[rockblock]

Hey Folks,

Looking at getting a Thinkware in-dash camera, mostly for parking. I was looking at the U1000 but it got discontinued, so will need to get the lastest U3000.

I don't plan to use an external battery, as my understanding is this is the most efficient camera on the market for parking mode, with least current draw and battery drainage, hence no requirement for an extra battery pack (expensive)

As such, I'm just wondering if anyone installed the U3000 and their experience. Mostly interested in:

1) Wiring - ODB vs Fuse hard-wire vs Mirror hard-wire (any pics or videos for installation?)
2) Parking mode experience - radar mode, battery drainage , etc
3) Does hard-wiring impact warranty? Any complaints from dealers?

Cheers !

[Pentland]

I’ve used Blackvue cams for many years.
My experience is parking mode will ruin the car battery. However, there is a solution that works and that is to use an additional power bank. Blackvue have bespoke batteries for this.
The idea is the dash cam uses this battery when in parking mode and the that battery charges when the car is running. It works very well and protects the car battery.

[rockblock]

Hi - thanks for you response...yes agreed, but the problem is the battery pack is more expensive than the actual cameras (you can get a solar power generator for double the capacity and half the price

I was told with the U3000 I wouldn't need an additional camera, as it has the best power management of all cams to date - also, I could set the voltage limit to say 12.2V and the camera would shut off if it drains to that extent (ETA = 8-10 hrs)...now all of these are nice marketing slogans, was hoping someone would have installed the U3000 and provide some feedback (albeit, the U3000 is fairly new)

Anyway, thanks again for your feedback
Cheers!