We captured a hit a run on our dash cam the other day. A cyclist blew through a red light and hit a car going through the intersection on green, breaking off its wing mirror. The cyclist then took off (they are a menace around here, riding at speed on sidewalks or the wrong way on a street, ignoring traffic signs, etc.)

I've lost track of the number of cyclists that I yelled at for riding through red lights when I lived in the Washington, DC area. And they wonder why they get hit by cars.

 

Another issue I've noticed since we got the Crosstrek - there's a lot of glare from the top of the dash area on sunny days that washes out the video. In the morning and the evening, when driving into the sun, the video is pretty useless.

Any ideas (other than moving to Seattle, LOL)?

Are there any dash cams that attach to the windshield in such a way that they are protected from the glare? Or anything that could be applied to the dash surfaces to reduce it?

 

When I took delivery of my 2019 Crosstrek I immediately noticed excessive reflections of the dashboard on the windshield glass. I placed my dash cam behind the (disappointing) Homelink mirror and the foreword dash cam images look better that what I see. Perhaps the mesh in the glass above it helps, although Zim’s have yet to confirm the dash cam GPS is as accurate there.

 

They do make those carpeted dash covers, but they are the kind of accessory some love and some hate...It would definitely cut the glare. Or you could come up here to the PNW where the sun is only a problem on 3 or 4 days.:thumb_smileyvault-e

 

Yeah, shag pile on top of the dashboard would not be an improvement... :icon_eek:

 

(waiting on a response from our Russian friends on the forum...)

 

LOL, yes, the dash cam experts!

 

Why not install a separate cam for the back? It will probably be cheaper and more capable than anything you can find that would be compatible with your existing unit.

 

Good idea, although the ones we have were about $150 each and have inputs for front and rear.

 

I have a BlackVue front and rear in mine. It doesn’t get the glare on the windshield in the video even when it is really bad, and the rear camera is just as good as the front from what I can tell. It wasn’t a cheap option as I got it all installed at the same time when I bought it and I think it cost around the $700 mark with the cameras, a really big as card, a hardware kit so I can turn it on when the car is off and installation. I was the older model so it was on sale but I’ll have to find the receipt to give you the model number sorry. Oh and I can watch it on my iPhone. It doesn’t have a screen. Thankfully I’ve never needed it but I feel much better knowing it’s capturing everything.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I have a BlackVue front and rear in mine. It doesn’t get the glare on the windshield in the video even when it is really bad, and the rear camera is just as good as the front from what I can tell. It wasn’t a cheap option as I got it all installed at the same time when I bought it and I think it cost around the $700 mark with the cameras, a really big as card, a hardware kit so I can turn it on when the car is off and installation. I was the older model so it was on sale but I’ll have to find the receipt to give you the model number sorry. Oh and I can watch it on my iPhone. It doesn’t have a screen. Thankfully I’ve never needed it but I feel much better knowing it’s capturing everything.

Thank you - Consumer Reports mentioned that brand.

Yes, it's all about peace of mind - more purring, less hissing and growling... ?

 

Running the Blacksys CH200 2 channel systems in our cars. No glare, good quality night recording, sets up its own WiFi to watch the recordings and export to devices.

https://www.blackboxmycar.com/collections/blacksys/products/blacksys-ch200?variant=44010361543

 

I have had GDR35D (Garmin Driving Recorder 35), which I've bought in Japan, and used on my old/gone 2001 Forester for years. Not so bad a quality or the rear cam, and takes video of front AND back together. I have transplanted it to my MY18 Mikan as well.

Fortunately have never needed the recordings up until now, but you never know until you do.
One thing I do not like is that it has a long proprietary cable to run from back camera to front main unit/camera, with front main unit needing two (2, power AND back unit connection) cables connected to it. Ugly and difficult to hide both.
See here for my setup now. (For front only, though...)

http://www.subaruxvforum.com/forum/...21-2018-crosstrek-limited-eyesight-dashcam-install-post1655706.html#post1655706

IMO, I think even having an independent and inexpensive dam cam in the rear, as well as in the front should do the job nicely. Pay a bit more for higher image quality.

Hope this helps a bit.

Good Luck!

 

Sorry, what I wrote earlier was misleading. The front HD cam is incorporated into the dash cam. The rear, low def, plugs in with the jack. I don't mind the cable running to the rear and have been able to hide it. Just want an HD one.

 

The Blacksys units we installed are 1080p HD front & rear. The quality really is good.

Watch some of the comparison videos to see how the Blacksys compares. I had a Blackvue for a bit, but wast happy with its performance when it got baked in the sun behind the windshield glass.

 

Its to the lower passenger side of the rear view mirror. If things defrost I’ll try to get you a picture. It’s warmer than last weekend, but still -14 when we got up.

 

Brrr... 77F here today.

