DashCam / USB Drive Issue

[agibanez]

I formatted a 4 GB USB Drive, created TeslaCam Directory and inserted USB Drive into front USB port.

Icon with Red Dot appears and seems to work fine; however, after about two hours Icon shows up with X.

Car was in garage for these two hours. USB full.

Not sure if the size of the USB Drive is too small, ordered a bigger one from Amazon.

 

[jdeskins]

The 4GB drive is too small - especially with three cameras recording. My TeslaCam files are about 30MB per camera per minute. About 90MB per minute for all three cameras and a saved event is 10 minutes of videos. It quickly adds up.

 

[Slashkan]

I recommend you get at least 64GB - these aren't too steep on Amazon etc.

But to be honest, USB's aren't meant for the continuous writing and re-writing that will go on with the car. I recommend you buy an SD card (like ones photographers use) that are intended for writing/overwriting. You'll also need a USB to SD card adapter but those are pretty common too. One perk of this method, if you're savvy enough, is that you can buy an adapter that'll plug into your phone as well so you can watch the videos from your cell phone.

That stuff can all be dug up by googling around and on youtube but if you need help/pointers, let me know!

 

[agibanez]

Problem solved ... 128GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive

 

[Simon21]

I have a 128gb drive. If was working fine, but now I've been getting that x instead of the red dot. Anyone know what that x indicates?

 

[agibanez]

I have a 128gb drive. If was working fine, but now I've been getting that x instead of the red dot. Anyone know what that x indicates?

I suspect the drive is full...try erasing it

 

[towndrunk]

... or it failed since it wasn't a grade suitable for continuous writing. Most sdcard warranties don't cover dashcam use, which is what we're doing here. You might want to consider an extreme use sdcard or better yet, a ssd. SSD's are used in high-end computers and are capable of the constant writing TeslaCam does.

 

[Simon21]

I suspect the drive is full...try erasing it

You were right. It's an extreme use usb and it was just full. 128 gb full in about a month

 

[Knightshade]

... or it failed since it wasn't a grade suitable for continuous writing. Most sdcard warranties don't cover dashcam use, which is what we're doing here. You might want to consider an extreme use sdcard or better yet, a ssd. SSD's are used in high-end computers and are capable of the constant writing TeslaCam does.

Tesla writes very little data compared to higher end 4k dashcams.

Even a cheap 128GB USB key will be good for 5-10 years before hitting the rated # of write cycles.


SSDs are awesome, but they're massive overkill for this application... (plus they take up more space, use about 10x more power, and often aren't rated for operating in higher temp environments like some USB keys or SD cards are)

 

[towndrunk]

Tesla writes very little data compared to higher end 4k dashcams.

Even a cheap 128GB USB key will be good for 5-10 years before hitting the rated # of write cycles.

Sure are a lot of reports of failed sdcards weeks after Sentry was implemented for that to be true.

I'd really hate to have a failed drive when I need it. Could be an expensive mistake. I consider the $70 I paid for my 250 gb SSD to be cheap insurance.

 

[Skione65]

Oh boy....here we go....you’ve opened Pandora’s Box now! If you don’t know what I’m talking about just wait. You Sir are in for a treat.

 

[Knightshade]

Sure are a lot of reports of failed sdcards weeks after Sentry was implemented for that to be true.

Really? How many is "a lot"?

I recall more like a very few. And mostly folks using tiny keys or cards, where with multiple cameras running, would eat through the write cycles very very rapidly.

But by all means if you've got "lots of reports" of larger SDcards or USB keys failing- I'd love to see them.


The math on this is pretty simply. SDcards, USB keys, and SSDs all use the same basic technology. Flash memory.

The only difference is the specific type/quality of the flash used.

The cheapest stuff commonly used is rated for about 1000 write cycles (this means 1000 times you can write the entire capacity of the drive).

Now, for folks who were using some old 8GB key- that's a problem when running 3 cameras for like 8-12 hours a day (even at the low data rate of Teslas cameras)... you'll eat through the write cycles on what was probably already an old/used drive you pulled from a drawer very rapidly in a few months, or even a few weeks if it was heavily used prior.

But...

On a 128GB storage device that'd be good for 5-10 years in a Tesla at typical usage, longer than most people even own the same car. On a 256GB one you're talking a decade or two of rated use for this purpose.

The higher end stuff is good for 3-5k write cycles, which is many decades in either size.

(there's even higher beyond, 10k rated cycles and such, but price goes way up, and you were already past the common lifetime of car ownership already)

S
I'd really hate to have a failed drive when I need it. Could be an expensive mistake. I consider the $70 I paid for my 250 gb SSD to be cheap insurance.

Given SSDs have narrower temp ranges they can be operated in, draw more power, and often come with shorter warranties too, that's kind of the opposite of "insurance" compared to a decent USB key or SDcard.

If you want the "safest" option it won't be an SSD, it'd be a Pro/Endurance SDcard of as large a size as you can afford... (though again, even just 128GB would have a rated lifetime of at least a few decades in typical Teslacam use- a 256 or 512 would probably outlive you)

And honestly even that's overkill, any decent 128GB key or SDcard (and doubly so a 256GB one) should be good for longer than the average american keeps a car.

 

[sduck]

Oh boy....here we go....you’ve opened Pandora’s Box now! If you don’t know what I’m talking about just wait. You Sir are in for a treat.

See? Here we go again. He's like a dog with a bone.

 

[Knightshade]

See? Here we go again. He's like a dog with a bone.
View attachment 427706

What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!

(sadly of the many xkcds they sell on tshirts, 386 isn't one of em)

 

[sduck]

Oh jeez, you just had me searching for a 386 t-shirt. Just in case you were... you know, wrong.

 

[towndrunk]

Just saying there's legit companies that publish specs and cheap knockoffs. Not all cards and drives live up to expectations.

Everyone's entitled to their opinion, right or wrong. I'm not going to debate this with you.

 

[Knightshade]

I mean, I'm not saying buy whatever is 3 bucks at a truck stop in eastern Europe.... but any even vaguely name brand is gonna be using flash rated for at least 1000 write cycles...(with higher end/more expensive stuff offering 3-5k cycles)


After that there's nothing to debate- it's all simply math. We know how much space the video uses per hour. You (generic you) know how many hours a day you'll be using the camera features. You can calculate an average lifespan for whatever type/size memory option you pick from there easy enough.

For most users, if the size they pick is 128GB or larger, any option is likely gonna last longer, write-cycle wise, than the average american even keeps a car for.