Zenfox T3 Triple channel dash cams free test invitation, limited quantity

My suggestion is to put the heat sink in place and once it is well seated, mix a bit of epoxy and put a tiny drop on each corner. Once it sets it won't go anywhere but will be fairly easy to remove if nece
kamkar1 said:
As you might have noticed there are some kind of filter on the cooling vents on the side of the case, it is so fine masked you will need a fan to get any air to pass thru it, so i have removed it in my T3
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i have pulled those off as they restrict the air flow even tough you can blow air trough them
 
indeed you can, but you have to put more pressure behind it than convection can ever provide, so also just found the piece of filter on the back part of the case and off it went.
 
EGS said:
My suggestion is to put the heat sink in place and once it is well seated, mix a bit of epoxy and put a tiny drop on each corner. Once it sets it won't go anywhere but will be fairly easy to remove if nece
Click to expand...
You probably have enough room to put an aluminium pop rivet through from the underside to clamp it all together tightly, through the copper plate, shield and heatsink, might have to shave a little off the top of the head, but if you use a small rivet and position it above the area with no components, and where it comes through between the fins...
 
In regard to how to put this thermal package together, i would apply a good thermal compound between the heat sink and the EMI shield, and then spot weld the 2 parts together.
There is still the question of the gap between the top of the SOC and the EMI shield, modifying it like i have or having a new EMI shield made are probably not a option.
So again spot weld a piece of ALU to the underside of the EMI shield just above the SOC are probably a better solution than any thermal pad of the gap filler type.
And then use a proper thermal paste on top of the SOC.

And the capacitors will have to be relocated, i intend to put mine lower in the housing below the PCB

But i am still researching a few other mods, but for now i am done as i will have to go help my friend out, and only bad weather can prevent that, and the next 2 days look okay in that regard.
 
While the curiosity and adhoc problem solving around this dashcam has been interesting to watch, I feel like some of you might be jumping the gun by modifying the test units prematurely thus invalidating any official solutions that may be released later. Granted the Zenfox rep hasn't been around much in the past couple of weeks, but that's not exactly a long time given current conditions nor a direct indication that the testing has been abandoned. I'm not in any dire need to rely on this 100% right now, so I'm planning to just leave it as is until an official update is provided or we know for sure that there is not going to be any future development.

KuoH
 
The only reason modding came around was a refusal on the manufacturer's part to admit to and address the overheating issue. There are others elsewhere beta-testing unmodified cams too. Only it seems that production is already underway with no changes so if that's the case this ain't really "beta".

Phil
 
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kuoh said:
While the curiosity and adhoc problem solving around this dashcam has been interesting to watch, I feel like some of you might be jumping the gun by modifying the test units prematurely thus invalidating any official solutions that may be released later. Granted the Zenfox rep hasn't been around much in the past couple of weeks, but that's not exactly a long time given current conditions nor a direct indication that the testing has been abandoned. I'm not in any dire need to rely on this 100% right now, so I'm planning to just leave it as is until an official update is provided or we know for sure that there is not going to be any future development.

KuoH
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even if they revise it I'm not sure they intend to send out updated cameras to everyone

they could just as easily be sitting back and watching what the end users come up with in trying to address this problem, pretty cheap R&D 😉
 
FYI: If thermal paste isn't adhesive enough, I might just stick solder on the edges of the heatsink to faster into place. We shall see. I don't presume to know the outcome until I get my parts Tuesday.
 
I'm not expecting another camera, but in case they actually release another firmware that at least shows the hardware temp, I'll hopefully be able to have baseline data to compare against before any modifications. Though your second point could be valid as well.

KuoH

jokiin said:
even if they revise it I'm not sure they intend to send out updated cameras to everyone

they could just as easily be sitting back and watching what the end users come up with in trying to address this problem, pretty cheap R&D 😉
Click to expand...
 
kuoh said:
While the curiosity and adhoc problem solving around this dashcam has been interesting to watch, I feel like some of you might be jumping the gun by modifying the test units prematurely thus invalidating any official solutions that may be released later. Granted the Zenfox rep hasn't been around much in the past couple of weeks, but that's not exactly a long time given current conditions nor a direct indication that the testing has been abandoned. I'm not in any dire need to rely on this 100% right now, so I'm planning to just leave it as is until an official update is provided or we know for sure that there is not going to be any future development.

KuoH
Click to expand...

