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Dashcam Install & Group buy

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I'd love to get a dashcam installed in my S85. I'm not a DIYer and would prefer to leave it to a good professional shop. Live in Redwood City CA and looking for other people on the peninsula who would be interested.

Please reply if:
1/ you can recommend a good auto shop on the peninsula that has installed a dashcam in Teslas before
2/ you are interested in going in on a group buy of a dashcam and/or installation.

Seems like other owners like the Blackvue with front & rear cameras
Amazon.com : BlackVue New 2 Channel DR650GW-2CH 16GB with Power Magic Pro, Car Black Box/Car DVR Recorder, Built-in Wi-Fi, Full HD(1080p@30fps), up to 64GB support : Car Electronics

Hoping we can get 5-10 people who are interested and secure cheaper pricing
 
I'm also planning on getting a Blackvue 650. I don't know if anyone sells them this way, but I'm pretty sure we'd have no use for the Magic Pro in our Teslas. I'm on the East Coast, and already know who my installer is going to be, so would only be interested in the group buy on the dashcam.

Thanks!
 
You don't need the power magic pro on the Model S - the HVB (high voltage battery) goes through a DC to DC convert that steps down the voltage and feeds the LVB (low voltage battery) 12 volts. I have this exact camera and its been good with the exception that the GPS has never worked on it. Also the rear camera is crap - i would buy two 1080P cameras verses the one 1080P front and 720P rear...
 
Installing the Blackvue is a piece of cake. Hiding the video cable to the rear camera under the rubber door strips is real easy. The Power Magic Pro is not just a current sensor. It also governs whether you want the camera to be a motion detector in park mode.
Total installation time took 3/4 hour. Definitely a DIY job.
 
Parking mode just requires continuous power. Power Magic would provide a "timer" and switch, but I'm not sure why you would want the timer to turn off your camera, ever, while in parking mode.

So just to confirm (what I had thought anyway) if we hook the Blackvue 650 up to continuous power (for example, the unused power connection available in the P85D under the microphone cover near the rear view mirror) we'll have no need for the Power Magic, and will still have full functionality of the Blackvue, correct? (This is what I had thought before reading the last few posts in this thread, but then mrElbe's post made me wonder.)

Also, on another note:

Installing the Blackvue is a piece of cake. Hiding the video cable to the rear camera under the rubber door strips is real easy. Total installation time took 3/4 hour. Definitely a DIY job.

How does hiding the cable that way compare to the much more complicated installation described here:
DIY Dashcam (BlackVue 550 fronrear) - constant power source from dash

In that thread people talk about fishing the cable through all sorts of things, removing trim, taking hours to do it, etc., etc.

I guess I am wondering if something about the 650 vs. 550 has changed to make installation easier, or if there are just cons about the "door strip" installation vs. the one described in the thread above.

I'm going to be having mine installed professionally, so if one installation is better but more costly, I still might go with it, but I'm interested in learning the details.

Also I haven't seen very many good pictures showing final installation of these. Would anyone who has one of these installed care to post some?

Thanks!

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Also the rear camera is crap - i would buy two 1080P cameras verses the one 1080P front and 720P rear...

Is this some sort of upgrade option that Blackvue offers? Or are you suggesting buying two complete kits (or an extra identical front camera if it is available) and just using the second identical front camera on the back? The Blackvue system would accept a front camera as the back camera?
 
Did the Blackvue 650 w/Power Magic Pro install myself. Took me about 3hrs, most places in So. Cal area wants $300-$500 to install and probably would have done it faster but I doubt a better job. Routed the power from the fuse box (unswitched and switched) to the power magic. I heard all about how the 12v can handle the dash cam on all the time and that's true. The power magic pro has a switched on it that you can turn off/on the parking mode feature. I didn't want it recording in parking mode all the time, especially when it's parked in my garage as I go in/out all day long. This will also save your memory card as it can only write so many times.
 
Did the Blackvue 650 w/Power Magic Pro install myself. Took me about 3hrs, most places in So. Cal area wants $300-$500 to install and probably would have done it faster but I doubt a better job. Routed the power from the fuse box (unswitched and switched) to the power magic. I heard all about how the 12v can handle the dash cam on all the time and that's true. The power magic pro has a switched on it that you can turn off/on the parking mode feature. I didn't want it recording in parking mode all the time, especially when it's parked in my garage as I go in/out all day long. This will also save your memory card as it can only write so many times.

