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Thread: Dash cam install: Mini0806

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    video Dash cam install: Mini0806

    Whether you consider a dash cam a novelty or security, there is really no excuse to not having one nowadays. Sure, the Russian videos of the giant meteor streaking across the sky was cool along with the rampant jumping onto cars for insurance claims is entertaining, the fact is, the dash camera is one of the best protections to have for an automobile besides insurance.

    Speaking of which, there is no better way to prove our innocence than with your own exculpatory, video evidence of red-light runners or road ragers than your own video. Historically, the accident or incident happens and it is up to a cop who shows up after the fact to guestimate the blame which can go a long way toward raising your insurance rates. Of course, if you're really at fault, you probably don't want to share your video but for the time being, personal videos taken from inside your vehicle are still yours.

    The benefits of having a dash cam far outweigh the negatives, at least for now. It's amazing that with the upbiquitous camera residing in everything from cell phones to sidewalks, stores and even doorbells hasnt' found its way into cars as standard equipment but until it does, it's up to you to install one.

    There are a million choices out there. Some big, some small; some with screens, WiFi, GPS, data acquisition and so on as well as cheaper models without. This thread isn't about which camera to buy but a review about my choice which happens to be a pretty nifty Mini-0806. Details here: http://mini0806.com/spec.html

    The 0806 is one nifty, little dash camera from the far East with a cult following. It is well made, has excellent specs and takes great video but beyond that, it is packed with camera features and perks like GPS, audio and a screen for a bargain basement price.

    Here is the kit I bought from GearBest. It includes everything in the picture in an upscale feeling presentation:




    The camera itself is tiny, feels sturdy and materials that don't feel like a cheap Chinese toy:




    This camera actually comes with a screen which even more epensive cameras omit. This is very handy for aligning the camera angle by view instead of guessing as well as reviewing footage on screen. Once the car is turned on, the screen will stay active between 15 seconds to five minutes depending upon your preferences.




    This model has two memory slots for up to twin 128Gb microSD cards (memory not included) but that's really pointless since recordings are a max of five minutes at a time before creating a new file, a distinction that separates a dash cam from a GoPro. I chose to install a single 128Gb microSD and set the camera to record over the oldest videos once full. Really, the only time you're going to benefit from your recording is right after an accident so five-minute segments are perfect as opposed to going through 200 hours of a single recording just to get to the point of the accident. Also pictured is the optional GPS base the camera slides into and the bottom of the camera showing its micro HDMI port along with the secondary memory slot.






    While this camera can run on its own battery, that requires recharging it every day which is a pain. I chose to permanently install my dash cam via the available hard-wire kit, a surprisingly cheap, $8 option.




    The only other option is a polarizing filter and get this: the Mini0806 has a magnetic lens base to simply hold the filter near it and enjoy the little "snap" when the polarizer gets drawn into place. Since it's magnetically attached, you can simply look at the screen and rotate the polarizer until interference like dash reflections and washed out scenery is eliminated! Very cool. The only negative in my case, and it's not really a negative is that I bought a separate polarizer but once I opened the well-presented Mini-0806 box, there was already a filter included! My bad but kudos and thanks to Mini. The difference is pretty amazing as you can see in the video below:





    I won't get into details about installation since every car is going to be different but it's pretty basic. With the hardwire kit, you simply run the wiring along the top of the windshield frame, down the A pillar to the fuse box and along with an Add-A-Circuit, and you're good. One additional feature of the hardwire kit is that you can select "parking lot protection" in that the camera will record while the car is off and after an adjustable impact sensor has been triggered. That sounds handy but I have it shut off on mine.




    Here is the final installation in my Civic. It is up and out of the way but since the lens is so wide angle, it sees the top of my rearview mirror along with the mirror mount but that's okay.



    The back of the camera is very well laid out with the screen and LED indicators as to recording status and GPS acquisition which so far has been perfect every time.



    Overall, I'm very impressed with the size of the mini, the quality of construction and the absolute myriad of settings that I can't really quantify here but suffice it to say that everything from HD quality, frame rates, exposure compensation and white balance for instance is settable in this little powerhouse and those are usually terms reserved for pro SLR cameras.

    Since just as much is going on behind me as in front of me, I bought a second camera to mount in the rear. This will be great for tailgaters who cause an accident or road rage from the rear and then the front. The best part is that once it's configured, you just forget about it. It comes on when you turn your car on and shuts off a few seconds after you've left your vehicle. That's it. The only time I would ever have to mess with it is to yank the memory out after an accident so that if I'm truly not at fault, I don't have to worry about a cop's interpretation of things or partial blame.


    No todo que es oro brilla.

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    Individual-1 ☚ ☻ ☛ Agent☣Orange's Avatar
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    This is a one-minute video showing the difference in video quality without and with the included polarized lens. In the first part, you can see reflections from the windshield and dash along with a somewhat washed out image. Then I attach the magnetically-mounted polarizer and rotate until the picture is shown with saturated colors and no reflections:




    This one-minute(ish) video is nothing exciting, just to show the resolution at the current settings with text at a storefront and in normal traffic. It also shows my new aftermarket horns to let the douchebag know he violated right of way.


    No todo que es oro brilla.

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    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! 90blue's Avatar
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    Nice. Wish there was a package for the Miata that was designed for it.
    Peter

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    It's pretty generic. You just stick it up on your windshield, Miata or otherwise. Not quite sure they can do to make it Miata specific.

