Looking for a Rugged USB key for Tesla Cam and Sentry mode

[yyzbig6]

I had a normal ADATA 64GB USB key in the M3 and it died after 6 weeks of parking at the service centre (waiting for a HV battery replacement!) and at home for vacation. Temps were -20C for several days during that time. After getting the car back, I found that the USB key is unreadable in multiple PCs so it has frozen to death.

Can anyone recommend a better USB key to use to survive the extreme temps in Toronto, Canada?

 

[darkenergy]

Temps were -20C for several days during that time. After getting the car back, I found that the USB key is unreadable in multiple PCs so it has frozen to death.

Can anyone recommend a better USB key to use to survive the extreme temps in Toronto, Canada?

Most electronic components are typically rated down to -40C, although a quick search showed me that SanDisk is only rated to -25C and Samsung is only rated to 0C.

I'd suggest you quickly google any candidate unit for operating temperature range.

 

[03DSG]

You don’t have to use a USB thumb drive. You can use a USB SSD as well. Probably much better suited to Sentry Mode. No point in using Sentry Mode if you can’t get a guaranteed recording. Not cheap but something like this:

https://www.amazon.ca/Samsung-T5-Portable-SSD-MU-PA500B/dp/B073GZBT36

https://www.amazon.ca/SanDisk-250GB-Extreme-Portable-SDSSDE60-250G-G25/dp/B078SVRH4B

Not personally recommending these just possibly an option.

 

[insaini]

been using 2 sandisk ultra fit for over a year now (1 for music 1 for dashcam) and have had no issues at all.

https://www.amazon.ca/SanDisk-64GB-...5690384011&rps=1&s=gateway&sr=8-4-spons&psc=1

 

[ben1628]

You don’t have to use a USB thumb drive. You can use a USB SSD as well. Probably much better suited to Sentry Mode. No point in using Sentry Mode if you can’t get a guaranteed recording. Not cheap but something like this:

https://www.amazon.ca/Samsung-T5-Portable-SSD-MU-PA500B/dp/B073GZBT36

https://www.amazon.ca/SanDisk-250GB-Extreme-Portable-SDSSDE60-250G-G25/dp/B078SVRH4B

Not personally recommending these just possibly an option.

With a SSD, we will be able to lock down the SSD and have the USB cable going to the port. That way, nobody can take out the SSD without some kind of effort. Of course, you will have to have a method to download the content to a computer.

Once you are home, your SSD can be attached to your WiFi network and you can work on it from the comfort of your home to download, upload or whatever.

Will be a nice weekend project.

 

[pcons]

With a SSD, we will be able to lock down the SSD and have the USB cable going to the port. That way, nobody can take out the SSD without some kind of effort. Of course, you will have to have a method to download the content to a computer.

Once you are home, your SSD can be attached to your WiFi network and you can work on it from the comfort of your home to download, upload or whatever.

Will be a nice weekend project.

How do you attach the SSD to your home network while it's still attached to the car? Or do you mean you take the SSD out of the car? I'm not aware of any SSD enclosures that can be configured as a wifi hotspot. That being said, might be cool if the car itself when on wifi could be configured to share the dashcam folders so you can remote download files....

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

My 32gb Kingston Data Traveler bit the dust after Sentry Mode

 

[ben1628]

How do you attach the SSD to your home network while it's still attached to the car? Or do you mean you take the SSD out of the car? I'm not aware of any SSD enclosures that can be configured as a wifi hotspot. That being said, might be cool if the car itself when on wifi could be configured to share the dashcam folders so you can remote download files....

Take a look at some of the travel routers which I use when I'm on a cruise. It acts as a access point for 4 of us, so we only need to get internet plan for 1 device. That baby can also allows you to attach a SSD via USB, and your SSD will then be accessible to anyone on the network.

That is, as long as your Tesla is within your home network, you can access the files in your SSD.

 

[Funkmobile]

My 32gb Kingston Data Traveler bit the dust after Sentry Mode

I suggest you replace it with one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D7Q41PM/

It's the fastest and most compact USB flash drive I could find. (More compact means less flexing when going over road bumps).

The only drawback is that it's rated to only 0 degrees Celsius.

 

[dwharrison]

The only drawback is that it's rated to only 0 degrees Celsius.

Are you sure? The tech specs at the bottom of that page seem to say it's certified to operate down to -25, and non-operationally down to -40.

