Thinkware F770 Dashcam Install

I don't use the safety features as there's no way for them to know when I intend to change lanes etc.

I also use a

$23 PNY Elite 32GB microSDHC Card -UHS-I, U1, up to 85MB/Sec (P-SDU32U185EL-GE)

PNY 32GB card and swap it out with the included card. I may buy something bigger but haven't had a need yet.

*knock wood* I've not had to use parking mode for anything. I use the time-lapse and it's pretty cool. I like that the unit senses shock and will put the current recording in a separate folder, but kind of wish it'd figure out that the sensed shock of my opening the door and getting in isn't worthy of an announcement of an incident during parking mode. Once I figured that was what was quit looking for something happening in the videos when the unit told me there'd been 1 incident during parking.

 

I have the thinkware F770 (Dual) installed with the Cellink Battery B and really like the setup. Got a two meter cable with aright mini and another short cable
with a left mini so the install is almost transparent. When I first got the cameras, my 128GB micro SDXC card arrived cracked and unusable, but BBMC quickly replaced it without question. I now have four 64GB and a 128GB card that I am
swapping around to keep some history. Spend another $214 and get the Cellink
Battery if you intend to use the parking mode. I have mine set on parking
impact mode rather than motion, because I park facing a busy street and it
would drain my batteries in no time. The video clarity is unbelievable from both
cameras. Personally, I do not use any of the"safety features" because of the
feedback from other owners (annoying alarms when turning, etc.) I also have
the audio muted.
Bottom line - Fantastic mod that helps relieve vandalism and hit-and-run
worries. I'd buy it again. Thinking of putting a system in my wife's Avalon.

 

No issues here without the cellink battery.

I've not validated that the F770's low-voltage cutoff doesn't engage at home but no issues through the work day at my office's parking deck.

I don't do motion detection as it'd be silly in a parking deck, I stick to impact sensing.

 

Listen to this guy, he was a great help when I was trying to decide on a dashcam system. I continue
to go to him for his opinion on mods to my TACO!

 

Isn't the cell-link battery only if you do not plan on hardwiring the unit.

Also as far as the notifications go, pretty much you know when to look st the parking mode video when it says there are more than 1 incident (you opening up the door)???

 

Also here is another question.

Is it easy/simple to view videos for playback. Using the app I guess?

 

the one thing to know, if you use the alerts for parking mode (tells you how many motion or impact detections it had while parked) you will often get alerts for shutting your car door, so i typically will have 1-2 impacts detected each time, more if i go into my back seat or topper before getting in.

 

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@implicitprodigy While @wudbuchr is kind, I'm still figuring this stuff out as I go...

Yes, pretty much if it says more than one parking incident that's a signal to check it out. The exception would be if you turned off the truck and screwed around for more than whatever the delay is before it switches into parking mode. Might be a minute? Probably in the user manual.

Videos are easy to check since the F770 sorts them in different folders based on what they're for (continuous, parking motion, etc) and labels each file with the date & time plus a F or R for which camera. You can turn on wifi and view them on your phone as well as download them to your phone, though that part is pretty slow. Or pop out the microSD card and put it into your computer. That's why you'll find folks keeping a 2nd card in the truck, something to swap out with while they take the other card in to look at.

 

If you do not intend to hardwire the dashcam, you either have to use the vehicle's cigarette lighter
or use an inverter to convert your 110V household power to 12.5 volts DC to recharge the cellink
battery. Otherwise, cut the cigarette lighter off the harness supplied with the Cellink battery's
output harness and wire it to the Thinkware harness (connecting yellow to yellow red to red and
black to black). I replaced the 20A fuse with a 7.5A fuse since the Cellink Battery only draws 7A
when charging. 20A is a bit much.

 

@implicitprodigy Since you were asking about ease of getting at videos. After the following event this morning I sat in my parked truck for a few minutes and: copied the video from the F770 to my iphone over wifi, exported from the Dashcam app to the phone's camera roll, imported the video into iMovie, trimmed the excess from the beginning and end, removed the audio track, and exported/uploaded to Vimeo. All from my phone. Sitting in my (parked) truck.

Red truck goes wide in the turn, jumps the corner island, and finally corrects before nearly hitting the two construction workers.

 

Wow! That's pretty incredible. Glad it wasn't a toyota! I love the user friendly ease with this thing. It seems like its worth every penny. Thanks for uploading this video!

