Dash Cam - Battery Powered Idea?

[Andy_con]

so the idea popped into my head of wouldn't it be great if you could power a dash cam via a battery pack so it can be on all the time even when your not in the car.

the first issue I thought about was the car powering the dash cam whilst the engine is running and then switching to battery when the engine is off. so did some googling and someone does make a dash cam system that does just this. but the battery pack alone was £160, which is very steep.

the battery pack was the same as a power bank for a phone that allowed a dash cam to be powered whilst being charged by the car, very simple. so then I started searching for power banks that could power a phone whilst being charged and came up with these -

https://www.anker.com/products/A1214011

their web site doesn't say they can charge phones whilst being charged them self but people on the web are saying they can.

anyway pretty cheap

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01ISO92V2/?tag=cliospnet01-21

so my current dash cam uses a micro USB for power, so its just 5v. which is the same power a power bank gives out. so my plan is to give it a go and see how well it works.

 

[c4pob]

You can power it off your car battery and use a power magic pro to stop the dashcam from draining it too much. Costs about £30.

 

[Andy_con]

You can power it off your car battery and use a power magic pro to stop the dashcam from draining it too much. Costs about £30.

I see cool, will look into it.

 

[ilovewilly]

A friend of mine had a camera installed that had motion detection. When a kid vandalized it, the camera started recording and caught footage of him finishing up and cycling away.

 

[Jaff.]

You need to find a camera that draws little to no current when it's on. The lower the current the longer it'll take to drain the battery.

The power bank idea is good, but how you going to charge the power Bank?
Running it off the car battery is a better idea but risky if it all goes Pete tong

 

[chris blue]

as said, even cheaper cameras have motion detectors

 

[SWL16]

You can power it off your car battery and use a power magic pro to stop the dashcam from draining it too much. Costs about £30.

That's what I do. Mobius front and back connected by Mini-usb to a power magic pro in the glove compartment. Power magic pro connected into the fuse box with a permanent live.

 

[Louis]

My dashcam has it's own inbuilt battery and parking mode. So if it detects motion it records from it's own battery. Charges with the engine running. Simples.

 

[Andy_con]

You need to find a camera that draws little to no current when it's on. The lower the current the longer it'll take to drain the battery.

The power bank idea is good, but how you going to charge the power Bank?
Running it off the car battery is a better idea but risky if it all goes Pete tong

power bank is my preferred option and it puts less wear on the car battery long term.

i have a 63 plate focus and the 12v socket is always live, which is really annoying. so Power magic pro connected to 12v socket of car, which then charges a power bank and camera connected to power bank.

power magic pro is like £30
power bank £15-20

 

[c4pob]

power bank is my preferred option and it puts less wear on the car battery long term.

i have a 63 plate focus and the 12v socket is always live, which is really annoying. so Power magic pro connected to 12v socket of car, which then charges a power bank and camera connected to power bank.

power magic pro is like £30
power bank £15-20

Is the 12v socket permanent live? Pretty sure my 16 plate shuts it down after about 15 mins.
If you were to do the power magic pro you would also need to buy fuse taps and some extra fuses. Which is c.£4-5 on top of the £30.
Must add it's really easy to do a 'proper' install in the focus.

 

[chris blue]

my phase 1 12v cigarette lighter socket shuts down after 30 seconds- thats where i power the dash cam from