VIOFO A129 non-IR 1080p Modified Firmware MODs Archive

I've been using this 10A 5-port USB supply for nearly all my dashcam testing over the past two years, including 9 months with the A129.

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It's been very reliable, however I will swap the A129 to a Viofo charger to see if that fixes the problem.

The fact that it starts recording when I first start the car in the morning, but not when I start the car again a few minutes later is confusing.

I've never hardwired any of my cameras. Seems too difficult for me.
 
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TonyM said:
I've been using this 10A 5-port USB supply for nearly all my dashcam testing over the past two years, including 9 months with the A129.

It's been very reliable, however I will swap the A129 to a Viofo charger to see if that fixes the problem.

The fact that it starts recording when I first start the car in the morning, but not when I start the car again a few minutes later is confusing.

I've never hardwired any of my cameras. Seems too difficult for me.
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I think you're selling yourself short. What Year / Make / Model vehicle do you own? Do you have side curtain airbags or only airbags in the steering wheel + Dash? Do you have power Seats?

Pull out the manual for your vehicle. Look at what fuses remain on all the time (Power Seats Being Easier) for Battery (Red Wire).

Yellow wire is ACC - Turns on with Ignition - You can test this by using the tester from hardwire kit. A fuse will not light up unless the ignition is turned on. Just be sure to avoid critical systems. Find a slot that isn't used or has nothing to do with the vehicle's safety systems.

Black = ground. Goes behind a screw with a washer or a screw with metal backing.

I honestly think the power draw might be too great on your 12 Volt Cigarette / Power outlet. Presumably there's a 15 Amp fuse and you are instantly trying to power 3 cameras from it. If this is the only one in your vehicle, and you don't want to hardwire, try setting the delay from 5 second ---- > 10 or higher. Give other devices chance to power up before the Viofo.
 
HonestReview said:
I honestly think the power draw might be too great on your 12 Volt Cigarette / Power outlet. Presumably there's a 15 Amp fuse and you are instantly trying to power 3 cameras from it. If this is the only one in your vehicle, and you don't want to hardwire, try setting the delay from 5 second ---- > 10 or higher. Give other devices chance to power up before the Viofo.
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unplug the other cameras can test that
 
jokiin said:
unplug the other cameras can test that
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Yes and no. He can unplug other cameras, and leave in the Viofo, to see if the issue is revolved. If the issue is resolved, then his solution is to either move other cameras to another 12V socket on a different fuse or to do as I suggested. Set the Power delay to 10s or longer and see if that gives enough time for other cameras to boot, before Viofo turns on.

Honestly, I think he'd make life easier by hardwiring....But my 2 cents. Park Mode is a great feature. I use low bitrate recording.
 
HonestReview said:
Yes and no. He can unplug other cameras, and leave in the Viofo, to see if the issue is revolved. If the issue is resolved, then his solution is to either move other cameras to another 12V socket on a different fuse or to do as I suggested. Set the Power delay to 10s or longer and see if that gives enough time for other cameras to boot, before Viofo turns on.

Honestly, I think he'd make life easier by hardwiring....But my 2 cents. Park Mode is a great feature. I use low bitrate recording.
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Obviously you are an expert on these things, what would you think of him chopping that cigar lighter plug off the end of the cable, crimping on a fuse tap and hardwiring it that way? Would it solve all his problems?

That would be almost identical to what I have in my car, currently powering two dual and 1 single dashcam, except mine is Orico not Anker.
 
Nigel said:
Obviously you are an expert on these things, what would you think of him chopping that cigar lighter plug off the end of the cable, crimping on a fuse tap and hardwiring it that way? Would it solve all his problems?

That would be almost identical to what I have in my car, currently powering two dual and 1 single dashcam, except mine is Orico not Anker.
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Never said I was an expert...I had a Mechanic go through hardwire and testing process with me. And what he did made sense. Doesn't make me an expert by any means...But I'm happy to try and help if there's a question.

Why would you want to splice the wire and hook on a fuse tap? Seems you still run the same risk of overloading the circuit so that the devices on the Orico / Anker still do not function properly.....I.E. Running 5 Devices off a 12 V / 15 Amp Circuit...

The problem here appears to be too much of a power draw, causing the cameras to function sporadically.....Not sure what a fuse tap would solve here except protecting the actual circuit on the vehicle from being damaged and any systems running on that circuit...

