How do you get power to the DVR and to the Camera?
Which car adapter did you purchase from radio shack? Can you post a link to it, or a similar product.
Thanks

I want to do a similar set up because I'm planning on taking driving school and taking my MCS onto a track in June. I want to set the whole thing up and work out all the bugs well before then.

 

My DVR takes 5V. Some DVR's take 9 or 12V so check yours. Anyway, Radioshack has a 4.5V car adapter I used. Included in the purchase is a free Adaptaplug. So just bring in your DVR and get the plug that fits.

As for the camera, I just hardwired it directly to the car's fusebox using an Add-A-Circuit. See my old Garmin Nuvi hardwired set-up to get an idea. You'll see where I got ground as well. I also hardwired a female cig adapter plug as in that thread for the 4.5V car adapter. I tucked everything under the center console out of sight.

As for driving/track vids, the best quality ones are ones using real video camcorder (HD) mounted between the headrests with various commercial and homemade mounts like this. Not stealthy, but if you already have a camcorder, it would be easy to set-up. That way you also get a view of your steering wheel, tach, and speedo. For a 24/7 dashcam, it's certainly not as practical.

 

Couple of more questions

So since you used add-a-fuse fort the camera, does that mean I have to look for a camera on ebay which takes 12v?
I found this and not sure if it will work, what I like about it though is that it has a mic built in. It says its 12V, but I'm not sure how it hooks up.

Also, before you replaced your wiper with a camere you had a different setup. I think you had a small camera stuck outside in the hatch somewhere.

Which camera did you use for that? Was it waterproof?

lastly you're right about real camcorder for track, but I'm still set on geting your setup done for everyday driving.

BTW I looked through a bunch of your threads now and all I can say is WOW especially your lates screen and half/laptop set up.

Do you have an automotive or electrical background?

I'm not really that handy, so your previous set up will do for me
Thanks

 

thanks. it all started when i wanted to hardwire and mount my portable nuvi GPS. i had no auto or electrical background, just the internet and precious money and time to waste. learn as i go. it's been addictive.

the camera is powered with a jack that plugs into the red cable in the camera's pic. you'll need to splice in a male CCTV power plug like this to the Add-an-circuit and the ground wire. oh yeah, i recommend getting a CCTV (audio/video/power) extension cable like this to run the wiring up the headliner and then the rear view mirror.

details of my prior $114 back-up cam is in this thread. it is waterproof, compact, and gives a nice clear wide angle image. i had purchased a couple cheaper ones before and the quality was horrendous in comparison. for the price, this back-up cam is very good IMHO. if you want the best, there are ones from more reputable companies with digital image processing to help with the wide-angle distortion and other stuff.

 

Have you looked into night vision? I would really like to see the deer before they see my headlights.

 

Well, now he will

Lacning, so are you using the same camera now in you windshield wiper spot? Or did you get a different one for that?

Does that one have the same power source?

 

Different camera, CCD-5XS vs the 4XS. I actually got my recent one cause I accidentally yanked the wiring off the back while doing other stuff too hastily. Anyway, it's actually the same company and uses the same wiring connector so I used the same power source and video cable.

As for nightvision, the only one worth getting, the PathFindIR is way too expensive for now.

 

Could also get a 5-series Bimmer with the night vision option, and cut away all the Bimmer parts, leaving you with a ready-to-install system. Cool

 

my dashcam mounted to the rear view mirror stalk using high strength double-sided tape:

 

Hey, your dashcam really cool!

I'm trying to figure out the value of this. Clearly if you're involved in an accident, the evidence from the camera could help prove liability. But are there other uses/benefits for your dashcam that justify the cost & effort to install?

 

not really. it's like justifying my carputer.

 

Very nice!!!
I'm still toying with the whole idea


another value is to prove that the cop who wrote you a ticket was full of s...

 

If there was a way to have the front camera, rear camera and a cockpit camera all recording with motion detection (which there is) then find out how to transmit over something like a 3G network to a remote file storage. In doing that you would have a video record of who hit your Mini r who stole it when you were not with your Mini!!

Stephen

 

If there was a way to have the front camera, rear camera and a cockpit camera all recording with motion detection (which there is) then find out how to transmit over something like a 3G network to a remote file storage. In doing that you would have a video record of who hit your Mini or who stole it when you were not with your Mini!!

Stephen