Viofo T130 3 Channel Dashcam - 2K Front + FHD Interior + FHD Rear

94.1 Celsius = 201 Fahrenheit
 
Just got my heat testing done but I've been outdone by @EGS- Good Job (y)

I revised my setup with the heat gun stuck in a vent window blowing under the cams in test; a WHOLE lot better than being inside with the heat as I'd been doing this :ROFLMAO:
I reached a temp of 71C (160F) which I held for 5 minutes. No cam failed. My test was done with all cams in driving recording mode.

One anomaly noticed with the T130 is that the indicator LED dimmed as the temp was reached or close to it. On restarting the cam afterward all is well, and even dimmed it was still visible.

May try parking modes shortly but that depends whether I can get the Garmin app to work on both of those and whether the Mini2 will enter parking mode, which mine hasn't done yet.

Phil
 
SawMaster said:
Just got my heat testing done but I've been outdone by @EGS- Good Job (y)

I revised my setup with the heat gun stuck in a vent window blowing under the cams in test; a WHOLE lot better than being inside with the heat as I'd been doing this :ROFLMAO:
I reached a temp of 71C (160F) which I held for 5 minutes. No cam failed. My test was done with all cams in driving recording mode.

One anomaly noticed with the T130 is that the indicator LED dimmed as the temp was reached or close to it. On restarting the cam afterward all is well, and even dimmed it was still visible.

May try parking modes shortly but that depends whether I can get the Garmin app to work on both of those and whether the Mini2 will enter parking mode, which mine hasn't done yet.

Phil
Click to expand...
Interested in hearing how you ran your test as well as your results!!
pictures are welcome too :)
 
So far I'm very pleased with the results.

Ir recorded for the 3 hour I had it set for on low bitrate parking mode.
No drop outs or corrupted files.

There is a frame grab from the interior camera showing the maximum temperature recorded.
Also a screen shot showing the file list of the whole event (start to end). Note that each file shows the date and time stamp.

So far I'm impressed with the temperature handling of this camera. The other two I have would likely shut down under similar temperatures.

20210905_173002.pngScreenshot (41).png
 
Looking almost equal which is different than I've seen with the other night-time comparisons. Top cam has a bit more noise and brightness, bottom cam has a touch more details.

Back out for round 2 of heat testing ;)

Phil
 
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Same as Phil,
Top has more noise and the one of the bottom shows more detail.
 
EGS said:
Interested in hearing how you ran your test as well as your results!!
pictures are welcome too :)
Click to expand...
Reporting the same results- no problems with either Viofo in parking mode after them being in 71C (160F) temps for 20 minutes. Cams with the thermometer visible, the left edge of the tape on it aligns with 160F
Heat-test-cams.JPG

Test set-up:
Heat-test-gun.JPG

Tests done later w/parking- note the needle on the thermometer is about 180F

P9050049.JPG

Sorry for the glare and crappy pic, due to darkness I had to illuminate through the glass with my flashlight to get this image.

Not as fancy as @EGS but an entirely workable test with the entire cams in the heated air where the thermometer probe end was at.

Phil
 
SawMaster said:
Reporting the same results- no problems with either Viofo in parking mode after them being in 71C (160F) temps for 20 minutes. Cams with the thermometer visible, the left edge of the tape on it aligns with 160F
View attachment 58079

Test set-up:
View attachment 58080

Tests done later w/parking- note the needle on the thermometer is about 180F

View attachment 58081

Sorry for the glare and crappy pic, due to darkness I had to illuminate through the glass with my flashlight to get this image.

Not as fancy as @EGS but an entirely workable test with the entire cams in the heated air where the thermometer probe end was at.

Phil
Click to expand...
God job Phil! Thanks for sharing

So far they seem pretty solid!

I know the T130 is still in the early stages but I hope wi-fi stability, picture and color issues are addressed in future firmware to make it even better.
 
EGS said:
God job Phil! Thanks for sharing

So far they seem pretty solid!

I know the T130 is still in the early stages but I hope wi-fi stability, picture and color issues are addressed in future firmware to make it even better.
Click to expand...

Great work @EGS and @SawMaster. Being that I dont have a T130, I can only speculate. But I wonder if the barrel shape, and less surface area touching the windshield, and a smaller design have resulted in an improved product over the A139? The A139 main unit is large, meaning more of it for the sun to beat upon and heat up.

@SawMaster and @EGS how long were your cameras left outside and in direct sun? I.E. How many hrs approximately?

Anyway, seems like the T130 passes muster.

I forget, @EGS do you own the A139 3 Chan?
 
