Top 3 Dashcam Battery Packs for Parking Recording
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- čas přidán 3. 06. 2024
- Here are the best dash camera batteries for parking recording.
Best All-Around Battery Pack:
BlackBoxMyCar Powercell 8: geni.us/PowerCell8
Discount (5% off) for BlackboxMyCar.com: Automatic when using the link above
Best for BlackVue dashcams:
BlackVue B-130X: geni.us/BlackvueB130X
Discount (5% off) for BlackboxMyCar.com: Automatic when using the link above
Discount Code (5% off) for Blackvue.com: VortexRadar
Best for new Thinkware dashcams:
Thinkware iVolt Xtra: geni.us/ThinkwareiVoltXtra
U3000 / iVolt Xtra Launch Special: geni.us/ThinkwareU3000Bundle
Discount Code (5% off) for Thinkware.com: Vortex
Smaller & Cheaper Dashcam Batteries:
Blackvue B-112, 3000 mAh: amzn.to/3WVEVsw
Thinkware iVolt Mini, 4500 mAh: amzn.to/3WTDD1r
Blackvue B-124x, 6000 mAh: amzn.to/3oY7TLV
Misc Equipment:
Benchtop power supply: geni.us/YFhSrC [Amazon]
Portable jump start battery: geni.us/CXzpyO [Amazon]
0:00 Intro
0:59 Dashcam Power Sources
2:11 Car Battery vs. Dedicated Battery
5:01 Battery Similarities
8:18 BlackboxMyCar Powercell 8
12:39 BlackVue B-130X
18:21 Thinkware iVolt Xtra
23:29 Summary
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Recommended Equipment:
Radar Detector: geni.us/Redline360c
Laser Jammer: bit.ly/AntiLaserPriority
Dashcam: geni.us/ViofoA139Pro2CH
Dashcam battery pack: geni.us/Powercell8-A139
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#Dashcam #Dashcamera #Battery #BlackboxMyCar #Powercell8 #BlackVue #B130X #Thinkware #iVoltXtra #VortexRadar - Auta a dopravní prostředky
Correction: The iVolt Xtra only supports 12v. If you need a 24v battery, only the B-130x supports that.
B-124x also does 24v & also has expansion port, love that thing… 4 years already 🎉
For myself, I started with a Blackvue B-124 with 2 additional expansion batteries. I could barely get 8 hours of parking mode time since my commute to work is only about 15 minutes. My solution that works perfect was to buy an Optima Yellow Top deep cycle battery along with a battery isolator. I can get anywhere from 2 to 3 days of parking mode time now. The deep cycle battery was actually a little cheaper than the B-124x too.
This is the video we need more often. Hope you'll make this a yearly thing for reviews as we move into new battery technology.
Thank you so much, this was extremely informative!!! Not only did you provide information about specific battery packs, but more importantly you explained the different battery situations at the beginning, and that really helped me understand more about all this. Thank you!!
Vortex Radar is a national treasure. Thank you for this research and presentation while I'm setting up a new camera system for a car.
Thanks for all the info Vortex. U learn new stuff everyday and I definitely learned something useful today.
Great vid. One of the best in the business!
Great video! My setup is BV 750X 2ch IR w/ B-124x, but I just setup my wife car with A139Pro 2ch IR w/ Fuse box Hardwire… I will eventually get her a dedicated battery, just need to save up for one.
When BlackVue released the B130X battery, they came with a video on CZcams that show a person driving to the beach, and when he walked away from the vehicle , and logged into his BlackVue app cloud account, he was able to see how much charge left on the B130X. In reality, until now it's not available to view the charge over cloud service.
Can’t wait to see newer cars with all this built in.
Thanks for this informative review
My question is which of this batteries actually has/compatible with a power cord that can be gotten to charge the battery in-house (from the comfort of my home) and returning it back into the car after full charging, instead of waiting for my long time driving to get it charged up
Thanks
Dash Cam Battery Packs are like my first first divorce.
Exorbitantly expensive but worth every penny.
