Dashcams

[Bluesofa]

Our cheap but cheerful Chinese dashcam costing 1,000B has given up the ghost after about five years.

I'm looking for another one. I was interested in the streaming upload option that some have, allowing the video to be uploaded to 'the cloud'.
I saw some reviews of various dashcams. They say there's an app for the video, you can choose either IOS or Android.

Have I misread something here, why would a dashcam need you to choose between the two systems? Surely the dashcam is independent of this, as it must be the manufacturer's own firmware that allows you to upload the video?
Surely all you need is a SIM with a data only account?
Or is the app for some other use?

[Shark]

On 11/15/2021 at 1:23 PM, Bluesofa said:

Have I misread something here, why would a dashcam need you to choose between the two systems? Surely the dashcam is independent of this, as it must be the manufacturer's own firmware that allows you to upload the video?

It's a application on your phone you then connect to over Bluetooth with most of these systems and hence the either or.

[Bluesofa]

8 minutes ago, Shark said:

It's a application on your phone you then connect to over Bluetooth with most of these systems and hence the either or.

Connect for what?

[Shark]

Just now, Bluesofa said:

Connect for what?

Sending the video to the cloud or your sd-card on your phone. either way.

[Bluesofa]

We're just talking about setting the thing up, to get the dashcam to upload to a server, is that correct?
 

[Shark]

36 minutes ago, Bluesofa said:

We're just talking about setting the thing up, to get the dashcam to upload to a server, is that correct?
 

yes none of the dashcam's I'm aware of comes with a sim-slot. So yes.

[Bluesofa]

9 minutes ago, Shark said:

yes none of the dashcam's I'm aware of comes with a sim-slot. So yes.

Thanks for your replies.

Right, that's a surprise to me. I had assumed (dangerous I know!) with 4G/5G speeds the dashcam would be continuously uploading over the mobile network via some sort of 'data only' sim package?

Because of what you said, I just googled specifically for 4G dashcams.
It looks like there are some that have a sim card, but it doesn't seem to be a standard option I thought it was, probably making it more expensive?

https://cardashcampicks.com/4g-dash-cam/

 

[Shark]

it would make it expensive twice, the upload as a decent video will need good data.
2nd the technology isn't free either a sim-slot just a sim-slot would be a +/-1000THB right there for simple 3G, 1500THB 4G/5G.

[Bluesofa]

23 minutes ago, Shark said:

it would make it expensive twice, the upload as a decent video will need good data.
2nd the technology isn't free either a sim-slot just a sim-slot would be a +/-1000THB right there for simple 3G, 1500THB 4G/5G.

I had a  look before, and I thought the 1,000B unlimited was for 4G, or am I mistaken? Even so, it's still too expensive unless there's something like a data only package on promotion.
I have a telecoms background and remember when 4G first came out, I calculated it was fast enough to u/l a reasonable video quality, signal coverage permitting of course.
I've seen some companies selling just that, using 4G (and now 5G) for fleet operators who want to monitor their drivers in real-time. Don't know about the 4G prices for other places though.

Oh well, looks like it's back to an ordinary dashcam.

[Shark]

don't forget monitoring cars isn't spreading data.

a car moving at 80km per hour going north bound somewhere you can basically just poll it every 1-5 minutes and do some predictions on it's behavior and adjust where it's wrong.

Ordinary dashcam will save you the hassle of cell coverage as in Thailand for sure 4G/5G isn't everywhere yet.

[DwizzleyMatthews]

I have a Xiaomi 70Mai , excellent resolution, very lightweight, has an excellent mounting ( my previous one with the suction cup was always falling off ).

Comes front only or front and rear cameras, the app lets you download videos to your phone ( wi-fi hotspot on dashcam) without removing the micro sd card, which would be handy in an accident where you can have the video at hand to send to insurance guy or cops etc.

Check them out on Lazada.

