CRASH CAM

[Larz]

After posting my night drive with my new headlamp bulbs, peeps have been asking about the crash cam I used to record that drive. Rather than answering them all individually, I decided to make a little post about the cam. I wanted a way to back up my verison of whatever happens (accident, carpark dings, etc). In Florida and I imagine lots of other places, there is a scam going round. Peeps pull in front of you, mash their brakes, and cause you to rear-end them so they can sue you, your insurance provider, and god-knows who else. Also, carparks are used by inconsiderate peeps who will back into you, bang your door with theirs, or let loose thier shopping buggy and let it slam into your car. This camera will record the event and hopefully the tag number of the car involved, or a nice shot of the person who vandalized your vehicle.

My cam has no batteries, no internal storage, no LCD screen, and no GPS - although many cams do. I paid about $200 for mine but other cams with more features go as high as $500. Mine has since been upgraded:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/IROAD-IONE-3800 ... 377wt_1194

There are even cams with two lenses - one records in front and the other records what is behind you. It mounts near the top of the windscreen with a clear cradle so it doesn't get in your line of sight whilst driving. The power wire is then run along the top of the headliner and down the driver side pilar to either the fuse box or to the cigarette lighter. You never need to remove the cam from the cradle unless you want to. The cam records to an SD card that can be removed to view footage. It can record 24/7, only if an event (shock) happens, or by switching on /off. It will continue to record until the card is full - then it begins recording over the oldest files so that the most recent files are always available. You simply remove the SD card and insert it into the card reader (included) and plug that into your comp to download any files you want to keep.

Here are some pics of my install:
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[wideopn11]

Nice, thanks for the additional info. I might need to look into getting one of these.

[zags]

Thanks Larz, that is helpful. I've been looking to purchase one of these.

So if you want to have the "24hr" or "car in off mode" recording function, you need to run a hotwire so it can switch on for impact mode or I guess continue to run for "24/7".

Have you tried the 24/7 mode? I guess my concern is battery drain, although I'm sure it draws pretty minimal juice.

Do you happen to know the model # of the one with the rear view camera as well?

Thanks again!

[sergio1987]

I've had one in my cars for about 5 years now... It is a MUST! BTW you dont have to spend crazy money for them, just go on ebay and buy something in the 100$ range and you'll be good. My first cam that i have in my M is a 50$ no name china made but worked PERFECTLY for 5 years now...I just ran the wire to the back neatly and hooked it up in the cigarette lighter, therefore when i start the car the camera starts automatically, and when i stop, it obviously stops recording too... I never had the balls to try to run it 24/7, i'm pretty sure it will drain the battery. Word of advice, when buying memory cards buy better 16 GB not 32 Gb, many cameras write that they can handle 32 but they don't...

[Larz]

Thanks Larz, that is helpful. I've been looking to purchase one of these.

So if you want to have the "24hr" or "car in off mode" recording function, you need to run a hotwire so it can switch on for impact mode or I guess continue to run for "24/7".

Have you tried the 24/7 mode? I guess my concern is battery drain, although I'm sure it draws pretty minimal juice.

Do you happen to know the model # of the one with the rear view camera as well?

Thanks again!

There is a 'constant power' cord that they sell. It has an adapter similar to a cigarette lighter socket at one end, and a controller and wires at the other end. The wires go to the fuse box to a constant ON circuit and the controller has tiny switches on it to choose how much drain is allowed before shutting down to protect your battery.

Sergio is absolutely correct! There are loads of cameras out there. Just do a search on Ebay or Amazon for "dash camera" or "car camera" and you will find them. Mine is inexpensive and they can be found even cheaper. Thanks Sergio for the info about the SD cards. When you htink about it, the cam will record over old files so 16gb should be more than enough space. If you don't want to use the constant ON cord, and don't want to have the plug in your cigarette lighter, you can do what Sergio did - just wire it underneath the cigarette ligter from inside the console.

[jhuerto23]

Nice, I will def buy one of these. Thanks for the post.

[aiham78]

Here is a nice website that reviews different dash cams: http://dashcamtalk.com/

Mobius brand is my first choice for its price and the lack of preview screen.

[Larz]

Great research! The only thing that concerns me is the lack of cooling vents, but if you're only going to use it while you're driving, are NOT going to wire it to run 24/7, heat shouldn't be an issue. If you're concerned about heat while it sits in the car all day, you can simply unhook it and keep it in the glove box or the console. In summer, you will have the air con running and in winter (if your area has winter) the cam should stay plenty cool enough. I especially like the design of the mount on the Mobius - it has a swivel built in which mine does not have.
The IONE 3800FU that I use has 4 long cooling vents and it still gets and stays warm, but it the 2 years I've had it running, it has never failed and I use the the 'constant power' adapter. It has never drained my battery. It will shut itself off if the charge on the battery ever goes below 12. Driving the car will charge the battery back up if that ever happens (which it hasn't).

I found a video of how a constant power adapter is installed - this is a different brand, but they all work and look the same:

http://youtu.be/Su882DHtAus

I reckon you will do fine with the Mobius. It's small, the mount has a great design, it doesn't have GPS so it won't interfere with your car's GPS, it records at a high resoluton, and it's half the price of mine!