As an added bonus LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery packs won’t set your car on fire when things get hot. lol
lol
This comment is fire 🔥!
In some cases a upgraded alternator is a great choice as well, depending on how far you drive etc often the alternator just can’t charge the battery enough when commuting while it’s also being used. I also just personally use battery banks, no need for a custom version from a camera manufacturer that costs more unless the convenience factor is critical imo.
A usual powerbank would mostly be Li-ion. If you're leaving your powerbank in use inside the car for hours, ensure that you account for overheating, possible fires, overcharging, etc. Depending on the battery material and technology.
This is a problem these dedicated battery packs being advertised here solves.
@@Chuukwudi no you misunderstand the point. You plan to have these standalone batteries charge from the car right? Not take the batteries inside regularly and charge them ?
My Ford Escape has that pathetically small car battery. Thankfully I do have a battery Jumpstarter so, this is very useful information!
Question, when using a dedicated external battery hard wired to your car what size fuse did you piggyback off of to charge the battery when driving ie 5, 7.5, 10, 15, 20? cheers
Nice video👍👍👍
Question, the power cell 8 battery is compatible with ring car camera...?
What I did was to add a big motorcycle Deep-cycle AGM battery connected in parallel to the main battery and with a Cutoff Relay that shuts down the connection to the main camera as soon as you turn off the car.
Those batteries can charge very quickly and lasts about day and half to deep discharge
Thanks for Timestamps!
I have the old Cellink Neo 6. Not sure if I should buy a backup battery or just get the new Blackbox PowerCell8. I'm running the A139 pro so the battery doesn't last long. Also because its an older battery, pretty sure I'm nowhere close to the 6000 mAH it originally started with. Would you recommend getting the backup or getting the PowerCell 8?
Hello thank you for this video! Question I have the Thinkware U1000 that I use in conjunction with the OBD power cable. I want to use a wifi hotspot to monitor the car, what can I use to power the wifi hotspot?
Question I currently have a BlackVue 124x I love it but I was curious so I have a 12volt car hook up just it’s on a battery box like you would use for camping it’s rated to 12volts is that able to be used to charge my battery or power my dash cam? As it would allow me to have power for extended periods of time without running the car.
Hi Vortex! eagerly awaiting your review & comparison of the new A119 Mini 2
I've been running it the past few weeks collecting footage. I'll hopefully have the video ready in the next couple weeks. :)
I recently purchase a brand new Durango and was just about to hardwire the vehicle to run parking mode when i realized that I would be leaving for a month but was unsure if that would kill my battery if not turned on. The dash cam I got is the RedTiger. My questions is if i hardwire it to the battery will i have any problem if gone for a month or should i just install a battery pack and connect to that? Thank for any help!
I’m so sorry to ask you this again but do you have a feel for what a solid/best motorcycle setup cam wise is currently ?
Bought a A139 Pro and Powercell 8 last week, someday I'll get my RAV4 XSE allocation and install it....
If you have existing thinkware ivolt xtra can you add the powercell 8 with it for longer parking recording?
Upgraded my Cellink to a Blackvue B-130X. The Blackvue worked ok for about 3 weeks. The battery pack seems to hold a charge but the bluetooth amp now only shows 1% charge. Now I dont know what the status of the battery pak is anymore. Went back to my Cellink. I have a VIOFO A139 Pro.
Great video and awesome explanations as usual. As any battery has a limited number of charges, how long this kind of power banks would last if it is hook to your car battery to maintain its power during driving ?
I'm wondering if instead one of these power banks, a booster/powerbank (hulkman85s for example) would do the job too ?
Thanx
I’m not sure of their lifespan and degradation rates off the top of my head, but FWIW I’ve had multiple batteries running daily for years now and they’re still working great.
@@VortexRadar Thanx
I have the PC8 paired with a u1000. I had to limit the charge current to 8A, it was blowing 10A fuses during car starts. Still works just fine at that amprage though
What about a larger fuse? I’ve heard reports of it hitting 14A at times. Maybe a 20A fuse would do the trick?
