DASH CAM Faq site?

Am interested in the techical aspects. Power consumption can it withstand 130F temps? Can it record a full day? Cigarette lighter power? Looking at the sun resistant? What minimum specs are important and what is Herb Tarlick rhetoric?

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
I'd better get one I guess. It can save my tocino in event of an accident.................

Also could work the other way around.

Oh, I forgot. Most if not all record audio also. Usually you have the option to turn the feature off.

The audio that is recorded is voices from within the car, and of course your radio.

Unsolicited advice follows. Do not play back the audio to show your wife she is a "back seat driver." Lol

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Mexican cop: YOU WERE SPEEDING

Gringo Motorist: HOW COULD YOU TELL? YOU ARRIVED AT THE T INTERSECTION WELL AFTER I HAD PASSED IT

Mexican Cop: THIS IS EASY TO DECIDE. EVERYONE SPEEDS ON THIS HIGHWAY!

QED.

Let me suggest that if you are able to identify your specific requirements it will make your search very much easier.

Need front and rear recordings? Do you need GPS? (Needed to determine and record vehicle speed.) Need to archive any particular duration? Do you really need, say, 1080p? Do you need to be able to playback the video(s) while sitting in the car? Is stealth important - either from a anti-theft while parked perspective or from some other need for secrecy?

I actually have two units in my car. One is the Garmin 20 which has GPS and thus records my speed and of course time, etc. It faces forward and is not very well hidden. I have a second unit, like a $40 set that points rearward and is mounted on my rear window - no GPS, as I have that info on the other unit. By plan it is VERY obvious and i believe it has caused more than a few tailgaters to spot it and back off a little.

If I were shopping today, instead of two cameras I'd look at one of the Split Screen units - half screen looking forward, half screen looking aft. Can go to single screen and use as a backup camera.

Many SEMIs now a days have three cameras. One facing forward, and two attached to the side mirrors pointing aft.

some of these units are pretty cheaply made. I had a huge problem with RFI from that cheap camera interfering with my GPS. No problem now that I have the cheapo camera in the back of the van.

Mexican cop: YOU WERE SPEEDING

Gringo Motorist: HOW COULD YOU TELL? YOU ARRIVED AT THE T INTERSECTION WELL AFTER I HAD PASSED IT

Mexican Cop: THIS IS EASY TO DECIDE. EVERYONE SPEEDS ON THIS HIGHWAY!

I went with a Garmin unit (Dash Cam 20) that tags each frame with lat/lon as well as time and date.

Too many drivers doing crazy stuff on the road these days.

****

NinerBikes wrote:
Maybe post it up under tow vehicles? You have any Russian friends?, They can advise you what works and what doesn't if they've been to the Old Country recently, everyone there has one running, for liability purposes.... seems stupid pedestrians there like to run into cars and collect from insurance companies with fraud, instead of work for their rubles. Fraud, I tell ya.

well they're clearly not driving fast enough then.

I went through the same search and nonsense you did. I finally settled on this one and it's worked well for me the last six months.
Amazon Dash Cam

I like it since it hides real well behind the rear view mirror and doesn't clutter up my windshield.

Jim

Maybe post it up under tow vehicles? You have any Russian friends?, They can advise you what works and what doesn't if they've been to the Old Country recently, everyone there has one running, for liability purposes.... seems stupid pedestrians there like to run into cars and collect from insurance companies with fraud, instead of work for their rubles. Fraud, I tell ya.