Powering a dash cam

Bumpyroad wrote:

TyroneandGladys wrote:
Slightly off topic
Do not mount the dash cam, or anything else, on the actual windshield. In many state it is illegal and in some states they can only be mounted in very specific areas of the windshield.
The police can use this as a "justified reason" for a traffic stop.
It happened to us.

my dash cams are mounted at the top of the windshield, the only thing they can block would be an airplane. my GPS is much more intrusive than that, don't know where I could mount it where I could see it and it could get signals OK.
bumpy

My 4 inch screen GPS was mounted in the center of my windshield all the way to the bottom where it only blocked the view of the hood and I was stopped on I40 east of Holbrook by a DPS trooper and given a warning.
IMHO and from feedback from friends it is something that police use as "just cause" to stop you and look for something else.
In my case I was driving a car with Colorado plates and ever since Colorado legalized marijuana it has become common for any car with Colorado plates to get stopped in other states using something for "just cause" so the police can check the car for any signs and or smell of marijuana.
My GPS is now back in the same place but on a dash mount not on the window and it is legal.

The dash cam will shut itself off after whatever period of inactivity (the vehicle is not moving) that you specify. I set ours to 2 minutes. It will, however, turn on again if somebody runs into the vehicle.

I opened up the dash and piggybacked off the radio feed wire. Dashcams use a tiny amount of power and won't blow the radio fuse.. Cam starts and stops with the RV...

Ford E-series generally have all the accessory/lighter sockets on all the time, at least so far as I know. Certainly mine are both always on.

It would not be a particularly difficult job to add a relay to turn one off with the ignition using e.g. the switched lead for the radio, which is conveniently in the area. (Actually, for dedicated use by a dash cam, wiring up a new socket to that lead would also be fine; a dashcam doesn't use much power.) I think some dashcams also can be set up to turn on and off based on movement rather than switched with their power supply.

If you have a front window on the cabover, that makes a superior place to stick a dashcam. It's out of the way of the driver, and gets a very nice view of the road.

We hardwired our dashcam using a kit from http://www.thedashcamstore.com/

Was pretty much plug and play, very simple.

TyroneandGladys wrote:
Slightly off topic
Do not mount the dash cam, or anything else, on the actual windshield. In many state it is illegal and in some states they can only be mounted in very specific areas of the windshield.
The police can use this as a "justified reason" for a traffic stop.
It happened to us.

my dash cams are mounted at the top of the windshield, the only thing they can block would be an airplane. my GPS is much more intrusive than that, don't know where I could mount it where I could see it and it could get signals OK.
bumpy

Slightly off topic
Do not mount the dash cam, or anything else, on the actual windshield. In many state it is illegal and in some states they can only be mounted in very specific areas of the windshield.
The police can use this as a "justified reason" for a traffic stop.
It happened to us.

I got a wye with one male plug and two female outlets and cut one of the wires leading to the positive side of one outlet and put an inline switch in that. it is a PITA to unplug/replug in all the time.
oh I forgot to mention that radio shack was where I got the fuse/pigtails, used to jumper from an always hot fuse.
bumpy

Kennyg wrote:
When in dout, just pull the plug when you turn the key off.

Yep, after a dead battery or two, it becomes as normal as taking the key out of the ignition. :)

When in dout, just pull the plug when you turn the key off.