To use a suction mount or not with the A129

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kevindd992002

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Dash Cam
A129 Duo
What do you guys think of using the Arkon Windshield Suction Mount for the A129 compared to permanently sticking it to a tinted windshield using the included 3M VHB tapes? This mount is known to be very sturdy but I want to know if there are others who experienced vibrations with this mount when the car is on a rough road or tackling bumps. What are some pros and cons when using this specific suction mount?

Please help. Thanks in advance.
 
kevindd992002 said:
What do you guys think of using the Arkon Windshield Suction Mount for the A129 compared to permanently sticking it to a tinted windshield using the included 3M VHB tapes? This mount is known to be very sturdy but I want to know if there are others who experienced vibrations with this mount when the car is on a rough road or tackling bumps. What are some pros and cons when using this specific suction mount?

Please help. Thanks in advance.
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Ok so my suggestion is ignore BCHOBBYIST and use a suction cup. The longer the adhesive remains on the window, the harder it is to remove. If you ever intend to upgrade the camera, and that upgrade requires a different mount, you're screwed. Because you have a higher chance of damaging the tint. If this is of no worry, then use the 3M adhesive.

@BCHobbyist is right. The 3m is king. However, the suction cup adheres on there very firmly. If your car is hit, the impact will be captured. Even if the suction were to come loose. The impact would have to happen first.

Second, the grid lines are "OK" if you mount in between the lines carefully. But again, if there's tint back there, you run into the same problem above.

Benefits of Suction: No Risk to Tint. Arkon suctions are very durable. And I have viewed my videos. Zero Vibration.

Cons of Suction: You'll see grid lines out rear window. And yes, it probably isn't GLUED nearly as tight as the 3M...But see above.
 
kevindd992002 said:
What do you guys think of using the Arkon Windshield Suction Mount for the A129 compared to permanently sticking it to a tinted windshield using the included 3M VHB tapes? This mount is known to be very sturdy but I want to know if there are others who experienced vibrations with this mount when the car is on a rough road or tackling bumps. What are some pros and cons when using this specific suction mount?

Please help. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
I know a few Street Guardian wedge camera owners use that mount and seem happy with it. @jokiin
 
I've used suction mounts for sat navs and they have always fell off randomly and the device has vibrated lots (heavier than a dashcam tho) I used 3m tape on my last dashcam and it never fell off and was a bitch to get off (just have to be slow and patient taking it off) to replace it with my new 1 which again is 3m tape but I'm happy with that as it is less in your face than a suction cup would be
 
DMW said:
I've used suction mounts for sat navs and they have always fell off randomly and the device has vibrated lots (heavier than a dashcam tho) I used 3m tape on my last dashcam and it never fell off and was a bitch to get off (just have to be slow and patient taking it off) to replace it with my new 1 which again is 3m tape but I'm happy with that as it is less in your face than a suction cup would be
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Did you use the Arkon suction cup? One will have issues with cheaper brands, of course.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
 
HonestReview said:
The longer the adhesive remains on the window, the harder it is to remove. If you ever intend to upgrade the camera, and that upgrade requires a different mount, you're screwed. Because you have a higher chance of damaging the tint.
Click to expand...
Is there any real evidence for the 3M tape damaging the tint?

Might depend on the tint, but I thought most are pretty robust unless you try to cut the 3M off with sharp metal knives.

3M does strengthen its grip over the first few days, but it can be removed at any age, removing it by sawing with thread will not damage the tint at all, although it does damage the 3M, so then it is just a matter of using a solvent that will soften the glue without damaging the tint, which should be easy enough, and even if the tint doesn't end up perfect, it doesn't matter if you are sticking another camera there, and if you are not, find something else to stick there.

Even if you can't see vibration from your rubber suction cup, there will be some and it will cause motion blurring at times in lower light conditions. It may not completely destroy the image, but if you are installing BChobbyist's high bitrate firmware mods to obtain ultimate image quality then the suction cup makes no sense.

I would be happy to use the linked suction cup, but only if I wanted to regularly swap the camera to new cars. If I just had 2 cars to swap between then I would get an extra standard mount for the second car, and I would probably get a second standard mount anyway so that I could use a standard mount in my main car and the suction cup on the others.
 
Nigel said:
Is there any real evidence for the 3M tape damaging the tint?

Might depend on the tint, but I thought most are pretty robust unless you try to cut the 3M off with sharp metal knives.

3M does strengthen its grip over the first few days, but it can be removed at any age, removing it by sawing with thread will not damage the tint at all, although it does damage the 3M, so then it is just a matter of using a solvent that will soften the glue without damaging the tint, which should be easy enough, and even if the tint doesn't end up perfect, it doesn't matter if you are sticking another camera there, and if you are not, find something else to stick there.