@@VortexRadar could be, i just errored on the side of caution to avoid burning the Battery mgmt system
I've read others have been having issues with 10A fuses popping. Once they switched to a 15A fuse, it worked fine.
Thanks for the valuable information. Do you know of a good installer who can hardwire dashcam and radar detector? I am in Bothell WA 😊
Thanks for the informative video as always. I rarely, if ever, hear about these or other rechargeable battery packs run into problems from being stored in a car during a hot summer or cold winter. While I understand the extra benefits that these battery packs offer, are they and other commonly used portable battery packs safe to keep in the car long-term? I'm less concerned about battery degradation but am concerned about fire risks.
Yeah there are some differences between these and other cheaper batteries like your portable Lithium Ion batteries used for phone chargers. czcams.com/video/4gH0i07mSJ4/video.html
The B-124 is made of lithium too. The extra stuff it has is phosphate which allows it to operate at a higher temperature.
Still I don’t think an airline will let you check it in.
I got myself a cheaper lithium-phosphate battery after my B-124 died.
Thanks!
and thank you! :)
Quick question since you know a lot about these batteries. I have the BlackVue B-112 installed but want to upgrade to the B-130. Is the wiring hookup to charge the battery the same for both or do I have to change the wiring from the 112 to the 130? Would save me the trouble changing the wiring if they are both the same. Thank you.
It uses new wiring
How good would these battery packs be for cars in very hot environments (where outside temps in summer regularly exceed 40C)?
My BlackVue camera fried in Vancouver Canada sun.😂
Hi, I am considering buying A229 pro replacing my dr900s. wondering if the old blackvew B124x compatible with viofo dashcam? should i purchase the hardwire kit to connect the battery pack?
The battery is, but they use different power cables to the dashcam.
Usb A connectors time to catch up with technology!
Thank you for the information.
Have you tested /evaluated the iRoad Powerpack 12 Pro (LiFePO4(Lithium iron phosphate), 12.8V 12,000mAh 153Wh?
I don’t think that one is available here in the US, only abroad.
@@VortexRadar I bought one from Singapore a week ago and I installed and powered my Thinkware U3000, it is working good, I will update you with the progress result in 2 weeks (Total hours of continuous recording, etc..)
hi! , I can see all of them are charging very close than 10 AMPS , the cigarette lighter circuit is rated 10 A . no slow blowing noted ?
I confirm BMWs are very sensitive : they monitor batteries and leaking current. then they start to cut domains ( less to high priority , to finish by the starter motor ) .
time is about 5 mins when you left the vehicle , for the dashcam
I can turn on my lights from my phone , by internet , and the 12v is back alive for 5 minutes , enough to turn on the dash cam , and take a picture for 5 mins of the surrounding. in the night .. good to take license plates.
the car is so sensible, if you put something on ODB , alarm triggers , because alien detection on the CAN .
( you can decode this "feature" )
My dashcam uses 12 V, and do why not just use the jump starter kit, as a power supply? And the starter kit gets charging thru cigarette point.
Question about battery pack for parking mode. Do you hook it into the always on fuse box? That way, the battery will recharge even if the car is not driving.
It only charges while driving, using your alternator. When it sees that your car is off, it provides power to the dashcam. You don’t want it pulling power from your car battery while parked.
@@VortexRadar Thank you!!
Hi Vortex, I currently have a PowerCell 8 installed in my vehicle hardwired to power my ThinkWare U1000. Do you think I can use the same cables that power the PowerCell8 to power the Thinkware iVolt Xtra? I understand that I may need to purchase cables to power the U3000 when I buy it. Please let me know!
Same input hardwire cables, but different output cable. The Thinkware comes with the cables you’ll need of course. You’ll just change the cable from the battery to the dashcam hardwire cable. You sure that’s worth spending the money on though?
Thank you for this information and probably not 😅
Actually iVolt has two option to connect input wire cable ...
Just hook up to acc power source or B+ source..
