some tests and thoughts on mini 0803 freezing issue at startup.

[leoism]

I have read many threads regarding the freezing issue, and my 0803 is annoying me because it randomly freezes with unstoppable beeping. Fellows have ruled out many possibilities like firmware, cards, settings, plug position(mount/camera), and I can rule out overheating because Canadian winter did not help.

Recently I took it home and plugged it to the USB cable of a Samsung charger that is plugged into a power bar with switch, so I randomly switch it on and off when I pass by to simulate the normal usage in car. For a few days of test, it worked like a charm, no issue happened.

So this is my guessing. I assume Samsung charger provides very stable voltage which is constantly 5v as stated, but a car adapter/charger that we buy from ebay may not do as well in terms of output voltage. The reason could be build quality, engineering accuracy, and what's more likely IMO, the normal input specs of 12v-24v is not wide enough. The power supply in a car can sometimes, especially right after cranking (the exact time when the freezing happens), drop suddenly below 12v for a very short and unnoticeable time which however could be enough for starting up the camera if the adapter cannot provide 5V power because of lower input.

Can anyone confirm or exclude this possibility if you have an adapter/charger that can handle inputs lower than 12v? like 8v-16v range? thanks.

 

[jokiin]

the adapter will work from 9v through to about 30v, won't be voltage related as such but perhaps a sign of poor quality adapters you've been using

 

[leoism]

it may or may not be the voltage itself, but the complexity of the power supply change after cranking could still be the issue, many of the chargers/adapters out there seem affected, not many of the dashcams are sensitive to this though. a friend of mine who has zero issue with his dashcam advised me bypass the automatic startup as engine is on by one of the following ways.
1. wire the camera to battery not ACC. yes, a few cons.
2. if you use the cigarette charger, pull it out when the engine is off and plug it in after the car is on. yes, we are lazy to do this.
3. the ultimate option: get a more intelligent adapter that has delaying function, so when a few seconds after the engine is on and power supply is stable, it starts the camera.

I will try one of these and report back. cheers.

 

[Flow]

So leoism any luck with that?