Shock/Tilt DIY System to turn on camera while car is parked

[Raz]

Hello everybody.

I have two Mini 805 that i always wanted to keep on or at least have them record with motion detection (really crappy coding for that, inside the firmware) but that turned out to generate a lot of false positives (motion wise).

I wanted that feature because if i park my car at the grocery store and someone hits it and takes off, i'll be stuck with the damage ...

So i came up with an idea. I built a trigger that powers up the cameras as soon as a shock is felt and it keeps the power on for 1 hour.

It's a work in progress for now but here is the concept in action.

It's built to have 2 sensors (on in the front and one in the back) and the whole system powers on when i remove the key.

Any questions welcome

 

[Gibson99]

personally the approach i would take if i were as crafty as you... i'd leave the cameras recording normally while parked (with a normal battery drain prevention device). then use this device not to START recording (because by the time the camera boots up and starts recording the perp is probably already gone) but instead to use this device to "press" the lock/emergency button on the camera. that way you'll have footage leading up to the shock/tilt event as well, and have a much better chance of actually tracking down the idiot who hit you.

my approach was to just buy a blacksys cf-100 dual cam setup which already has a proper parking mode, and add a battery drain prevention device so it's safe to leave it running without worrying about being able to start the car.

 

[Raz]

The camera boots up from no power to recording in 2 seconds. I currently have both cameras always on with recycle every 3 minutes.
The problem with that is that with my current recording settings (resolution) i can get only about 3 hours of footage on my 32gb cards.

In order for me to trigger the "read only for current recording" i would have to tinker (and trigger) the internal gshock sensor and that would add another wire to the camera. I already think that the usb one is too much (went for a stealth look).

The consumption of this whole system is 40mAh in idle (monitor mode) and 80mAh with relay on.

I yet have to see how much the cameras are eating while recording. I might lower the ON time to 30 minutes and add a Battery drain prevention system if needed.

 

[kuoh]

No need to go inside the camera for that, unless you really wanted to as a project. A simple phone/pager vibe motor attached to the case should be more than enough to trigger the G sensor. I've toyed with the idea of adding a proximity (microwave) sensor to trigger when someone gets next to the car, since video motion detection triggers on everything, including rain drops running down the windshield. That way, I can use the G sensor log to fast forward to interesting events, rather than watching birds and clouds moving in front of the camera.

KuoH

In order for me to trigger the "read only for current recording" i would have to tinker (and trigger) the internal gshock sensor and that would add another wire to the camera. I already think that the usb one is too much (went for a stealth look).

 

[abarth]

I had a very similar idea brewing in my head a year or two ago. I read up a bit more and as cool as this project is, my priorities lie elsewhere. I'd rather sift through a whole bunch of false positives that recorded the actual impact than wait for a "bump" to wake up a camera that didn't record the crash anyway.

I still want one of those tilt sensors for a future project, though.

 

[Raz]

No need to go inside the camera for that, unless you really wanted to as a project. A simple phone/pager vibe motor attached to the case should be more than enough to trigger the G sensor. I've toyed with the idea of adding a proximity (microwave) sensor to trigger when someone gets next to the car, since video motion detection triggers on everything, including rain drops running down the windshield. That way, I can use the G sensor log to fast forward to interesting events, rather than watching birds and clouds moving in front of the camera.

KuoH

Well, as always, I over complicated myself with timers and triggers and boxes and wires. THIS, is a great idea. My bigges problem though is with the constant ON for the cameras and the power consumption because of that. I'm assuming that they eat somewhere between 350-500mAh/hour each. That's roughly 1A/h and in 63 hours i have to get a new car battery (if i don't drive the car that is).

If the battery voltage drops below 12 (and i have a battery drain prevention system) anything is useless at that point. I got stuck in Colorado's winter more than once (and ever since then i wear full winter -40 gear in my car as backup) and I'd rather have the car start then record something.

I like the idea of marking the video read only with the small vibration motor though. I think i'll come up with something regarding that ...

