Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by petercooper 3913 days ago
I use a standard Blackvue HD camera because it was recommended to me - the quality is high enough to make out details (like plates) and it has good low light performance. It works long enough to ensure if I have an accident I can pull the card out and be good to go (I don't need hours of recording, right?)

It has front and back cameras, but I only use the front one as I'm too lazy to wire it in and assume 99% of likely trouble is at the front of the vehicle (yes, people can rear-end you, but in my country that person is almost automatically in the wrong).
1 comments
sirtastic 3913 days ago
Do you just plug it in when you hop in the car or did you wire it yourself?
link
benmanns 3913 days ago
Usually dash cams come with a 12v/cigarette lighter charging cord. In my car, the 12v ports turn on and off when the car turns on and off. The cameras are designed to start up and start recording when they receive external power, and have small battery or capacitor that lets them save files and turn off when the external power source is turned off.
link
sirtastic 3912 days ago
My car doesn't turn off my lighter port when car is turned off and I'm not sure I'll remember to unplug it every time I get out of my car which could result in a dead battery. :/
link
benmanns 3912 days ago
There are dash cameras that are designed to be run 24/7, and you typically need to hardwire them to your battery. That way you can capture any vandalism/comprehensive damage that happens when the car is parked. From what I understand, they can go several days recording on the cars battery, so you could check the actual power usage or look for an always-on camera system that is designed for such use. You'd still need to run the car every couple days to keep the battery fully charged, but if you drive a lot it would work fine.
link
petercooper 3912 days ago
benmanns basicaly has my setup down. It's plugged into the 12V cigarette lighter port, the cable is wrapped numerous times around a display my car has built in, and the wire just dangles the 4 or 5 inches from the camera to there - it's not in my view so doesn't bother me.
link