    I might relocate my camera to below the mirror mount in order to have a better view.


    No todo que es oro brilla.

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    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift NCGreasemonkey's Avatar
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    After my question in another thread I did buy one. Costco had the Cobra CDR 840 on a instant rebate sale when I was reloading the pantry with TP and paper towels. I'll have to download some video and mounted pics. for comparison.
    ... Rick

    Quote Originally Posted by Hammerhead View Post
    ...and don't be like an NCGreasemonkey.
    For the thread on Noir click below
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    Yep, there are so many, it's hard to review them all which leads to the obvious: that dash cams will become standard equipment on all new cars in the future. In the meantime, I love mine.


    No todo que es oro brilla.

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    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift NCGreasemonkey's Avatar
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    You would have thought that the car companies would have seen the need for forward mounted cams before rearward. But that might be because I don't use a phone in the car and my neck still works to look behind me. Dun'know! I'm not an engineer.
    ... Rick

    Quote Originally Posted by Hammerhead View Post
    ...and don't be like an NCGreasemonkey.
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    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift NCGreasemonkey's Avatar
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    Here is the mount that came with mine. I placed it as high up in front of the rear-view as I could. Once the roll bar install is done I want to mount it further back in the cabin for more peripheral.





    I did go in and set the resolution to 720P @ 60 f.p.s. dropped the G-sensor setting to 1, because of the lowering kit, reduced the mic. sensitivity to 1 ( not low enough ) and got a 32 GB micro SD card. Funny thing is my first gaming computer had the best and brightest video card and it had stand-alone 16 MB of RAM. And I could tell you what the AOL speed would be by the modem sound. Damn I'm old!

    And here is a beer-run clip that gives different angles of sunlight on the lens. And I needed to clean the windshield of smut but I didn't. Priorities ya know! Please ignore my comment at the minute and ten second mark. Damn Homer moments!

    ... Rick

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    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! 90blue's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AgentOrange View Post
    It's pretty generic. You just stick it up on your windshield, Miata or otherwise. Not quite sure they can do to make it Miata specific.

    I might relocate my camera to below the mirror mount in order to have a better view.
    Specific in that the mounting would be designed and integrated for the Miata, and, say, the mirror.
    Peter

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    NC, I might have to relocate my camera like yours to avoid seeing the mirror. I like the idea of mounting it behind me to capture even more. I have a second camera to play with so I might try it out.

    Your video looks excellent on YouTube by the way. Is there a preferred setting or technique to make videos look good there? My videos look great on the computer but lose a bit once uploaded to YouTube. I will try out 720P at 60fps though. I'm old school too, heh heh. I remember changing IRQs on my sound card so my modem would work and yeah, I could tell when the handshake went well by the modem's noises. How many AOL discs did you throw away?

    Anyway, this is my first dedicated dash cam so I'm still playing with different settings. I have a pair of GoPro 4s but they're entirely different for this purpose. I'm new to YouTube also so trying to learn how to tweak video there so it looks good.

    Peter, as far as a Miata mount, all I can think of right now is a BlendMount http://www.blendmount.com Yeah it's for radar detectors but can positively clamp onto the Miata's mirror and has a lot of adjustability. You would just have to costomize it for your camera.


    No todo que es oro brilla.

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    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift NCGreasemonkey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AgentOrange View Post
    Your video looks excellent on YouTube by the way. Is there a preferred setting or technique to make videos look good there? My videos look great on the computer but lose a bit once uploaded to YouTube. I will try out 720P at 60fps though. I'm old school too, heh heh. I remember changing IRQs on my sound card so my modem would work and yeah, I could tell when the handshake went well by the modem's noises. How many AOL discs did you throw away?
    I just uploaded it straight from the cam to Youtube. No editing.

    As for AOL discs. I used them as coasters for the longest time. LOL
    ... Rick

    Quote Originally Posted by Hammerhead View Post
    ...and don't be like an NCGreasemonkey.
    For the thread on Noir click below
    http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....e-light-Slowly

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    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift NCGreasemonkey's Avatar
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    AO have you changed anything yet? Just curious. I'm about two-weeks out on my 'Skunk-works' call and still have mine in the same mounting and res..

    It will be removed and taken on the ATL. trip in the Workhorse this Sat..

    I lived in Charlotte and know how to drive to survive. Been a minuet since in the ATL. traffic, though.
    Last edited by NCGreasemonkey; 05-11-2016 at 09:11 PM. Reason: Added my D
    ... Rick

    Quote Originally Posted by Hammerhead View Post
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    Individual-1 ☚ ☻ ☛ Agent☣Orange's Avatar
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    I haven't changed the mounting location because it uses a 3M adhesive pad and I'm afraid if I pull it off, it'll yank the window tint along with it. I really wanted it discreet anyway and have a GoPro with a suction mount I can place in the middle of the windshield for an event anyway.

    So far, I haven't changed the camera's settings as I'm trying to do some night driving under different lighting using the stock settings first.


    No todo que es oro brilla.

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    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift NCGreasemonkey's Avatar
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    Not a dead thread. Going to position my Cobra cam more to the rear of the cockpit Sunday. have had some scary moments. But since the Cage insatll I think I can bring the sensitivity back on-line.
    ... Rick

    Quote Originally Posted by Hammerhead View Post
    ...and don't be like an NCGreasemonkey.
    For the thread on Noir click below
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