Isn't there a switch on the camera itself that would be just as easy to turn off when it's parked on your own property? I also would like the ability to not have it recording in parking mode when parked in my garage, but I thought I'd just flip a switch on the front camera itself. Please let me know if I am mistaken about this.

Thanks.
 
Isn't there a switch on the camera itself that would be just as easy to turn off when it's parked on your own property? I also would like the ability to not have it recording in parking mode when parked in my garage, but I thought I'd just flip a switch on the front camera itself. Please let me know if I am mistaken about this.

Thanks.

No switch on the 650 cam, but you can pull the power cable out of the cam to turn it off. Otherwise only way to shut it down is to have a separate switch or PowerMagicPro hooked up. PM me if you need any further info on install.

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Beware BlackVue. I have an old one, and the image got very hazy, to the point of being useless. I could not even get ahold of the company to make a warranty claim. This company does not stand behind its products.

I buy all my stuff especially electronics with my American Express card, extends the warranty a year. Don't have to deal with Blackvue, just send it to American Express (sometimes they don't even want the item) with the repair estimate, if it's close to replacement price they will refund total amount. Hopefully I won't have to use it on the 650 cam.
 
I buy all my stuff especially electronics with my American Express card, extends the warranty a year. Don't have to deal with Blackvue, just send it to American Express (sometimes they don't even want the item) with the repair estimate, if it's close to replacement price they will refund total amount. Hopefully I won't have to use it on the 650 cam.

Still, I wouldn't give any more business to Pittasoft, the makers of BlackVue. They don't deserve it.
 
Unfortunately, many dash cams are made by Chinese/Korean companies, so support has always been a problem. The trick is to use a US based vendor with a great reputation so you have some protection on a short term basis.

As for the cameras, I like the first-gen HD cams (I have a BlackVue DR400G-HD installed in my SUV, and is still running fine), the newer BlackVue cams had some major bitrate issues, especially the latest gen 2-channel cam (assuming it hasn't been addressed by firmware update yet).

I have tried many of the popular brands, I prefer the Mini family (0803 is what I have in my LEAF now), it would be more cost effective to just get 2 of those. There are some interesting multi-channel camera solutions on the horizon (with proper Full HD support), so I'm trying to hold out for that.

Isn't there a switch on the camera itself that would be just as easy to turn off when it's parked on your own property? I also would like the ability to not have it recording in parking mode when parked in my garage, but I thought I'd just flip a switch on the front camera itself. Please let me know if I am mistaken about this.

Thanks.

On the 400, you could pick what function to assign to the button, but I don't think the 650 lets you. It uses motion detection while in parking mode, so it shouldn't record anything in your garage, assuming you don't spend much time in there. If you do have privacy concerns, you'll have to come up with a clever hack.
 
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So...have you looked into getting some sort of group pricing anywhere?

Thanks!

Not hearing back, I decided to try to move the ball forward on this.

I have been in touch with someone at Rear View Safety, which was the company recommended in another thread. On their website they offer the DR650 with 32 Gig card and the Power Magic Pro for $349.99. I was able to get them to agree to sell the same package to us for $310, provided we purchase at least five units.

I had also asked about the 16 gig option or the 64 gig option, but they don't carry either of those, and did not want to attempt to order them just for us.

Checking other online prices, I think $310 is a fantastic price. I think $349.99 was actually a very good price.

Here is a link to the item on Rear View Safety's website:
DR650GW-HD | 2 Channel 32GB Dash Camera by Blackvue


If you would like to be part of this group buy, please respond in this thread, (Edit--scratch that--respond in the new thread--see below) and I will organize it and get you the details. In all likelihood it will involve all of us calling in to order our units at approximately the same time, so that the company sees they really have five orders before selling any at the discounted price.

Thanks.

Edit: I'm actually going to start a new thread for this. There are four people upthread who expressed an interest. I will write to those four people via PM and direct them to the new thread, and will also, of course, link to it here after I have started it.

New Thread: Blackvue 650 (Dashcam) Group Buy for $310, including 32 Gig card and Power Magic Pro
 
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I just had my BlackVue installed yesterday. They came to my house and installed everything. The camera itself was $309 which is a very good price considering it comes with free delivery :)
The installation was pretty reasonable as well. Only $139 for the whole thing including the power box that gives you the option to run the camera while parked without risk of draining the battery. They are in Orange County but they come to LA as well. PRODASHCAM - Dashcams, Dash Camera, Car DVR, Onboard Camera, Dashcam Installation