That's about where ours is. Besides avoiding Eyesight it had to be a little over to the right and down to avoid the black hatching pattern on the windshield.

 

Finished my Install

Finished my DDPAI mini 2 install. (The one I bought, sent back, and then looked for something better and couldnt find anything so I bought it again!)

It has a parking mode that takes pictures and also video if there is an "event", so I needed to hard-wire it to an always-on circuit. The dang fuse kit I bought was not designed for low profile fuses like our XVs have, so I had to pop in a high profile.

Here is the fuse block wiring. (upside down...im too lazy to fix) You can also see the screw I used for the ground wire in the background.

This is what I see when I drive. Just one little wire! (I was paranoid about attaching to the glass, but it has such a small footprint that it doesn't bother the Eyesight at all)

Here is how it looks from the outside. (Yeah, I live in the Pacific Northwest so it rains!)

Finally, the DDPAI doesnt have a screen (I wanted it that way, to be low profile) so, if you want to view the videos, you have to use an app--it has a wifi you can connect to. I used an old Android phone (no SIM card in it) for the app---don't want the Chinese government sneaking around my everyday phone---and I leave that in the car. You can see a pic where I have the option to view live feeds and it fits sorta nicely in the center console...I'll probably tire of that in a few days but it looks cool right now.

(This image is sideways too...sigh...I dont know how to fix...)

 

Finished my DDPAI mini 2 install. (The one I bought, sent back, and then looked for something better and couldnt find anything so I bought it again!)

Nice! Where did you connect the ground wire?

 

OK, I'm tending towards the BlackSys CH-200 based upon the posts here and in other similar threads. There's a newer BlackVue, however, if I understand the specs correctly, they don't have event recording (i.e. saving the video when something interesting or bad happens).

Our current cams have an event button that saves the current 3min video segment in a separate RO folder (i.e. read only). However, if something happens and you press the event button but it's only 10secs into a new segment, then that's what you get, the last ten seconds, not the minute or so that led up to the incident (plus the time it took you to react and press the event button).

Also, the design of our current cams (all-in-one, with an LCD screen) means that the lens sits quite far back from the windshield, hence so much dashboard glare.

Any comments? I'd like to be able to position the lens as close as possible to the glass, front and rear, to minimize glare (and add a CPL if possible). Also, I'd like to be able to always save the last couple of minutes of recording if something happens and I press the "event" button.

 

The BlackSys CH-200 doesn't have a CPL option? WTF?

 

I got the BlackSys CH-200 and have been evaluating it and deciding where to mount it. I posted this in Centurivus' thread... should that be Centurivum?

I did some tests with the positioning and different lighting conditions (which amounted to which way the sun was shining, sorry ) - I used low-residue duct tape to position the main Blacksys unit in different places, then drove around our neighborhood and looked at the results. The positioning made a difference along the bluffs, when the sun was low over the ocean (no buildings in the way, casting shadows). There was much more glare/reflection when the camera was on the driver's side than when it was behind the rearview mirror. That surprised me, as I was able to place the camera much higher on the driver side, with the lens closer to the windshield, than behind the mirror. There was also more glare/reflection on the driver's side from the hump above the dash and the side pillar, etc.

I'm not done testing yet but it looks like behind the mirror is the best location, which then makes it more difficult to run wiring. With the Blacksys CH-200, utilizing the power behind the mirror doesn't help much because there's also a cable that needs to be run to the rear camera. I also want to connect it into the fusebox with an adaptor and not have to tap into any parts of the the wiring harness.

When I emerged from the garage, other AstroKat asked how it was going and I explained. She replied, "I'm not getting MY car back tomorrow, am I?"

:sFun_whistle:

The announcements were annoying me so now it's plugged into a Stanley Powerstation in my office and I'm trying to configure it. The app wants access to my phone's accounts, app history, browsing history, call logs, etc. etc. :WTF:

Anyone been through this before? If I can't configure it without giving them all of my personal information then it will be on the way back to Canada tomorrow.

 

I got the BlackSys CH-200 and have been evaluating it and deciding where to mount it. I posted this in Centurivus' thread... should that be Centurivum?



The announcements were annoying me so now it's plugged into a Stanley Powerstation in my office and I'm trying to configure it. The app wants access to my phone's accounts, app history, browsing history, call logs, etc. etc. :WTF:

Anyone been through this before? If I can't configure it without giving them all of my personal information then it will be on the way back to Canada tomorrow.

Wait, I don't get the pun that you're trying to make with my name.
(It's actually a really long history to how I came up with it - which I don't intend to state here for it would be off-topic.)

Yes, you can turn off the announcements from the app. It was the second thing I did. Far too obnoxious. From what I know of the app, I see no reason why it needs phone accounts, app history, browsing history logs etc. It should only need storage, and access to wifi.

