Dash Cam Project

Why I Started Looking at Dash Cams

I'm a bit of a tech-head. I got my first computer in 1982 and worked in IT professionally in the 1990s when the Internet was really getting started. I later moved into EMS and firefighting, but I never stopped tinkering with technology.

With the rise of Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and increasingly unpredictable traffic, I started looking seriously at dash cams. Part of it was the technical project itself, but a dash cam also gives you a record if you are involved in or witness an accident or other event on the road.

Early Turnkey Options

I looked at several dedicated cameras ranging from inexpensive units to more elaborate dual-camera systems. The main drawbacks for me were SD-card dependence, separate cloud-storage subscriptions, bulky hardware, and tiny built-in screens.

The DIY Phone and Raspberry Pi Experiments

I tried downloadable dash-cam applications including Nexar, DriveRecorder, AutoGuard, AutoBoy, and DailyRoads Voyager. DailyRoads Voyager Pro became the favorite because of its interface, options, stability, and low cost.

I first experimented with a Raspberry Pi 4B with 8 GB of RAM, an IR camera, a 7-inch touchscreen, and LineageOS. Android on the Pi was not stable enough for what I wanted, it ran hot, and the enclosure and mounting work would have made the whole setup larger than I wanted.

The next approach used a retired Samsung Galaxy Note 10. It did not need cellular service because it could use vehicle Wi-Fi, and it could run navigation and radio-control applications in addition to recording. DailyRoads could also upload recordings to cloud storage.

GPS, HUD, and OBD-II Testing

The big weakness of the phone-based setup was embedded GPS and speed information. I also experimented with Navier HUD and an OBD-II Bluetooth adapter to put engine data, speed, navigation history, and a moving map on the display. The HUD projection itself was hard to use in daylight, but the direct OBD-II connection worked well once a problematic Y-cable was removed.

Final Camera Choice

In the end I went with a Rove R2-4K dash cam. It was compact, inexpensive, recorded clear video and audio, and most importantly could overlay GPS and speed information directly on the recording. It used a Class 10 microSD card instead of automatic cloud uploads, but the dedicated camera was much cleaner and more reliable than the experimental setups.

The camera was mounted high near the rear-view mirror, with its USB power cable routed across the windshield edge, down the passenger side, and under the glove box. The result was a simple installation that stayed mostly out of sight while still capturing the road.