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

[HonestReview]

It no longer fits because you have added 0.8mm of height in the form of copper shims, take them out and it will fit again!

Maybe

Added some pictures. Look at what I mean and you'll clearly see the camera case is warped and now deformed.

 

[HonestReview]

If you have smaller individual cobber plates in between the heat sink and the EMI shield, then i assume if they do not touch the only place where heat can travel out is thru the thin EMI shield.
If it was one big copper piece the heat had a chance to propagate thru it, and up / down into what ever it could.

I had a single copper shim (SOC --> Paste --> Copper Shim --> Paste --> EMI Shield) ---> Paste --> Heatsink. Camera Case Melted. I believe the heat was dispersed from the SOC very efficiently. Unfortunately, it concentrated that heat into one spot on the EMI Shield. So the heatsink got hot enough to cause the case to warp.

So what I am trying now is putting several copper shims that are touching under the heatsink and seeing if itll disperse things better and not let ONE SINGLE area get hot as a soldering iron.

 

[kamkar]

Yes no need to put a shim in there when i have made it so the EMI shield can rest flat on the top of the SOC, so in my case the heat from the SOC go strait thru thermal paste into EMI shield, into thermal paste on top of EMI shield and into heat sink.

 

[kamkar]

yes saw the pics of your melting case
Mine seem fine, though today i did notice it is fairly loose on the mount, later today after my drive i will take the T3 with me from the car for inspection and soldering of the MIC wires.

The hard foam i used to put a little pressure down on the heat sink, well it is not really thermal resistant in any way, so if my camera have been really hot i would expect to see it having melted.
I have recorded at least 6 X +30 min of driving, most of those at the extreme bitrate.

 

[HonestReview]

yes saw the pics of your melting case
Mine seem fine, though today i did notice it is fairly loose on the mount, later today after my drive i will take the T3 with me from the car for inspection and soldering of the MIC wires.

The hard foam i used to put a little pressure down on the heat sink, well it is not really thermal resistant in any way, so if my camera have been really hot i would expect to see it having melted.
I have recorded at least 6 X +30 min of driving, most of those at the extreme bitrate.

Difference is you aren't subjecting your camera to same heat levels. So it is hard to say if your design is successful.

 

[kamkar]

indeed.
The AVG daytime temperature for Denmark this month are 13 deg C / 55 deg F, and the hottest day ( in a small corner of a small country have been 22.6 deg C / 72, 6 deg F )
shaping up to be the coldest July in 146 years here ( hottest July day ever measured was 35 deg C / 96 deg F )

 

[HonestReview]

Promising Results:

Today, I had the camera subjected to sunlight all day and none of the cameras vanished. I'll repeat this test over a few days to make sure what I state remains accurate, but so far things went well. - If this continues - My Theories.

Not sure the reason:

1. Could it be the camera is more shaded with my current configuration - As it is now sitting on a suction cup Arkon Mount and not touching glass?

2. Could it be the modification I made - sticking copper plates under the Heatsink. And 2 on the SOC (Side by Side)?

3. Could it be a combination of both?

Should the camera not shut off over the next few days of testing... I plan to unhook the "Modded Camera" and stick the Unmodded one of the suction cup setup. Thereby testing to see if removing it away from the glass and giving it some shade is the reason solution or if my mod and better cooling are the actual cause.

 

[jokiin]

to be fair when the Zenfox has been cutting out you've been comparing the results to the Viofo which I can see is not mounted directly to the glass, might not seem like much but it does make a measurable difference, pulling the camera back from the glass can make as much as 10°C difference to the surface temperature of the camera in my tests

 

[kamkar]

Why dident i think of that i have seen almost this picture before, just with the T3 on the glass.
And you are right the viofo are far from the glass.
I would not have guessed that high a difference in temperatures at / near the glass, just go to prove you learn every day.

 

[Nigel]

pulling the camera back from the glass can make as much as 10°C difference to the surface temperature of the camera in my tests

There is no black dotted area on the glass in the photo, to act as a sunshield. Does your 10 degree difference apply to a camera mounted on black dots, clear glass, or both?

 

[HonestReview]

to be fair when the Zenfox has been cutting out you've been comparing the results to the Viofo which I can see is not mounted directly to the glass, might not seem like much but it does make a measurable difference, pulling the camera back from the glass can make as much as 10°C difference to the surface temperature of the camera in my tests

1. I've always stated the Viofo is on a Suction Cup.

2. The T3 is overheating within a relatively short time 30 mins - Hour on a Hot Day.

3. While the Viofo A129 Duo is not mounted on the glass, it's only about 3-4 inches from it. And it has run an entire day without overheating. One would surmise the interior temperature on a 30C day would easily put the Viofo at or above the operating temperature the T3 Quit.

4. Because the T3 Melted (earlier photos), I cannot test my modification on the winshield itself. So what I will do is put the NON MODDED camera on the Arkon mount after a few days and repeat the test. If the Non Modded Camera doesn't overheat, then being away from the windshield is SUFFICIENT. If it does overheat, then the Mod I did is the reason the current camera succeeded.

Science is about repeating results. I'm going to let the "Melted / Guinea Pig" Camera stay up there a few days to make sure it isn't overheating. Results on Day 1 are promising. After say 3-4 days of no failures, I will take it down, Put the factory T3 in its place and see what happens.

5. Even mounted to the Window, the T3 itself is on a base. Of course, it's more in direct sunlight that way, but the actual camera isn't touching the window, the base it sits on is affixed there.

