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windfish
Samba Member
Joined: September 05, 2012
Posts: 1126
Location: NC
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 Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 8:02 pm Post subject: Put a dashcam in my bug |
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No particular reason other than I kinda wanted one, a shits and giggles type thing.
Got one of these - Amazon link
From the outside it's decently tucked away
Wiring wise, I ran the power cable along the inside of the passenger side pillar, along the front, and out the base of the rearview mirror. Made for a very tidy install.
Mirror sits far back enough to leave it plenty of room, though if I want to get to the buttons comfortably I have to rotate the mirror sideways.
I put a cigarette lighter in the glovebox for it's power.
Ran the cable inside so I could access the plug from inside the car.
It's running off the same keyswitch relay (with it's own fuse) as my radio and such, the dashcam turns on when it gets power then turns off ~15 seconds after losing power (it has a small internal battery).
Pics of it in use -
Had a little bit of crud on the windshield (hazard of parking under trees) but the image quality is decent.
And a vid - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0hfOmVUpU0
Camera breaks it down to 3 min videos, I just picked one (nothing special happens, just a snip of my commute). |
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Brian
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Joined: May 28, 2012
Posts: 8340
Location: Oceanside
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| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 8:08 pm Post subject: |
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Tell your insurance company you want some discounts.
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sb001
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Joined: May 19, 2011
Posts: 10406
Location: NW Arkansas
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| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 9:48 pm Post subject: |
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You must live in Russia 
http://www.wired.com/2013/02/russian-dash-cams/
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Joel
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Joined: September 04, 2006
Posts: 11099
Location: NSW Australia
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| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 10:39 pm Post subject: |
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I've had a dashcam in all my cars for a while, great for those hit and run victims and road rage incidents.
the one in my bug has a second rearward facing camera on a cable for the rear window too.
I almost hit a cyclist a few weeks ago, anytime there's a car vs bike accident everyone is quick to blame the car driver, lucky my camera showed he rode out without even looking.
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Quick little bug, you got a Porsche motor in that?
1974 Germanlook 1303 2.5 Suba-Beetle |
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flyboy161
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Joined: December 26, 2009
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Location: Perry, GA
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windfish
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Joined: September 05, 2012
Posts: 1126
Location: NC
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| Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 8:53 am Post subject: |
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Hah, some of those Russian dashcam vids are crazy...
This is probably the most bizarre one I've seen -
We're apparently not quite as dedicated in the US (that windshield smash..), but it does happen - http://jalopnik.com/watch-a-dashcam-foil-an-insurance-scam-1591517812
Seems somewhat less likely to happen to a bug, but 's kinda nice to have video all the same.
Got any pictures of your setup Joel? I searched around a bit but didn't find anyone else who'd put one in an aircooled bug.
Doesn't look like Geico (or any US insurance agency) is offering any discounts atm, but hey. Maybe they'll come around eventually. |
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EverettB 
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Joined: April 11, 2000
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Location: Phoenix Metro
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CWAVE
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Joined: September 18, 2008
Posts: 510
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| Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 10:08 am Post subject: |
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I really like this. It never occurred to me that people are out there that'd try to fake an injury (guess I either live under a rock or my brain doesn't work like this), but it sure would be a lifesaver to have "just in case". Also could be useful for accident situations to prove guilt (or innocence). Been in a couple of those in my life that would have benefited from having something like this (this sort of tech didn't exist back then however).
Seems like pretty cheap insurance. You've really got me thinkin now. The device you're using seems to be very well reviewed. Watched the youtube you put up, and it's quite nice.
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windfish
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Joined: September 05, 2012
Posts: 1126
Location: NC
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| Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 10:27 am Post subject: |
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Just a side note, the camera does support sound, the clip I uploaded just didn't have it on.
I thought I had sound on, but may have bumped the mic button or something.
Some more info on the camera here - https://dashcamtalk.com/b40-a118/
I picked that one because it's small, inconspicuous, cheapish, and has decent reviews.
If I'm thinking about this right, the camera has a 15,000kbps max bit rate so with a 32GB card that should be ~ 4 hour 45min recording time.
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=32GB%2F15%2C000kbps
That's the max bitrate at the highest quality, so a worst case scenario. You can also set the quality lower and extend the time.
Edit - and yeah, once full it loops back and deletes the oldest record. You can choose to have the camera break it up in to 1, 3, or 5 min chunks. It defaults to 3 min so that's what I left it on. |
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Dwayne1m
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Joined: December 31, 2011
Posts: 3538
Location: Pennsylvania
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| Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 3:54 pm Post subject: |
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| I think it's pretty cool. It would be neat to have one on a cruise in the fall with all the leaves changing. I have a vert and it would be neat to mount one above the windshield with the top down. I'm not familiar with them but it would be neat to have it on a swivel to look to the left or right instead of straight ahead all the time. You could only do that with a vert though and the camera mounted above the windshield. |
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Dwayne1m
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Joined: December 31, 2011
Posts: 3538
Location: Pennsylvania
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| Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 3:57 pm Post subject: |
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| windfish wrote: |
Hah, some of those Russian dashcam vids are crazy...