HonestReview said:
Great work @EGS and @SawMaster. Being that I dont have a T130, I can only speculate. But I wonder if the barrel shape, and less surface area touching the windshield, and a smaller design have resulted in an improved product over the A139? The A139 main unit is large, meaning more of it for the sun to beat upon and heat up.

@SawMaster and @EGS how long were your cameras left outside and in direct sun? I.E. How many hrs approximately?

Anyway, seems like the T130 passes muster.

I forget, @EGS do you own the A139 3 Chan?
Click to expand...
As I mentioned previously a couple of times, I set the low bitrate parking mode to a 3 hour timer and the camera was able to record the entire duration with no issues. Also I tried to initiate the test while the hottest part of the day.
Can't tell if a wedge or barrel form factor has any thermal benefits from each other, but it is evident something has improved significantly in the design process.

Also, I believe location/placement of the product matters as well as color and vehicle shape. Several things to take in consideration.

These cameras may still suffer in hotter climates but so far the results are decent and doing better than some other, including some of the 2 channel systems.

Sadly I didn't have the opportunity to test the A139 3 channel. It sounds like a good piece of hardware for what I've read for the most part.
 
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EGS said:
As I mentioned previously a couple of times, I set the low bitrate parking mode to a 3 hour timer and the camera was able to record the entire duration with no issues. Also I tried to initiate the test while the hottest part of the day.
Can't tell if a wedge or barrel form factor has any thermal benefits from each other, but it is evident something has improved significantly in the design process.

Also, I believe location/placement of the product matters as well as color and vehicle shape. Several things to take in consideration.

These cameras may still suffer in hotter climates but so far the results are decent and doing better than some other, including some of the 2 channel systems.

Sadly I didn't have the opportunity to test the A139 3 channel. It sounds like a good piece of hardware for what I've read for the most part.
Click to expand...

1. Bummer on not owning an A139 to test in the heat.
2. I would propose when/ if your time allows, to run an "all day test" and see at what point the camera shuts off, if at all.

FYI: I did see the 3 hr comment. However, I didn't know if that was the limit of your testing.
 
Using 6 hour timer and low bitrate with A139 and T130, and no issues with either cam. My A139 was in both these tests @71C and higher for about 20 minutes in each session.

I hadn't planned to much exceed 65C but I put the tape marker on my thermometer without my reading glasses and applied it in the wrong place. I discovered that after the first test and since nothing smoked I left it there for the second test, where I reached 180F / 82C for most of the last 15 minutes of the test which was all my heat gun and test setup would give me. I fully expected something to fail and was very surprised when nothing did. That's got to be about as hot as my van ever gets and it's well past the specs of any of the cam components. One can't ask for more, but many do and will anyway.

I let the van cool slowly when each test was finished, opening the doors maybe 5 minutes later. All the cams were still hot, the Viofo's almost burning my work-tough fingers, so it seems the test duration of 20 minutes is enough to get the whole cam up to max temp.

Phil
 
This meter melted when I did the heat test on the A119. It's shown here at the beginning of the testing. The meter was designed to read high temperature but it wasn't designed as it turned out to be in the heat! The A119 passed with flying colours.
Measurements are in Celsius. The IPhone I was trying to use to record the testing shut down! It said it was to hot for it... lol
@EGS and @SawMaster nice work.

 
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Paul Iddon said:
Rear camera comparison - T130 on Firmware on the rear cam V1.0_0902
Click to expand...
The window was better cleaned for the bottom camera.
You should do the test again and clean very well the whole window.
 
A couple of photos showing the T130 and A139 installed for testing in my RHD car. The A139 used to be where the T130 is now located.

The extent of the frit pattern in my car means that barrel-type dashcams work best if they are mounted on the frit, with the front lens peeking out to the side of the frit.

PXL_20210905_160213794-01.jpeg

PXL_20210905_160241899-01.jpeg
 
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Thanks for all the feedback, please check the new testing firmware: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1n6cs5f_OZC4J9GPXCmznJrhwj1CJxsV5?usp=sharing
1. Reduced saturation for the front cam
2. Reduced noise for rear cam.

How to update:
1. First update the front cam firmware, copy the FWT130A.bin to the sd card, then connect the external charger to power on the camera, it will update automatically. The camera will restart after the update.
2. Then copy the rear cam firmware EthcamTxFW.bin to the sd card, then connect the external charger to power on the camera, it will update automatically. The camera will restart after the update.

We have noticed the interior cam night video is not what we expected, we are optimizing it and it seems need to optimize hardware.
 
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