[Bluesofa]

32 minutes ago, DwizzleyMatthews said:

I have a Xiaomi 70Mai , excellent resolution, very lightweight, has an excellent mounting ( my previous one with the suction cup was always falling off ).

Comes front only or front and rear cameras, the app lets you download videos to your phone ( wi-fi hotspot on dashcam) without removing the micro sd card, which would be handy in an accident where you can have the video at hand to send to insurance guy or cops etc.

Check them out on Lazada.

There appear to be some different models of that 70Mai dashcam from what i can see - 1S, A800, A500s, MIDrive D05, there's quite a few.
I was interested in seeing the mount for the one you have. I'm sure plenty of us have had the suction cup failure.
How is yours secured near the windscreen?

[JamesE]

2 hours ago, Bluesofa said:

but it doesn't seem to be a standard option I thought it was, probably making it more expensive?

I'm surprised the cell carriers haven't jumped on this. The monthly fees would be a real winner for their bottom line.

19 minutes ago, Bluesofa said:

I was interested in seeing the mount for the one you have. I'm sure plenty of us have had the suction cup failure.

Pro tip: Leave your car in the sun and let the car and dash get really hot. Then mount the suction cup. Going forward, the cup will stay stuck until the car gets melted down for scrap.

[DwizzleyMatthews]

A800s is the latest I think, make sure it comes with the rear camera ( if you want it ), as there are many variations on Lazada .

They supply you with an electrostatic sticker ( + a spare ) so you can remove if required, I removed mine when I changed cars and it hasn’t fallen off in around 3 years ( mine is an earlier model 70Mai Pro plus ). Or you can stick it directly on the windscreen.

 

You can see the specs here:

https://dashcamtalk.com/70mai-a800s/

[Bluesofa]

19 minutes ago, DwizzleyMatthews said:

A800s is the latest I think, make sure it comes with the rear camera ( if you want it ), as there are many variations on Lazada .

They supply you with an electrostatic sticker ( + a spare ) so you can remove if required, I removed mine when I changed cars and it hasn’t fallen off in around 3 years ( mine is an earlier model 70Mai Pro plus ). Or you can stick it directly on the windscreen.

You can see the specs here:

https://dashcamtalk.com/70mai-a800s/

Unless i missed it, what the power connection? Is it via a cigarette lighter, or does it need hard-wiring in? Do you know if all the 700Mai are the same?

[DwizzleyMatthews]

Here’s a YouTube video showing the resolution:

I tried to post one of my saved videos on here but it surpassed the mb limit. ( a limit of 9.5mb means it would be a 4 second video )

But you can clearly see the car reg in front.

[DwizzleyMatthews]

8 minutes ago, Bluesofa said:

Unless i missed it, what the power connection? Is it via a cigarette lighter, or does it need hard-wiring in? Do you know if all the 700Mai are the same?

Plugs into cig lighter or USB port.

Can be hardwired, but that’s if you want to have parking monitored as well.

I think they are all the same, the later models A800 ( maybe A500 also) and above use one cig lighter socket or usb for both front and back cameras.

Edited November 16, 2021 by DwizzleyMatthews

[Vince]

On 11/14/2021 at 10:23 PM, Bluesofa said:

Our cheap but cheerful Chinese dashcam costing 1,000B has given up the ghost after about five years.

I'm looking for another one. I was interested in the streaming upload option that some have, allowing the video to be uploaded to 'the cloud'.
I saw some reviews of various dashcams. They say there's an app for the video, you can choose either IOS or Android.

Have I misread something here, why would a dashcam need you to choose between the two systems? Surely the dashcam is independent of this, as it must be the manufacturer's own firmware that allows you to upload the video?
Surely all you need is a SIM with a data only account?
Or is the app for some other use?

The Bluetooth might be OS independent but that's just a short haul connection protocol. And each OS has its own implementation. 

The files would buffer on the phone and go over the phones cellular data, which is all phone specific. 

You might be able to link to Bluetooth on your laptop and use your laptop mobile data sim to upload. Possibly a raspberry pi could do it?