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RPM Electronics has offered the following deal (all taxes included in prices)
DR650GW-2CH installed: Regular Price: $ 683
5 members: $650
10 members: $616The dashcams by themselves are on sale for $ 504.
If you are interested in the group buy, please contact Paul Carter. Once we reach a group of 5 or 10 we can arrange the buy with RPM.
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I purchased/installed a Blackvue 650 over a year ago, so I don’t need one. But if anyone is interested in doing a self-install and would like any thoughts or assistance, I’d be happy to lend a hand.
I used the installation notes from the TMC forum (which I copied and pasted into a MS word file), then made a few small modifications to the procedure to minimize the amount of cutting/drilling needed.
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Yes, pano roof. Which makes the cable routing to the rear waaaaay easier!
I bought a cable from amazon to plug into the CAN bus port. Lopped one end off the cable and tapped into the 12VDC and ground from there. Also, I got the kit with power magic pro box, which I attached underneath the cubby. I was pretty much able to get all cable routing done without any cutting or drilling save one hole at the rear hatch.
FYI, the 650 2 channel with 16 GB media and power magic is on sale right now at blackboxmycar for $449.99.
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Interesting. Where did you intercept the CAN bus? Down in the center cubby area? I assume that the power on the CAN bus is live all the time, thus the power magic pro box?
The power magic box makes me wonder how you configured the cutoff. In an ICE, the voltage jumps from 12 volts to 13.5 or 14 when the engine is running. Does the Tesla 12 volt circuit jump up when the car is powered on as well? Or are you configuring it to shut things down when the small 12 volt battery starts to show serious discharge?
I assume your camera is powered down when the car is parked, therefore you wouldn’t catch a hit and run while parked for instance.
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There’a a CAN bus port on the side, just above where the dead pedal for driver’s left foot. I just bought a cable with connectors. These are hard to find!! Had to order from some Chinese company – something like 6 weeks delivery. So with this setup, it is quite literally plugged into the car.
For the PMP, there are actually two cutoff modes that work in parallel – one based on battery voltage, ie., if voltage is below 11.8 or 12.0 volts (selectable), the PMP cuts power to the camera. The second cutoff is time-based, using one of 8 selectable running times until shutoff. I think I set mine to 24 hours. This second mode means you need a direct battery power connection as well as an accessory “swtiched” source, which I tapped from the USB/accessory plug power.
From what I measured, battery voltage stays above 12 volts when the car is off, so it would only decay below 12.0 if the little accessory battery is dying (and not getting a recharge from the main battery).
So the answer is … I do get continuous recording after car is off for up to 24 hours. This covers most of my own parking scenarios!
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So if I understand this correctly, you have a cable running from the dead pedal area across to the cubby. The cubby (or just under) has the PMP unit. A voltage detect wire also runs to the PMP, but from the console USB area (are you using a USB plug or did you go in behind and tap in directly?).
From the PMP you route the power cable up to the rearview mirror area and the main camera unit (the hardest part?). The rear camera presumably runs above the headliner around the edge of the pano roof and meets the main unit at the mirror. Is that about right?
So all in all, what sort of skill level would you say is needed to do this and – at the risk of being insulting 😉 – did it come out looking clean and invisible? I don’t know exactly how the installation method Paul has lined up would compare, but I’m curious as it sounds like you’ve added some features that might be worth considering.
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Generally, the routing you describe is correct. I tapped into the switched power feed to the USB and accessory plugs, which is under the plastic that covers the center console area. The power cable from the CAN plug to the center console is “visible”, but hung underneath the dash area so you’d have to stick your head under the steering wheel to actually see it.
Coax cable from the PMP to the front camera runs back into that area behind the touch screen, over to passenger side, and up to A-pillar all hidden in the available housings. All the plastic housings around the floor, console and yacht floor are super easy to remove without risk of breaking plastic or clips.
In order to avoid drilling, I left a tiny (less than 6″) length of the coax visible from the extreme right of the dash before it runs into the A-pillar cover. This is so close to invisible that you have to know it’s there and really look for it to see it. It’s a black cable tucked into a small seam between two black plastic dash sections. Once into the A-pillar, it’s a fairly easy run through to the mirror housing. It was a bit tough to pull the mirror housing off – I did crack one clip but it fits back together with no looseness or loss of function (lesson learned – gentle gentle gentle with these bits!). The main thing with running along the A-pillar (VERY IMPORTANT) is to be absolutely sure that the new cable does not interfere with the airbag’s deployment path.