When you connect to B+ just one more thing to do is connect green wire to the acc source... so that the iVolt knowe its ignition off..
The other option that when you hook up Acc sour😮ce, you hook up the green wire with the input wire cable or leave it alone...
This is good at when it installed in specific vehicle hard to find enough ( 15 amp above) acc powersource...or some other situation..
The Thinkware battery price is $399 CDN where as on the other site it was on sale for $369 USD
Hi There,
Here is the question I have for you: If I use an iVolt Xtra and connect its battery input lead to a voltage sensitive relay that is series with the starter battery, and then connect the iVolt Xtra's accessory lead to an accessory fuse port, would this allow for the following situation:
1) when the vehicle is put into Accessory mode prior to starting the vehicle's engine, the iVolt Xtra will power on the dashcam (or take it out of Park mode), which itself will then pull current from the iVolt Xtra, but the iVolt Xtra will not charge yet because its battery lead will only see 0 Volts due to the relay being closed (engine off)
(In the above situation, "Accessory mode" could be substituted with "Run mode," depending upon which fuse port is tapped)
2) when the vehicle's engine is started, and the voltage sensitive relay cuts in, the iVolt Xtra's battery lead will see >12 Volts and the iVolt Xtra will be prompted to begin charging via the starter battery/alternator
I realize that different voltage sensitive relays have different cut in/out voltages, some allow for adjustments, some have 15-second delays or 30-second delays before cutting in and out, many vehicles have variable alternators (mine does, but its charging voltage has never gone below 13.5 volts, regardless of starter battery health--MBZ officially states that it will never go below 13.4 V), etc.
In theory, do you think that the iVolt Xtra's wiring is such that the above setup would work? It seems to me that if it does, a car that utilizes auto start-stop would have the advantage that when the engine shuts off at a stoplight, the relay will cut out and prevent the iVolt Xtra from charging while the engine isn't running, but the dashcam will remain recording--without going into Parking mode--because the iVolt Xtra will still be getting a voltage signal through its accessory wire. When the light turns green and the car auto starts, the iVolt Xtra will then begin charging again. Later, when the vehicle is fully shut down, the accessory port will have its power cut a well, and the iVolt Xtra will signal for the dashcam to either turn off completely or enter Parking mode.
It seems to me that the above setup would be a good way to ensure that an external dashcam battery pack never charges off the starter battery unless the engine is running.
Thank you in advance for any help you might provide!
Andy
Is the Thinkware iVolt battery difficult to install? I have no experience installing something like that so I am wondering if I will be able to install it myself.
You’ll want to hardwire to your car battery, typically via your fuse box. I’ve got videos showing how hardwiring works in general, but you can have a local installer place do it quickly and affordably.
What do you recommend if you want to see your camera remotely like from your phone etc?
A Blackvue dashcam
@@VortexRadar thanks for the advice!
I’m waiting for you to test the U3000 vs A139 Pro since they both have the new Starvis 2 sensors.
Eventually…
Cool man
I’ve been running BlackVue B-124 for about 4 years now in 4 different vehicles. More recently I also added 4 expansion packs to power my 4ch dashcam setup (DR970X + DR900S). This gives me over 50h of parking recording.
I’ve also added separate B-112 pack to support wi-fi hotspot while parked, so it doesn’t compromise the recording time.
Overall, I found them to be extremely reliable and much safer on the car’s 12V battery. Yes, they are quite pricey but for someone who’s car is often parked on the street it’s a great additional protection.
It’s a shame that never bettery pack doesn’t come with expansions port…
I personally opted to by an Optima Yellow Top deep cycle battery with an isolator. It's a little cheaper than the B-124x and there was no need for additional batteries. I can also power additional auxillary devices if I want. My daily commute is only 15 minutes and I was never able to get a good charge on my B-124x 2 expansion battery setup.
I’d be worried all those batteries don’t get stolen.
do blackvue batteries need blackvue dashcams or can they work with viofo and other dashcams as well?
They work with others as well.
