Not bad but I’d rather go to a proper installer. I used John Kleis in reading, used them for everything over past 25 years. I wouldn’t bother with nextbase stuff, pretty naff. Best dash cams are from thinkware.
Installing a Dash Cam
- Thread starter wizzywig27
- Start date
Didn't know John Kleis did so much stuff, just checked their site.... I see their Astra (I think) around quite often.
Off topic, but do you use any indy for servicing or use the local dealer?
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All dash cameras have their plus and minus points and none are perfect, I believe that the thinkware F770 and F800pro are the best all around "set and forget" units money can buy at the moment. The more expensive nextbase units are ok, the £80+ units, they do what they say on the box with no real issues. If you are wanting cloud and streaming then you only have BlackVue as an option really. Don't bother with the Audi offering, its basically an unbranded nextbase with custom firmware.
I run an F800 pro myself however if you can live with an American accent I would suggest saving some money and getting the F770. Only reason I run the 800 is because I wanted to test it when it was new.
Carefree69
Registered User
The ONLY point of a dash cam is to capture footage in the event of an accident. If the captured footage clearly shows the events leading up to and including the accident (including clear footage of number plates etc) then that is ALL insurance companies are interested in.
They couldn’t give a monkeys *** whether the footage is recorded in high def 4K or grainy low res as long as it is clear what has happened.
My £50 Next Base cam is crystal clear in both day and night, it has continuous recording and saves anything of interest at the push of a button.....all you need.
On that basis Next Base dash cams are more than adequate, but of you’d rather spend much more for no benefit then fill your boots
They couldn’t give a monkeys *** whether the footage is recorded in high def 4K or grainy low res as long as it is clear what has happened.
My £50 Next Base cam is crystal clear in both day and night, it has continuous recording and saves anything of interest at the push of a button.....all you need.
On that basis Next Base dash cams are more than adequate, but of you’d rather spend much more for no benefit then fill your boots
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Well many have the parking feature, which is what I personally am interested in. It'll start recording when collision is detected, which as you say just needs to prove who done it
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Carefree69
Registered User
My £50 dash cam has parking feature as well. Do people think that they are more likely to be paid out in the event of an accident if they’ve spent £300 on a dash cam?
No, as long as number plates and footage of the event are clear then the money spent on a dash cam is completely irrelevant.
Fact.
No, as long as number plates and footage of the event are clear then the money spent on a dash cam is completely irrelevant.
Fact.
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Slightly off topic but do the more expensive dash cams lesson the chance of the DAB radio reception being wiped out when installed in the rear of the car? I got a budget model from Amazon which is plugged in to the 12v socket in the boot, the power lead has ferrites in 2 places but they don't appear to do a thing.
Carefree69
Registered User
Cheers, I’m really pleased about it tooReally pleased for you
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I use reading Audi ad both cars are under warranty. I usually request ray services my cars as he is a chief tech and really good. I don't let them clean the outside of my car either as they use their own auto car wash, not even a handwash..wtf!
Used John kleis alot. It's an unassuming place but they really know their stuff. Speak to connor. Their astra has been replaced or being replaced. Had do much kit in it it weighs 2.5 tonnes, so has had alot of strengthening and power boost. One guy is building his VW golf I think with several 10000s of kit in it with a custom interior
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Does it record whilst in parking mode.The ONLY point of a dash cam is to capture footage in the event of an accident. If the captured footage clearly shows the events leading up to and including the accident (including clear footage of number plates etc) then that is ALL insurance companies are interested in.
They couldn’t give a monkeys *** whether the footage is recorded in high def 4K or grainy low res as long as it is clear what has happened.
My £50 Next Base cam is crystal clear in both day and night, it has continuous recording and saves anything of interest at the push of a button.....all you need.
On that basis Next Base dash cams are more than adequate, but of you’d rather spend much more for no benefit then fill your boots
Next base cameras have suction holders which look awful and can fall off and impact visibility too. Also if you have to remove it and put it on the windscreen that's a real pain and plus you might forget plus no parking mode.
The thinkware 770 and 800 pro also support 138gb micro sd cards, so I can store several months of footage
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Only thinkware do. Tried them all cheap ones, stuff from halfords like nextbase, 802 and variants from China, winnycam, Blackvue, thinware, etc....the ONLY manufacturer that has solved the dab issue is thinkware. Blackvue haven't, was a fan but annoyed me ad they did nothing in 3 years to fix the dab issues which is why John kleis ditched them
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Its likely because the cable is of dreadful quality with zero shielding, the dashcam unit has dreadful shielding
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Carefree69
Registered User
Mine looks great and hasn’t fallen off in well over a year, perhaps people using suction holders aren’t fitting them properly.
And yup it records whilst in parking mode, but luckily for me I have a long driveway at home and when at work I park in a huge fire station yard protected by a key coded gate. We tend to use to wife’s car for shopping etc so no issues.
Like I said, some might need/want to pay ridiculous amounts for a dash cam but as long as my insurance company can see what happened and can read number plates then a £50 cam is all I need.
Carefree69
Registered User
Carefree69
Registered User
Not sure why you say people pay ridiculous amounts on a dashcam. More expensive dash cams are better built, have better features like WiFi or Bluetooth so you never need to remove it access footage, alerts, rear cameras, don’t use awful suction holders, etc.
