to "deal with the fluctuating input"?
 
there's an echo in here ;) that's exactly what I was suggesting :cool:
Must be a case of mistaken identities :)
I thought you were (one of) the manufacturer of the BulletHD cam. My mistake. I'll rephrase my comment to the classic "me too" instead :)

As a bonus info I just heard from Innovv that their Powerhub (http://www.innovv.com/product-page/innovv-power-hub1) will come with +5v output via USB port, on the next generation scheduled for april.
 
Does anyone know if BulletHD is still in business? It looks like Pier28 no longer sells them and they've also dropped off a few other sites. My BulletHD Biker Mate has died once again and I was trying to see if there was anything I could do for it (was already replaced once). I'm thinking that perhaps I should just give up on BulletHD and try to find something better. Any suggestions for a good, "install and forget it" motorcycle dash cam? Thanks.
 
Does anyone know if BulletHD is still in business? It looks like Pier28 no longer sells them and they've also dropped off a few other sites. My BulletHD Biker Mate has died once again and I was trying to see if there was anything I could do for it (was already replaced once). I'm thinking that perhaps I should just give up on BulletHD and try to find something better. Any suggestions for a good, "install and forget it" motorcycle dash cam? Thanks.

Hi This is Jon, formerly an employee at Pier28. I left to start my own company last year. I'd wait for the new INNOVV product coming soon. I can offer you a very steep discount as a previously customer I worked with in the pre-OCD Tronic.

See the following two posts:
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...cameras-suitable-for-bikes.28776/#post-333437
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/biker-pro-file-date-problems.29014/#post-337195
 
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