Anyways, I can't personally remember what I did because I probably just said 'yes' to it anyways :icon_e_confused:, but with Android you're able to deny permissions and the app should still work. Unless I suspect you're trying to access this with your iPhone.
Ironically, if it is that concerning to you, I would recommend you use a burner phone to configure the settings. Once you configure it, you never have to set it up again later, so it should pretty much be a one-time thing.

Cheers,

 

Very interesting Centurivus!

In Roman times, a Centurio was a military commander in charge of 100 Roman soldiers (a Century). Latin for river is flumen but I just did a quick Google search and rivus means a small stream or canal. So I guess you're Captain Canal!

Latin is an inflexive language - words and even people's names are changed based on the role they are playing (e.g. Forum Augustum). Latin for dog is Canis and the famous phrase, Cave Canem, found in a mosaic in Pompeii means Beware of the Dog: Pompeii guard dog mosaic back on show - BBC News

Our other dash cams don't make any noises so I'm happy turning everything off. The car has enough to say already... :icon_rolleyes:

I just don't see why the app needs my browser history and phone contact log unless they're up to something nefarious.

 

Just got this reply from Blacksys: Android permissions are needed for app developers and companies in order to do basic things.

Why does a dash cam app need access to the phone features and my phone call logs? Anyone else with a Blacksys have any issues with the app? Am I just being paranoid?

 

I uninstalled the app and tried to reinstall it. I see the screen you are talking about.

Edit: reading some more about the permissions, you can see a full permission breakdown. If you scroll down to the bottom of the app page and read the 'view permissions', it will give a proper breakdown of what the app needs.

For Device & App History,
-retrieve running apps
-read logs

Identity
-find accounts on the device (used for single sign-ins... or logging in with social media accounts... there is a youtube link in the app, but doesn't seem to make use of single sign-on... I'm not sure about the use of this one)

Phone
-directly call phone numbers (Okay I know this one, they probably want it so you can directly call the blacksys support centre from inside the app)

Photos/Media/Files
-modify or delete contents of SD Card (as expected)
-read contents of your SD Card (as expected)

Wifi Connection information
-view Wifi Connections (as expected)

Device ID & Call information
-read phone status and identity (apparently for allowing the app to pause if you are getting a phone call)

Other
-full network access (expected as it needs to connect to the unit via wifi)
-modify system settings
-prevent phone from sleeping
-send sticky broadcast
-change your audio settings
-install shortcuts
-control vibration
-view network connection



I can't really comment as I am not an app developer. I understand your concern. Think you may be a bit on the paranoid side.
At least it's not asking to retain GPS information, or browsing history from what I can see.

 

I tried the app setup this evening and it was a horrible experience. It said there was no connection and asked if I wanted to "Move the Wi-Fi"? Choosing Settings displayed a message: Device connection has expired.

I followed the instructions (section 5-4 of the paper manual) and even entered the default password, 11111111, which was accepted. My Pixel complained that the new Wi-Fi connection had no internet service, which is probably a good thing.

I'm shocked at how crappy this app is, and the entire experience. Not sure if I want to keep this dash cam now, even though the images seem OK. It doesn't have its own screen so this appears to be the only way to interact with it, and change settings (e.g turn off the annoying announcements). It just said, "It's five o'clock!" - besides the fact it's NOT 5pm here, why is it telling me that in a loud, obnoxious voice?

 

The images look good. But unfortunately I can't really defend the product too much. I will note that I had difficulties connecting it in the beginning but now it's generally pretty consistent. I realized I have to wait a little patiently for the Wifi (on the camera) to turn on.

No internet service is normal when connecting to a device via wifi that doesn't have internet access.

It was my preference to use a camera without a screen as it was more 'low profile' to me.

To me, when the camera works, it works great. Though the initial setup was a little rough for me as well.. though not as rough as you seem to be having.

I couldn't tell from your previous message. Were you able to get it connected and configured in the end? It should adjust time automatically if you have the GPS mount, but I found mine was not configured to the right time zone on default. (It's ironic. The GPS configures the time correctly, but does not figure out which time zone it is in.)

 

I just tried it on an old iPhone 6 and eventually got it to connect, after I manually created the Wi-Fi connection. Both apps (Android and Apple) have terrible ratings and lots of angry comments.

 

Well, I've given this latest Blacksys unit a lot more benefit of the doubt than I probably should have. I've even tried a firmware update (which is tricky when you don't have a screen and have no way of telling what the current firmware is)!

By trial and error I've figured out how to connect to it from my Google Pixel XL, and it's not trivial:

1. Connect power to the cam and wait for it to start up and announce, "Drive Safely" and has a steady red LED
2. Press the Wi-Fi button. It chirps, then a few seconds later there's a chime and a flashing green LED.
3. Put the phone into airplane mode, then turn on Wi-Fi and connect to the Blacksys SSID. The phone connects and the cam has a steady green LED.
4. Run the Blacksys app on the phone (the connection icon is green).