Have you seen these ads for the new “360°” 4 channel camera setups ? I forget the company. Nexvue maybe
I have the BlackVue dr900x 2ch and I e been having trouble logging in. When I log in it logs me out in 2 sec. I have a 2022 ford f150 xlt fully loaded with new technology.
Are the battery packs designed for only one dash cam? Or Can you use more than one dash cam per battery pack? If so, how?
You can hardwire multiple dashcams onto a single battery no problem. You just connect each of the dashcam's input wires to the battery's output wires and the battery will send power out to all of the cameras it's connected to.
Can you run two cameras off 1 battery w less recording time? Or do i need one battery for every camera i plan to run
Yep you can do that
@@VortexRadar how do I split the output cables for the cameras
How many years should a Powercell8 last?
I purchased 2 for me vehicle & both died, very suddenly - won’t charge, after roughly 2 years of use. Each powered a Blackvue 750xPlus.
That doesn’t sound normal. Maybe contact BBMC for support?
5 batteries!!
Is there an option/cable to charge the battery via USB-C port in the vehicle?
Not that I’ve seen.
Any link to purchase in Europe Amazon? Cant find it there.
I'm not sure which battery you're referring to, but in Europe you'll likely have better luck purchasing directly from the manufacturer.
What happens when the battery pack drains out completely? Does the camera shut off or the pack starts drawing power from the car battery in order to keep the camera running?
The dashcam shuts off. The battery only charges from your alternator while driving. It doesn’t use your car battery at all.
@@VortexRadar Thank you for your answer. My truck does have the bracket for a second battery, so I was thinking about adding it just to run the cameras off of it. I didn't drive my truck for about 3 days one time and when I tried to use it, the battery was dead. So, I don't know how long one battery can power my setup, but I'm guessing around two days or so. I have the dual camera Viofo 139 Pro.
Yeah I’ve heard of people doing that with success. :)
ecoflow river will not save space but way longer battey life and more features and has 110v
I bought myself a Vantrue Nexus 4 Pro and I'm looking for a battery pack to prevent my car battery from draining too much. So I'm looking for a 9V sigaret from my car to the battery pack that than goes to the Vantrue Nexus 4 Pro. I'm from Belgium so I dont know if these listed in this video, are going to work?
9v? You mean 12v? You can use the BBMC or Blackvue options since they have a cig. lighter input cable. Then you output the battery to a Vantrue hardwire power cable and it should work fine.
@@VortexRadar Yeah 12V my bad..
@@VortexRadar Which OutPut Cable do I choose than? The one with the Socket I think?
Well I folllowed the guide on that BBMC website, scrolled down, saw Vantrue, saw "Unspliced output cable* Requires Vantrue hardwiring kit" but there is NO hardwire kit in the box. It's all USB. Sigaret Plug goes to USB Type C which goes in the Vantrue Power In. The backcamera (the cable is pretty long, both ends of this cable are USB Type C) goes into the REAR port of the Vantrue. I tested it on my laptop, as there is an USB (normal) to USB Type C cable in the box.
You need to use VanTrue’s hardwire cable. It looks like this. amzn.to/3qWu1Yf
You output the unspliced 3 wire cable to that dashcam hardwire cable.
What’s a expansion pack? Ignore this if you answer it in the video
I purchased a BlackVue 130 battery and had nothing but issues. I had no issues for the first month when all of a sudden the battery won’t charge. Returned it under warranty and received another one. A month later the battery replacement has the exact same issue and the on/off switch shorts out and won’t turn off. Is this anyone else’s experience? Are BlackVue’s batteries not that well made?
Sounds very odd. I haven’t hear of anyone else reporting that before and you’ve seen it with two. I wonder if it’s a wiring issue in your car. How did you install it and hook it up?
Why would BlackVue stop making batteries with an expansion option? Seems like a foolish decision. Now when it’s time to replace my BlackVue battery packs I will need to go with another brand. Very strange.
Expensive, I’ve been contemplating room for a regular battery.