The coax run to the rear was pretty easy, except for the part where you need to run through the gromment/flex tube between the rear hatch frame and the hatch. Verrrrrry tight fit, but with a lot of patience it does get through. I did drill one hole at the hatch, as it would have been very difficult without doing so.
As to skill level, I’d say that if you understand basic electrical circuits and have a lot of patience to do it neatly and fish the cables through the tough spots, it’s not that tough. There are two sections where cable runs very close to airbags, so very important to have a sense of how they deploy so that your cable does not interfere with them.
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Thanks for that Ken. I think I could manage it from the sound of things. I tend to underestimate my abilities when it comes to messing with with stuff that could be costly to fix. It sounds like I’ve done tougher projects, actually. Sometime let me tell you about working under the dash in an Alfa from Japan… plenty of wires, all labeled in Japanese, and ‘logically’ arranged by the Italians… the flexible circuit board for the instrument panel, with multiple trace breaks, was also a treat. LOL
Paul, do you have any idea whether the installer you’ve got lined up would be doing the work in essentially the same manner? I’m wondering if there would be interest to have a group ‘install-fest’ to do the work ourselves… especially if Ken or someone with the experience would be available to provide some guidance? I don’t really mean to volunteer Ken for the project! But wonder if it’s a simple enough project to get people together for some cooperation and club bonding… just a thought. The ‘bonding’ could also be done in the parking lot at the dashcam installer while their guys do all the work! 😉
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FYI. This dashcam went on sale at Best Buy for 419.99 + tax. It comes with a power magic pro (which you don’t need).
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/-/b0006984.aspx?path=6ec0671d8ca74629c4d390b508b97ed3en02
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That’s a good price for sure. As Hugo questioned, I wonder what a typical install goes for. I’m tempted to pick one up at that price.
Paul, you don’t sound interested in the power magic pro, although it sounds like it could be useful. What is your thinking on that? For me, the trick is getting connected to the CAN bus power with an adapter, which could be challenging based on comments up thread about adapter availability. Price seems good even with the unit though, so no down side if the PMP doesn’t get used.
Makes me wonder in an install-fest might be a good alternative idea.
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I intent to install using the 12V connector behind the mic panel, therefore no PMP for me. I agree with Paul that PMP is not needed by S because the 12V battery is maintained by the main battery. When the small battery charge drops, it will be replenished from the main battery, hence PMP is not needed for S. It just adds clutter to a clean car.
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I’ve got one reserved at my local Best Buy… will pick up later. I can return it in a few days if I lose the drive to do the install myself.
I’m not 100% sure yet whether the added clutter to the mirror area is justified by the dashcam functionality. I’m not stuck in bumper to bumper rush hours around here… but travelling into the US might justify it.
I wonder if RPM would do install of owner-supplied units…
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Just a thought about the Best Buy version – their website does not say what size of MicroSD chip is included (if at all). You might have to factor in that extra cost. FYI, I got the 64GB SD included with my 2-channel. It stores about one day of video at the highest quality setting.
Paul – True, the PMP is not really necessary for the MS, but I got it with the package I ordered and installed it, figuring it would be nice just for shutting the cam down if parked for long periods, eg. vacation.
I looked into the “over the cloud” version, as my camera’s hardware is recent enough that I can do the firmware upgrade to take advantage of this. As far as I could tell from my research, you need to have a wifi hotspot that the car can access in order to use this feature. So you would need to connect to a smartphone or some other web-connected data appliance. What I really had a hard time finding out (and still not sure of) is whether the camera will buffer video files on the local SD, then upload all buffered files when a wifi connection is available, eg., while parked at home.
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Since I can’t be sure I can get to the coast for the installation, I picked up the Best Buy bundle. I’ll let it sit on my desk for a few days before I crack the seal… until I’m sure I want to install it! I have plenty of microSD around for GoPro, cell phones and DSLR, so I’m not too concerned about it being included or not. The PDF manual infers that a microSD card is included though, so I’ll take a closer look at the box. Recording front and back in highest quality and frame rate is supposed to allow 3 hours on a 16 GB card. If I’m wanting to catch incidents rather than record my entire trip, this would be more than enough.
They consider the microSD card to be a ‘consumable’. The continuous recording must literally wear out the cards and regular replacement is recommended.
