Hey everyone Patrik CK with my review and installation guide for Aukey Dash Cam model
DR02.
But first a little history, a couple years ago I got what is basically a knock off of
the very affordable CarCam Corder, so you can probably imagine how good it is.
Video quality is what you expect for a super cheap dash cam and any kind of visibility
at night is nonexistent.
Of course there are a host of other issues • Even though it says 1080p on the screen
it actually recorded in 720p, surprise surprise.
• The 300milli amp hour battery stopped holding a charge after 5 months.
• The mount broke, more like melted.
• The screen was ruined after a year.
• Finally in the last few months an incredibly annoying electric buzz started.
This was continuous from the moment it turned on.
It’s only two redeeming qualities are that it was dirt cheap and the fact that it actually
is still operational in the technical sense of the word.
Needless to say it was time for an upgrade but this is no small ask, especially as popular
as dash cams have become there are hundreds if not thousands of options available.
To narrow the search down a bit I chose to focus on two traits.
A price point between $40 - $100 and a discrete design.
I chose the price range because, as has be proven, sub $40 dash cams fall under the,
you get what you pay for category.
Any more than a $100 and I don’t see the point.
The need for a discrete design is just that, something that won’t catch the attention
of a sticky fingered passerby.
It’s sad I have to worry about such things but tis the world.
After weighing a bunch of options I settled on one that not only ticked all the standard
dash cam feature boxes but also the two I really wanted.
At $70 the AUKEY Dash Cam Model DR02 was right in line with the price point I wanted and
its low-profile what they call ‘stealth’ design sets it apart from the other ‘look
at me’ dash cams currently available.
Some special features of the Aukey Cam are that
• It comes with a 2 year warranty • It houses a Sony Exmor IMX323 2.2megapixel
CMOS sensor • It can record at 1080p at 30fps, 720p
at 60fps, or 720p at 30fps with a bit rate of 12 Mbps.
The 4K version is $20 more.
• Being equipped with an internal super capacitor means it withstands extreme heat
& cold better than a standard battery and has a longer life span
• There is support for up to a 128gb class 10 micro SD card
• Lastly you can connect the directly to it, sold separately.
In the box we find a plethora of pieces.
• Of course the Aukey Dash Cam • 2 windshield mounts, one with 3M doubled
sided adhesive already applied, and one without • 6 cable management mounting hooks, each
with a piece of 3M adhesive on them • 2 extra pieces of 3M adhesive for the
mounts • 1 car charger with two USB ports.
With an output of 3.1amps there is plenty of power for the camera and to charge a phone.
There nice rubber grips on the side to easily remove the charger if need be.
It’s the little things that add up, did they have to put 2 ports on it?
No, did they have to put the little rubber grips, no, but they did, thank you!
• A 4 meter or 4.37 yard long power cable • A fancy warranty card
• Lastly the owner’s manual that’s actually readable.
Installing the Aukey is a fairly straight forward process but there are some details
that may not be familiar if you’ve haven’t installed a piece of equipment like this in
a car before.
1.
The first step, as in any installation, is to clean the area well and make sure it’s
dry.
2.
Next I chose to go ahead and attach the mount to camera.
I think it’s easier this way to properly align the whole camera when adhering it in
place as opposed to just the trying to place the mount on its own.
3.
Remove the adhesive backing and carefully attach the camera and mount to the windshield
while trying to keep it level.
I placed mine directly below the rear view mirror mount so that it’s out of sight while
I drive.
Of course you can put it lower, or in a corner, or where ever suits your fancy.
4.
Now the fun part, running the power cable.
Go ahead and plug the cable into the camera.
I first ran the cable over the arm that holds the rear view mirror.
5.
Depending on the make and model of your car this part may be easy or difficult.
In my car, a 2013 Honda Fit, I can easily tuck the cable over the edge of the headliner
and run it across the top of the windshield completely concealed.
6.
Bringing the cable back down was a little weird because of the peculiar design of the
A pillar.
I had to use 3 cable loops to first fasten the cable in the corner of the windshield,
than a little further down and lastly in the corner of the this small window.
The provided cable loops are easy to use, just place the cable between the loop and
press down on the tab until it snaps in place.
7.
You’ll probably want to empty your glove box before this next part.
Now to access the space behind the glove box all you have to do, for most cars on the market,
is to simply push the side panels of the glove box inward until the stoppers can slip by
the frame, which than allows the entire glove box to flip all the down.
8.
Next we want to drop the cable down and go underneath the dash.
On the Fit there is a perfect access hole between the glove box and the side of the
dash.
We can loop the cable through here and behind the glove box.
9.
Now you can feed the cable behind the dash to another gap in the panel between the center
console and the glove box compartment. 10.
Now, bring enough cable to plug into your nearest outlet.
11.
Plug in the charger then the power cable.
12.
With both ends connected it’s time to organize the slack left in the power cable.
Luckily for me all I have to do is bundle up the cable, tie it up, and pack it into
the same access way on the right side of the glove box.
13.
Lastly, remove the protective film from the lens and the screen, now we can call the installation
complete.
Once adhered the camera is easy to remove from the mount for storage.
I only do this when I have to park in direct sunlight.
While it says the operating temps can go as high as 167 degrees Fahrenheit 75C I still
don’t think sitting in the sun on a hot summer day is good for it.
One thing I noticed when looking at it from outside of the car is that the standard gray
3M adhesive does stand out a bit so I may try and find the black variant just to have
it better blend into its surrounding.
Now it’s time to power it up.
Turning on the car will automatically power up the camera.
On initial setup the first screen asks for you to choose a language and then enter the
date and time.
Also if you didn’t format the micro SD card like I did you will be prompted to do so,
which only took seconds to complete.
Even though the screen is only 1.5 inches the text and menu icons are sharp and very
legible which makes it really easy to navigate through all the settings and confirm the resolution,
loop timing, etc.
The buttons themselves have a satisfying and quality feel to them.
Footage and after thoughts Now it’s time to see how good the footage
looks.
Needless to say it’s night and day compared to my old dash cam.
Putting the footage from both side by side it’s a clear win for the Aukey in every
respect.
Simply trying to read a license plate is near impossible on the old cam but clear on the
Aukey.
You’ll have to excuse the reflection of the dash on the windshield; it’s another
peculiarity of the Fit
To focus on the Aukey I tried driving around in a few different conditions
• At dawn driving into direct sunlight the camera compensated for the over exposure well.
I was more blinded than the camera was.
• In the middle of a slightly overcast sunny day the camera preforms at its best with the
clearest image and ability to read tags from a good distance away.
• During the standard afternoon shower it’s the same story.
• In near twilight conditions the picture isn’t as crisp as in the day time but still
enough to read road signs like this one.
• Driving around on a moonless night it’s not exactly what I would call night vision
but with the only source of light coming from my headlights and the occasional street lamp
I can still see ahead of me very well.
For all you that may be curious, after I downloaded all these footage I noticed that 5 minutes
of footage takes up about 500MB of storage.
So with a 64gig SD card you can get roughly 10 hours of footage or about 20 hours on a
128 gig card, which is the max that the Aukey supports.
I’m very happy with the mounting system.
Compared to the cameras with a locking ball and socket mount I didn’t see this one moving
on its over time from the vibration of driving which is what happened with the old cam.
Overall I think the Aukey preforms very well, it’s not 4K but it’s everything you need
in a perfectly sized package at a reasonable price.
I would highly recommend it if you are looking for an upgrade or even your first dash cam.
A link to buy it on Amazon will be in the description.
Well this has been Patrik CK, like and share if you enjoyed this content.
Subscribe to get more videos when they come out.
All of your support is very much appreciated.
Hope to see you all next time, thanks everyone!