Check this video out: It'll explain it detail how everything works: How a Fuse Tap Works

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HonestReview said:
Why would you want to splice the wire and hook on a fuse tap? Seems you still run the same risk of overloading the circuit so that the devices on the Orico / Anker still do not function properly.....I.E. Running 5 Devices off a 12 V / 15 Amp Circuit...
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12V/15A means that 180 watts is available, my 3 cameras use around 8 watts in total, there is no risk of overloading the circuit!
 
Nigel said:
12V/15A means that 180 watts is available, my 3 cameras use around 8 watts in total, there is no risk of overloading the circuit!
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According to Viofo's website....The Amperage from the Viofo alone is 3.1 Amps and the draw is 5vs.......Not sure the power draw on your other cameras...But if it's under the load limit of the fuse, and you have a fuse tap, then your vehicle's systems should be protected if your manage to blow the fuse...

Input DC5.0V/3.1A via mini USB

Viofo Specs

As far is Volts go... The Viofo has a 5V draw. I would have to ask Mechanic Friend but I am assuming, and don't count this as gospel, that you have now taken 5V out of the allotted 12V available.....And of course 3.1 Amps for a Maximum Draw of 15 or whatever the fuse is for that given circuit.
 
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HonestReview said:
But as you can also see, the Viofo uses 5 Volts out of the 12V without 2 other cameras hooked up to the same fuse...
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All my cameras use 5 volts, if there are only 12 available :eek:
 
I've done some in-car testing with a USB meter:

The A129 draws <0.2A during boot, then 0.5-0.7A whilst recording
The Mobius 1 draws 0.3-0.45A
The Mobius Maxi (capacitor) draws 0.2-0.5A
The Mobius Maxi (battery) draws 0.25-0.5A

So my peak current draw across all four cameras plugged into the 5-way USB adapter is 2.15A. That's about a fifth of the stated 10A maximum output.

I can switch to using the Viofo adapter, but my cabling is much tidier when they're all in the centre console and it's easier to swap them into the powerbank for ad-hoc parking mode.

All three Mobius cameras have started recording long before the A129 is done booting up.

I have reset the A129 to default (MOD 6Uk) and reformatted the card. If that doesn't fix it, I'll roll back to 7Uj that I was using before I noticed these startup problems.
 
TonyM said:
I've done some in-car testing with a USB meter:

The A129 draws <0.2A during boot, then 0.5-0.7A whilst recording
The Mobius 1 draws 0.3-0.45A
The Mobius Maxi (capacitor) draws 0.2-0.5A
The Mobius Maxi (battery) draws 0.25-0.5A

So my peak current draw across all four cameras plugged into the 5-way USB adapter is 2.15A. That's about a fifth of the stated 10A maximum output.

I can switch to using the Viofo adapter, but my cabling is much tidier when they're all in the centre console and it's easier to swap them into the powerbank for ad-hoc parking mode.

All three Mobius cameras have started recording long before the A129 is done booting up.

I have reset the A129 to default (MOD 6Uk) and reformatted the card. If that doesn't fix it, I'll roll back to 7Uj that I was using before I noticed these startup problems.
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I can't find where it's stated, and I might have these inverted, but wasn't the 6UK for the 130 FOV lens and the UJ for the 140 FOV Lens?
 
TonyM said:
0.7A max x 5V = 3.5W
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Ah so the camera only operates at .7A not 3.1. Confused input for actual draw. Thanks or clarifying. So you are correct that it uses a maximum of 3.5W and by all means .7Amp shouldn't create a problem if there are 15 available.

Jokin said it best. Try the Viofo A129 without other cameras plugged in. If it works, you know either cord or other cameras are issues. If the problem remains, could be the camera itself or the firmware. Of course, starting with another firmware would be best bet.
 
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HonestReview said:
I can't find where it's stated, and I might have these inverted, but wasn't the 6UK for the 130 FOV lens and the UJ for the 140 FOV Lens?
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The J-series and K-series can be used by anyone with any camera, if they wish. I helped test various MOD versions as BCHobbyist developed them, then stuck with 7Uj as it had the highest front camera bitrate. Later on, the K-series with slightly lower sharpness was released, aimed at the 140deg lens that is a bit sharper than the 130deg lens.

EDIT: confused my MODs. It's J and K, not 6 and 7
 
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jokiin said:
default power supply, cable and factory firmware is a good starting point
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Alternatively, I'm retracing my steps back to something that was stable a month or two ago.
 
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