FYI: My windshield has no black sun visor.

 

[kamkar]

well thinking about it, heat rise, so that from a hot black / dark color dashboard top will deflect on the windscreen and follow it up towards the roof ( i assume )
So to me it make sense if there was a stronger flow of hot air near the windscreen, this rising air might even pull in colder air from elsewhere in the cabin.

Though i also think at some point the cabin must reach critical mass and things level out.

 

[HonestReview]

There is no black dotted area on the glass in the photo, to act as a sunshield. Does your 10 degree difference apply to a camera mounted on black dots, clear glass, or both?

well thinking about it, heat rise, so that from a hot black / dark color dashboard top will deflect on the windscreen and follow it up towards the roof ( i assume )
So to me it make sense if there was a stronger flow of hot air near the windscreen, this rising air might even pull in colder air from elsewhere in the cabin.

Though i also think at some point the cabin must reach critical mass and things level out.

The black base that the Viofo sits on would still heat up. Maybe not as hot or as fast as the T3 base against the windshield, but over time the cabin will get very hot. And the fact the Viofo has run for half a day or more (sometimes til my car battery shuts off the camera) says a lot. Even when the cabin probably has hit critical mass, the Viofo is still functioning. Remember, heat still rises.

We will see what happens with the Factory Stock T3 on the suction mount. Again, I'll do that in 3-4 days. I want to make sure the Modded / Melted T3 doesn't mess up in between. Too bad I can't test it on the windshield anymore. The melted base doesn't fit the mount any longer.

 

[jokiin]

There is no black dotted area on the glass in the photo, to act as a sunshield. Does your 10 degree difference apply to a camera mounted on black dots, clear glass, or both?

clear glass

 

[HonestReview]

clear glass

Still, at some point, the cabin still gets very hot, and the Viofo has not shut down. But as I've been open and honest this entire time, I plan to test the Factory T3 on the same mount after verifying for 3-4 days the Modded (Melted Base) T3 doesn't mess up in between.

 

[jokiin]

Still, at some point, the cabin still gets very hot, and the Viofo has not shut down. But as I've been open and honest this entire time, I plan to test the Factory T3 on the same mount after verifying for 3-4 days the Modded (Melted Base) T3 doesn't mess up in between.

not suggesting you weren't being honest, I'm sure at some stage you had mentioned that the A129 was on the suction cup, just not something that was front of mind when considering your results on the T3, keep in mind also that the A129 is a 1080p camera which already runs a lot cooler so it will have an advantage already

yes the cabin gets hot but the temps still vary depending on where things are located in the cabin

 

[HonestReview]

not suggesting you weren't being honest, I'm sure at some stage you had mentioned that the A129 was on the suction cup, just not something that was front of mind when considering your results on the T3, keep in mind also that the A129 is a 1080p camera which already runs a lot cooler so it will have an advantage already

yes the cabin gets hot but the temps still vary depending on where things are located in the cabin

You can see the cameras are side by side, and even before the T3 melted, it was next to the Viofo at about the same level. So realistically, they are being subjected to the same amount of heat. As over time, the cabin sitting in a 30C sun gets VERY VERY hot. So while the T3 overheats within 30 mins - 1hour, you'd still expect the Viofo to shut down at some point. Yesterday, my car digital thermometer registered 40C in sunlight. So one can only imagine that the cabin was hot as hell.

Viofo didn't quit or shut down. So I still believe the Viofo (2 Channel 1080P) is far better equipped to handle things than the T3.

Anyway, we shall see how testing goes on the factory T3 in a few days. If factory overheats on the Suction Mount, then we know my Mod resolved the issue. If the Factory never overheats, then we know removing it away from the windshield is the real solution.

Science - test, repeat, teat, repeat, and prove one's results.

FYI: We do know from ripping open the T3 that the cooling is inadequate and thermal pads are junk.

 

[EGS]

Promising Results:

Today, I had the camera subjected to sunlight all day and none of the cameras vanished. I'll repeat this test over a few days to make sure what I state remains accurate, but so far things went well. - If this continues - My Theories.

Not sure the reason:

1. Could it be the camera is more shaded with my current configuration - As it is now sitting on a suction cup Arkon Mount and not touching glass?

2. Could it be the modification I made - sticking copper plates under the Heatsink. And 2 on the SOC (Side by Side)?

3. Could it be a combination of both?

Should the camera not shut off over the next few days of testing... I plan to unhook the "Modded Camera" and stick the Unmodded one of the suction cup setup. Thereby testing to see if removing it away from the glass and giving it some shade is the reason solution or if my mod and better cooling are the actual cause.

I thing it is a combination of both, but being farther apart from the glass should make a big difference...

 

[kamkar]

Temp gone up 4-5 deg C here, meaning my camera no longer perform well, i am back to the normal where it record a few whole 10 min files just fine, but then after that stop for every new file.
So i am inclined to think there is a thermal issue too.

I have my camera on the table and i am going to take it apart again, then then turn the case into Swiss cheese as i cant see what i can do better on the actual SOC cooling setup.

It is strange though. If it was temperature i would assume the camera would shut down when it hit that temperature, and not finish the current file, but all my files from today aside for the ones cut short by me stopping and turning off the car are 10 min long.

 

[EGS]

Have you removed the filter mesh tape that is placed in the air vents? I removed all mine. Air flow should be much better without them.