Two möbius cameras to one lighter plug?

The dual port USB socket adapter makes the most sense, but you can also use a 12 volt Y adapter to convert one socket to to sockets. I use that when I need my GPS and camera running at the same time.

Bob Diaz
 
I'm a fan of the dual port USB cigarette lighter adapter because it allows me to plug my cameras into an external USB battery supply for optional parking mode. The least expensive and best quality shielded 5 pin USB-A male to mini-B male cables I've found come from Monoprice. They sell them in many lengths with or without a ferrite core or gold plated connectors. Two examples are this 15 footer (I use this for my rear cam) and this heavier AWG ten footer.

Monoprice sells in the UK via their Amazon presence.
 
Dashmellow said:
I'm a fan of the dual port USB cigarette lighter adapter because it allows me to plug my cameras into an external USB battery supply for optional parking mode. The least expensive and best quality shielded 5 pin USB-A male to mini-B male cables I've found come from Monoprice. They sell them in many lengths with or without a ferrite core or gold plated connectors. Two examples are this 15 footer (I use this for my rear cam) and this heavier AWG ten footer.

Monoprice sells in the UK via their Amazon presence.
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when you plug it into a battery is it just normal recording? or do you switch it to a parking mode? i have the innovv c2 which requires you to manually change modes which i find annoying as much as a love the camera. i want something as convenient as my blackvue with power magic pro where when i shut my ignition off it automatically switches to parking mode after a few minutes because it knows my car is off.
 
pizzaengineer said:
when you plug it into a battery is it just normal recording?
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I use my Anker Astro E4 to power my Mobius in loop-recording mode when parked. I get around 4 hours 30 minutes at standard data rate setting (32GB card).
 
pizzaengineer said:
when you plug it into a battery is it just normal recording? or do you switch it to a parking mode?
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At the moment I'm using a customized GT300W up front and a Mobius with super-capacitor in the rear (B lens), Neither has parking mode - both are recording 5 minute loops. Like @russ31 I just record as normal, only using the battery for power rather than the vehicle. In fact, with both cameras, if I unplug them from the dual USB cigarette lighter adapter quickly after turning off my ignition and plug them into the battery, both cameras continue to operate without skipping a beat or shutting down.

Edit: I'm not a fan of motion detection.
 
BobDiaz said:
The dual port USB socket adapter makes the most sense, but you can also use a 12 volt Y adapter to convert one socket to to sockets.
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Is there any electrical advantage or disadvantage with using a 12 volt Y adapter versus a dual port USB adapter? For example, are there any differences in overall power consumption, efficiency, or safety?
 
Bob.Blockerlundt said:
Is there any electrical advantage or disadvantage with using a 12 volt Y adapter versus a dual port USB adapter? For example, are there any differences in overall power consumption, efficiency, or safety?
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My vehicle has two 12v cigarette lighter sockets in the dash. For the last two weeks I've been experimenting with running four cameras in my vehicle - front - rear - left -right. (two Mobius - GT300W - G1WH). Two cameras are running off a dual port USB adapter (1 Amp/2.1Amp) - (front - back) while the other two are connected via two ports of a 12 volt 3 port "W" adapter using their originally supplied 12v-5v power adapters. Everything works perfectly with no problems. As the cigarette lighter 12v ports are on a 15 Amp circuit there seems to be plenty of juice to run everything and I believe that is all one needs to be concerned with but I honestly don't know if there are any advantages or disadvantages to either connection scheme - dual USB or two 12v adapters. So far it seems like six of one, half dozen of the other.
 
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Some folks were getting radio interference issues with the supplied chargers with some of the cheaper cameras which chargers like the Scosche don't seem to have? It does seem to vary a bit across manufacturers though.

That might be one advantage to going down the Scosche or similar USB route?
 
Bob.Blockerlundt said:
Is there any electrical advantage or disadvantage with using a 12 volt Y adapter versus a dual port USB adapter? For example, are there any differences in overall power consumption, efficiency, or safety?
Click to expand...

I've never tested the difference, but I'll guess that the dual port USB adapter might be a bit better, because you have less dangling cords. I use a Y adapter when I have to run my GPS & Mobius at the same time. My Mobius is powered by a dual port adapter and right now I'm only using one port. I plan on upgrading to a dual camera system later on.
 
reverend said:
Some folks were getting radio interference issues with the supplied chargers with some of the cheaper cameras which chargers like the Scosche don't seem to have? It does seem to vary a bit across manufacturers though.

That might be one advantage to going down the Scosche or similar USB route?
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I've posted this question on another thread.
I was given to understand those cheaper cig lighter adapters don't really drop the voltage as much as they simply switch on and off & the resultant output is 5v whereas a dearer unit transforms by inducting across windings?

