Please Note the Powerpack Pro 12 is not expandable. I made a mistake about that as I have a generation 1 in my vehicle which is expandable. The new generation 2 Powerpack pro 12 is not expandable as the expansion was removed for IUSB port.
Thanks for this round up video. It's quite strange though. On 9:11, it was confirmed by iRoad's Overseas Manager, Jin Lim (not sure if you know him) that this Power Pack Pro 12 cannot be extended. The C-input port that you pointed out is where you'll plug cigarette outlet charger/home charger into. To sum it up, the C-input is for the home/cigarette outlet charger. The F input is where you'll plug the hard wire kit. The only outlet this battery pack has is the one where you plug the dash cam into which says "Output".
@@SafeDriveSolutions Along with the Power Pack Pro 12, I also bought iRoad's home charger, which is what the C-input is for. If that port was used to charge another Power Pack, I suppose it would've said "output".
@@Velocity0428 I figured out the confusion. my generation 1 that is in my vehicle can add a second powerpack pro 12 to it. Which i have had for 2 years. The second generation powerpack pro 12 removed the expansion port and added the USB port. Which I do think was way smarter.
@@SafeDriveSolutions Oh that's why. Thanks for figuring it out. I think the first generation is better. They shouldn't have changed it. In my case, my likelihood of extending the battery pack is greater than needing a USB output port.
Another great video. Thank you very much for all of the information. Not that I need to, but can the Thinkware Ivolt Xtra be extended to a second Ivolt Xtra? Thanks again for the great videos.
It can but the diagram Thinkware sent me for expansion seems wrong. So i did not bring it up. But it does have an expansion port and Thinkware told me it can be expanded
Great video, I’m looking to buy one of these batteries seeing how I live in the NYC.. what would be the best choices to withstand extreme heat or cold temperatures?
The tutorial video is excellent., may I ask: What type of adapter or transformer should I use to charge these dash cam batteries using household mains (110/120v)?
I am now in the market for a dash cam, so far Iv got it narrowed down to the VIOFO A229 Pro 2 channal (maybe 3?) so Iv been checking out your videos (The best ones Iv seen) I was thinking about the battery pack but then I was wondering if I really needed it. My truck sits for weeks on end(2012 F150 with @60K miles) so I has a solar charger always on it. Since I have that solar charger do you think I would need a battery back up?
Ben what would be the realistic parking timeframe, i would get out of a Viofo A139 pro 2CH set to low bitrate recording using a Iroad powerpack pro 12? After watching your videos i realize the A139 pro has quite a heaving power draw in parking mode.
You mentioned in one of your videos that you use the cigarette light to charge your road battery pack for your dashcam. Does the ivolt crew work the same way? I’m leaning towards having a thinkware u3000 installed
@@SafeDriveSolutions would you say the road battery pack works well with thinkware? And are there any sacrifices to having your battery pack charged through a cig lighter rather than from hard wiring?
You wouldn’t be able to recommend an installer in the Los Angeles, California area? I have the Blackvue 970x installed but I feel like the installer did it wrong. My battery has gone dead a very little record time in parking mode. Thanks in advance.
@@SafeDriveSolutions I went on a 6 day vacation and came back and the battery was dead. I have a Toyota Corolla Hybrid. Because of your channel I found out the the low voltage setting was set at 11.6. I have sense increased the low voltage setting to 12.2
REGARDING the IROAD that I just purchased from you. What do I need for a cable to be able to CHARGE this inside my house as I dont drive very much so this battery doesnt get charged up very much. ? Thank you in advance.
Ben, excellent detail as usual. I will be making a decision tomorrow to install a 3 camera Vantrue N4 Pro system or a Viofo A229 Pro system. Will be installing in a 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid. Will hardwire for Parking Mode option. I was originally leaning towards the N4 Pro as I was comparing to the Viofo A139 system but the new A229 Pro is a step up for sure. Will run either in bitrate mode, so I don't really see a huge difference between the N4 and the A229 except the N4 demands more power. Any reason why I shouldn't go with the N4 as it is about $100 less. Not sure if I will go with a battery pack as hardwire to my car battery will work, but saving battery wear is the main reason for spending $ on a battery pack? With a 3 camera operation on Parking Mode, do you feel the Thinkware Ivolt Mini will do the job? Last question, is there a way to wire a battery pack in a manner when the battery pack is drained, the power will default to the car battery so the cameras continue to operate. Hope you have time to respond tomorrow. Cheers
N4 pro - current draw -only available in 3 channel mode -low battery protection is not good enough for newer vehicles. Have seen lots of customers buy it and have their battery die due to how their parking mode works. Hence why we don’t carry Vantrue. -The unit is big and many people pointed out to me on last video we did with it they could not believe I did not point out how big it is. -rear camera overheats and gives blurry image with hdr -parking mode is irrelevant without a battery pack -6 second impact detection - when you use parking mode it says in high heat please use impact detection. Same thing red tiger says. But 6 seconds after makes it a dash camera that needs improvements - i do feel it is a great UBER dash cam. With great 4k video quality while driving. - lastly when Vantrue asked me to review a different product in October. They asked me to buy it off Amazon. When I give it a 5 star review on Amazon they will send me money in return. Huge mistake. We dont do fake reviews and my trust for the company went to almost zero I personally would get a battery pack with this unit.