This is probably the most bizarre one I've seen -
We're apparently not quite as dedicated in the US (that windshield smash..), but it does happen - http://jalopnik.com/watch-a-dashcam-foil-an-insurance-scam-1591517812
Seems somewhat less likely to happen to a bug, but 's kinda nice to have video all the same.
Got any pictures of your setup Joel? I searched around a bit but didn't find anyone else who'd put one in an aircooled bug.
Doesn't look like Geico (or any US insurance agency) is offering any discounts atm, but hey. Maybe they'll come around eventually. |
Umm, can someone explain that to me? Why would anyone do something so stupid? |
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Joel
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Joined: September 04, 2006
Posts: 11099
Location: NSW Australia
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| Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 4:04 pm Post subject: |
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So he could say that he was hit by the car and get a big compensation payout.
| CWAVE wrote: |
| It never occurred to me that people are out there that'd try to fake an injury |
It's not just injuries, people try to do accident scams too.
I saw one last year a guy on the motorway slams on his brakes for no reason and when the car behind didnt hit him he threw it in reverse and backed into it and then proceeded to tell the owner he wouldnt go to the cops and insurance company if he paid $500 cash to fix his car.
the look on his face when the guy pointed to the dash cam was priceless.
| windfish wrote: |
Got any pictures of your setup Joel? I searched around a bit but didn't find anyone else who'd put one in an aircooled bug. |
Here you go,
And the rear camera
It's only a cheap nasty thing from China off ebay but the quality isnt too bad.
My only real complaint is in really hot weather the plastic case must expand and screw with the focus but apparently thats a common problem with cheap dashcams.
I've just got a 16gb card in which holds about 3hrs of footage with both cams going.
that is set on the highest quality setting.
Forget how many MP the camera is
Link
The night vision isnt the best but its fairly usable footage.
Kangaroos may seem cute and cuddly on TV but they are a road hazard at night...
Link
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Quick little bug, you got a Porsche motor in that?
1974 Germanlook 1303 2.5 Suba-Beetle |
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wellcraft
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Joined: September 12, 2014
Posts: 647
Location: Georgia
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| Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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How difficult would be to transfer one of this cameras form one vehicle to another, do they come with mounting brackets for this purpose? I have several cars that i used during the week or weekends but wouldn't like to buy several cameras as it would be to expensive.
Will be nice a set with front/rear mounted cameras like the previous poster. |
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Joel
Samba Member
Joined: September 04, 2006
Posts: 11099
Location: NSW Australia
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| Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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| wellcraft wrote: |
How difficult would be to transfer one of this cameras form one vehicle to another, do they come with mounting brackets for this purpose? I have several cars that i used during the week or weekends but wouldn't like to buy several cameras as it would be to expensive.
Will be nice a set with front/rear mounted cameras like the previous poster. |
I used to do that when I first got mine, I've got 3 cars I switch between several times a week and didnt want to buy multiple cameras.
The camera I bought came with 2 mounts, the stick on in the beetle but also a second suction cap one like a GPS which made it easy to move between cars.
Only problem with that was I couldnt move the rear camera easily and the power cable I've got fitted beneath the head liner and interior trim panels so its not hanging in the way and looking ugly.
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Quick little bug, you got a Porsche motor in that?
1974 Germanlook 1303 2.5 Suba-Beetle |
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windfish
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Joined: September 05, 2012
Posts: 1126
Location: NC
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| Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 6:10 pm Post subject: |
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| wellcraft wrote: |
How difficult would be to transfer one of this cameras form one vehicle to another, do they come with mounting brackets for this purpose? I have several cars that i used during the week or weekends but wouldn't like to buy several cameras as it would be to expensive.
Will be nice a set with front/rear mounted cameras like the previous poster. |
The camera I linked would be a poor choice, it's more designed to be mounted and left alone. It does have a mount, but it's double-sided taped to the windshield and it doesn't release the camera all that easily.
Search around https://dashcamtalk.com/ if you're interested in these things, great resource. The G1W looks like it uses a standard suction cup mount which would be easier to swap around.
Thanks for the pics Joel, looks like that works fairly well.
At the moment I think nearly all the dashcams are cheap things from China, clicked a few of the manufacturer's pages and it seems like their only products are dash cams. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, just a little odd. |
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