If the hard wire kits are much better and drop the voltage without causing so much interference then I'd seriously consider investing in a few to provide various 5v ports around my car (and more especially, my bus at work).
I'm actually amazed at the amount of 5v stuff out there needing to be plugged into cars (and have been for a few years now) yet manufacturers still aren't giving us any 5v ports! (or not many are doing it)
 
sludgeguts said:
I'm actually amazed at the amount of 5v stuff out there needing to be plugged into cars (and have been for a few years now) yet manufacturers still aren't giving us any 5v ports! (or not many are doing it)
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For the last two months my several year old Toyota Tacoma pick-up truck was in service for a major factory recall. In the interim I was provided with three different 2014/2015 model vehicles to drive, A 2014 GMC Yukon full sized SUV, a 2014 Nissan Frontier pick-up truck and a 2015 Mazda CX-5 cross-over SUV. All three vehicle had USB ports designed for connecting iPods and iPads to the on board sound systems as well as device charging. The Yukon had three of them including in the back seats! The Mazda had one inside the center console box and a slot for a cable to run out through even when the lid was closed which was great for operating a dash cam. It had another in the dash. The Yukon had power to just about everything when the ignition was off including the 12v sockets and the USB ports, so parking mode with all my dash cams was always available and the vehicle has a BIG honking battery and electrical system. When I went to pick up my Toyota two weeks ago I looked at the new vehicles they had in the showroom and all of them have USB ports for data and charging. So it seems the newer cars 2014/2015 going forward will all have USB ports.
 
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Dashmellow said:
For the last two months my several year old Toyota Tacoma pick-up truck was in service for a major factory recall. In the interim I was provided with three different 2014/2015 model vehicles to drive, A 2014 GMC Yukon full sized SUV, a 2014 Nissan Frontier pick-up truck and a 2015 Mazda CX-5 cross-over SUV. All three vehicle had USB ports designed for connecting iPods and iPads to the on board sound systems as well as device charging. The Yukon had three of them including in the back seats! The Mazda had one inside the center console box and a slot for a cable to run out through even when the lid was closed which was great for operating a dash cam. It had another in the dash. The Yukon had power to just about everything when the ignition was off including the 12v sockets and the USB ports, so parking mode with all my dash cams was always available and the vehicle has a BIG honking battery and electrical system. When I went to pick up my Toyota two weeks ago I looked at the new vehicles they had in the showroom and all of them have USB ports for data and charging. So it seems the newer cars 2014/2015 going forward will all have USB ports.
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Sadly, the UK will always be light years behind the USA.
Back in the early 80s, I worked with a bloke who went out there to visit his sister. He was there for 4 weeks so decided to hire a car, only a basic model Ford but it had power windows, power steering and air con. The same (nearest equivalent) over here wasn't even supplied with a radio as standard!
It's only in the last couple of decades that basic family cars have seen these luxury touches as standard.
 
sludgeguts said:
Sadly, the UK will always be light years behind the USA.
Back in the early 80s, I worked with a bloke who went out there to visit his sister. He was there for 4 weeks so decided to hire a car, only a basic model Ford but it had power windows, power steering and air con. The same (nearest equivalent) over here wasn't even supplied with a radio as standard!
It's only in the last couple of decades that basic family cars have seen these luxury touches as standard.
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Years ago, like back in the 80's as with the fellow you worked with it was the same here in the States but things seem to have changed. It had been quite awhile since I've needed to drive a rental and I was completely surprised by my experience here. It used to be that a rental place would just have the most basic model Fords or Chevys or Chryslers but the rental company I dealt with this time had a huge variety of vehicle brands including many imports and they offered me whatever I wanted to drive. Unlike years ago all the cars they had were completely loaded with extra features like GPS, satellite radio, power everything, air conditioning, premium sound systems, voice activation, heated seats, collision avoidance systems, etc, etc, etc. The GMC Yukon SLT they gave me to drive was a top of the line $65,000 luxury vehicle that included a premium Bose voice activated sound system and so many electronic bells and whistles it took me three days to learn how to use them. It was funny actually as at one point I had to pull over and have a look at the owners manual because I couldn't figure out how to turn on the wipers.

Edit: It was explained to me that unlike years ago they take these cars out of service when the mileage is still very low and resell them. That is in part why the vehicles have so many extra features and also why they kept switching vehicles on me over the course of the two months I was provided with a rental during the recall of my Toyota.
 
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By the time they get around to adding 5v outputs for your average driver, all appliances will simply draw power by induction, so negating the need for trailling wires!
 
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