Yi Cam - Auto Power On hardware mod ?! Just desigin

[luckylz]

Sorry, I don't know anything about the electronics design. So I just request one of my friends to give me a solution:
1. plug-in USB power;
2. wait about 5 seconds;
3. shortcut the power on button (means a single click the button).
Then we can achieve the automatically power on when having USB power.

Why need to hardware mod? Cause I heard rumors that Yi Cam doesnot have the hardware to control when USB power on.

Here is just the desgin, I'm sure about it's correct or not. I like to share with you guys, and see if someone can have a try first?!

P.S. - the TLP127 pin-4 & pin-6, will connect to the power on button.

SW1 is the power on/off button:

 

[Andy_S]

I also suggested this mod, except there is no need for optocoupler if you detect the polarity of the triggering (if it pulls line down or up) first and then modify the circuitry by that. You could even do much simpler circuitry without 555, just few resistors and capacitors, but 555 is more reliable, thats true. And there seems to be just enough room on the edges of camera casing to fit in small pcb with some SMD circuitry. You'd have to fix it in with foam & tape the wires securely so you don't have the rattle in recorded sound

 

[luckylz]

@Andy_S could you design a simpler electrics, with just R & C?

 

[Andy_S]

I still don't have my cameras at hand, so not at the moment, but i plan to as i want to use one of them as a dash cam in my car in the future and that wouldn't be possible without this feature. They are on the way to the country from port in netherland, i expect them this week (hopefuly)

 

[luckylz]

If you use Yi Cam as a dashcam, be careful for the over-heat of the battery. It's suggest to remove the battery, while using as dashcam.

So, you need to mod power on feature, and also power off feature. Otherwise, the Yi Cam will always lose 10 sec of the video when you power off directly.

 

[Andy_S]

overheat of the battery can occur when you are charging it. If the battery isn't (dis)charged, there isn't a reason for it to produce heat. So if you keep it there and power off the cam within ~ 1 minute after the power off, it will charge quickly and produce very small ammount of heat that will dissipate quickly.

quite the opposite, in case of the accident you need the camera to record for as long as possible and not to cut out whenever the power cuts out, which may be caused by serious crash, you would lose those 10 seconds of video in which will be the crash recorded.

And yes, for that poweroff isn't simple RC circuitry enough. Not even 555, i would go for cheap MCU like atmel ATTINY25-20SU in SOIC8 package, that has 6 programmable input / output pins = it could trigger the record button as well.

 

[luckylz]

I mean directly under sun, I've got over 60°C in car. So no idea the battery can be OK or not.
And many dashcam can setup to shut off a few minutes after the car power is off.
But Yi Cam doesnot have this kind of functions.
No idea it really suitable for dashcam or not.

 

[Andy_S]

As i said, that MCU would be able to do it.

You shouldn't leave any electronic device in a car during sunny days.

 

[luckylz]

My current dashcam, stay in my car for almost a year, and still works good.

 

[fire1ce]

has any one did this mod?

 

[silencio]

As i said, that MCU would be able to do it.

You shouldn't leave any electronic device in a car during sunny days.

Kinda defeats the purpose of a dashcam if it can't live in the car. My G1Wc has been in my car for more than a year, no issues whatsoever.

Do you remove your car radio everytime you park?

 

[Delphir]

has any one did this mod?

+1