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Dash cam on when parked? Necessary?
- Thread starter mattack4000
- Start date
Chrisizzle
Member
Mine doesn’t give me a choice (older model BlackVue). I depends on whether the 12v outlet will supply constant power (it did not in my 2014 MS but does in my 2016 MX).
However, even with constant power, my camera switches into Parking Mode eventually and only records on detected vibration, or occasionally and inconsistently, motion trigger within the video.
I would personally have it record full time. Why?
I am surprised how long it takes to wake up from Parking Mode sometimes. There have been times I’ve been driving for 15 minutes before the camera ‘wakes up’. That’s 15 minutes of undocumented driving.
However, even with constant power, my camera switches into Parking Mode eventually and only records on detected vibration, or occasionally and inconsistently, motion trigger within the video.
I would personally have it record full time. Why?
I am surprised how long it takes to wake up from Parking Mode sometimes. There have been times I’ve been driving for 15 minutes before the camera ‘wakes up’. That’s 15 minutes of undocumented driving.
arcus
Active Member
Newer BlackVue cameras do a great job while in Parking Mode. Provided you have a constant power supply, it registers the data all the time, but will only write it to the card once an event occurs (it will record 5 seconds prior to the event).
I haven't catch anything yet (thankfully!) but there's a number of examples both on this forum and youtube that can justify recording of parking activity.
I haven't catch anything yet (thankfully!) but there's a number of examples both on this forum and youtube that can justify recording of parking activity.
Terry_B58
Member
Some dash cams use a 'time lapse' system when in parking mode, therefore they do not overwrite any events when they loop on the memory card.
In the event of a 'bump' etc. the camera goes into full wake up mode and records everything.
Itis a great idea and it is easy to 'speed' through the video files looking for an event.
Warning - some dashcams are not supposed to be permanently powered up and will overheat if they are left powered up. A serious dashcam overheat is not what you want in any car.
In the event of a 'bump' etc. the camera goes into full wake up mode and records everything.
Itis a great idea and it is easy to 'speed' through the video files looking for an event.
Warning - some dashcams are not supposed to be permanently powered up and will overheat if they are left powered up. A serious dashcam overheat is not what you want in any car.
I have my camera wired on the whole time, but I seriously wonder if it is just an unnecessary draw to the battery given nothing will likely come out of the parking stuff due to the lack of 360 coverage. I do keep forgetting to turn it off manually in the garage. I guess I can catch an earthquake or something
Our car is parked in our driveway and we have found the parking mode (always on) on our Blackvue to also be helpful as a security camera of sorts. It has helped establish when a package doesn't get delivered and they say it was. Seen the driver go right past our house and down the street somewhere. Also eyes for anyone coming to the house to steal a package. I've used it to see when the gardeners and mailman showed up and when. If the car was parked in the garage would probably manually turned off then.
During the summer our car was vandalized 10 minutes after parking in a restaurant parking lot. Got too see the creep who smashed our side rear window to check the cargo area under the parcel shelf. Can be frustrating when you don't get enough identifying details to have the police arrest them though. But sometimes people do.
We have a Blackvue 650S-2ch and feel its worth having the parking mode on. Bought a Blackvue 128Gb micro card to use and setting to give us I think 17 hours. Enough hours usually for us to know there's been a problem and can still check who's walked/driven by.
During the summer our car was vandalized 10 minutes after parking in a restaurant parking lot. Got too see the creep who smashed our side rear window to check the cargo area under the parcel shelf. Can be frustrating when you don't get enough identifying details to have the police arrest them though. But sometimes people do.
We have a Blackvue 650S-2ch and feel its worth having the parking mode on. Bought a Blackvue 128Gb micro card to use and setting to give us I think 17 hours. Enough hours usually for us to know there's been a problem and can still check who's walked/driven by.
95% of the time, maybe even 99% of the time, it's not necessary. The question is what that other 1-5% of the time is worth to you. If someone gets careless around your car, or vandalizes your car, or even breaks in to it, it could be very valuable (assuming the thieves don't steal the camera, too...)
reddy
Active Member
My dashcam caught a person keying my car, while parked. If you don't run the power while parked, you will miss stuff like this.
In my case, the person who did the damage was identified from the dashcam recording, arrested, made restitution to me and my insurance company. Their attorney was able to get the charges dropped at that point.
I tap the 12v from the OBDC connector, but many use the wire near the rear view mirror instead.
The Blackvue camera allows you to budget how much time is allocated to Parking Mode vs Normal driving vs Events. The Parking mode events are only saved if something is detected, such as sound, G forces from an impact, or something new comes into view on the camera. So I have lots of recordings with birds flying by, a helicopter flying by, or a radio from the car parked next to me.
It was only when I found two huge scratches down to the metal that I pulled the card to search for any evidence on how it happened, and sure enough it was ALL THERE on video, sound, and even G force readings.
In my case, the person who did the damage was identified from the dashcam recording, arrested, made restitution to me and my insurance company. Their attorney was able to get the charges dropped at that point.
I tap the 12v from the OBDC connector, but many use the wire near the rear view mirror instead.
The Blackvue camera allows you to budget how much time is allocated to Parking Mode vs Normal driving vs Events. The Parking mode events are only saved if something is detected, such as sound, G forces from an impact, or something new comes into view on the camera. So I have lots of recordings with birds flying by, a helicopter flying by, or a radio from the car parked next to me.