I've been able to reproduce this a few times. Sometimes I have to go into Settings a couple of times before it displays anything. The app is terrible. It's astonishing that with all of the work they must have put into the cam, they think it's OK to release an app like this, which is required to use the cam? WTF?

However, I have not been able to turn off the voice announcements. This was the whole point of the exercise as the voice announcements are really loud and obnoxious. When I change the Audio to None and hit Save, the cam chirps. But next time it boots up, there's the obnoxious voice again.

So, unless they release a new version of the app, that actually works, in the next week or so, I'll be returning it.

Next question: what to get instead?!

 

I regret that I was not able to help you troubleshoot your difficulties.

I know that past experiences will weigh heavily on you, so perhaps it may be better to get 2 channel system but one with a screen, which should guarantee no need for an app, and should just be plug and play.

 

Went through this whole thread since I am considering the BlackSys CH-200. Sorry to hear about your troubles; it has made me skeptical about the product. Unfortunately, this seems to be the norm with all the big names in the 2 channel WiFi dash cam space- BlackSys, BlackVue and Thinkware. They all have terrible apps!

However, do we really need to use the apps? After the initial configuration with the app, I am hoping to leave the system untouched. In case of an event, I can always just pull the SD card to view the footage. Is this a possible workaround?

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

That's what I'm wondering. I like the idea of the unobtrusive style without a screen, and looked at the others you mentioned. I preferred the event recording features of the Blacksys so I really would like to find a way to get it working, however, I've been stumped so far and have to turn off the damn voice, it really is obnoxious. I don't think there's a way to do that without an app.

I've sent several messages to the vendor and will post back as soon as I hear anything or figure anything out.

 

I've also been looking at this product- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0742J69SQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_nleNAbGY1MQR7

No app troubles and slightly cheaper. But it's no where as discreet as the big names and isn't as configurable or feature heavy.

Edit: just realized it isn't 2 channel. So much for that...

 

I've also been looking at this product- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0742J69SQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_nleNAbGY1MQR7

No app troubles and slightly cheaper. But it's no where as discreet as the big names and isn't as configurable or feature heavy.

Edit: just realized it isn't 2 channel. So much for that...

Yeah, for front and rear full HD without a screen the options are limited. I started my search for an upgrade because we wanted to use some footage from the current rear cam and it was too crappy to see anything.

 

Well, I had another shot at it today with an old iPhone. It seems the workaround works on iPhones, too (i.e. put the phone in airplane mode, then turn on just Wi-Fi). Then I tried the settings and was able to turn off the obnoxious voice. I then went back to my Android and was able to turn it back on and off again. So I don't know what the problem was the last time, maybe user error or just that it's a crappy app.

For now, I'm going to keep it (still have a while until the return window closes) and use it in the car for a while. If it solves the issues with our current setup (i.e. windshield glare and rear view image quality) then I'll probably keep it.

Btw, for now it has been sitting on my desk and while I was trying get the app to work, the collision sensor recorded an "event":

 

Well, I had another shot at it today with an old iPhone. It seems the workaround works on iPhones, too (i.e. put the phone in airplane mode, then turn on just Wi-Fi). Then I tried the settings and was able to turn off the obnoxious voice. I then went back to my Android and was able to turn it back on and off again. So I don't know what the problem was the last time, maybe user error or just that it's a crappy app.

For now, I'm going to keep it (still have a while until the return window closes) and use it in the car for a while. If it solves the issues with our current setup (i.e. windshield glare and rear view image quality) then I'll probably keep it.

Btw, for now it has been sitting on my desk and while I was trying get the app to work, the collision sensor recorded an "event":

View attachment 269994

Thanks for reporting back. Once you coaxed the phone / app to connect to the camera and changed the settings, did the settings persist on a restart? By restart I'm referring to when the car is turned off and back on; essentially cycling the power to the camera.

If we have to connect the phone to the camera every morning to change settings, say to turn off that obnoxious voice alerts, it will be painful.

 

Thought I'd post some comparison pics from yesterday morning's commute. The iTrue was already mounted just to the right of the Eyesight bezel, so I didn't remove it when I installed the Blacksys behind the mirror. Overall, I'm very pleased with the Blacksys now, having got off to a rocky start with the app. I may experiment with CPLs to try to reduce the glare further but I'm not sure how much better to expect it to be in the sun (i.e. the cross we have to bear, around here).

 

Here are the rear pics (only Blacksys, as I positioned it in the same place as the iTrue, and there would be no comparison, anyway):

Looks like I need to crank it up a tad.

 

The Blacksys images are better at night, too. Not much luck reading licenses plates, though, with the Crosstrek's dazzling low beams: