Added a Dash Cam with GPS

F

Fastbird

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2013
Location
Fort Wayne, IN
TDI
2012 Passat SEL, 2015 Sportwagen SEL
Posting this up because I am really happy about where I managed to locate the GPS antenna.

I've had the dash cam in the car for a couple of weeks, but got tired of the power cord. Ordered a hardwire kit and a GPS antenna for it, and redid it all today.

The early stages:
https://i.imgur.com/yjXbY4s.jpg

I actually ended up removing the drivers sun visor in the process to give me a little more wiggle room on the headliner. That did the trick and gave me just enough room to pry it around enough to sufficiently move wires and tuck them nicely. Took the hardwire kit from above the mirror, across the drivers side, down the A Pillar, and to the fuse box where an add a fuse was used to tie it in to a switched 12V source (car is garage kept, not worried about motion or impact sensing recording).

This is what I'm super happy about. I pride myself on keeping a tidy interior, and I simply did NOT want a random GPS antenna sitting on the dash. On a whim I decided to experiment with "other" areas and found one that actually worked. YMMV depending on antenna being used, but this one was low profile enough that it BARELY clears as the sunroof opens and closes.

https://i.imgur.com/BT8W866.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/cH2fBLJ.jpg

I ALMOST screwed up though. It literally sits are the forward limit of the sunroof shade. Any further back and it would have kept it from going forward all the way. Imagine my sigh of relief when I discovered the near miss, as it closes fully and properly.

So fully installed, the camera is hidden behind the drivers side of the mirror, and there's barely any exposed wiring sticking out. From outside the car it's VERY hard to see because of the dot matrix pattern.

https://i.imgur.com/OjkooHt.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Fw2iXn5.jpg

That's all. Just my successful little project today.

*edit* Man they really need an image resizer plugin here. Links for now.
 
joshferrer

joshferrer

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 6, 2018
Location
Ontario, CA
TDI
2014 VW Passat TDI SEL (CKRA)
Fastbird said:
Posting this up because I am really happy about where I managed to locate the GPS antenna.

I've had the dash cam in the car for a couple of weeks, but got tired of the power cord. Ordered a hardwire kit and a GPS antenna for it, and redid it all today.

The early stages:
https://i.imgur.com/yjXbY4s.jpg

I actually ended up removing the drivers sun visor in the process to give me a little more wiggle room on the headliner. That did the trick and gave me just enough room to pry it around enough to sufficiently move wires and tuck them nicely. Took the hardwire kit from above the mirror, across the drivers side, down the A Pillar, and to the fuse box where an add a fuse was used to tie it in to a switched 12V source (car is garage kept, not worried about motion or impact sensing recording).

This is what I'm super happy about. I pride myself on keeping a tidy interior, and I simply did NOT want a random GPS antenna sitting on the dash. On a whim I decided to experiment with "other" areas and found one that actually worked. YMMV depending on antenna being used, but this one was low profile enough that it BARELY clears as the sunroof opens and closes.

https://i.imgur.com/BT8W866.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/cH2fBLJ.jpg

I ALMOST screwed up though. It literally sits are the forward limit of the sunroof shade. Any further back and it would have kept it from going forward all the way. Imagine my sigh of relief when I discovered the near miss, as it closes fully and properly.

So fully installed, the camera is hidden behind the drivers side of the mirror, and there's barely any exposed wiring sticking out. From outside the car it's VERY hard to see because of the dot matrix pattern.

https://i.imgur.com/OjkooHt.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Fw2iXn5.jpg

That's all. Just my successful little project today.

*edit* Man they really need an image resizer plugin here. Links for now.
Click to expand...


This looks great!! I’ve been thinking of doing this for a while. I’ll probably do it this way thanks to this post!

Which cam and gps unit are you running?


-(retired) 2014 Passat TDI SE
 
B

BroncoAZ

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Flagstaff, AZ
TDI
2015 Touareg Lux, 2015 Passat 6MT, 2009 Jetta (long gone), 2011 Touareg (bought back 02/18)
Looks great. I have a similar camera in the same place on mine, but I specifically did not want GPS so I couldn’t incriminate myself. I caught a near head on collision between me and a Porsche Cayenne last week; I had to dive for the shoulder to avoid the wreck, he was trying to pass on a 2 lane rural highway without enough room.
 
bustNfuel

bustNfuel

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2002
Location
Raleigh, NC
TDI
Sold: 13 Passat SEL TDI
Nice install Fastbird! I can appreciate the time and effort it took to get the results you wanted. I also have a dash-cam up by the rear-view mirror, and a ValentineONE radar detector, along with it's BlueTooth interface. All of the wires run up behind the headliner and down the A-pillar to a fused power source and such.