It was only when I found two huge scratches down to the metal that I pulled the card to search for any evidence on how it happened, and sure enough it was ALL THERE on video, sound, and even G force readings.
Parking mode is a fancy term for any recording done while your engine is off and your car is parked. The camera should have a special space-saving mode to minimize how much is written to the memory card while still capturing any accidents or vandalism.
We see parking mode as extra insurance for most people. How comfortable are you with risk and how much do you want to spend? If you’re in the minority where vandals are intentionally damaging your vehicle it could pay off right away (We suggest you look into CCTV cameras). For others it’s a personal decision based on a number of factors (budget, density, time, etc)
I had a $4500 insurance claim when someone hit my car while it was parked. The guy took off but my dash cam caught it and I was able to read the license plate. The police was able to find the person and his insurance covered the damage on my car.
I would always have my dash cam running while parked. I measured how much the dash cam needs and it’s less than 5 Watt. The car needs about 100-200 Watt when parked so the extra power draw is insignificant.
I would always have my dash cam running while parked. I measured how much the dash cam needs and it’s less than 5 Watt. The car needs about 100-200 Watt when parked so the extra power draw is insignificant.
Have not caught anything. You never know when it will happen as it's not something one experiences often, maybe never. What makes blackvue great is probably the parking mode / cloud features. If you aren't taking advantage of them I don't think it's worth it.
EVS Motors
Former Vendor
Definitely having it while parked is crucial. A lot of can happen when you're away from the car. Hope you never have to use it, but nice to know it's there when you do.
docbrown
Member
To answer your question, no I've never caught an accident while parked. I've also never caught an accident while driving. But I still like having the dashcam. My opinion is that it's MORE important to have it on while parked since the car spends much more time parked than it does driving.
LMichel
Member
My dashcam (rear) caught an old girlfriend drive up behind my car, sit there for a few minutes and think about doing something (allegedly) and then decide to pull away. This girlfriend is/was not the stereotypical psycho or known to be vindictive. I knew her (and last saw her) at least four years ago. My S75D is only a year old! She shouldn't even really know it's my car. The really interesting part is that my car was parked in longterm parking at the airport and the event happened about 7 minutes after I left the vehicle for a flight.
I assume that I was followed and that she knows my car and that she has been watching/following me(?) for a while..
What have I done about this?
Absolutely nothing.
But, I'm sooo glad my dashcam caught it. It was responsible for uncovering something that has been potentially going on for a while. I never would have suspected anything like this in a hundred guesses.
If my dashcam stopped working, I would immediately FedEx another. That's how important a working-while-parked dashcam has become!
I assume that I was followed and that she knows my car and that she has been watching/following me(?) for a while..
What have I done about this?
Absolutely nothing.
But, I'm sooo glad my dashcam caught it. It was responsible for uncovering something that has been potentially going on for a while. I never would have suspected anything like this in a hundred guesses.
If my dashcam stopped working, I would immediately FedEx another. That's how important a working-while-parked dashcam has become!
reddy
Active Member
That's interesting. But how much time do you spend looking at old parking mode video ?
I only look if I can see there is evidence something has happened. I would never think about looking at parking video from an airport garage later. I just don't have the time for that.
LMichel
Member
I didn't go looking.. A "Parking Event" on the rear camera registered and was saved on the SD card. Whenever I pull into my garage, all the "events" are downloaded from the dashcam to a home tablet PC over WiFi. Still images from the events cycle through my kitchen tablet until I do a "delete all".
I happened to catch the image while eating my Raisin Bran the next morning LOL
Almost choked when I saw that image!
I happened to catch the image while eating my Raisin Bran the next morning LOL
Almost choked when I saw that image!
reddy
Active Member
I must say that you are using the features more than most users.
I park in a garage every day at work, and shortly after installing my dashcam I realized that 99.99% of the material was birds flying by, other cars parking behind me, helicopters flying into the hospital, traffic on the road adjacent to the garage, and people walking to and from their cars.
Watching all that stuff would make me wacky.
Catching a stalking ex-girlfriend is a new one, we'll add that to the list. I'd choke on my Raisin Bran too.
LMichel
Member
I've also caught a guy walk up and unplug me from an L2 while I was still charging. The airport I park at shares an L2 for two spots..
My Tesla App notified me that charging was interrupted. I then logged into the BlackVue cloud app from my phone and could see that someone indeed just unplugged it. When I got back to my car the next day, I left a very respectful and courteous note on his Prius explaining how you can tell when the charger is done charging a car and that I would make sure to never unplug him if I could see his car wasn't finished yet.
I agree and expected that the only purpose of running the cams while parked would be to provide evidence of getting bumped or vandalized. I never anticipated the "fun?" of all this other stuff I happen to catch - LOL
My Tesla App notified me that charging was interrupted. I then logged into the BlackVue cloud app from my phone and could see that someone indeed just unplugged it. When I got back to my car the next day, I left a very respectful and courteous note on his Prius explaining how you can tell when the charger is done charging a car and that I would make sure to never unplug him if I could see his car wasn't finished yet.
I agree and expected that the only purpose of running the cams while parked would be to provide evidence of getting bumped or vandalized. I never anticipated the "fun?" of all this other stuff I happen to catch - LOL
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