Dash cam advice please

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Bandit12
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Dash cam advice please

Post by Bandit12 »

After some yahoo dented back of my car n drove off while it was parked in supermarket I thought a dash cam with rear camera would be good investment. I was thinking that discreet front n rear fixed cameras with infra red, expandable memory n parking protection would do the job. Don't want huge great camera stuck in middle of windscreen that could be tempting someone to steal n don't see need fr GPS as cars already got that with satnav.
Anyone recommend a good kit?
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Re: Dash cam advice please

Post by GiveMeABreak »

I did a Dash Cam Front & Rear how-to here on my X7 to give you an idea:
Installing Front & Rear Dash Cameras in C5 X7 Project
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Re: Dash cam advice please

Post by Bandit12 »

Perfect mate! Good price excellent instructions. Many thanks.
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Re: Dash cam advice please

Post by Bandit12 »

After following the excellent advice and photos I now have a front and rear dash cam fitted. I didnt want one with a screen but wanted as discreet as possible so went for a thinkware F100. So far its brilliant and does everything i want it to. However I have encountered a problem with its front screen position. I have put it at the top of the windscreen in the middle, just to the left of the black moulding that houses the rain sensors etc. From drivers perspective it is almost hidden behind the left hand edge of the rear view mirror. Only problem is it is above the arc of the left hand wiper-Grrr. Picture obscured by dirty screen/activating screen washers/rain! Don't want to put it on the right side as it will be in my view, also the cable linking the front and back camera is not quite long enough. Dont want to move the camera into the middle of the screen as again the cable is not long enough and it will impede my view.
Simple solution-swap the windscreen wipers over-not a simple solution as they are handed. Does anyone know if the french left hand drive version has reversed windscreen wipers with the long one on the left and the short one on the right? It would solve all my problems but suspect it might be MOT failure or similar due to bureaucracy/type approval etc.

Any advice is appreciated

Bandit
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Re: Dash cam advice please

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Apart from the expense of replacing these for a pair of LHD units, I can't say that it would have any impact on the MOT - as long as they wash and wipe. I doubt anyone would notice - but again - going to the extremities - would it be a reason for insurance voiding should the worse happen and it was ever noticed .....

On the camera front, I have mine top of the light/wiper sensor console unit and it is well out of my viewing area - my seat height is about middle of travel range too. It doesn't obstruct my view - but I guess if your cable is a little short it might be an issue. You could consider splicing into it and increasing the length and use a bit of heat shrink to protect the join.
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Re: Dash cam advice please

Post by Bandit12 »

Cheers marc, I'm looking into getting a 1metre extension. As my citroen doc is not working at the moment can anyone give me part numbers for LHD wiper arms?

Many thanks

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Re: Dash cam advice please

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Bandit - I don't think this will work just changing the arms.... The motors for each arm are controlled master / slave with independent motors for the correct lifting sequence. If you change the arms to the LHD arms which of course are different lengths, then they may actually collide with each other! That is why they have separate motor units for the LHD vehicles too. :-D

I can't see why they would go to the expense of having separate motors for RHD / LHD if it was just a matter of arm length....

But in case you are feeling adventurous here are the left hand drive arms parts: 8-[
6429 EY Right Arm (Left Hand Drive)
6429 EW Left Arm (Left Hand Drive)
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Re: Dash cam advice please

Post by Paul-R »

I noticed that the LH wiper wouldn't sweep low enough so I put my camera to the right of the interior mirror. I suppose technically you can see the screen but it's on such a sloping angle that it's very easy to ignore. In addition the screen is very small compared to other models.
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Re: Dash cam advice please

Post by GiveMeABreak »

I have the facility on my camera whereby the LCD screen can be set to switch off after a couple of minutes of starting the engine, so it is not distracting at all. I now have it set on this all the time.
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Re: Dash cam advice please

Post by Paul-R »

As an afterthought, I've just driven 1000km back through France and the UK and I had to make a conscious effort to look at the screen.

First of all, the device is so small that you can't make out any details on the very slanted screen. Secondly, half of the screen is covered by the rear view mirror anyway, thirdly the brightness of the outside world takes your attention away from the relatively darker inside and fourthly (finally?) when you pull the sunvisor down it covers the other half of the screen.
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Re: Dash cam advice please

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

You might want to have a look at the instruction guide. Most dash cams have the ability to turn off the backlight after a set period of time (I have mine set to two minutes).
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Re: Dash cam advice please

Post by Stickyfinger »

No screen on mine, it just says "hello"

There is an App on my phone using WiFi...I can do all the controls from that or watch live. (DDpi)
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Re: Dash cam advice please

Post by Bandit12 »

thanks for the tips and apologies for the late reply, in the middle of moving house and estate agents are about as helpful and honest as the KGB! Anyway following marcs advice changing wiper arms etc is way too complicated so I have bought an extension lead off fleabay and will mount camera a bit further down into the windscreen arc then problem solved :-) I'll get around to fitting it all in a few days but if you hear on the news that a biker has been taken to hospital for accidentally breaking his leg while kicking an estate agent to death......... chuckle
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Re: Dash cam advice please

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Yes, I don’t think I recommended that method, just mentioned it is possible. You should have some location mounting options if you spliced in an extension, but glad you have found a satisfactory place at last. :-D
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Re: Dash cam advice please

Post by Bandit12 »

Yeah sorry Marc re read my post n meant to read that I will follow yr advice of not to mess with wiper arms as too complicated. Found a 1 metre long lead on flea bay with correct connectors fr less than £2 so no soldering or splicing required. Got a new 3m sticky pad fr camera mount too n will move camera in next few days. Cheers fr all the advice :-)
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