DC should be no problem in the heat. There have been several incremental improvements in this area over the years between the latest models and productions.
DC should be no problem in the heat. There have been several incremental improvements in this area over the years between the latest models and productions.
Would a cloth type of sunscreen be a better option to keep some of the sun out?Just make sure you don’t put up any reflective heat shields when you park. That would create an amplified oven around the Dashcam.
Would a cloth type of sunscreen be a better option to keep some of the sun out?
I guess if I can place the dash cam as far up on the windshield it should help keep it from being trapped in that confined space of heat. It may vent better being high enough and out from between the windshield and the sun screen. The one I have is a cheap Amazon type of foldable sun screen. Not a reflective type, but more of a nylon type with two sides. A silver non-reflective side and a black side.Depends where you place the cloth. Anything that traps the heat of the sun into a small compartment just inches around the mirror and dashcam is going to be bad for any electronics. (heat won't be able to dissipate evenly)
Great review and I can agree on most points. I'll post my thoughts on the a129 when it gets here in about a week.I just got my sg9663dc with the HW kit. This is my first dashcam so I do not have a good point of reference especially with the "better" more expensive dashcams out there. I just hardwired it a couple of a days ago after doing some good readings and watching some vids. Here are few observations about the device:
Pros:
-Relatively solid feel.
-Video quality seems good.
-Packaging includes a lot of goodies including a cable mesh wrap thing (loved that one).
-Very quick and prompt customer service. Probably the fastest I have encountered. Good job SG.
-Setup seems intuitive and straight forward. Make sure you read the online manual.
-One of the best manuals for an electronic device out there.
-I went through few pages in here about SG's firmware development ...it looks like SG's development guys end up delivering ....
-It works
Minor Annoyances:
-Not as slick and "cute" as a Thinkware or other dashcams, but not extremely ugly.
-I didn't realize the GPS module is separate (it is included with the kit) but it requires an additional cable installation. I think that's just stupid and the GPS should be attached to the dashcam mounting bracket like the Viofo A129.
-Few other dahscam manufacturers have some additional bells and whistles in their models...(but sometimes having a solid device means having a simple device that just works well-so this can be a good thing not an annoyance!).
Cons:
-Some other cameras have a wider angle.
-I have a slight shadow by the top left corner.
-Wifi not yet officially supported, but the NovaCam app suggested works fine.
-No Bluetooth.
-Park mode is semi useless. Impact G-sensor isn't enabled yet on park mode. If you set up your SG on a 5 fps mode and your car gets dinged...you are still unlikely to know when and what happened.
-No live camera on Park-Mode (not sure they will enable this).
Major annoyance (My biggest beef ):
-The 2 included mounts are extremely hard to mount the SG on. I had to lube the contact plastic parts hoping for it to slide better but it is still extremely hard to get in and out. This was infuriating ... I am afraid to to take off the dashcam from the mount, as I would think I'd rip the mount off the windshield. That's just ****ty engineering work, ****ty design and/or ****ty manufacturing...
Final thoughts.
Good product and everything is working well. I will have to see how the product works in the long run and especially with extreme temperatures. I am still not sure which is better the SG9663dc or the Viofo A129 which has a couple of better specs on paper...Incidentally, both products look suspiciously very very similar !!!
Great review and I can agree on most points. I'll post my thoughts on the a129 when it gets here in about a week.
From my understanding, SG shared their housing design for the rear camera only and used a similar design to SG for the front camera. SG was first to the scene with their design with the 9663 which took over 18 months to release, which is appreciated because they launched a solid camera with great support. Then came viofo's a118 then a119 series of cameras.looking forward to it..btw, any info on why the SG and Viofo look very similar (other brands look similar too)? Who got in first ... similar mother company maybe?
the mounts will only be tight the first couple of times you use them, they have to be mounted to the window get the camera on and off effectively, if you try and do it when not mounted it's quite difficult, don't add the EVA tape to the back of the camera until the mounts have bedded in or it will be extra tight
G-Sensor is enabled in parking mode, we haven't adjusted the sensitivity of that yet, other parking related stuff is still to be done and will be in a later firmware release
we specifically use external GPS to avoid some of the issues that occur with internal type or mount type GPS solutions, reception issues, interference issues, relying on pins to transfer signal etc, it was a choice of function over form
On the mount issue... I understand the need for a solid, vibration free design, but I still think it is a clumsy system. I mounted the camera on and off maybe 50 times prior to putting it on the windshield ... still stiff AF.
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as I said it's always difficult when the mount is not on the window
You're not wrong - that's also my preferred method of mounting, others as well.Go with 3M Dual Lock on the mount instead and you wont have that lifting issue. Not that it was an issue for me.
The mount can now stay on the cam when you want to remove it from the windshield.
That’s just my opinion and I may be wrong here....