Don’t know of any nextbase camera that’s £50 either. Bought mine from Costco but returned it as the footage was too pixelated especially in sunlight and poor at night.
Best cheap dash cam was the 802 but that just fell apart whilst I was driving.
Carefree69
Registered User
Not sure why you seem to have been offended by me saying that people pay ridiculous amounts on dash cams when not necessary? Are you one of those I refer to? Each to their own mate, no need to be offended.
My £50 NextBase is very well built, if I need to download footage to my laptop I simply remove the SD card ( so no big deal) and the suction holder hasn’t failed me since the first day it was put in the car.
You’ll just have to trust me on the price mate, it cost me £49.99 brand new and it records perfectly and number plates are crystal clear day or night. It’s all an insurance company needs
My £50 NextBase is very well built, if I need to download footage to my laptop I simply remove the SD card ( so no big deal) and the suction holder hasn’t failed me since the first day it was put in the car.
You’ll just have to trust me on the price mate, it cost me £49.99 brand new and it records perfectly and number plates are crystal clear day or night. It’s all an insurance company needs
Peter123
Registered User
You’ll just have to trust me on the price mate, it cost me £49.99 brand new and it records perfectly and number plates are crystal clear. It’s all an insurance company needs
At present the majority of insurance companies do not require them.
Carefree69
Registered User
You are quite right, I was talking about in the event of an accident whereby I could use the footage to prove my innocence.
Peter123
Registered User
Ah...yes I quite agree. That is the reason I purchased a front and rear one one.
Peter123
Registered User
You do not submit it if there is any doubt. End of.Unfortunately it can also prove guilt
Of course. I mean more in the chance of a accident where you don't have time to remove the SD card before the police get there. Not sure how it all works.
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Peter123
Registered User
I would have thought (my opinion) it was/is up to the driver whether to declare it or not. After all it is not mandatory to have them fitted. Again in my opinion, they could only use it if you gave them permission. You will note that they were asking for Dash cam footage after the recent crash with the car towing a caravan going South on the Northbound carriageway on the M40 on Wednesday where 3 people were killed.
Carefree69
Registered User
You obviously lots of time, I don’t hence I got someone else to fit it. Plus my two cars have pass through batteries, so if the firmware would allow it I could run them in parking mode for weeks, if not months lol.
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Yeh, fitting the front one is dead easy, even I’ve done that Amy times. Fitting a rear one is a right pain especially if you like me have pass through batteries to extend parking mode time and take the load off the car battery. In my sw the battery is behind the dash and is on a custom made mount.
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Carefree69
Registered User
Anyone can spare the 10 minutes it takes to hard wire a front dash cam, I don’t care how busy they are. As I said in my earlier post I don’t have the need to run mine in parking mode but it must be very exciting to be able to run yours for months lol.
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Surely it’s crucial to know how long it runs in parking mode
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Carefree69
Registered User
Not when it’s a feature I don’t use no.
It switches on when I turn the key and that’s all I need. Like I’ve already said (twice), I only need a dash cam for the times when I am actually driving the car, when it’s parked it’s always in a secure place.
I’d love to have one like yours that can stay in parking mode for months though, must be a real talking point at parties
It's good that obviously you're a pro at fitting anything after watching a video. Just because you don't need parking mode, doesn't mean others might not.
Personally my car's parked in a variety of places due to clients car parking restrictions so would love to have that, just in case something did happen.
Wish I had a dashcam fitted, cyclist in Cambridge tried to squeeze past my car and doing that has scratched my paint.
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Personally my car's parked in a variety of places due to clients car parking restrictions so would love to have that, just in case something did happen.
Wish I had a dashcam fitted, cyclist in Cambridge tried to squeeze past my car and doing that has scratched my paint.
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Carefree69
Registered User
I’m not a pro at fitting dash cams mate because you don’t need to be, they are stupidly easy.
And Ive never knocked anyone for using parking mode so wind your neck in. All I said was that I don’t need it.
Not quite sure why I’m being got at when all I said was that they are easy to fit and you don’t need to spend hundreds of pounds on one. A forum should be about helping people which is what I was attempting to do.
If people want to spend £££’s on a dash cam and then spend £££’s more to have them fitted then good luck to them, I’m not knocking them so don’t knock me.
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10 minutes! Deluded, no chance. Must be a poor install to do it in that time. Can take that time just to get an a pillar trim off. You could say that any job is quick but if people have no time, they have no time
Carefree69
Registered User
Yes chance, it took me less than 10 minutes mate.
Are you ok? I’m not sure why I’ve got under your skin so much, very weird. If you want to talk about it then drop me a PM
10 minutes, nice tidy install, all the trim unmarked and the wiring where it should be. Granted, it could take longer if you fanny about but I didn’t, it was easy.
Oh, and you DONT need to take the A pillar trim off at all, you merely tuck the wiring behind the door trim rubber, completely safe and completely invisible. You cannot see any wiring whatsoever so I’m not sure what you are harking on about. Maybe that’s why you don’t think it can take 10 minutes?
Some people just aren’t that practical mate, there’s no shame in that, chill.
Thinking about it I think it probably took about 9 minutes and 36 seconds
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Carefree69
Registered User
I’ve heard good things about him as well, if you aren’t confident to do it yourselfI would not hesitate to go to @DJAlix, he is a real pro