[Ilya]

Here is a video of the Mobius in action. I concur, best camera...might have to get a few for my bike too so I don't have to have my GoPro on all the time in the case of an accident.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm2saUt4wR8[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS9T6HHoryg[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_2YHg629QU[/youtube]

[aiham78]

Full elongated super detailed review with samples, very useful...

I think "What did you do to your M or Q Today ...." post will have many replies of installing Mobius dash cams

Any ideas of a good installation process? Suggestion of the power source? Anyway to get it from the home link rear view mirror.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wmIyD1fM4M[/youtube]

[Larz]

Thanks Aiham78! The Mobius is soooo much better than the cam I have! I previously stated that I was concerned over the lack of vents to release heat build-up, but in that video, Matthew explained the heat-sink method for doing just that. The resolution seems quite superior as well - especially in night driving. Then there are the firmware updates - absolutly brilliant feature! I did a little searching on Ebay and found a place in the states to buy from, reducing the time delay when ordering from UK, and avoiding the risk of getting a crap knock-off from China:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mobius-ActionCa ... 936wt_1137

I am seriously considering replacing my cam with this.

[Ilya]

I'm giving it serious thought too...but I ran my hands along the liner the other day and it looks like a ton of work to wire it in.

[Larz]

I had no trouble sliding the wire up against where the headliner meets the top of the windscreen. I used a thin plastic squeegy to help slide the wire in. Then when I reached the driver side pilar, I just continued to slide the wire down between the edge of the pilar and the windscreen until it reached the dash. From there it went down the driver side dash to the fuse box where I used the constant power adapter ( or to the cigarrette lighter if you use that for power. There doesn't feel like there is any space along the headliner or the pilar, but the wire is very thin. It's thinner than the existing wire on your rear view mirror assembly. I reckon you won't have any trouble.

[Ilya]

Ahh okay. Thanks.

[aiham78]

Just wanted to add that in addition of using the cam as an evidence against scammers in car accidents, it can be used to monitor your teenager habit of driving. It also provides the opportunity to capture other people accidents or even funny events that could happen on the road while driving.

I did a little searching on Ebay and found a place in the states to buy from, reducing the time delay when ordering from UK, and avoiding the risk of getting a crap knock-off from China:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mobius-ActionCa ... 936wt_1137

You can get it from Amazon with 30 days return windows "free return shipping if item is defective or not as described" That goes for all Amazon Prime items, the price is currently $4 more than the ebay listing.

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DP1WYD2

[szh]

You can get it from Amazon with 30 days return windows "free return shipping if item is defective or not as described" That goes for all Amazon Prime items, the price is currently $4 more than the ebay listing.

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DP1WYD2

I am thinking of trying the Innovv C2 instead ... similar pricing, but it has a metal body (avoids interference with GPS units) and a G-sensor. The picture quality is not as good as the Mobius, but good enough for the purpose!

As you mentioned above too, the site: http://dashcamtalk.com/ has great reviews and comparisons ...

Z

[Ilya]

Just wanted to add that in addition of using the cam as an evidence against scammers in car accidents, it can be used to monitor your teenager habit of driving. It also provides the opportunity to capture other people accidents or even funny events that could happen on the road while driving.

I did a little searching on Ebay and found a place in the states to buy from, reducing the time delay when ordering from UK, and avoiding the risk of getting a crap knock-off from China:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mobius-ActionCa ... 936wt_1137

You can get it from Amazon with 30 days return windows "free return shipping if item is defective or not as described" That goes for all Amazon Prime items, the price is currently $4 more than the ebay listing.

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DP1WYD2

Being Ukrainian, I love watching Russian/Ukrainian dash came videos lol. Sometimes when I'm bored at work, that's my goto YouTube video(s). lol.

[Larz]

LOL ! I watch those too. I love the left turns from the center lane and I also enjoy the road rage while merging - two cars fighting to be first in the long que as if either of them will go anywhere, LOL. And what's all this about when a car pulls in front of another driver making him stop - then 3 guys get out and yank that driver out, beat him up, and then they drive off?

[Ilya]

LOL ! I watch those too. I love the left turns from the center lane and I also enjoy the road rage while merging - two cars fighting to be first in the long que as if either of them will go anywhere, LOL. And what's all this about when a car pulls in front of another driver making him stop - then 3 guys get out and yank that driver out, beat him up, and then they drive off?

Welcome to Mother Russia, lol.

But no seriously, over there, the only crime you can't 'pay off' someone for is murder (unless you're a VIP/government official like Yanukovych lol)...everything else, if you have money, you can literally make it disappear. Cops take bribes like it's nobodies business. I was in the car when my cousin offered a Ukrainian cop $20 (equivalent) to forget the issue, and the cop said, "I have to feed my family". No joke.

We think America/Obama is bad? Our government is a bunch of saints compared to eastern bloc Europe. At least here in America they steal from the people quietly via lobby groups, etc...over there, they flat out take your crap. Yanukovych has been accused of trying to buy businesses and then when they don't sell, the owners mysteriously disappear a few weeks later and a shell corporations buys out the business.

Tomorrow is a HUGE day for Ukraine...they vote in the new government. We'll see if the revolution that started in November had a good result or just another corrupt government taking it's place...

Sorry to go OT lol.