Question re Dash Cams (1 Viewer)

Emmit

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Hi All,
Our van has a pair of concertina blinds at the front and as a result I am looking for somewhere more convenient to affix a dash cam.
A previous owner installed a now redundant Sat Nav with a pivotable fixed screen on the clipboard of the dashboard.
Although I am reluctant to remove the screen because that in turn gives us a place a affix the current Sat Nav, it occurred to me that the flat surface of the screen if turned to a horizontal plane may be a good place to have the dash cam facing forward. In doing so, however I think the dash cam would be upside down, ie the fixing would be below the actual camera

After all that blather my question is simple really. Can the image on a dash cam be altered through 180 degrees.
 

Minxy

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It depends on the one you've got as to what settings it's got but I believe some can have the image turned upside down. Is there room behind the rear view mirror (ie between the mirror and the windscreen) to fix it there without the mounting bracket so it can stay there all the time?
 
Feb 22, 2011
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Have you looked in the menu for the dash cam ? or the instruction book
There will probably be an option to manual or auto rotate the screen

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Allanm

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I suppose it depends on your software, but I guess it's possible but not very practical
You could always invest in a thinner dash cam, look at something like the Mio mivue 538, it may fit between the blind and the screen
 
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Emmit

Emmit

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Thanks for the quick replies.
I haven't bought one yet as the type I buy will decide on the answer to my question.
Also, if I fit it on the Sat Nav screen as proposed I wouldn't have any problems in supplying power as there are two sources close to the dashboard. If I fitted a camera up at the top of the screen I would have to take the wiring around the windscreen from the bottom.
 
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I fitted my Blackvue at the bottom of the screen as it would foul the blinds at the top.
The view is fine and no lower than it would be in a car, ideally would prefer it at the top but can't

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Feb 9, 2008
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Have a look at Roadhawk, not cheap but almost invisible when installed behind the reversing mirror and out blinds can be closed by quickly removing the camera. A great bit of kit.
 

KeithChesterfield

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I don't know if it helps you but I removed the interior mirror in my Ducato cab but left the bracket in place.

Then fitted the camera to the bracket – see photo.

You could fix any camera to the bracket if that is an option.
Camera Bracket 1.jpg
Camera Mount MOBIUS.jpg

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Last edited:
Jul 5, 2013
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We have fitted our camera on the clipboard at the centre of the dashboard - did it on our previous and new motorhome. Ours is a little cheap camera . There was a setting that allowed us to invert the image so that it was not upside down, but I can't remember how I did it - it was in the little instruction book that came with it, which I have now lost!
 

zac

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my dash cam fits on the window and misses the internal blinds, its nick name is the wedge (on the internet) because that's what it looks like, it is 1080p and takes a micro sd. Brought mine from amazon around £50. All the other dash cams i have seen are huge in comparison, this is perfect for my needs and may be yours :)
 

WSandME

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I bought one of these mini0801 GPS dashcams c/w an additional GPS base and a hard-wire kit.



No recommendation of this seller intended - just an example, and there are later versions available: mini0805/6?

The camera separates from the mount, which is small enough not to foul the concertina blinds in my Hymer. When I'm not motorhoming, the camera lives in my car using the second GPS mount.
The hard-wire kit is in the Hymer and I modified the cigar-lighter power lead to be permanently fixed in the car to a power lead activated by ignition.

The problem is that I now have several hundred gigabytes of video to edit into something tolerable (I have a nightly regimen, while travelling, of backing up the 32GB microSD to a NAS box! It's about 4GB per hour of HD video)

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GJH

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I suppose it depends on your software, but I guess it's possible but not very practical
You could always invest in a thinner dash cam, look at something like the Mio mivue 538, it may fit between the blind and the screen
I use a Mio Mivue 518, which is a similar size. It is mounted at the bottom left corner of the windscreen where the view is no longer obstructed by a tax disc. I don't know if that would obstruct internal blinds as we don't have them.
One thing to bear in mind with mounting is not to obstruct the driver's view of the road.
 
3

34127

Deleted User
I bought one of these mini0801 GPS dashcams c/w an additional GPS base and a hard-wire kit.



No recommendation of this seller intended - just an example, and there are later versions available: mini0805/6?

The camera separates from the mount, which is small enough not to foul the concertina blinds in my Hymer. When I'm not motorhoming, the camera lives in my car using the second GPS mount.
The hard-wire kit is in the Hymer and I modified the cigar-lighter power lead to be permanently fixed in the car to a power lead activated by ignition.

The problem is that I now have several hundred gigabytes of video to edit into something tolerable (I have a nightly regimen, while travelling, of backing up the 32GB microSD to a NAS box! It's about 4GB per hour of HD video)
Have just bought the Mini 0805 because of its tiny size and like the idea of the mount containing the GPS and you can remove the dash cam from the mount.
Still trying to work out best resolution to use in terms of quality/recording time.
What software do you use for viewing back the footage.
 

DBK

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What software do you use for viewing back the footage.
It depends on what format it is recorded in. At least one dash cam does not produce files you can directly read. You have to install a program on a PC and this then extracts the files from the dash cam. This means you can't access the files if you are away and have only an Android Radlett with you, for example.

But most seem to generate files in a format which can be read with commonly available software. The dash cam you have seems to record in .mov format which MX Player and VLC Player should be able to show.

I can only suggest copy a file across to say your PC and double click on it.

For an Android device you will need additional software and hardware to copy the files from the SD card, unless your device has an SD card slot. I use a standard card reader, an OTG cable and for software I use OTG Disk Explorer.

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Emmit

Emmit

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Thinking about the power to the dash cam.

Would a supply from the internal lights at the top of the windscreen (with say a separate switch cos presumably it's not ignition powered) work?
 

GeriatricWanderer

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Thinking about the power to the dash cam.

Would a supply from the internal lights at the top of the windscreen (with say a separate switch cos presumably it's not ignition powered) work?


Now there's a thought! Sounds good to me - not too difficult to rig and would save having to route that wire to the cigar lighter/12 socket.
I'm no electrical techie so I'll await the experts opinions.
 

DBK

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If you have to remember to turn it on - you will frequently forget, or at least I do with our dash cam! An ignition feed is by far the best but obviously a little more work to set up.

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34127

Deleted User
It depends on what format it is recorded in. At least one dash cam does not produce files you can directly read. You have to install a program on a PC and this then extracts the files from the dash cam. This means you can't access the files if you are away and have only an Android Radlett with you, for example.

But most seem to generate files in a format which can be read with commonly available software. The dash cam you have seems to record in .mov format which MX Player and VLC Player should be able to show.

I can only suggest copy a file across to say your PC and double click on it.

For an Android device you will need additional software and hardware to copy the files from the SD card, unless your device has an SD card slot. I use a standard card reader, an OTG cable and for software I use OTG Disk Explorer.
I am currently using QuickTimePlayer but was looking for other options to try. I like the DashCam Viewer software but only have a trial version and it is not a free option.
 

WSandME

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If you have to remember to turn it on - you will frequently forget, or at least I do with our dash cam! An ignition feed is by far the best but obviously a little more work to set up.

Agree. Best is ignition fed.
However. You can buy a hard-wire feed that powers permanently, the camera is in "standby" and only records when it sees movement - good for car park dings.
There is also a discrete power-pack on sale which I assume acts like a UPS (uninterruptible power supply). Check out "Techmoan" reviews on Youtube.

I used to use the supplied visualisation software via Virtualbox running XP on my iMac. Now I use Datakam.
 

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