Yours turned out really stealthy up there behind the rear-view mirror!
 
Jetta_Pilot

Jetta_Pilot

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Location
West Hill, Ont.
TDI
2015 Passat Highline TDI Candy White (SEL Premium) long gone 2002 Jetta TDI
That's the same Dashcam I have A118c. Bought it a year ago off GearBest for under $ 40.00 shipped and delivered. I also bought a hockey-puck GPS off eBay with free shipping for less than $ 10.00 to match it up with.


But I too am getting sick off the cigarette lighter power cord but I'll pick 12volt power from the overhead console. There is a switched power cable in there. The GPS module is wedged between the windshield and the mirror mount and gets a great signal there.


To play your Dashcam videos find this program on the internet:
B40 GPS RegistratorViewer
 
F

Fastbird

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2013
Location
Fort Wayne, IN
TDI
2012 Passat SEL, 2015 Sportwagen SEL
Actually mine is an A118C clone. Apeman C550 and the Apeman GPS. Let's just say my investment on the entire thing, including the hardwire kit, is $13. Gotta love those Facebook Amazon groups. :D My ONLY gripe is that the on screen speed display is in KM/HR ONLY. Not that I pay attention to it, but it's an irk none the less.

I downloaded DataKam for viewing with GPS signals.
 
B

BroncoAZ

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Flagstaff, AZ
TDI
2015 Touareg Lux, 2015 Passat 6MT, 2009 Jetta (long gone), 2011 Touareg (bought back 02/18)
Mine makes files I can play directly off the memory stick on my computer. Why would I need a specific program? to see the GPS data?
 
F

Fastbird

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2013
Location
Fort Wayne, IN
TDI
2012 Passat SEL, 2015 Sportwagen SEL
BroncoAZ said:
Mine makes files I can play directly off the memory stick on my computer. Why would I need a specific program? to see the GPS data?
Click to expand...
Yeah, apparently only specific programs read GPS data. DataKam shows you video and a side window gives you map location and a bottom window shows actual GPS info.
 
goodmonkey

goodmonkey

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2006
Location
Anchorage, AK
TDI
2014 Passat TDI, 2011 Touareg TDI
Looks good. I've been using a GW1-C for almost 4 years now, switching it between vehicles as needed. I want to do an install like yours, and might go with a similar camera system. $13 is a steal though, no mater how you slice it.
 
7

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
Fastbird said:
Actually mine is an A118C clone. Apeman C550 and the Apeman GPS. Let's just say my investment on the entire thing, including the hardwire kit, is $13. Gotta love those Facebook Amazon groups. :D My ONLY gripe is that the on screen speed display is in KM/HR ONLY. Not that I pay attention to it, but it's an irk none the less.

I downloaded DataKam for viewing with GPS signals.
Click to expand...

bit cheaper than those blackview 720 cameras i've been eyeing for $250-$350.
 
Jetta_Pilot

Jetta_Pilot

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Location
West Hill, Ont.
TDI
2015 Passat Highline TDI Candy White (SEL Premium) long gone 2002 Jetta TDI
Fastbird said:
Yeah, apparently only specific programs read GPS data. DataKam shows you video and a side window gives you map location and a bottom window shows actual GPS info.
Click to expand...

DATACAM is Registrator viewer !!! As I posted earlier.

See your own Dashcam video, a map that you traveled on. The speed you were doing as well as a fast forward function and more.
 
L

Lincoln

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2014
Location
Seattle, WA
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE 6 Speed MT
Nicely done OP. I did the first part of what you did this weekend. To clarify for anyone else reading this, it's very easy to run the power cord from the dashcam along the top of the windshield (it tucks in a bit), then down through the driver-side pillar (I loosened the trim a bit by partially backing out the screw behind the plastic "Air Bag" tab, rather than removing it entirely like the OP), straight to the fuse box. For that part, it's not necessary to remove the overhead console or anything else. I did that this weekend and it only took me about 15 minutes. No GPS for me, so I didn't have to worry about where to put it.
 
BKmetz

BKmetz

Administrator, Member #10
Staff member
Joined
Sep 25, 1997
Location
Illinois
TDI
2015 Passat, titanium beige, 6MT
Here's a link to my installation.
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=474333

I din't go into tucking the wire in because there's lot of links on how to do that on Youtube. My car doesn't have a sunroof so there is nothing special wire management. What I want to show is how I wired my unit into the fuse box.

:)
 
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