Even if you can't see vibration from your rubber suction cup, there will be some and it will cause motion blurring at times in lower light conditions. It may not completely destroy the image, but if you are installing BChobbyist's high bitrate firmware mods to obtain ultimate image quality then the suction cup makes no sense.

I would be happy to use the linked suction cup, but only if I wanted to regularly swap the camera to new cars. If I just had 2 cars to swap between then I would get an extra standard mount for the second car, and I would probably get a second standard mount anyway so that I could use a standard mount in my main car and the suction cup on the others.
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Ok, that makes sense. I just had both my cameras removed with a dental floss yesterday and my tint was fine. So I guess I need to just deal with using the 3m tape and remove it with dental floss again if need be.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
 
kevindd992002 said:
Ok, that makes sense. I just had both my cameras removed with a dental floss yesterday and my tint was fine. So I guess I need to just deal with using the 3m tape and remove it with dental floss again if need be.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
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That is what most people do, and I don't recall a thread showing tint damage...
 
HonestReview said:
Several threads where others express similar concerns and raise the question about the type of tint placed upon the window.... But it's OP's car, not mine. I can live with a bit of image degradation if it avoids costing me several hundred dollars on a prospective re-tint.

https://www.google.com/search?clien.....0i71j0j0i67j0i22i30j33i22i29i30.OdLQE2W2XYk
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A bit of a contradiction where you were lambasting the op about his modded firmware and trying to figure out which firmware was the complete best but now your not that bothered about a bit of degradation
 
DMW said:
A bit of a contradiction where you were lambasting the op about his modded firmware and trying to figure out which firmware was the complete best but now your not that bothered about a bit of degradation
Click to expand...

Yes and no.

1. Degradation I'm willing to suffer comes with the prospective of a financial cost. I.E. If the adhesive ruins the tint, I'm out real money on replacing it. So a bit of quality loss is to be expected since I cannot mount direct to window.

2. @BCHobbyist is doing a good job, but what wasn't originally mentioned, is these mods are not necessarily tint friendly. This might be compounded by my use of a suction cup where the camera isn't directly mounted on the window.

However, BCHOBBYIST does now state that his mods are probably not recommended for those of us with tinted windows.
 
HonestReview said:
Several threads where others express similar concerns and raise the question about the type of tint placed upon the window.... But it's OP's car, not mine. I can live with a bit of image degradation if it avoids costing me several hundred dollars on a prospective re-tint.

https://www.google.com/search?clien.....0i71j0j0i67j0i22i30j33i22i29i30.OdLQE2W2XYk
Click to expand...
People having concerns is not evidence of a problem!

Perfectly reasonable for people to ask, but unless there is real evidence of a problem then the answer should be - "don't worry, nobody has ever reported a problem" :)
 
kevindd992002 said:
Ok, that makes sense. I just had both my cameras removed with a dental floss yesterday and my tint was fine. So I guess I need to just deal with using the 3m tape and remove it with dental floss again if need be.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I have a very simple suggestion. Call your tint installer (if you had professionally installed) and ask if the 3M tape will affect the tint once the 3m adhesive cures. If he says NO, then go ahead slap it on the windshield. Not all tinting is made of the same material. So your tint installer should know if the material you used will or will not be affected by adhesive.

I.E. Ceramic, Carbon, etc.
 
HonestReview said:
I have a very simple suggestion. Call your tint installer (if you had professionally installed) and ask if the 3M tape will affect the tint once the 3m adhesive cures. If he says NO, then go ahead slap it on the windshield. Not all tinting is made of the same material. So your tint installer should know if the material you used will or will not be affected by adhesive.

I.E. Ceramic, Carbon, etc.
Click to expand...
If you remember, I already told you last Saturday that we (me and my tint installer) was able to remove the 3M VHB sticker from the windshield. They don't have an "official" answer regarding if it will affect the tint or not. We simply hoped for the best while trying to remove it with dental floss. It was successful at the end, with some minor scratches on the plastic mounts of the camera because of the floss.

Like I said though, the tape was in there for just 1 week so it's relatively fresh and we figured that it would be easier to remove. I can't comment on older tapes.

Since I have some extra 3M VHB tapes here, I'll try them out first and if I need to go with suction cups in the future then I'll consider the Arkon mounts.

One question though: is there an instance that you would need to point the camera lens upwards relative to the ground (at a positive angle from the horizon) or should I mount it so that I have room to adjust the lens from parallel to the horizon up to a certain point downwards relative to the ground (negative angle from the horizon)?

