Running DashCam 24x7

[mrted]

Hi All,

I'm currently working on another project that I think *could* have some potential towards dash cams. One of the interests I have is running the dash cam 24x7 without depleting the battery in the car. I don't care for the idea of the interrupt controllers that turn off the dash cam when the battery has run too low.

My other project is to build a Linux server that runs 100% off solar power. This isn't exactly revolutionary, but I'm looking for something that can fit in a laptop case, is portable, and easily moved with low setup costs.

I'm not looking to use a traditional server, but rather install Linux on an Android phone, tablet, or a Linux stick which is remarkably similar to the hardware used on a dashcam. Most smartphones, tablets, and Android sticks charge or are powered via USB.

I bought an Anker 14W solar panel that charges USB devices. It is amazing how much power you can get out of this thing (or rather how little Android-powered devices seem to need). It charges about as fast as you can get out of a wall outlet.

In order to complete my setup, I'm planning to get some external USB powered battery packs and chain them together and do some real life testing with monitoring to see how much capacity I need and how this setup works in real life. I'm going to put the "server" in a Pelican case, drill a hole for the USB cable and seal it and then stick the whole thing in the back yard.

Back to dash cams, first of all it would be nice if there dashcams were USB powered or had a USB powered option. Considering I haven't seen any (please correct me if I'm wrong), it seems it would be feasible to use a similar setup. Put the solar panel on the dashboard and connect it to one or more USB battery packs (preferably with some type of charge controller), and connect them to the cigarette lighter. In the night time, the batteries would charge up the car battery while the dash cam is using power and in the day time, the solar panel kicks in, charges the battery pack(s), and then tops off the car battery. In theory, if the solar panel was large enough and the battery pack(s) were large enough to match the amount of sunlight, time in between usage of the vehicle and car battery capacity, this system should work.

I realize there are limitations such as the solar panel not charging at full capacity through the windshield and the cigarette lighter not exactly designed for charging the car battery all of the time, but I think that in a proper setup, these types of limitations could be overcome.

I'm curious to hear what you guys think.

mrted

 

[roadbug]

I love experiments like this. Reminds me of things I did with a few of my friends when we were younger.
Look into RV and boating equipment suppliers. When I was into off road I was going to put a deep discharge battery into my Jeep for use during camping. There is a switch you can get that allows both batteries to be charged off the alternator and isolates your starting battery when parked so you never run your starting battery down. If you added in a solar charger the second battery should discharge even slower.

 

[Frankzzz]

As someone above said, you might want to think about using a 2nd car battery and a battery isolator, and the cam run off only the 2nd battery. They're popular for offroading, camping, and with big car audio systems, all where you might run things off the car battery for any length of time without the car running.
Here's a good video that explains how they work:

 

[BuyThisDashcam]

As someone above said, you might want to think about using a 2nd car battery and a battery isolator, and the cam run off only the 2nd battery. They're popular for offroading, camping, and with big car audio systems, all where you might run things off the car battery for any length of time without the car running.
Here's a good video that explains how they work:

Thank you, but what happens when this second battery is empty ?

 

[kamkar]

Camera stop recording, battery start charging when car is driven again.
I am not sure how long a drive it take to recharge a empty lead/acid battery with the car alternator, but i assume if a car is driven a couple of houres every day it should have no problemes with keeping battery / batteries topped up all the time. ( assuming the alternator on the car is in working condition )

On average i think it is fair to say 1 dashcam consume 5 watts.

 

[Hillbilly]

Thank you, but what happens when this second battery is empty ?

Obviously this is not done much in USA.

In Australia most outback vehicles have this system to run a portable fridge in the car A 100AH battery will run a fridge for a couple of days so don't think your camera will run it down very quickly. .

Fridge that is popular https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/291108802566

Here is a link to a very popular isolator
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/111195639350
This disconnects from the start battery and allows you to run accessories for a prolonged period.

When car next starts up it cuts in and recharges the battery.

You are looking at cracking a nut with a sledgehammer.

 

[mrted]

Well, I've done some testing on setups like this and it hasn't worked entirely. I've found that many battery systems don't have the ability to charge while providing power which poses a unique problem. I have also been playing with Raspberry Pi systems and found that there are a bunch of issues with using an external battery as a UPS and despite the very low power usage, it is still quite an issue to generate that much power.

The latest idea I am planning to develop and test is to do a dashcam setup with a Pi or some open hardware system that powers on when 12+V is applied to the ignition and have a separate battery connected to a UPS. With the new setup, the "dash cam" would not be running all of the time, but a motion detector or detectors could be connected to the 12V battery and start up the "dash cam" every time motion is detected. I figure the software could also be programmed to shut down the system if there is no motion within X minutes.

The next thing to look at is how much draw the motion detector(s) will have. I'm thinking it would be very small, similar to the clock operating 24x7 without draining the battery much.

The other question is how fast the system can boot up in order to catch any action.

Has anyone seen a system like this? Are there any other design considerations to look at? I figure I can buy a very cheap battery for the Pi that will last 4-8 hours and with my regular driving habits, the auxiliary battery should stay pretty well charged without draining the main battery.

mrted

 

[Dionic90]

the X2 in my ride runs 24/7, 7 days a week.

i have a battery jump box and use a OBD II cable that has a cigar plug on the end.

hook up the OBDII cable to the vehicle OBDII port, then connect to the cigar input on the jump box.

the jump box is 1150 mah's so if the vehicle was sitting for a few days this will maintain the battery charge and provide power to the cam.

i have two of these and never have to worry about battery going flat.

 

[petepete]

some thoughts...

cant see the point in a bloomin great $150 battery isolator when a tiny 12v relay will do for dashcam use and you could wire it up as a split charger just like all RVs do...

your 14w solar panel will be just as useful a chocolate fireguard come winter...

If you want to never run out of power you can buy devices that are designed to make your alternator give out full output rather than taper the charging off soon after you have started.. ( these are sold rated at 50a, 100a etc and a 50a one will put 50ah in your battery in an hour run, more than a car will ever need !)

 

[SawMaster]

With older cars that had a discrete charging system it was relatively easy to adjust the alternator output for special purposes. But with today's cars, even the charging system is integrated into the main computer so you can't do anything without taking a chance on frying something expensive, or causing the vehicle to not function correctly.

The more I learn, the more I like my old van.
Phil