[mragarg]

Hey everyone,
After my first accident and driving my car to college, I have been more paranoid about someone hitting my car and driving off. I really want to install a 2 ch. dash cam so I have front and rear coverage.
Because of two reasons, I do not intend to hardwire the camera to the car.

1. I lack the skill to do the whole fuse thing and everything
2. I have spent time researching and read a lot of people mentioning the risk of the battery dying. I know it can be prevented with the thing that monitors battery charge but I prefer not to risk that.

So far I have concluded to the following setup and would LOVE to hear advice, opinions, reviews on the product.

I am thinking about getting a Cellink-B which connects to the cigarette lighter to charge its battery when the car is on. But when the car is off, the dash cam will draw power from its battery. This prevents the dash cam from drawing power when the car is off. The only dash cam I have seen that seems to be good is the BlackVue DR650GW-2ch.

When I do get the camera, I would like to know how to take off the A pillars. I prefer pictures shown to how to do it so I can't mess it up. someone said to pry off the SRS Airbag badge and there's a screw. Is that true?

[Sharbotcom]

I recently got the Megellan MiVue 658. It has a built-in GPS and WiFi. The GPS allows the camera to display your speed (true speed not the inflated BMW speed) and it records your speed, location, etc. with the image. The WiFi allows you to download (albeit slowly) a captured video onto your phone (useful when you want to send something right away and you don't have access to your PC to read the memory card).

Overall it is not a bad unit (I bought 2, one for me and one for my wife's car).

I have been toying with the idea of hard wiring it directly into the rear view mirror (as Shawn Sheridan did for his radar detector), but for now I'm running down the A pillar and plugging it into the outlet under the passenger side dash. What I don't like about using the outlets is they get power every time the car is accessed (i.e. door locked, unlocked, door opened, etc.) and it says on for at least 8 minutes. I only want it to go on when I start the car.

Anyway, the MiVue 658 is pretty good and I would recommend it. Great pictures - day or night.

[peter91118]

I use a Mini 0806. Its hardwired to the rear view mirror. I am very pleased with it.

[r33_RGSport]

I have been using BlackVue DR650GW-2ch on my F15 X5 and ordering a IROAD V9 since one the F15 owner got a hookup on it for my F06 650GC.

http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1213934

The only thing missing out of the IROAD V9 is the GPS, but you can always get the GPS dongle for $20 range on Amazon.

Here is my thread on the BlackVue.

http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...hlight=dashcam

I ordered the BlackVue from blackboxmycar.com and it has a bundle with the PowerMagic Pro to have the camera to record when the car is off and it monitors the car battery so it doesn't get depleted below certain voltage amp required to start the car.

The plus thing on the IROAD V9, the power controller is built-in, so it doesn't require an additional unit such as PowerMagic Pro.

The A, B, and C pillars are held down by a screw below the SRS emblem and the rest are just clips.

[bclemans]

BMW Canada sells the following:

BMW Advanced Car Eye Full HD camera, including memory, for detecting critical situations while driving and for views when parking. Comprising: front camera, optional rear-window camera, GPS module, adhesive pad and cable set for fixed installation, 32GB micro SD card with USB adapter.
The admissibility of the recording and utilisation of the video recordings depends on the legal regulations of the respective country. Responsibility for use and compliance with applicable regulations lies with the user. Please confirm the specific requirements before commencing a journey.

[martin mustang]

I am also looking for one, I was considering the Thinkware http://www.thinkware.com/Products/Dashcam/F750
because it uses its own battery, and have couple more functions in comparison to the Blackvue like lane departure and speed cameras detection, but apparently issues with the SD card compatibility, and when down to the extra functions most users turned the option off because of the constant warnings and all.
So maybe settling for the Blackvue DR650 wired of course, if installed with power management gear you can set it so it will never drain the battery while car parked.

I don't like the BMW one, it’s like having a normal camera hanging on your windscreen, it’s also overpriced considering the functions in place, the Blackvue and Thinkware tend to be easily position behind the inside mirror so nice and discrete, size wise more or less the same, I like the Blackvue easy access to the SD card in comparison to the Thinkware.

[gibbonm]

I use a Mobius Dash cam.

Wired into the 12v supply under the glove box, i used a usb connector to plug straight in.
The unit keeps power for approx 10 minutes after you lock the car, that is the way the 12v supply works, so no battery drain.

Wiring is simple, run it into the headlining, run down the a pillar, (remove airbag cover and screw, loosen cover and feed cable through) run down the door and into the footwell, then all the slack is passed up behind the glove box, and attached to usb.

See this post.

http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/topic/114685...m#entry1238641