Looking at the PDF installation manual, the first thing that jumps out at me… “Do not operate unit while driving”. Hmmm. Sure hope they mean “do not play with the buttons when driving”… LOL
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I am very pleased with the supply and installation service of Blackvue DR650GW 2Ch provided by RPM Electronics. Excellent customer service and great attention to detail in the install. The dashcam power was sourced from the mic panel spare 12V plug with a 2A fuse for added protection. Wire is very well hidden. No drilling in the rear trunk. RPM knows how to do a PRO job. My sincerely appreciation to George Yu (Lead installer and customer service manager) brother of David Yu (owner). Initial road videos and install photos below:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3e1l2x8a9qryg7n/P1010724.JPG?dl=0 Blackvue behind mirror overview
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7oj8yexx6wn4xeh/P1010702.JPG?dl=0 Blackvue behind mirror left hand view
https://www.dropbox.com/s/thayk15vr2vc1uo/P1010723.JPG?dl=0 Hidden wiring
https://www.dropbox.com/s/da1raubp5ttcl77/P1010715.JPG?dl=0 Front install overview
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6jvtp0kj5l8bbk0/P1010719.JPG?dl=0 Fuse tap on the 12V power behind mic panel
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ajjpoux5rhxuefs/P1010707.JPG?dl=0 Rear lift open for wiring
https://www.dropbox.com/s/prhm2noesreavwn/P1010725ss.jpg?dl=0 Two blue Model S being installed with Blackvue!Front camera video https://www.dropbox.com/s/mps7jh5iqftgbwl/20160402_172014_EF.mp4?dl=0
Rear Camera video
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xc5d7h8ibbxvo41/20160402_172014_ER.mp4?dl=0 -
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Hey Soolim, nice to meet you in person and bump into you at RPM. Sorry I couldn’t stay and chat since my wife and kids were waiting for me. Glad the Blackvue install went well and I should be picking up my car from RPM next Saturday and dropping off our red Tesla for install of a Blackvue and radar detector/laser protection too.
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Soolim, should I understand that the camera will power off with the car using the connection in the mic area?
I’d perhaps be interested in a group installation package as I’ve got the unit in my possession. But I might just do the install myself if the timing doesn’t work for me (being in Kamloops).
I’ve located a source for a CAN bus connector that I will likely use to connect to the port in the left dash area. If Tesla uses the connection in the cubby bin, I don’t want to monopolize that connection.
I might be asking you some more questions, Ken… 😉
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Hello Brock, I tapped into the mic panel with a separate 2 amp fuse keeping the receptacle for future use. The power is constant On, so Blackvue works in parking mode too.
As indicated by Paul, glove light can be another source, but I want to keep the wire as short as possible, leaving the cigarette lighter cord for spare when I reconnect a new plug to it. -
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Had RPM install mine last weekend. Excellent install, very clean. $160 plus tax and took just under 2 hours ( I went for a long walk and bought my Compass card at Royal Oak station). Works like a charm. Goes into parking mode after 5 minutes or so and then only turns on when something moves close to the vehicle. No apparent impact on 12V battery and no chance of draining, especially as it’s constantly charged by the big battery.
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Hello everyone, new member here; joined just to look into this dashcam install.
Mine took about 3 hours, because apparently in or Sept 2014 (pre-autopilot) car, they were unable to get power from both the rear view mirror, and the glove box, so they had to route the power from the frunk.
There really isn’t much to do in that area, but we ended up going to the event at the Nikkei Heritage centre, which was having an event then, but unfortunately it ended at 4 (we were done at 5).
It works great though!
Just a question, do any of you use the cloud functionality? There’s no wifi in our garage (we’re not sure if we’ll have it in our new garage either, as we live in a high rise), and it’s annoying having to access the camera directly using wifi on the app (as it disconnects the phone from the internet while it’s connected to the dashcam wifi!)
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I think I like mine. RPM installed one I already had purchased on eBay. I put a 64GB memory card in it and viewed the video a few times early on. I haven’t looked at it since but I’m assuming the previous several days of data will always be there should I ever need it.
I’ve never had any error messages and the light is always on, so I assume it’s recording. I think I’ll check to make sure it is still working sometime over the holidays. Thanks for the reminder.
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Thanks. I booked an installation for Dec.28th.
FYI, the new model is DR650S-2CH which is compatible with a 128GB micro sd card.
There is still a bit of a discount for Telsa owners if you ask.
http://www.rpmelectronics.com/parking-driving-assistance/car-blackbox-dvr/dashcam-blackvue-dr650
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