Great, you can do that too. We’re lucky to have multiple great options. :)
You are simply very intelligent. I love your reviews a lot 👍💯
Same maker Cellink and coulnt be different quality... just each brand has different interface of battery front face for regular user..
Thoughts on CellLink? I've had the Cellink Battery B in my car for years and haven't had an issue with it. I think their current gen one is called the Neo.
Also, if you keep a list of viewer suggestions for dashcam reviews, I'd love to see one on the StreetGuardian SG9663DR. It's a two-camera remote setup, screen goes in the glovebox and then the only visible bits are the tiny cameras themselves! It's on the expensive side, hence why I haven't gotten it yet, but I've had excellent experiences with SG's other cameras in the past.
The Cellink Neo is the successor to the B. It’s larger and has Bluetooth. These ones are larger still.
@@VortexRadar even larger? I'll have to reconsider sticking with my current one then! Thanks :]
You kinda glossed over converting the unit to run via lighter plug (unless these units come with the adapter).
Yeah I don’t like that solution personally so I didn’t bother testing it, but other people have and found recharge times around 1 hr 50 min which is longer than the advertised 80-90 min.
This kind of PRICE of these Batteries! I will buy a Oddessy Battery AGM ... I'lluse it strickly for the *Viofo A299 Dash Cam* I'll use a Trinkle Charger and charge it while at home.
2019 nissan sentra q800 battery drain obd2 or hardwire 2022 Audi q5 same.
No understand meaning missing words
I was making a statement, but basically Best Buy installed it hardwired switched vehicles and same thing would drain battery. OBD2 integrated no parking mode. I guess you gotta drive 30 minutes a day.
I use an Ecoflow, jackery, bluetti. Dc charges it… battery bank runs camera all night
I wish they weren't so expensive. You buy a new vehicle and get the windows tinted and you buy a fancy new radar detector and dash cam, and then on top of all that you need a 400 dollar battery. Car batteries don't even cost that much.
😂 just hardwire it and see how it goes
@@formetoknow540 You have to admit that the prices for these battery packs are insane.
@BoneToner I know what I ment to say hardwire the dash cam to the fuse board of the car
@@formetoknow540 Ah, sorry. I thought the "lol" was more of an attack to say, "Wire it to your car battery then and see what happens, sucker!"
Apologies.
@BoneToner my bad I could worded it better.
I must be missing something but, wouldn't it be better to just replace your car battery with a LiFePO4 battery? $350 for a 7500mah battery seems steep when you can get a LiFePO4 car battery with what looks like a much higher capacity for the same price.
I'm working on a followup video that goes over stuff like that. Do you know how to wire that up and do all the power management? Those batteries just have a positive and negative terminal, not input/output ports like a dashcam battery. They standalone batteries definitely are cheaper though.
@@VortexRadar these two videos show how to wire a secondary battery and make it ignition controlled
czcams.com/video/qmH_N4lvppU/video.html
czcams.com/video/g30jUUWUl74/video.html
Thank you Gabe! This is super helpful. Perfect timing too. :) I'll include this in the followup video I'm working on. :)
Im asking if i can use power bank with higher capacity as a power source for all time for any dash cam , did any one try it ????
You can but it doesn’t work as well. Here’s a video going over alternate power options: czcams.com/video/pTmaY90Wzvw/video.htmlsi=_XJcfECc_u-Q5gKP
Why not just get a dedicated battery pack that is not advertised as being for a dashcam? There are several other, larger battery packs available with much more capacity. No app normally, but with significantly more power and more recording time.
There are other options you can DIY, different battery technologies, etc.
😂 sorted that picture at 1:03 out
lol yeah, not sure why that didn't render properly the first time! Thanks for the quick heads up!