You my friend, have just planted a seed ...

 

[abarth]

kuoh, I'm liking the PIR sensor/trigger idea, too. but...will it detect cars passing by?

 

[Gibson99]

One minor flaw with the trigger you're using... If it's sensitive enough to trigger for a parking lot shunt, it will also trigger for you simply getting into your own car. Which hopefully happens way more often than your car gets hit

 

[Gibson99]

kuoh, I'm liking the PIR sensor/trigger idea, too. but...will it detect cars passing by?

Not unless they pass by fast enough and close enough to rock your car in the process

 

[Raz]

One minor flaw with the trigger you're using... If it's sensitive enough to trigger for a parking lot shunt, it will also trigger for you simply getting into your own car. Which hopefully happens way more often than your car gets hit

And that is ok because at that point it would turn on anyways when I put the key in, for driving mode recording.

They system will switch from shock sensing mode to normal on (disabling the whole sensor and timer) while they key is turned and then switch back to sensor mode once I park and leave the car. It normally runs for 1 hour after i left the car full recording just like drive mode. Most of the times, it doesn't take more than 1 hour to leave the car in a parking lot but if it does, the shock sensor resets the timer (back to 1 hour) on impact/shock.
As soon as I remove the key it goes in shock sensing mode (that is before i close the door) closing the door will trigger the sensor while cameras are still on battery power (seamless recording from drive mode to park mode for the first hour if no shock is felt).

 

[kuoh]

My CF100 would be recording anyway in parking mode, the proximity sensor would just give me a way to seek the interesting footage using the G sensor graph or event files. Also, I was referring to microwave proximity sensors, which are inside the car but can sense external movement, not PIR sensors, which would be problematic to mount outside of a car not to mention coverage.

KuoH

I'd rather sift through a whole bunch of false positives that recorded the actual impact than wait for a "bump" to wake up a camera that didn't record the crash anyway.

 

[kuoh]

I would rely on the builtin shock sensor to detect any substantial impact. The proximity sensor is more for when someone is next to your car, while getting into theirs. It would mark that time in the footage by triggering an event in case they dinged your door or something else that wasn't strong enough to trigger the onboard shock sensor. I'd probably have to add side cameras for it to be really useful though.

KuoH

Not unless they pass by fast enough and close enough to rock your car in the process

 

[jaro]

I like the idea of marking the video read only with the small vibration motor though. I think i'll come up with something regarding that ...

You my friend, have just planted a seed ...

on the same boat.... bookmarked this thread for future reference.

 

[Gibson99]

And that is ok because at that point it would turn on anyways when I put the key in, for driving mode recording.

They system will switch from shock sensing mode to normal on (disabling the whole sensor and timer) while they key is turned and then switch back to sensor mode once I park and leave the car. It normally runs for 1 hour after i left the car full recording just like drive mode. Most of the times, it doesn't take more than 1 hour to leave the car in a parking lot but if it does, the shock sensor resets the timer (back to 1 hour) on impact/shock.
As soon as I remove the key it goes in shock sensing mode (that is before i close the door) closing the door will trigger the sensor while cameras are still on battery power (seamless recording from drive mode to park mode for the first hour if no shock is felt).

ok, i was still thinking in terms of having your additional sensor/trigger actually LOCK the file. which in the case of getting in/out, would result in a LOT of worthless lock files. but if all you're doing is turning it on, then there's no wasted lock files.

 

[Raz]

I ordered a "pancake" vibration mini motor that is only 3mm flat and smaller than a cent in size. I will use the same vibration sensor to trigger the motor and shake the camera just enough (impulse) to trigger the gsensor and mark the file read only. I might have to tinker with another circuit to delay the sensor for a few seconds so that i don't trigger the "read only" when i close the car door...

I'm waiting for the parts now ... will post a video update when I have everything put together.

 

[Mandami]

I haven't seen this post from the beginning, but, as @kuoh have said, you'll need a long range microwave, ultrasound (which is cheaper) or, why not, a PIR sensor. You'll still need the battery drain prevention system as described by @Gibson99.

