Use in a second vehicle....

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SWoMP

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I have an A129 Pro Duo working in one of my cars and I'm thinking I would like to also use it in another car (I only ever drive one at a time ;-)).

To do this I'm assuming that I will need in car B for Front camera use:
- Fuse Taps
- HK3 Kit
- GPS Mount
- Bluetooth Remote Control Button (Please see question below!)
and for a rear camera
- Rear Camera unit
- Rear Camera cable
- Rear Camera polarising filter

I'd welcome any comments on whether I've missed anything (and I do know that mounting and dismounting the main camera unit needs to be done with care).

My question is, if car A has a Bluetooth R/C Button and I put a second button in Car B, after pairing will they both just work or will I need to pair everytime I swap the main camera unit between cars?

Many thanks
 
SWoMP said:
My question is, if car A has a Bluetooth R/C Button and I put a second button in Car B, after pairing will they both just work or will I need to pair everytime I swap the main camera unit between cars?
Click to expand...
Not seen that question asked before!
Might need @VIOFO-Support to answer it...

It doesn't take long to re-pair anyway, not really an issue.


You only need the rear camera if you want rear recording in both cars, the main camera is fine to run without a rear camera. Make sure you get the right rear camera, not an A129 Plus rear camera.

You quite likely don't need a rear CPL in both cars, they can help but very often don't, depending on the design of the car. Essentially they work for rear windows of around 45 degree slope, and not for near vertical rear windows, also depends on what there is to reflect in the window.
SWoMP said:
and I do know that mounting and dismounting the main camera unit needs to be done with care
Click to expand...
The camera is actually fairly robust, nothing to worry about, except maybe the rear camera cable connector if it is swapped very many times.

The main issue will be avoiding getting finger prints on the lens, it is not particularly well protected from fingers.
 
SWoMP said:
My question is, if car A has a Bluetooth R/C Button and I put a second button in Car B, after pairing will they both just work or will I need to pair everytime I swap the main camera unit between cars?
Click to expand...
Each Bluetooth R/C Button could pair with only one camera at the same time, but it can pair with different cameras.
If you want to swap the main camera unit between cars, then need to reset both cameras to the default setting and pair them again.
 
I think you misunderstand...
I have one camera. I am planning for two cars to each have one Bluetooth R/C Button. Can two separate buttons be paired with one camera?
 
Sorry for misunderstanding, as the camera will remember previous remote signal, so you also need to reset camera and pair it with the new Bluetooth R/C Button.
 
Might be better to stick the button to a magnet and stick another magnet to the dash of each car, then you can swop the button between cars very easily. It would only need the very thin neodymium magnets of around 15mm diameter
 
Thanks Nigel and Support. Well its one less thing to buy! Hadn't thought of magnets but had thought of prising existing one off and using velcro patches.... I assume the magnet solution wouldn't cause Bluetooth any problems? Or might it interfere with other parts of the car dash electronics (e.g. GPS)?
 
The magnet will block the Bluetooth signal in one direction, but I very much doubt that is going to be a problem, it is hard to stop Bluetooth, only reduce its range. No issues with GPS or anything else.

Magnets would be a rather nicer solution to use than velcro, I think you would be quite likely to pull the velcro off the button rather than off its partner velcro. Also can be difficult to stick velcro to the dash when the amount of velcro is quite small. The magnets, stuck with a 3M pad should stick well enough to pull the magnets apart rather than pull the sticky off, as long as you go for relatively weak magnets rather than the strongest you can get. If you buy a batch of 10x thin magnets then you can add an extra one or two to increase the hold strength until it works nicely, no need for extra sticky, they stick to themselves quite well! May also be possible to put the dash magnet behind the dash surface, so the button just sticks to the dash itself, but you will want a fairly strong magnet for the dash in that case.
 
Another question had cropped up... Can anyone recommend an on/off switch to be mounted in the red supply to the HK3 (probably between the fuse tap and the HK3 control unit)? TIA
 
Many vehicles have spare slots for extra switches, in which case you can get the correct switch for the slot so that it perfectly matches your car.

If you search on ebay then you may find one with a good symbol, or a blank one that you can stick a dash camera symbol onto, some interesting ones available for Land Rovers:
s-l1600.jpg
 
SWoMP said:
Another question had cropped up... Can anyone recommend an on/off switch to be mounted in the red supply to the HK3 (probably between the fuse tap and the HK3 control unit)? TIA
Click to expand...

How will this switch be used.
Are you trying to avoid parasitic draw?
 
No. Just want to turn the unit off on some journeys without removing it.
 
you can just long press the power button on the camera, that till turn it off even if it still get power in some way, and it will come back on automatic / as it should for the next drive without having to remember to throw a switch.
 
Doesnt work for me. I've tried it...
1) Switching off is fiddly with the unit power button especially if its behind the mirror on passenger side.
2) I want to control when it switches back on. One click without worrying about engine restarts, parking mode, etc.
Hence I want an on/off switch to hand.
Thnx anyway.
 
Still thinking about the power (red HK3 cable) on/off switch... Would using this mean the camera unit cannot close down the current recording cleanly?
 
SWoMP said:
Still thinking about the power (red HK3 cable) on/off switch... Would using this mean the camera unit cannot close down the current recording cleanly?
Click to expand...
No, it will shut down fine.

The only issue is that it will not turn back on again unless you remember to turn it back on again. If you turn it off using the power button then you do not need to remember, it will turn on again anyway for the next drive. For most people this is the most important factor, so I don't recommend using a switch, but it is up to you.
 
Thanks Nigel. Help much appreciated!
 
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