I have two cameras. One was intended for my mother's vehicle and one for mine. Since the camera began acting up, I never installed the second unit in her car. I did however test it in my vehicle to make sure I could replicate the problems I experienced. Sure enough both cameras overheated.

So regardless of what I do to the unit I've opened, I have a second unmodified camera on hand to test any proposed updates by @Zenfox_Official.

It's pretty safe to say, there's nothing software @Zenfox_Official can do to rectify our issues. The pink goop holding the EMI shield to SOC is junk with a very low thermal conductivity. The white hard thermal pad adhering the heatsink to the EMI shield was garbage. No amounts of firmware tweaking can rectify these issues. As any changes to the Tj Max (Thermal Limit) of the cameras will simply be met and exceeded due to poor cooling.

Long story short, a firmware update may be needed even with our modifications, to raise the TJ max. But simply raising the TJ max without modifications will solve nothing.
 
EGS said:
My suggestion is to put the heat sink in place and once it is well seated, mix a bit of epoxy and put a tiny drop on each corner. Once it sets it won't go anywhere but will be fairly easy to remove if nece

i have pulled those off as they restrict the air flow even tough you can blow air trough them
Click to expand...

While the filter may be inhibiting some airflow, I'm reluctant to yank it off. Such large ventilation gaps will allow dust and particulate to collect inside the case, which could create more problems.
 
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Nigel said:
I don't think you have much chance of succeeding 😉
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On what basis?

Soc --- Thermal Paste ---> Copper Plate. Copper Plate --> Thermal Paste -- > Emi Shield. Dab of Thermal Paste on Emi Shield --> Heatsink. If needed put a few dabs of solder on heatsink to make sure it adheres to the EMI shield if needed.

I see nothing wrong...but please do pray tell.
 
To solder something, you need to heat it up with a soldering iron.
When you put a soldering iron against a heatsink, the heatsink removes all the heat from the soldering iron, a cold soldering iron is useless!

Next problem is that the heatsink is made of aluminium, a highly reactive metal, Kamkar can probably explain that problem for you.
 
Best to have positive pressure holding everything onto the processor like the spring clips on CPU sockets. Perhaps something could be wedged between heatsink and case? That would work well enough for proof of concept but probably would bend the case before too long. Thermal epoxy could be a fix both here and possibly for production.

Need to prove the concept first- there IS a possibility this won't achieve enough to be useful although that seems a very remote possibility to me. If the concept proves worthwhile then someone can begin worrying how to make it producible without excess cost or hassle.

Phil
 
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SawMaster said:
Best to have positive pressure holding everything onto the processor like the spring clips on CPU sockets. Perhaps something could be wedged between heatsink and case? That would work well enough for proof of concept but probably would bend the case before too long. Thermal epoxy could be a fix both here and possibly for production.

Need to prove the concept first- there IS a possibility this won't achieve enough to be useful although that seems a very remote possibility to me. If the concept proves worthwhile then someone can begin worrying how to make it producible without excess cost or hassle.

Phil
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The aluminum emi plate is thin. Very thin. So you will bend it if not careful. Why I thought using a Dab of Solder between heatsink and EMI shield might be an option.
 
SawMaster said:
Best to have positive pressure holding everything onto the processor like the spring clips on CPU sockets. Perhaps something could be wedged between heatsink and case? That would work well enough for proof of concept but probably would bend the case before too long. Thermal epoxy could be a fix both here and possibly for production.

Need to prove the concept first- there IS a possibility this won't achieve enough to be useful although that seems a very remote possibility to me. If the concept proves worthwhile then someone can begin worrying how to make it producible without excess cost or hassle.

Phil
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That is actually a good idea. A soft spring can be added on top of the heat sink and once the unit is closed the shell will do the rest. Just making sure the spring is not seating directly in to the gps circuitry. That is a valid option!
 
EGS said:
That is actually a good idea. A soft spring can be added on top of the heat sink and once the unit is closed the shell will do the rest. Just making sure the spring is not seating directly in to the gps circuitry. That is a valid option!
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I cancelled out my order for the MX-4 Thermal Paste. I still have the copper heatsink plates on order. Trying to determine how to adhere stuff and what the situation looks like before moving forward.

When you say soft spring, please give me an example?

I have one solution, albeit permanent, is artic silver epoxy. Meaning once it's adhered, it'd never come loose:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B0087X7262
Trying to think if there'd be anything less permanent.
 
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