The reason I'm asking is because I'm trying to hide the while body of the front camera in the frit and make sure that only the lens is shown from the outside.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
 
kevindd992002 said:
One question though: is there an instance that you would need to point the camera lens upwards relative to the ground (at a positive angle from the horizon) or should I mount it so that I have room to adjust the lens from parallel to the horizon up to a certain point downwards relative to the ground (negative angle from the horizon)?

The reason I'm asking is because I'm trying to hide the while body of the front camera in the frit and make sure that only the lens is shown from the outside.
Click to expand...
Nearly everyone keeps their camera either horizontal, with the horizon 50% of the way down the image, or pointing a little down at 60-40%. Pointing it up normally gives exposure issues.
 
Nigel said:
Nearly everyone keeps their camera either horizontal, with the horizon 50% of the way down the image, or pointing a little down at 60-40%. Pointing it up normally gives exposure issues.
Click to expand...

Ok, that answers my question then. Thanks again, as usual!
 
kevindd992002 said:
If you remember, I already told you last Saturday that we (me and my tint installer) was able to remove the 3M VHB sticker from the windshield. They don't have an "official" answer regarding if it will affect the tint or not. We simply hoped for the best while trying to remove it with dental floss. It was successful at the end, with some minor scratches on the plastic mounts of the camera because of the floss.

Like I said though, the tape was in there for just 1 week so it's relatively fresh and we figured that it would be easier to remove. I can't comment on older tapes.

Since I have some extra 3M VHB tapes here, I'll try them out first and if I need to go with suction cups in the future then I'll consider the Arkon mounts.

One question though: is there an instance that you would need to point the camera lens upwards relative to the ground (at a positive angle from the horizon) or should I mount it so that I have room to adjust the lens from parallel to the horizon up to a certain point downwards relative to the ground (negative angle from the horizon)?

The reason I'm asking is because I'm trying to hide the while body of the front camera in the frit and make sure that only the lens is shown from the outside.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I remember you removed 3M adhesive with Dental Floss. I meant before using the 3M adhesive again, because it sounds like you feel it's safe, to ask tint installer. But if he has no answer, then I guess decision is up to you.

Since there are so many different "materials" to use for tinting, I can't give you a 100% answer. I just know that it cost several hundred dollars to tint a window. So to damage it would not be fun.

The front and rear lens can pivot so you can point in a direction that works best and creates less a glare. I have found that CPL filter is a no no on tint, unless you want a Halo Rainbow in the picture. So without CPL, I don't notice any rear glare in the daytime. So pointing camera is more of an optional thing. I point mine straight ahead, with a more bias towards capturing some of the hood. Since I want license plates and the traffic.

Not too interest in what happens in the sky.

Far as Nigel's recommendations, he may be right or wrong. There's really no verdict on if it will damage tint because the variety in materials. But logic dictates that if something very sticky cures, it becomes harder to remove.
 
HonestReview said:
I remember you removed 3M adhesive with Dental Floss. I meant before using the 3M adhesive again, because it sounds like you feel it's safe, to ask tint installer. But if he has no answer, then I guess decision is up to you.

Since there are so many different "materials" to use for tinting, I can't give you a 100% answer. I just know that it cost several hundred dollars to tint a window. So to damage it would not be fun.

The front and rear lens can pivot so you can point in a direction that works best and creates less a glare. I have found that CPL filter is a no no on tint, unless you want a Halo Rainbow in the picture. So without CPL, I don't notice any rear glare in the daytime. So pointing camera is more of an optional thing. I point mine straight ahead, with a more bias towards capturing some of the hood. Since I want license plates and the traffic.

Not too interest in what happens in the sky.

Far as Nigel's recommendations, he may be right or wrong. There's really no verdict on if it will damage tint because the variety in materials. But logic dictates that if something very sticky cures, it becomes harder to remove.
Click to expand...
Yes, I already sticked my camerS back in the glasses of my car. So I'm beyond the point of asking if it's safe or not.

My question earlier though was if there's a chance that some people point it at a positive angle (horizon being 0 degrees) meaning pointing towards the sky. And I'm actually expecting a no for an answer, just like what Nigel explained.

I do know it's mainly preference when adjusting the lens positions but I'm just curious if anyone had their lenses pointing upwards.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
 
kevindd992002 said:
Yes, I already sticked my camerS back in the glasses of my car. So I'm beyond the point of asking if it's safe or not.

My question earlier though was if there's a chance that some people point it at a positive angle (horizon being 0 degrees) meaning pointing towards the sky. And I'm actually expecting a no for an answer, just like what Nigel explained.

I do know it's mainly preference when adjusting the lens positions but I'm just curious if anyone had their lenses pointing upwards.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I point slightly downward and not straight ahead. Because you want to be able to capture license plates. Pointing straight ahead means the sun light might overwhelm the lens at times. Pointing a bit downward allows camera to focus more on road.

Or at least that's what I've read here.
 
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