Install of Blackvue Dashcam with Power Magic Pro

[RaptorRacing]

Hey guys;

I've always loved the idea of a dashcam, I had a GPS w/a built in dash cam but the quality was OK...now that I just got the FIST I wanted to upgrade to something a little better. My criteria when shopping was:

• Must be HD
• Nighttime Quality had to not suck
• Being able to transfer it from Car to Car is a bonus.
• Reviews had to be decent so was availability from a vendor who stands behind their products (NOT a fan of Amazon/Ebay for transactions like this)
• Had to be very discreet
• Wanted Parking Mode - Automatically starts recording when someone walks in front of the camera or car gets hit while parked
• GPS was a bonus but not needed

I'll be the first to say; I'm NO expert in the field, I'm sure there are better units than I picked, I'm sure there are cheaper units that are better but after "a couple hours" of research I decided to grab a Blackvue DR650GW-1Ch:

and cause I wanted parking mode I picked up a power magic pro, this device allows the camera to plug into 1 accessory source and 1 source that has constant power and shuts the camera off when the battery gets too low:

This thread and this link were awesome in pointing me in the right direction. I picked up a couple of fuse taps too and wrapped some heat shrink tubing around them:

For the Accessory Power I taped into the Wiper Fuse and for Constant Power I taped into the tail lights fuse:

I saw that a lot of peeps use the location to the right of the fuse panel for the ground location, that to me seemed like a huge pain in the butt and used the location right above it, a 10mm socket is needed for this:

Here is what it looks like with the taps in place, I mounted the power magic pro on the inside of the dashboard out of the way of the glove box, zip tied all the wires so they can be neatly tucked out of the way.

Here is what it looks like from the passenger side:

Front of the car, it's really hard to see it but when i zoom in:

Crappy Pix but driver side:

Now that I was here I decided to hide all cable for the mountune mTune:

Finally a short video! I was running out of sunlight and after I came in I realized that I should rotate the camera down a few degrees to try to minimize the glare. I think the glare would have been less if I mounted the camera lower on the windshield it would have been better for glare but I wanted this to be as stealthy as possible.

The MBRP really shows how bad it resonates with this (and I'm sure any dashcam) as the mic has NO idea how to process that much resonance...anyway...short video:

[video=vimeo;144074700]https://vimeo.com/144074700[/video]

Thanks for the search button and those that did all the work and helped me figure out some of the smaller issues.

 

[CanadianGuy]

I like how it hide behind the mirror. Hardwired mine this weekend.

 

[KKaWing]

I'm planning on using the OBD port fuse for constant power. I just need to get real fuse taps... the ones I got don't even have slots wide enough to plug the fuses in >_<

 

[RAAMaudio]

Thanks for the great review

I have been looking at different ways to have a front and rear camera and be able to use the rear for a back up camera as well, I always back in when parking, this would make it a bit easier.

BlackVue DR650GW-2CH 1080p Dual-Lens WiFi GPS Dashcam

I do not need GPS unless I wanted the info recorded if it does that, mostly I like the WiFi if it will connect up easily enough to use my phone for a back up camera, any ideas on that?

Thanks
Rick

 

[RaptorRacing]

Yeah I also wanted to be able to do front and back, but the rear camera on the DR650GW-2CH is not as good as the front camera especially in low light conditions. For me in many ways the rear camera is more important than the front. I'm going to see how I like this camera and if I like it then will purchase another one and use 2 of them. Then just buy extra mounts to move them to and from my other vehicle when I drive that (which isn't' often).

 

[RAAMaudio]

Perhaps you can find a better camera, even a different brand, that will plug in and work with the front one and save some money.

Or their none GPS camera is what you were referring to.

 

[RaptorRacing]

Yeah I was planning on running one of these for the rear:

http://www.blackboxmycar.com/collections/blackvue/products/blackvue-dr3500-fhd-16gb-english-version

 

[RAAMaudio]

Thanks

I have a new GoPro I was only going use for the track but might set it up for more use as my toy budget got a huge hit taking care of a family issue but will be looking into all the aspects of running something like you are and maybe by spring when I drive the car more I will go that route if needed.

Rick

 

[RaptorRacing]

Thanks

I have a new GoPro I was only going use for the track but might set it up for more use as my toy budget got a huge hit taking care of a family issue but will be looking into all the aspects of running something like you are and maybe by spring when I drive the car more I will go that route if needed.

Rick

I honestly wasn't even going to get this, but my 6 year Supra project is finally done this week(minus paint) and really wanted a quality unit that I can use it both cars so it was a good excuse for me to grab this. Have an older gopro for track days but a pain in the butt to use as a dash cam.

 

[RAAMaudio]

Thanks, saves me the trouble of trying to use it for one

What have you found on using the units like you have, getting, as a back up camera?

I want to keep things as simple as possible, for now I just back in to park which is far easier getting out of a spot than pulling in forward, something I found I had to do with the dually for most parking spots so it is a habit now.

 

[RaptorRacing]

Honestly put zero effort into looking for back up camera solution, security was my biggest priority. Although after owning the car for 4 weeks I will say, backup visibility is pretty crap...or maybe it's just me.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Here is some updates on my car for the back camera, I pulled the driver side rubber conduit in the hatch to pass the cable for the rear camera. In order to get it in I used a larger screwdriver as a lead. I applied a large amount of silicon grease (rubber safe), pushed the screwdriver through and then taped the cable to the screwdriver. Slowly pulling the screwdriver out while pushing the cable made it work.






Used a coat hanger to push the cable in the hatch to the exit.Then I passed it into the hatch via the grommet (cutting an x in it to fish the cable.






End result is a great rear picture and only a little obstruction in the rearview.

 

[nickstewartroc]

Slightly off topic, but RaptorRacing, does your FiST have rain sensing wipers? Or what is the box coming down beside the rearview?

 

[Im_Zee11]

Nice Write up!

I used power magic pro and a cheap dual dash cam that I'm planned my to upgrade to something better.
I use my dash cam as an improvised back up camera the screen is a bit too small though. I'm sure if you find a dash cam with a bigger screen it might be able to meet your needs as a backup camera.

I'll post pics up a bit later in the morning

 

[CanadianGuy]

Slightly off topic, but RaptorRacing, does your FiST have rain sensing wipers? Or what is the box coming down beside the rearview?

Quick answer no. Since I have the same set up. The box buy itself is a toll road transponder (just drive in and it picks up the signal to know when and where you got on/off). The other module is the GPS for the NAV.

 

[CanadianGuy]

BTW here is what the rear camera sees.