What does it record on?

Built in memory?

Removeable media (ie, a micro SD card)?

Is it possible to record on both built in and removeable media simultaneously?

If an incident happened, and law enforcement responded, how can a copy of the video file be immediately delivered to the officer at the time of the incident (to eliminate any question regarding whether or not the video was "doctored" if submitted at a subsequent time) while still retaining the original video file for one's self?

 

What I would do is let the officer view the video on the unit and he can be recording the view on his cell or bodycam (you can play back all clips from the SD card on the unit) and retain the SD card. I do keep my laptop and an adapter if the officer wants a copy of the file, but I'm keeping the original.
I am not sure of the legalities of surrendering the SD lard to law enforcement, but when it comes to surveillance footage from say a convenience store, I believe the normal procedure for the owner to provide them a copy if requested after they view the footage on the store's equipment. But again, I do not know the legalities here. I would be prepared to provide them with a copy and insist on keeping the original. The dashcam records a 7 character name (you define), date, time, LAT / LON and speed along with the MPH so it would be pretty hard to doctor the data. And I would still be recording during the aftermath as well.

 

@runningman777

Joel, how is the dashcam functionality compared to something like a Blackvue? Does it have Parking Mode, G Sensor, etc etc? All the reviews I have found so far seem a little light on details.

 

This unit is less than half the price of the Blackvue and has better resolution. The best part is that is mounts to your rearview mirror and replaces it with a better view. Just search Vantop from within YouTube and look for the 4K cameras. The one I bought is the H612T.

Another plus for this unit is that by attaching to the mirror, it is set back from the windshield a little as small electronics that sits in direct sunlight too long typically does not fare very well. I've had two small window mounted dashcams fail in the past.

Yes, it has the parking mode and G sensor. If the sensitivity is set too light, closing the doors will trigger the crash detection. When it is triggered, the dash cam will save clips front and back in special folders where they will not be overwritten.

There are separate folders for front normal. rear normal, front photo, rear photo, front emergency and rear emergency. The photo folders are for when you capture a photo.

As I park in a fenced yard and under security cameras I do not use the parking function. A typical day for me is to start my truck during my pre-trip inspection and it rarely shuts off until I get back home and do my post-trip inspection. The camera records as long as my ignition is on. This allows me to capture events when I'm loading and unloading, and there are several videos of these events on my YouTube channel.

Forklift driver knocks load off my trailer: Forklift driver loses an 8' dia tank while trying to load a truck in front of me: Footage while driving - near wreck on other side of highway:

 

Thanks Joel! Looks like this is the perfect dahscam replacement for me. The Blackvue I bought back in 2015 is so old I have had to replace the supercapacitor in it. Of course the new one, while rated at the same capacitance, is physically bigger than the original. I had to cut a hole in the case which resulted in this redneck repair:

 

I was unable to fix any of my old dashcams. That capacitor is the kind you charge up and throw to someone!

Everyone talks about dashcams, but I don't see YouTube trucker's making recommendations. I've been meaning to do a video on that, but been busy trying to get back to work (as I sit here watching YouTube).

I get the sneaking suspicion that all dashcams suffer the fate of early death because they are exposed to direct sunlight too often, and maybe that's why there a lack of people recommending them.

This unit mostly hides behind your mirror which helps protect it from direct sunlight. Only the left edge with the forward facing camera hangs to the left of the mirror... the rest is behind the mirror.

Either way, they are 100% required if you are a commercial trucker. You WILL get blamed for the accident and need have the ability to prove your case.

 

@runningman777 aka "runningmanCCC", for Calm, Cool, Collected.

Guys, if you haven't taken a peak at the videos in post #560 above, at the very least watch the first video called "Forklift driver knocks load off my Hot Shot trailer - FAIL"

It's only 1 minute long.

Our hero is the guy in the red shirt.

The villain is the forklift driver, who does exactly what the video title says.

