Here's a status update on the issues I've encountered with the Vantrue Element 1 (E1) dash camera
Parking Mode
I've tried all of the available firmware versions for the E1 up through EBH031 (released 2022-08-04). The E1 will enter parking mode while my car is parked in my garage and it works with objects moving in its field of view.
Parking mode still does not work on any route I've driven outside of my garage and the car has been parked at times for up to 45 minutes.
I've provided a lot of feedback / info to Vantrue and the Vantrue engineering group is continuing to check into the issue.
Vantrue Hardwire Kit for the S2/X4S/N4/N2S/E1
When I attempted to test the low voltage cutoff feature of the Vantrue hardwire kit, I found the first hardwire kit I was sent did not actually cutoff the power to the E1 even when the input voltage was nearly 1 volt below the selected value of 12.0 volts.
Vantrue sent me a replacement hardwire kit. When I tested the low voltage cutoff feature of the replacement unit, it worked. It turned off the power to the E1 when the voltage level was at 11.9 volts for just under 2 minutes with the cutoff voltage setting at 12V.
When I installed the E1 into my car, I used the replacement hardwire kit to power the E1. To power the E1 for parking mode, I have the Vantrue hardwire kit connected to a BlackVue B-112 dash camera battery pack. When I tested powering up the E1 after it was installed in the car, it worked (engine off / no charging voltage). When I attempted to drive the car the next morning, the E1 would not power up when I switched on the power from the output of the B-112 battery pack to the Vantrue hardwire kit (engine running).
Working with Vantrue, we traced the reason the Vantrue hardwire kit would not provide power to the E1 with the engine running (accessory / charging power provided to B-112 battery pack). It was due to the way the current (new) Vantrue hardwire kit detects 12-volt input power vs 24-volt input power. You can tell if the Vantrue hardwire kit is the new/current Vantrue hardwire kit when there is no ferrite ring present on the USB-C cable. This version of the Vantrue hardwire kit has a voltage protection range (16V-to-22V). When the input power to the hardwire kit is in the 16V-to-22V range, it will not provide power to the dash camera. The 12-volt systems in passenger vehicles will not (or should not) reach 16 volts, so it's not a problem when using a fuse tap to obtain the power for this hardwiring kit.
The BlackVue B-112 output power reaches an output voltage level of 16.7 volts when charging power is present. The BlackVue B-112 dash camera battery pack has a LMS122 boost regulator that boosts the vehicle supplied voltage level to 16.7 volts which is provided to the Charger IC which deals with charging the battery and it supplies the 16.7 volts to the output port of the B-112 which is then supplied to the hardwire kit or a dash camera connected to the output port. BlackVue dash cameras can handle 12 volts up to 24 volts (not sure what the max is for a 24-volt system in commercial vehicles), so a voltage level of 16.7 volts for a 12/24-volt BlackVue dash camera is just fine and supported. Several months back, I asked Pittasoft for info about the output voltage levels of the B-112. It took several months to get the info from Pittasoft, but all of my statements about the output voltage levels from the B-112 have been confirmed by the info provided by Pittasoft support.
The other hardwiring kits (VIOFO HK4, Blueskysea B4K) I've connected to the BlackVue B-112 battery pack, has been compatible/capable of handling the 16.7 volts (12V/24V capable hardwiring kits).
The other dash camera battery packs that I've used, do not boost their output voltage to that high of a voltage level (EGEN produced: BlackVue B-124X, Cellink B, BlackboxMyCar PowerCell 8). Their output voltage was usually maxes out at around 14.4 volts with charging power being provided.
I'm not sure if there are any other dash camera battery packs that output the 16.7 volts like the BlackVue B-112 battery pack. In case there are any, the Vantrue hardwiring kit would have the same behavior when powered by one of those dash camera battery packs.
This particular problem was a perfect storm of conditions with my use of the BlackVue B-112 battery pack and the voltage protection strategy currently implemented in the (new) Vantrue hardwiring kit for the S2/X4S/N4/N2S/E1.
Rattling Noise in E1
The E1 I received to start my review, ended up having something rattling inside of the camera. I was sent a replacement E1 and the second unit does not have anything rattling inside of the camera.
Overboosted Audio
The screen shot is from an earlier version of the firmware, but the same overboosted audio level issue is still present with the EBH031 firmware (2022-08-04).