In order for me to trigger the "read only for current recording" i would have to tinker (and trigger) the internal gshock sensor and that would add another wire to the camera. I already think that the usb one is too much (went for a stealth look).

If the power cable doesn't have 4 wire, you'll only have to change it with 4 wire USB cable. To protect the video, you'll connect these wires to the Menu button; seconds later after the camera is power on and it started recording, you'll set your system to connect and disconnect these wires together.

i can get only about 3 hours of footage on my 32gb cards.

In the end, it depends how much will want to spend; it's possible that 2 x 128 GB µSD (12h) will be cheaper.

 

[Raz]

If the power cable doesn't have 4 wire, you'll only have to change it with 4 wire USB cable. To protect the video, you'll connect these wires to the Menu button; seconds later after the camera is power on and it started recording, you'll set your system to connect and disconnect these wires together.

It has only 2 wires. I checked, it's designed only for charge.
I'll change it to 4 and use the data ones to actually trigger the vibration.
I might have to re-map the USB port's data pins inside the camera to trigger the actual button inside the camera (internal wire bypass) but that takes this whole project from accessible, to advanced electronic poking around and it would make it tougher for anyone else but me to reproduce it (assuming that not everybody is good with electronics tinkering).

The actual shock sensor triggers the power (12v) that powers the timer. I can tap into the same "switch" that powers the timer and power the vibration at the same time, jiggling the internal gshock sensor without changing any internal hardware (inside the camera).

In the end, it depends how much will want to spend; it's possible that 2 x 128 GB µSD (12h) will be cheaper.

I have 3 Mini805 that i currently use.
What's strange is that when I opened one because of a battery flaw, to my surprise, I found an internal micro SD slot, covered with a black sticker (I'm assuming is for what the seller calls "internal memory").
I haven't tried to place a card inside and use both slots at the same time to see if that works or not, but that's something I'll look into.

Regardless ... I thought Mini 805 only supports (without any issues) 32gb ...

Does anyone use the Mini805 with more than 32 ? Maybe 128 ? Because if that's the case, I'll switch to "bigger and better"

 

[kuoh]

FYI for or anyone else interested in the perimeter motion sensing idea, this is not to detect other cars driving by at a distance, but rather people or moving objects in the immediate vicinity of a couple of feet that might ding or scratch the car. The difference between microwave (RF) and ultrasonic or PIR is that RF is omni directional and the sensor can be inside the car and detect movement in 360 degrees outside of the car. With ultrasonics and PIR, both are directional and have to be mounted outside of the car in multiple directions to get full coverage.

KuoH

...you'll need a long range microwave, ultrasound (which is cheaper) or, why not, a PIR sensor.

 

[petepete]

I have 3 Mini805 that i currently use.
What's strange is that when I opened one because of a battery flaw, to my surprise, I found an internal micro SD slot, covered with a black sticker (I'm assuming is for what the seller calls "internal memory").
I haven't tried to place a card inside and use both slots at the same time to see if that works or not, but that's something I'll look into.

just be careful with the 0805 internal memory...

if you don't have an sd card in and you power the camera or hit record it records to this internal memory..

I have a load of 0805 s I m testing and there is some really strange, really hilarious footage people havnt a clue was recorded and stored there ....

( I m not sure how to delete it )

..........................................................

back to this device you are building..

there are single and duel zone perimeter microwave sensors sold on ebay that can be fitted in the car behind things as the waves pass through and they are as perfect a tested trigger you will find ..

I have that system on my convertible alarm an it only utilises a single sensor for the entire car fitted as standard..

 

[Mandami]

this is not to detect other cars driving by at a distance, but rather people or moving objects in the immediate vicinity of a couple of feet

Yes, that's true; you'll need to be in the near area of the device, but maybe it can be modified to improve it ?

@Raz can you describe clearly for how long the dashcam will record once the trigger is activated, how many segments, and what files do you want to protect ?