Hi Mike!
-=> NIGEL REED wrote to MIKE POWELL <=-
> Does anyone here have experience with using a dash mounted camera to
> capture video?
When I ready the inquiry yesterday I initially thought "Raspberry Pi"
but then my way is a more complicated than sticking a recording device
to the dash.
NR> Things may have changed, but I found, when researching, dashcams
NR> had very limited battery life (probably to save money and keep
NR> them smaller) which is prohibitive for recording if the car is
NR> off or you want to leave the car.
The Raspberry Pi requires a 5v source and up to 3 A (3,000 mA) depending
on the model; should be available via a USB adapter; the current portion
is probably more difficult to obtain with any ol' adapter, plus a cheap adapter
may supply under 5v. When the car is off usually no power to
the 12v Accessory Plug; could get a UPS HAT though off-hand I don't know
how long they will supply power, not how long to recharge.
NR> I went with a high quality one that records both out the front
NR> window and inside the car in case I get pulled over, it'll record
NR> whatever is going on. I would have liked to get one that also
NR> recorded out the back end for rear endings but it was hard to
NR> find something that did all three.
The RPi 3 has four USB ports, so I'm thinking plug in up to three
cameras and the fourth port for a USB thumbdrive for the recordings. I
have a 256 GB thumbdrive and it records three or four days on two
cameras here (MotionEye). Transfer the videos via WiFi when parked in
your garage or driveway. (That way you don't drop the thumbdrive in the
snow!)
NR> You'll also want to check ou the night vision on whatever you're
NR> buying, since you want to make sure it'll be able to capture
NR> license plates clearly in dark situations.
I agreen with Nigel's nightvision suggestion, just don't know if would
work with the glare of headlights. Or brakelights. Aside from that
detail be sure to get a camera/s with low lux: 0.1. I'm using
ELP-USB100W03M-BL36 -- about a 2" cube, plus has a little mounting bar.
Not sure about the lens -- 3.6mm works nicely for monitoring the front
yard from the second story window here. The camera is also HD (1080)
resolution -- high resolutions have more detail but also require more recording
space. Low resolutions require less space but less
detail/grainy. A highter frame rate also will make for larger
recodings. (I currently record at 2 fps.)
NR> You'll also want to look at the ease of removing the SD card or
NR> see if it has bluetooth/wifi for offloading the videos. I
NR> wouldn't be without mine, it adds safety and peace of mind.
Automating the process is great! There will be those times when you're running
late, it's too cold, my hands are full.... I have a little
script (batch file) which uses rsync to copy the files to the NAS.
Another script deletes files older than two days on the thumbdrive and
thirty days on the NAS.
NR> Search youtube for reasons to down a dash cam.
Better yet Google "Raspberry Pi dashcam"; first hit is for a
"RoadApplePi". Read through various options even if 'naaah": I scanned through
the one on Dride Zero and an interesting point: British law
('who cares, I'm U.S.' -- waaait!) allows the dash cam as long as it
doens't block the driver's view, so behind the mirror. (Same would
apply the cameras.)
Semi-interesting little tid-bit on blocking view stuff. When I was
working in New Hampshire in the early 70's the side window parking decal
required by the company I worked for (headquartered in NH) was
technically illegal by NH State Law as it blocked the view!
» BarryMartin3@ «
» @MyMetronet.NET «
... I had to sell my vacuum because it was collecting dust.
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