@@SafeDriveSolutions Ben, first let me say how I appreciate your prompt response to my inquiry. Most reviewers answer just a few commenters, but you take the time to respond to most. Your knowledge of dashcam systems is second to none so much appreciated by most of the viewers I would guess. I think you may be a little harsh on Vantrue but you do make many valid points. In the end I had the Viofo A229 Pro installed today along with the Thinkware Ivolt Mini battery pack. Installed in a 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Ltd. Hybrid so didn't want to put stress on the hybrid battery. Appreciate your recommendation on this. This will be a 10yr. + ride so adding the battery pack for $230 was a long term investment. I was looking for a dependable Parking Mode system as someone attempted to break into my other car. Viofo A229 has solid 4K/2K clarity and more reliable Parking Mode so it was an easy choice. A former Vancouverite residing in AZ now. Hats off to AZ Dashcam in Mesa for a very professional install and overall great service.
@@slices6500 Thank you for the kind words. I do not hate Vantrue. I just think there is a couple thing that if they improve could be a very stellar dash camera. We talk to customers all the time and I feel if Vantrue they fixed just a few things they could be a top contender like Viofo, Thinkware, and Blackvue. We have many customers that want to buy a Viofo and in the end buy a Thinkware because their preference is parking mode. So we like to sell on lifestyle. I gave lots of feedback to Vantrue and in the end all they asked me was how many was I going to buy? With Viofo I give feedback and they typically take the feedback and depending what it is try and make changes. To improve their product. Now maybe I got it all wrong and maybe the wrong people at Vantrue are in communication with me. Either way if they made some improvements I would be interested in their product.
@@SafeDriveSolutions All good stuff. Hopefully Vantrue will take your comments properly and work to correct some of their shortfalls. I decided to spend a bit more than expected to install the best system on the market right now (picture clarity, decent parking mode, voice commands, wifi updates, small size and battery pack protection). Only thing missing is perhaps Cloud Storage, but not sure how important this is. Hopefully I will look in 5yrs. and still be pleased with the performance of the Viofo A229Pro and Thinkware Ivolt Mini. Cheers
@SafeDriveSolutions, are these battery packs safe in extreme heat conditions like 50 celsius in the summer or even more, is it lithium -ion batteries, because they can explode?
I have two separate dashcam not dual chanel type for front and back. If I plug both dashcam USB wires into a cigarette lighter plug that has two USB ports then plug it into the cigarette lighter plug og the battery pack, would both dashcams work?
I am not sure of your question. I will answer it this way. My battery pack has a 2amp output on my vehicle. I did the current consumption math and I have 4 front and rear dash cameras hooked up to it.
Please Note the Powerpack Pro 12 is not expandable. I made a mistake about that as I have a generation 1 in my vehicle which is expandable. The new generation 2 Powerpack pro 12 is not expandable as the expansion was removed for IUSB port.
I love watching your Saturday morning videos with my weekly bowl of bran flakes.
They both keep me regularly updated.
Bran flakes 😀
Thanks for this round up video.
It's quite strange though. On 9:11, it was confirmed by iRoad's Overseas Manager, Jin Lim (not sure if you know him) that this Power Pack Pro 12 cannot be extended. The C-input port that you pointed out is where you'll plug cigarette outlet charger/home charger into.
To sum it up, the C-input is for the home/cigarette outlet charger. The F input is where you'll plug the hard wire kit. The only outlet this battery pack has is the one where you plug the dash cam into which says "Output".
I will look into what you said
@@SafeDriveSolutions Along with the Power Pack Pro 12, I also bought iRoad's home charger, which is what the C-input is for. If that port was used to charge another Power Pack, I suppose it would've said "output".
@@Velocity0428 I figured out the confusion. my generation 1 that is in my vehicle can add a second powerpack pro 12 to it. Which i have had for 2 years. The second generation powerpack pro 12 removed the expansion port and added the USB port. Which I do think was way smarter.
@@SafeDriveSolutions Oh that's why. Thanks for figuring it out. I think the first generation is better. They shouldn't have changed it.
In my case, my likelihood of extending the battery pack is greater than needing a USB output port.
Another great video. Thank you very much for all of the information. Not that I need to, but can the Thinkware Ivolt Xtra be extended to a second Ivolt Xtra? Thanks again for the great videos.
It can but the diagram Thinkware sent me for expansion seems wrong. So i did not bring it up. But it does have an expansion port and Thinkware told me it can be expanded
@@SafeDriveSolutions Thank you very much. 👍
Great video, I’m looking to buy one of these batteries seeing how I live in the NYC.. what would be the best choices to withstand extreme heat or cold temperatures?
czcams.com/video/DYI1sdQMMak/video.html have you seen this video. I would get the Thinkware IVOLT Xtra
The tutorial video is excellent., may I ask: What type of adapter or transformer should I use to charge these dash cam batteries using household mains (110/120v)?
Depends on the battery pack. It is a little harder to charge thinkware ivolt xtra. Iroad needs a specialty charger.
I am now in the market for a dash cam, so far Iv got it narrowed down to the VIOFO A229 Pro 2 channal (maybe 3?) so Iv been checking out your videos (The best ones Iv seen) I was thinking about the battery pack but then I was wondering if I really needed it. My truck sits for weeks on end(2012 F150 with @60K miles) so I has a solar charger always on it. Since I have that solar charger do you think I would need a battery back up?
Not familiar with solar panel setup.
Ben what would be the realistic parking timeframe, i would get out of a Viofo A139 pro 2CH set to low bitrate recording using a Iroad powerpack pro 12?
After watching your videos i realize the A139 pro has quite a heaving power draw in parking mode.
approx 30 hours on a fully charged battery pack
@@SafeDriveSolutions Thanks guys, much appreciated…
You mentioned in one of your videos that you use the cigarette light to charge your road battery pack for your dashcam. Does the ivolt crew work the same way? I’m leaning towards having a thinkware u3000 installed
No cigarette lighter adaptor available for thinkware battery pack
@@SafeDriveSolutions would you say the road battery pack works well with thinkware? And are there any sacrifices to having your battery pack charged through a cig lighter rather than from hard wiring?
we recommend hardwiring. 1.5 hours to charge. Cigarette lighter approx 3 hours to charge. Yes iroad is compatible
So if I had the power Powerpack Pro connected to the 2 channel VIOFO A229Pro in parking mode it would only get around 30 hours if the car is off?
Yes that is correct.
You wouldn’t be able to recommend an installer in the Los Angeles, California area? I have the Blackvue 970x installed but I feel like the installer did it wrong. My battery has gone dead a very little record time in parking mode. Thanks in advance.
your car battery has gone dead? what are the settings on the dash camera?
@@SafeDriveSolutions I went on a 6 day vacation and came back and the battery was dead. I have a Toyota Corolla Hybrid. Because of your channel I found out the the low voltage setting was set at 11.6. I have sense increased the low voltage setting to 12.2
@@Nightowl80 12.2 is good. but i would limit parking mode with a timer as well
REGARDING the IROAD that I just purchased from you. What do I need for a cable to be able to CHARGE this inside my house as I dont drive very much so this battery doesnt get charged up very much. ? Thank you in advance.
The iroad you should get a cigarette lighter adaptor, and then a 115v to cigarette lighter adaptor wall adaptor
@@SafeDriveSolutions Can I purchase both of these from you and how long would it take to charge this battery pack inside my house?
@@GARY-fromOntario we do sell the cigarette lighter adaptor but not the wall adaptor.
Ben, excellent detail as usual. I will be making a decision tomorrow to install a 3 camera Vantrue N4 Pro system or a Viofo A229 Pro system. Will be installing in a 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid. Will hardwire for Parking Mode option. I was originally leaning towards the N4 Pro as I was comparing to the Viofo A139 system but the new A229 Pro is a step up for sure. Will run either in bitrate mode, so I don't really see a huge difference between the N4 and the A229 except the N4 demands more power. Any reason why I shouldn't go with the N4 as it is about $100 less. Not sure if I will go with a battery pack as hardwire to my car battery will work, but saving battery wear is the main reason for spending $ on a battery pack? With a 3 camera operation on Parking Mode, do you feel the Thinkware Ivolt Mini will do the job? Last question, is there a way to wire a battery pack in a manner when the battery pack is drained, the power will default to the car battery so the cameras continue to operate. Hope you have time to respond tomorrow. Cheers
N4 pro
- current draw
-only available in 3 channel mode
-low battery protection is not good enough for newer vehicles. Have seen lots of customers buy it and have their battery die due to how their parking mode works. Hence why we don’t carry Vantrue.
-The unit is big and many people pointed out to me on last video we did with it they could not believe I did not point out how big it is.
-rear camera overheats and gives blurry image with hdr
-parking mode is irrelevant without a battery pack
-6 second impact detection
- when you use parking mode it says in high heat please use impact detection. Same thing red tiger says. But 6 seconds after makes it a dash camera that needs improvements
- i do feel it is a great UBER dash cam. With great 4k video quality while driving.
- lastly when Vantrue asked me to review a different product in October. They asked me to buy it off Amazon. When I give it a 5 star review on Amazon they will send me money in return. Huge mistake. We dont do fake reviews and my trust for the company went to almost zero
I personally would get a battery pack with this unit.
@@SafeDriveSolutions Ben, first let me say how I appreciate your prompt response to my inquiry. Most reviewers answer just a few commenters, but you take the time to respond to most. Your knowledge of dashcam systems is second to none so much appreciated by most of the viewers I would guess. I think you may be a little harsh on Vantrue but you do make many valid points. In the end I had the Viofo A229 Pro installed today along with the Thinkware Ivolt Mini battery pack. Installed in a 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Ltd. Hybrid so didn't want to put stress on the hybrid battery. Appreciate your recommendation on this. This will be a 10yr. + ride so adding the battery pack for $230 was a long term investment. I was looking for a dependable Parking Mode system as someone attempted to break into my other car. Viofo A229 has solid 4K/2K clarity and more reliable Parking Mode so it was an easy choice. A former Vancouverite residing in AZ now. Hats off to AZ Dashcam in Mesa for a very professional install and overall great service.
@@slices6500 Thank you for the kind words. I do not hate Vantrue. I just think there is a couple thing that if they improve could be a very stellar dash camera. We talk to customers all the time and I feel if Vantrue they fixed just a few things they could be a top contender like Viofo, Thinkware, and Blackvue. We have many customers that want to buy a Viofo and in the end buy a Thinkware because their preference is parking mode. So we like to sell on lifestyle.
I gave lots of feedback to Vantrue and in the end all they asked me was how many was I going to buy? With Viofo I give feedback and they typically take the feedback and depending what it is try and make changes. To improve their product.
Now maybe I got it all wrong and maybe the wrong people at Vantrue are in communication with me. Either way if they made some improvements I would be interested in their product.
@@SafeDriveSolutions All good stuff. Hopefully Vantrue will take your comments properly and work to correct some of their shortfalls. I decided to spend a bit more than expected to install the best system on the market right now (picture clarity, decent parking mode, voice commands, wifi updates, small size and battery pack protection). Only thing missing is perhaps Cloud Storage, but not sure how important this is. Hopefully I will look in 5yrs. and still be pleased with the performance of the Viofo A229Pro and Thinkware Ivolt Mini. Cheers
Q800 Thinkware pro killed my 2019 Nissan Sentra battery connected .Audi q5 2022 obd2 still drain battery with out parking mode on.
It all depends on how it was setup. czcams.com/video/celVt6-1j3k/video.html
@SafeDriveSolutions, are these battery packs safe in extreme heat conditions like 50 celsius in the summer or even more, is it lithium -ion batteries, because they can explode?
czcams.com/video/DYI1sdQMMak/video.html
were can i order that sir...thank you
Which unit? safedrivesolutions.com/product/iroad-powerpack-pro-12-battery-pack/
I have two separate dashcam not dual chanel type for front and back. If I plug both dashcam USB wires into a cigarette lighter plug that has two USB ports then plug it into the cigarette lighter plug og the battery pack, would both dashcams work?
I am not sure of your question. I will answer it this way. My battery pack has a 2amp output on my vehicle. I did the current consumption math and I have 4 front and rear dash cameras hooked up to it.
How do you connect all these dashcams into one single battery pack?
every unit has their own hardwire cable. And we soldered all of them to together to outputs of battery pack wiring