 

Hey guys,

Unit just came in, and I just got it hardwired and set up. This thing is LEGIT! Anyways, I was wondering what you guys set the voltage to on the system settings for it to kill the unit at a certain voltage? Did any of y'all change the default setting for this?

Also, right now I have it set to time lapse, but black has recommended motion detection. I just ordered a 128gb so I can make that happen because as of right now my 32gb can only handle 2 hrs. It may be fine, but I'd rather have more than enough space.

Can't say enough about the quality on the back camera, I have used dash cams for a while now and so far I feel like this is how they were supposed to function. I will say I liked the look/design of the blackvue dashcam more, but I'm happy I didn't go with it.

 

@implicitprodigy I chose TimeLapse instead of MotionDetection because my truck is regularly in a parking deck with people and cars going by all the time. At home it's parked out doors and the rear camera has a view of the driveway and street. If something should happen while parked, such as a break in, I'd also like the opportunity to document anyone casing my truck beforehand. Still, maybe I'll try the motion detection version and see what I get.

As for threshhold shutoff voltage, I've had good success with setting it to 12.0VDC -- seems to keep it running overnight and through the work day with no issues with starting the truck afterward. The default 12.2VDC seemed to cut off after a few hours parked. Particularly with the TimeLapse mode, the voltage stamp in the videos can give you a sense of what you need to set it to in order to cover the timeframe you want to cover.

Yes. the F770 and BlackVue 650 are the top of the game right now. I chose the F770 for its form factor (look/design) and neatness of the main unit cables as much as for its capabilities. One advantage for those who want to start with a front camera and add a 2nd cam later is the F770 supports that model whereas with the Blackvue you buy either the 1 or 2 channel system and can't add a rear camera to a 1 channel version.

 

Hey all,

I'm considering getting this bundle and have a concern about power usage when the vehicle is off. I would plan to hard wire the unit, but would getting the Cellink Battery B pack and hooking into the hard wire setup be wise to prevent car battery drain if you leave the vehicle off for a few days?

Think if you take a flight somewhere for a week. You wouldn't want to come home to a dead car battery thanks to your dashcam.

If it's even recommended to do such a thing, how would one go about wiring that backup battery into the mix? Only other option would be to add a switch to kill power to the dashcam for such long trips.

Cheers,
-Sam

 

Much easier to just use the F770's built in adjustable low-voltage auto-shutdown and/or its up to 48 hour time based auto-shutdown.

See the user manual here: http://www.thinkware.com/Support/Download#1

 

BBMC advises to hardwire the cellink Battery to an accessory fuse so it will have no effect on your Taco's
battery when the vehicle is left for a few days. I am running the Thinkware F770 (dual) connected to the
Cellink Battery B and am having no problems. Mine is using the add-a-fuse connected to the DC Power #2
fuse (cigarette lighter in the center console). It works like a champ, and is transparent in daily use. Actually,
I am considering adding the extension battery to my configuration for additional monitor time.

 

Do any of you F770 owners live in a hot summer environment? If so, do you take your cam down off the mount when you park, during the summer? If you have the rear cam too, do you take that down as well? I live in Phoenix and my sub-$100 dash cams seem to last about 2 years before becoming unreliable (crashing, turning off, freezing, etc.). I'm concerned about dropping $400 on a cam system that would die in the same time frame. It appears that you can disconnect the forward facing camera with no issues, but I've read the rear cam doesn't have a base to release from. I generally leave my cams running 24/7 until the warmer months roll around. Then I will take them down when I park and place them in a cup holder or center console. As much as I want a rear facing cam, it would be a real PITA to have to detach it every time I park (during the summer months).

Any ideas or comments on how to deal with the heat? I also sent an email to support@thinkware.com in hopes they have some guidelines on how to prolong the unit life in extreme heat environments.

 

Haven't had mine long enough and during the day I'm either parked in a deck or under a tree canopy.

I do know that some of the lower end units tend to have batteries instead of capacitors; higher end units moved to capacitors specifically for the heat death reason.

 

Well, their support guys got back to me a few hours later (which is a good sign).

Hi OneFastGeek,

Thank you for contacting Thinkware Dash Cam.

The operating temperature of our cameras are 14°F to 140°F/ -4°F to 158°F.

They will automatically shut off if they become too hot to avoid damage.

We recommend not leaving the camera in the vehicle during extreme temperatures.

Our cameras easily detach from the mount.

The rear camera is not removable but will be fine left in the vehicle.

Please feel free to contact us again if you encounter any other issues.

Kind regards,


Customer Support

THINKWARE Dash Cam™ (North America)