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Thinkware F770

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It seems that I may have blown the fuse for the constant power in the microphone grill. On the new facelift model, any idea where I can locate the fuse box in the fuse?

There are 2 fuseboxes now. One below the air filter (original spot) and another one near the right footwell. (Passenger side)
Remove the complete right door sill.
There is a fuse box below the A-pillar
Facelift cars have a new type fuses. Micro size
 
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This weekend I was able to complete my ThinkWare 770 installation. Thanks, to many posters from many threads, but especially ND100.
Constant power (once I replaced the fuse I blew) from the unused plug near the microphone works great, as it did with my BlackVue 650 on my previous 2015 P85D.
I had gotten a little frustrated with using the wire on the back of the mirror as my switched power source. I used the Posi-Tap ND100 recommended. The only problem, it didn't pierce the wire correctly, and was not providing power. Once I rectified that situation everything worked very smooth!
Running all the wires from the microphone opening to the rearview mirror worked quite well. I cut a small relief in the cover that comes off of the mirror, so the wires would sit flush against the window. All in all, a very clean, hidden installation.
I also installed the brighter trunk and frunk lights from Abstract Ocean. What an incredible difference! I have some more lights on order, for front door puddle lights and front foot wells. My car was not a PUP, but it does have all the lights in the interior except for the rear door puddle lights, and the additional two lights on the trunk. They were very easy to install, since the wires are already there.
Ultra-Bright LED Interior Lights
Here is a great installation video, and possibly a 20% discount.
 
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I'm not sure how to access the switched power shown above. The mirror in my S doesn't look like the photos.

IMG_4516.JPG

This is from a Model S manufactured Dec 2016.
 
Guys - I need some help. Got the switched 12v on my AP1 car, but I can't seem to close the black panel through which ran the switch cable to the front / mirror area. There are 4 clips but for whatever reason, I can't get that to close.... appreciate any tips.

Will post all the pics once it's all done

IMG_5421.JPG IMG_5422.JPG IMG_5423.JPG
 
I'm leaning towards blackvue. .. talk me out of it.

Teslarati article equivocates too much for me to tell if there is a significant difference.

My principal concern is park mode. . . Anyone have experience with both?

I have a history of coming back to my car with damage. . .

Also, what type of battery drain should I expect from the system- material or immaterial? I would prefer not to add the battery pack.

Thanks.
 
I'm leaning towards blackvue. .. talk me out of it.

Teslarati article equivocates too much for me to tell if there is a significant difference.

My principal concern is park mode. . . Anyone have experience with both?

I have a history of coming back to my car with damage. . .

Thanks.
Never mind - just had to keep at it and be patient - eventually closed. No snap-in sound. That was one PITA. Tested and the 770 is able to go between drive and park mode recording.
 
I'm leaning towards blackvue. .. talk me out of it.

Teslarati article equivocates too much for me to tell if there is a significant difference.

My principal concern is park mode. . . Anyone have experience with both?

I have a history of coming back to my car with damage. . .

Also, what type of battery drain should I expect from the system- material or immaterial? I would prefer not to add the battery pack.

Thanks.

Just completed my installation of F770. Hardwired - bit trickier than Blackvue. With Blackvue, just tap into the microphone grill area, but with F770, you would need the switched 12v - for AP1, the mirror plug helped there. didn't need to cut or tap into any wire...jwhite16 from Tesla Forums was absolutely fantastic - responded to my emails and helped me along - thanks a lot jwhite16!

  • if you are debating between blackvue and F770, this 2017 dash cam review was the most up to date, and detailed I have seen. The
Premium dashcams of 2017:

  • F770 deep dive video (including measuring power consumption during park mode - F770 quite efficient, 3.2Watts vs. Blackvue with 4.xWatts).

Parking mode is ON. For the next few days, I will keep the LEDs ON just to monitor that parking mode is working well, then I will turn OFF all LEDs.
 
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For those of you using the Thinkware.....would you reccomend it over the Blackvue?
I hope I can give you a fair comparison
I had the BlackVue 650 in my P85D for over a year, and it worked fine, until a few months ago.
All of the sudden, every time the BlackVue powered up, or you put the card back in, it would erase the card. This was inconvenient, and actually made me miss a parking lot incident that caused damage to my car.
The other inconvenience, that happened after a firmware update, was that the Wi-Fi, was on continuously. This was not only a power drain when part, but also it was constantly trying to attract the connection of my phone.
I probably could've done a factory reset or ask them to replace it. But it was a little over one year old.

Before I picked up my new Tesla, I have decided to go with the F770. The installation was a little bit trickier, since I needed to be able to do three wires instead of the two wires that were needed on the BlackVue.

After the great help on this forum, I was able to find the switched power wire that I needed for the ThinkWare to work perfectly. Other than that the installation was about the same amount of complexity. Just make sure you mount the rear camera right side up rather than upside down as explained many places.

I really like that the buttons are accessible and unique for Wi-Fi, and for formatting the card. I find the physical interface much easier to use.
For a few days I had the forward collision warning, Lane departure warning enabled, it was easy to turn that off in the phone app. This was not necessary, since the Tesla does a great job with that. For anyone else, I can find it a very useful feature.
The iOS app is much better than the app for the BlackVue. I can make all kinds of adjustment, and it is very straightforward as far as the interface.
I like that the parking mode can either be time lapse or motion based. When you return to the car, it will also let you know if there's any incidents. I only wish that you could extend the "time out" power saving feature to extend beyond 48 hours.
To summarize, I like the ThinkWare much better than a BlackVue, and frankly, I'm glad my BlackVue failed so that I would entertain the idea of using the ThinkWare F770.
 
Guys - I need some help. Got the switched 12v on my AP1 car, but I can't seem to close the black panel through which ran the switch cable to the front / mirror area. There are 4 clips but for whatever reason, I can't get that to close.... appreciate any tips.

Will post all the pics once it's all done

View attachment 218251 View attachment 218252 View attachment 218253
Hi.
If the metal clips stay in the housing there is no way to reinstall the cover.
So:
Take the cover off completely.
Than take the metal clips out of the housing using a small pliers or small screwdriver.
Place them back on the 4 plastic lips of the cover.
Than replace the cover.
 
I'm leaning towards blackvue. .. talk me out of it.

Teslarati article equivocates too much for me to tell if there is a significant difference.

My principal concern is park mode. . . Anyone have experience with both?

I have a history of coming back to my car with damage. . .

Also, what type of battery drain should I expect from the system- material or immaterial? I would prefer not to add the battery pack.

Thanks.
I've seen many threads on installs where you never need any battery pack in a Tesla. The 12VDC battery is charged from the main battery and you could last for weeks without an issue.
 
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Reactions: Sully's8