Using the G1WH as a rear camera and adding a remote button

[Sprite23]

Hello all! I just purchased a new dashcam to replace my G1WH so I decided to move my G1WH to record the rear of my car.

If you're like me, you lock files and you actually transfer them to your computer when you feel like it which could be anywhere from a few days to a few months.
Because I don't check often, I wanted a way to lock files on the G1WH but obviously since it's not in a reachable area to simply push the mode button to lock files, so I added a remote button in front of my car.

So to get this going you'll need:
Push button switch
30AWG wire or whatever size you want, I went with 30AWG because it's thin
Soldering iron
Small philips screw driver (to remove G1WH motherboard)
Glue gun (optional)
Double sided tape
Needle nose scissors(or whatever you want to use)


I'm not going to go into extreme detail on how to do this but just show the basic pictures on how I did it as a jumping off point, I encourage you to customize and make it work for your needs.

First I opened up the G1WH and soldered the two points circled in red using two separate 30AWG wires, I then used a glue gun to attach the wires to the motherboard so it won't come loose. I used needle nose scissors to cut a small hole in the plastic to run the wires out of the camera.


I ran the two wires to the front of my car and soldered it to my push button switch. Take note that the push button comes with 4 pins, I cut off 2 of the pins and just soldered two on the same side, if you solder the pins on two opposite sides it will not work. I used double sided tape to stick it to my windshield


Here is the camera mounted


Here are the push button switches I bought
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B008DGAEEA
Here is the wire I bought, it's way more than I needed
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B008AGUDEY

 

[Dashmellow]

That's a cool idea. Someone did essentially that same thing quite some time ago with a Mobius camera. -----"Mobius remote Mode button"

 

[SawMaster]

A good Mod and which anyone with soldering skills can do. Using a double-pole switch, you could also wire the second set of contacts to the front cam to 'save' both at the same time with one button push.

My approach is to just use a big enough card so that whatever I want will be on it at the end of the day before being overwritten by loop mode, or at least a big enough card so that I can retrieve it post-event before the over-write. I keep an extra card in the vehicle for this purpose or to replace one that goes bad while away from home.

Phil

 

[Dashmellow]

A good Mod and which anyone with soldering skills can do. Using a double-pole switch, you could also wire the second set of contacts to the front cam to 'save' both at the same time with one button push.

My approach is to just use a big enough card so that whatever I want will be on it at the end of the day before being overwritten by loop mode, or at least a big enough card so that I can retrieve it post-event before the over-write. I keep an extra card in the vehicle for this purpose or to replace one that goes bad while away from home.

Phil

I agree with your approach as I just save whatever I want before it gets overwritten and I carry an extra card or two in my vehicle to back-up my multiple cameras. Still, a mod like this seems very simple and appealing.

 

[Sunny]

Pretty neat.
I'm using G1WH as rear as well but I disable G-sensor and have a 32 gb card.
I think that should be good.

 

[Sprite23]

You guys are making me feel lazy, I pull my cards once a month sometimes two months at a time unless something really crazy happens.

 

[Dashmellow]

You guys are making me feel lazy, I pull my cards once a month sometimes two months at a time unless something really crazy happens.

Probably a good idea to check the card more than once every two months, especially with a low end camera like a G1W-H. Unexpected things can happen that could lead to missing coverage of a critical event.

 

[Sprite23]

Probably a good idea to check the card more than once every two months, especially with a low end camera like a G1W-H. Unexpected things can happen that could lead to missing coverage of a critical event.

That's a good point. I guess I should start making it a point to check a bit more often.

 

[DT MI]

Probably a good idea to check the card more than once every two months, especially with a low end camera like a G1W-H. Unexpected things can happen that could lead to missing coverage of a critical event.

FWIW I try to check all my cameras (4 active at the moment, 2 in my car 2 in my wife's) at least once a week just to make sure everything is functioning as it should. If I take a tablet out to the car it only takes a couple of minutes, if I pull the cards and bring them to the computer it's a bit longer.

 

[Dashmellow]

With the four cameras I have in my vehicle I check cards on a fairly regular but random basis ranging from a week to as much as a month. The Mobius in the rear gets the least attention (especially in the winter) and that's the one I let go for a month at a time but it offers the advantage of alerting the user to exactly how it's functioning, whether it is recording and if there should happen to be a problem with the SD card via the flashing behavior of its rear LED that I always see in my rear view mirror. If I see the steady slow pulsing of the rear red LED I know all is good. All cameras should offer such feedback to their users.