If someone lives in a hot as hell place, also have experience for testing dash cam, can contact us to get a sample to check.
For a 4K + Full HD dashcam, the camera is very hot is normal, we need to make sure it can keep recording for a long time.
TL
DR - Add me to the testing phase. (PM me) Consider my suggestions for reducing heat. Don't buy an iPhone 8 if you intend to use it in hot weather. Curious about Australian weather coming in the next 3 months.
May I suggest that you place your devices in a temperature controlled oven/s This is a common practice in some industries. Varying the temperature from one extreme to another will certainly challenge the design and give you a consistent reference.
You will still need to do real world tests but it might reduce some of the pain.
Honestly
@viofo I would have thought by now you would know what you have to do to reduce the heat in your designs. Slabs of metal in the unit while great as a heat sink is going to absorb the heat from the windscreen I would think. While it may disperse the heat across the IC it may also hold the heat on the IC
The huge metal frame shield over the GPS unit might also be holding/capturing heat to the unit.
Keeping the memory card within specification is difficult as most products work up to about
Operating Temperature-25℃ to 85℃ (Samsung
Speed ClassGrade 3, Class 10) perhaps
Storage Temperature-40℃ to 85℃ Celsius. Memory cards expect about 25°C ideally. ref:
https://www.samsung.com/au/memory-storage/evo-plus-microsd-card/MB-MC128GAAPC/
The computer freaks out there, would suggest "Water cooling it" - I'm joking. Would be interesting to see however. Odd selling point for hot climates and really cold climates as you could also run hot water through the system!
Of course I am interested in the testing phase and would like to be involved.
I modified an A119 Ver1 ages ago by creating more ventilation holes in the unit.
It was a very tedious task as I don't have a CNC machine and I shake holding a 1.5mm drill bit in a battery drill. But I did it and the unit could handle increased heat because it could vent the heat out of the enclosure and let if flow through.
One of my temperature testing devices actually melted its outer shell buckled the battery compartment and became totally disabled and it was on the outside of the car while the A119 was under glass on the inside! The A119 and for that matter all the other units I have ever seen, have never shown any signs of heat damage. Incredible plastics used. Screens don't like it as much but they haven't failed me.
Cable creep is another factor. Having the ribbon cable is a great idea but in some cases it seems to have been either crimped as it is assembled or due to the changes in weather makes the ribbon cable creep out of its socket which can make the unit appear to be unreliable.
@viofo has set themselves a huge but admirable task of placing the Dash Cam directly on the Glass of the Windscreen. The variations in temperature across the world on the windscreen would be a challenge to the best Thermal engineers as well as the Plastics that have to be used not forgetting the type of adhesive required. (Great that a company like 3M exists)
Many Dash Cams allow their camera's to dangle so they have cooler air all around them. Problem with that design can be that they will shake when driven over rough terrain e.g paddock bashing or 4x4 mountain climbing when you want the most stable video.
Here are some photos to explain what I did. I understand this is the old shape but you are re-using it for the A119V3 so it may be helpful.
Every place I could drill a hole I did. I had to avoid so internal components and be mindful that drilling holes in some places will reduce the integrity of the structure which will weaken it, so I avoided them.
Click on any picture to enlarge them. Note the first picture with the infrared meter is in the car WITH THE DOORS OPEN!!
NOTE the iPhone 8 had a hissy fit and overheated and it wasn't even stuck to the windscreen... POS
Temperature for that day
This piece of junk started to deform from the sun.
Of course I am interested in the testing phase and would like to be involved.
If you live in Australia or is interested in our weather and want to be depressed a little (only a little) then just have a look at the point I place you at on the youtube from BOM. Credit Bureau of Meteorology.
If you really want to be depressed start the video from the beginning! The tricky part is understanding it lol.