But the climax of this vignette is watching the reaction of the hero in the red shirt... who I assume is runningmanCCC.

Wow. Totally non plussed. Didn't move a muscle!

Calm, Cool, Collected!

That's the kind of person I still aspire to be, after decades of trying!

Without a care in the world, our hero very stealthily caught all the proof data needed, not only by the VanTop camera, but also by non chalantly wandering over to the other side of the trailer and snapping a back up photo with his phone while the villain forklift driver was facing the other way, and then sauntering back where he was stationed originally by the time the forklift driver returned to pick up the drop.

Talk about cool.

 

Yes, that was me... trying not to laugh at the forklift driver.

Remember the scene in Fried Green Tomatoes when Kathy Bates tells the young girl "I'm older and I have more insurance!".

That's me... I know I've done my due diligence and the camera never sleeps while the truck is running.

I've already sat waiting to be unloaded a couple of hours and now there's no chance on catching a load back north because I have to make sure I make it home that night.

No reaction of mine is going to change a thing. This lift operator has a pile of trucks waiting on him to unload and he's obviously overworked.

And to further cover myself, I sent a condensed version to the broker "just in case" the receiver wants to file a claim for damages.

 

Joel cool as a cucumber (vegetable cross reference to movie mentioned) passes under the trailer neck, snaps a picture and returns to his prior location with great fluidity.

Well done sir.

 

Proverbs Chapter 32 Verse 1.

 

Nice

@Sous , I've been reading through this thread and am wondering how your wireless phone charger worked out with your thick phone case. Sounds like your phone is getting properly charged but it wasn't clear to me if you had to change cases or not. You may have already mentioned it, and I just missed it. I have a two piece OtterBox case on mine and I've often wondered if charging would work through it.

 

@materthegreater / Glen, It has been great! I have driven and been charging the phone wirelessly through the "lifeproof" case for ~9,000 miles now, maybe a bit more. I simply turn WiFi hotspot on via a pull down shortcut on my phone, then set it on the wireless charger and it stays 100% or goes to 100% if it was not already. No overheating issues, no failure to align with the coil issues, nothing. Keep in mind though that I bought a 3 coil somewhat rectangular wireless charger to ensure charging was easy each time.

We use a similar single coil wireless charger at our home for each of our phones, so I didn't really anticipate any issues. Although, I feel the 3 coil charger is key to the success of the device.

When we left Florida a couple of weeks ago to head north back to our home in GA, my phone was about 35% on battery. I checked it a bit later just before our stop for stretching and walking the dogs and it was nearly 100%. It works really well and I am very pleased with it. Especially since if I didn't have the WiFi hotspot, the ATOTO A6 would just be a fancy looking radio.

I had an Otterbox Commuter on my Samsung S7 prior to the Lifeproof case, but swapped that out when my wife needed a new phone and we used another S7. Then, she needed a truly "lifeproof" case as she is not gentle with phones. Since we have a wireless cradle in 2 of our other vehicles and I like simplicity, I purchased a matching Lifeproof case so there was no adjusting required of the cradle. Whichever phone is in the cradle for navigation is simply placed in the cradle and off we go.

We have the Lifeproof FRE series case if that makes any difference to you. It is very similar to the Otterbox I had prior.

If you wanted to "test" the wireless charging capability of your phone in your case, I would say see if you can find a wireless charger that a friend, family member or electronics store may have for you to try. If the phone charges through the case in those situations, it would certainly charge using the 3 coil wireless charger.

As you can tell, I am excited about this as it is something that allows me to get in and drive the truck away. I don't want to do a "predeparture" checklist or anything involved. I want to drive the truck and let it do it's thing, just as it was designed to do.

I hope this helps.

 

Do you have a lot of bruises?

 

I too am a fan of Lifeproof cases. I had a Fré for my iPhone 10 and now have a Nëxt for my iPhone 13.

 

lol..why you think there's the Subaru....he's convinced the misses that he needs a "pilot"