@Vortex Radar it was someone else that pick up on it before me. Anyways thanks for the upload much appreciated
Ahhh okay. Yeah I saw the comment from someone and was like uh oh! and quickly took down the video and fixed it. Thanks to whoever it was then, lol
Woah those are so expensive. Why not just use a second car/marine battery
That’s one of many options discussed here:
czcams.com/video/pTmaY90Wzvw/video.html
Those things are way too expensive. I have a 320 w h Energizer power station I just plug mine into the 12-volt Outlet no problem it only costs $169 if you look on the internet sometimes you can find them for $149
That’s one of many of the more affordable solutions. I did a whole followup video about them here: czcams.com/video/pTmaY90Wzvw/video.html
Very informative video BUT these options are way too expensive there are way better and much cheaper options.
There are cheaper options for sure. They may be better in certain specific instances, but not for everyone. I did a followup video on exactly this topic here: Power Your Dashcam on a Budget: Affordable Solutions
czcams.com/video/pTmaY90Wzvw/video.html
Is seriously appreciate you for making this. I hope you get good instant karma from it.
Blackbox 8cell doesn’t work. App does not work so there is no way to see battery information. App only worked the first day. Since then it only shows 0%.
i just use a power bank
I'm not an electrical engineer, but why can't you use one of these $100 or so battery packs? Why $400? And for a $100 dashcam.
Discussed here: czcams.com/video/pTmaY90Wzvw/video.html
I want to buy the bundle for $759......the deal is dead......
Yeah I often feel conflicted about sharing deals on discounts and bundles. They’re awesome when available, but kinda a bummer if you see the video once they’re over.
@@VortexRadar still, thanks for sharing, I am not in a rush to buy, so I will keep a eye on the price. Whenever it drops again, I will buy.
😂 NetCost! Russian (former Soviet Republics) women drivers make American women drivers look like professional stunt drivers! 😂
It is also reason why Dash Cams have become so popular! 😂
Way over thinking things. They have portable batt packs that recharge from auto usb while you drive for about $20.
Yes and I’ve done multiple videos talking about them and their pros and cons compared to these batteries. Same thing looking at deep cycle batteries, solar panel solutions, etc. if you want to assume that portable USB battery packs are good enough or even better, without fully understanding things, feel free to write me off as overthinking things, lol. Best of luck to you on your journey.
One thing I've never understood: All these battery pack manufacturers say to hardwire the batteries to an ACCESSORY port and that the battery will only charge when the car is on/running. However, this is simply not true; an accessory port provides power even when the car is not running. It is equivalent to turning a key to its first stage, or pushing a push button start once. This means that the battery pack is pulling about 10 A to charge itself directly from the starter battery, without the starter battery necessarily being charged by the car's alternator. To me, this seems like bad practice. And let's consider all of the vehicles with start-stop features nowadays. Whenever, you're at a stop light and the engine shuts off, the battery pack will continue pulling 10 A to charge itself, further draining your battery and quite possibly upsetting your vehicle's battery management system (BSM) so that it limits or comletely blocks the start-stop feature, depending on the overall condition of your starter battery and/or any existing auxliary battery the vehicle may have. One could try to get around this issue by hardwiring to a RUN fuse port instead, but even this does not require your vehicle's engine to be actually running, since it can be activated by turning the key to its second stage or pushing a push button start twice. Even during start-stop, the issue is the same as before, when using ACCESSORY fuse tapping--either way, the engine need not be running. Using the RUN port is still a better idea, though, since it allows you to use accessory functions such as a 12 V socket without having the external battery pack pulling 10 A. So, why don't external battery pack manufacturers at least state that hardwiring should be done through RUN ports, not ACCESSORY ports? Even then, they need to eliminate language about how their batteries only charge when the car is running--that is just misleading language. One might think to get around the issue by using a voltage sensitive relay (VSR) connected between the starter battery and the dashcam battery pack. Such a VSR would cut on arond 13.3 V and cut out around 12.8 V. Even with the variable voltage alternators that exist in many of today's cars, this would likely work very well. EXCEPT for a few complications: 1) most of these VSRs have built in delays, which make them cut in and cut out anywhere between after 15 seconds to up to 30 seconds (I've yet to see one where the time is programmable). This is not a huge deal, but it does mean that there could be a delay between driving off after starting your car and when the camera turns on. Additionally, what happens when you're at a stop light and your auto start-stop kicks in? When your engine shuts off and your alternator stops, thereby allowing your starter battery voltage to drop below the ~12.8 V level, which would generally take about 4 seconds, if you're at the light long enough, the relay will cut out after an addtional 15-30 seconds, as desired, but your dashcam will also then go into park mode and end up having to do a start up again once the engine starts and the relay cuts back in. This is because these dashcams when hardwired are signaled to go into and out of parking mode when the power to the battery pack is turned on and off. What I feel dashcam battery makers ought to do is build into the battery management systems of their battery packs the ability to only begin charging after reading approximately 13 volts or so (most, if not all of them, begin charging somewhere around the mid 12 V range, well below the voltage seen from the alternator). There must be a way to get this to work while still allowing the dashcam to go into parking mode when appropriate. Perhaps the new wiring of the iVolt Xtra could allow for this, since perhaps its battery lead could be connected to a relay that is directly connected to the starter battery, while the accessory lead is connected to an accessorty port? Maybe this would mean that during auto start-stop, when the engine shuts off and the relay cuts out, the iVolt Xtra won't be able to charge itself via the battery lead, but since the accessory lead will still have power, the camera will continue to pull power from the iVolt mini and not go into parking mode? I've called several dashcam stores and pro installers, searched countless forums, contacted several manufacturers, and nobody seems to know this stuff. Anyone?
Omg those are ridiculous prices. Time for DIY solutions.
Agreed. I have a large deep cycle battery in my car, so I've been happily running off that and I chose to avoid any lithium battery packs because of their volatility.
Could you share a little more detail? Do you have a deep cycle battery for your starter battery or as a separate second battery? If it's the latter, could you share more about how you wired the input and output, as well as how you handle any power management as needed?
@@VortexRadar I kept it very simple. I have an old BlackVue DR650S 2-channel unit which continues to serve me well. It only draws about 400mA compared to newer units, so against an Optima D35 yellow top, it has the potential to last for about 3.5 days before I risk draining the battery. I still have a little power management module just in case and set the threshold to 12.0V.
I have the deep cycle battery mainly for my stereo system, so I wouldn't suggest that it's a must for such a simple setup. I can see the value in having an external battery pack for vehicles that use a significantly smaller battery but there really isn't any need for all the wankery that ends up in a ridiculous price tag and even then, I refuse to leave any lithium batteries unattended in my vehicle. Even my jump starter in my glovebox is a supercapacitor pack (Sealey ElectroStart 1600).
Thanks for sharing your experience. From your first post it sounded like you were using your deep cycle battery for the dashcam, not the starter battery. I’m curious how people handle the wiring part to add a secondary deep cycle battery and hook devices to it.
@@VortexRadar Apologies. I should've been clearer in my first post. If I were to go that path though, an appropriate battery isolator would be the way to go for that. It'll charge from the charging system but the diode would cut it off from the rest of the vehicle.
I currently have BlackVue B-124X as I bought DR900X. I recently bought ThinkwareU3000 and I was wondering if there’s a already made Splice kit for Thinkware battery pack, or does it just plug into the 12V cigarette lighter adapter? I’m guessing there’s no OBD slot on Thinkware battery? You’d think thinkware would’ve had a OBD slot for their battery pack. Am I just better off using BlackVue battery pack?
Your best solution is to use the traditional hardwire cable for both the battery and the dashcam. OBD is designed to communicate with a car, not a battery. The main advantage of using a Blackvue battery is the app integration and now the Blackvue app can tell you the battery capacity too which is nice, but otherwise capacity and all should be comparable.
@@VortexRadar I got the DR900X professionally installed, yet it doesn’t stay on. I’m guessing they installed it improperly. However my cigarette lighter stays on. I’m trying to use the U3000 as well as my BlackVue. Maybe using the installed power to the BlackVue & OBD for Thinkware or using 12V cigarette slot for BlackVue & OBD for Thinkware. I’m trying to keep BlackVue from overheating.