Anyone use a dashcam?

Post by **matthew1** » 14 Mar 2018, 13:59

From a Facebook auto enthusiast group I'm in...

: Untitled-2.jpg (70 KiB) Viewed 3000 times

Georgeandkira · Post by **Georgeandkira** » 16 Mar 2018, 09:21

I clicked "Thanks" and am now writing a thanks.

Heavens, reading comparative product reviews taxes me BIG TIME but has to be done.
My foray into "runner's GPS toys" almost killed me.

Anyone with dash cam recommendations is urged to post them.

jaf1230 · Post by **jaf1230** » 16 Mar 2018, 09:55

I recently bought an Aukey dash cam, with front and rear cameras, and I bought the GPS add-on. The rear camera seems to interfere with my XM radio antenna, and I haven't yet worked toward a solution other than unplugging the rear camera (leaving me with front camera video only). So far, I like it other than the interference. It has a great field of view, and is decent (but not great) at night.
I recently got a ticket for 83 in a 65, which I wasn't doing but had no proof, and that's why I bought mine.

[edit] Tried posting Amazon links but they didn't show. It's a model DR02 D.

Post by **matthew1** » 16 Mar 2018, 10:04

jaf1230 welcome to MVS and thanks for posting. Below is the Amazon link for your unit. You can just post the naked Amazon URL and it'll format it.

https://www.amazon.com/AUKEY-Wide-Angle ... dpSrc=srch

zjevik · Post by **zjevik** » 16 Mar 2018, 19:38

I have two VIOFO A119S with GPS. One in my car and one in my wife's car. My wife has it for more than a year and it still works like a champ. We live in South Florida so I needed something without battery.

When you buy a dash cam be sure to buy a "premium" SD card or the SD card will stop working in a few months after continuous use.

Post by **abscate** » 16 Mar 2018, 19:57

$139 ?

That's like 40 oil changes!

Post by **wizechatmgr** » 16 Mar 2018, 20:52

abscate wrote: ↑16 Mar 2018, 19:57 $139 ?

That's like 40 oil changes!

But how many if they reuse your oil? =p

Post by **wizechatmgr** » 16 Mar 2018, 21:09

Seems the VIOFOs are also rebranded as SpyTec - a company I've had some good experiences with. I happen to have a GPS tracker from them that has had only one real glitch in a year which just required powering it off and turning it back on where it was hard mounted (hidden) in the vehicle behind the radio. Customer service has always been responsive in the two times they've been contacted.

You want to make sure you don't get the first version of the A119S which had a design flaw that caused the dashcam to restart or turn off repeatedly during operation - at random intervals. The last thing you want is a collision and then to find out the footage was lost...

zjevik · Post by **zjevik** » 16 Mar 2018, 23:57

abscate wrote: ↑16 Mar 2018, 19:57 $139 ?

That's like 40 oil changes!

Forty oil changes?! Where do you get your oil, you will have to ship me some

I got it after a guy backed in me on a parking lot (on Christmas Day) and blamed it on me. The cop couldn't determine who was on fault and there were no witnesses. I have just a dent on my bumper but it made me pretty mad. People down here are pretty selfish, uninsured and won't admit fault.

Wizechatmgr, my wife has the first version and it's not that bad. It worked for a month or so and then it started to restart. Then I figured out that if I connect the power cable directly to the camera (and not to the GPS module) the camera works perfectly. I also added some padding between the GPS module and the camera so it stays connected for most of the time. There are times when the GPS is disconnected but it's not that often and I won't buy a new camera just because of that.

Although in my car I have the version 2 that works perfectly.

WhatAmIDoing · Post by **WhatAmIDoing** » 17 Mar 2018, 23:47

I've seen and heard good things about the VIOFO A119 V2. I've also been looking at the VAVA dash cam, which has had good reviews among auto vloggers and from what I've seen, the video quality is very good. I like that it's small and easy to hide, plus it comes with features I would only expect to find on a much more expensive dash cam. I've also considered just using my gopro, but not sure I'd like to constantly set it up before every drive though.

As for an SD card, I recommend SanDisk Extremes. They can take a beating and should handle constant rewriting and extreme temp changes well. You don't really need a big SD card unless you want to record long trips in full, save lots of clips, or record in 4k. The last few minutes are all that really matter in terms of an accident. A 16GB SanDisk Extreme micro-SD is dirt cheap and plenty big.

And as a side note for safety, always stay well back/away from trucks or try to [safely] get in front of them. You never know what will come flying back at you. Same goes for any vehicle hauling anything uncovered. You have no idea how well that load is secured. I can still remember my old driving instructor telling me to try to maintain 10 seconds or more following distance from a loaded truck. This will give you enough time to react if that load suddenly decides to stop being on that truck.