 

[NorthofYYZ]

After two thumb drives gave me the dreaded grey ‘X’ requiring repeated trips to my home computer to correct errors, I bought a relatively cheap m.2 (SATA) SSD and a slim USB enclosure. Has been working fine for ~ 3 weeks now. The SSD (256GB) was $55CAD on Amazon and the enclosure was $25 (also Amazon). 256 is overkill, I know, but the price was reasonable and I wanted to be able to repurpose if I needed some fast storage in the future.

 

[Funkmobile]

Are you sure? The tech specs at the bottom of that page seem to say it's certified to operate down to -25, and non-operationally down to -40.

Weird, I checked the samsung.com website and it stated 32F as the lowest operating temperature which I thought was weird. Most electronics can go at least to -20C. I guess Amazon has different specs listed?

 

[powaking]

been using 2 sandisk ultra fit for over a year now (1 for music 1 for dashcam) and have had no issues at all.

https://www.amazon.ca/SanDisk-64GB-Ultra-Flash-Drive/dp/B077VYCV37/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?keywords=sandisk+ultra+fit+64&qid=1552929660&refinements=p_85:5690392011&rnid=5690384011&rps=1&s=gateway&sr=8-4-spons&psc=1

I use 2 of these in exactly the same way. I haven't had any issues so far with either of them. Low profile and almost unnoticeable. For charging I just picked up a dual port cig lighter adapter so that I can use the iphone holder charger and one loose cable charger.

 

[insaini]

I use 2 of these in exactly the same way. I haven't had any issues so far with either of them. Low profile and almost unnoticeable. For charging I just picked up a dual port cig lighter adapter so that I can use the iphone holder charger and one loose cable charger.

lol I have the exact same setup... I have a dual port cig lighter adapter ... 1 port is used for built in phone charger and a spare port for anyone that needs to plug in using their own cable ...

I think its the cleanest setup

 

[dusdev]

The issue I ran into was the drive filled up (32 GB partition on a 128 GB key). I tired to reformat in Windows 10 to 128 GB, but Windows doesn't allow > 32 GB partition with FAT32. Tried exFAT but the car won't recognize the key. Does anyone have a solution?

 

[powaking]

The issue I ran into was the drive filled up (32 GB partition on a 128 GB key). I tired to reformat in Windows 10 to 128 GB, but Windows doesn't allow > 32 GB partition with FAT32. Tried exFAT but the car won't recognize the key. Does anyone have a solution?

Search for a USB drive formatter tool which will allow you to format a USB stick larger than 32GB as FAT32.

 

[Funkmobile]

The issue I ran into was the drive filled up (32 GB partition on a 128 GB key). I tired to reformat in Windows 10 to 128 GB, but Windows doesn't allow > 32 GB partition with FAT32. Tried exFAT but the car won't recognize the key. Does anyone have a solution?

You can follow these instructions:

[V9] How to Format USB into 2 Partitions for DashCam and Music [Windows]

 

[pcons]

Take a look at some of the travel routers which I use when I'm on a cruise. It acts as a access point for 4 of us, so we only need to get internet plan for 1 device. That baby can also allows you to attach a SSD via USB, and your SSD will then be accessible to anyone on the network.

That is, as long as your Tesla is within your home network, you can access the files in your SSD.

I'll have to search a bit for a travel router. Can you link the one you have that works? Sounds like an interesting idea. Also would let me connect to it from my phone I guess and browse the files on the fly as well, so if for example there was an accident I could connect with my phone and pull the files off and/or view them on the spot. (fingers crossed I never need to do this )

 

[ben1628]

I'll have to search a bit for a travel router. Can you link the one you have that works? Sounds like an interesting idea. Also would let me connect to it from my phone I guess and browse the files on the fly as well, so if for example there was an accident I could connect with my phone and pull the files off and/or view them on the spot. (fingers crossed I never need to do this )

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00HZWOQZ6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are other version that includes a battery pack.

Mind you, I haven't try that on my Tesla yet. The whole idea is your SSD is attached to your car securely, preventing others to remove it easily.

 

[Big Dog]

ordered this one yesterday. Supposedly faster Write.

SanDisk SDCZ880-128G-G46 Extreme PRO 128GB USB 3.1 Solid State Flash Drive

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MU8TZRV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1