Dashboard Cam's

[trt]

Has anybody used one or know somebody that has?

Was thinking of buying one for my daughter, as she uses her car a lot with her job, and kids.

Do they rewind themselves back if not watched?

[hc4361]

I've got one with a 32GB memory card so it records for hours. When it fills up it just records over previous recordings.

[trt]

Thanks HC, is it charged from the cig lighter?

[hc4361]

Yes, it is.

[bhg481]

Mine is the Eprance mini 801 (now superseded by the 803, IO think).
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00F5WPB2K?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00
Can be set to either overwrite when card full or stop recording and flash to let you know - it records for about 6 hours in full HD mode on a 32GB memory card. It comes with a power supply for a cigar-lighter socket and starts itself automatically when you turn on the ignition. I've had it for just about a year now with no problems.
To view the video you can either play it on the small monitor screen (not good), connect it via USB to a computer or remove the card and copy the files to your computer. Software is supplied with it to view the video, along with Google Earth view of the trip if you opt for one with GPS and screen-snap stills from the video.
Very happy with mine.

[SlackAlice]

methyl

I have the Eprance mini 803 fitted in my Citroen Picasso. The power lead in mine goes from the centre top windscreen, under the left windscreen seal down to about halfway down the door, then behind the glovebox and across to the middle of the car where it connects to a cigarette/power socket.

If I get a chance tomorrow I'll try to measure it.

[bazwillrun]

look up techmoan on youtube, he reviews every dash cam going in depth, leaves nothing unanswered

[bhg481]

I can't remember exactly how long the lead for mine was. The layout of my car made it not practical to use an existing 12V output so I wired in one of my own.
For maximum convenience what you need is a 12V supply that is only live when the ignition is on. That way the camera works automatically when the ignition is on ie, doesn't need turning on and off. The 12V socket in the back of my Volvo is live all the time, so I didn't want to use that.
The bottom line is that the power connection to the camera is a USB lead so you can easily buy an extension lead from a computer shop if it's not long enough.
Bazwillrun has a useful tip about Techmoan - I used that to help me wire-in my cable (almost) invisibly.
A further tip, to ALL dash-cam users - look at the software provided here:

http://www.registratorviewer.com/download_en.html

I was looking back at my purchase from Amazon yesterday to help answer this question and one of the other users recommended it. I downloaded it and tried it and find it better that the software supplied by Eprance. It has the ability to work out which blocks of data comprise a journey and group them all together, also giving the total mileage for each journey.

[bhg481]

I forgot to say in my original post and then forgot again a minute ago - the recording doesn't rewind as such; it records in a circular loop so you always have the last 6 hours of driving recorded.

[Peter Pedant]

very useful

not v happy with mine - mio - bought off internet - really stupid

good when it works but resets a lot - and you need to know that it is gonna work every time you start up, and able to toggle the option that it goes on recording for three minutes after turn off ( = crash )

and as far as I can see, has crucially changed the behaviour of traffic cops - they are much less likely to say you have done X when you havent.

[Peter Pedant]

sensible thread trt - I definitely would not choose mio again
but others seem to be able to cope with non-automatic start up

[SlackAlice]

methyl
From what I've been able to measure the cig/power socket cable is 3mtrs long.

[trt]

Lots of help and suggestions here as usual.

Thinking about car theft, do they stand out, I mean look inviting for a car thief?

[Dizmo]

trt: It depends on the make and the fitting bracket. It also makes a huge difference if you leave the camera there or remove it (even if it means hiding it out of sight in the vehicles). People who leave SAT NAV mounts or 'mount' marks on the windscreens tend to have their car broken in to as the SAT NAV is usually in the glove box or under the passenger seat. The same applies to dash cams. Make it discreet as possible and not advertise it!

[hc4361]

My dash cam can't be seen unless you know it's there. It is part of the rear view mirror and the cameras themselves are very discrete.

[Dizmo]

hc4361: Now we know it's there :)

[bazwillrun]

http://www.techmoan.com/

or his YT channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5I2hjZYiW9gZPVkvzM8_Cw

hes the best at what he does

[trt]

## I've got one with a 32GB memory card so it records for hours. When it fills up it just records over previous recordings. ##

Just been looking to order the Eprance mini 801, and a bit confused about the 32GB memory card .

Do you have to buy the above separate, as it dosent say it has this with it?

Thanks again.