roket's Dark Horse - "Azureus" Project

[roket]

just upgraded my dash cam from a Viofo A229 Pro to a Redtiger F77 V2. surprisingly easy, as both are powered and connect to the rear camera via USB-C ports

Sponsored

 

[DarkMatterGrey]

just upgraded my dash cam from a Viofo A229 Pro to a Redtiger F77 V2. surprisingly easy, as both are powered and connect to the rear camera via USB-C ports

Where did you wire it in the car? USB from the mirror (I don’t have one of those) or hardwired somewhere else?

 

[roket]

Where did you wire it in the car? USB from the mirror (I don’t have one of those) or hardwired somewhere else?

a couple fuse taps in the BCM

 

[roket]

i decided to take a break from getting frustrated with amber DRLs, and get annoyed with a different type of lighting instead, ambient lighting. first big hurdle: the Mustang uses a 4-wire common cathode setup. basically all other Fords and Lincolns use a LIN ambient lighting setup. so, i did some digging and found that the Mustang has used a common cathode setup since the S197, but also more vehicles used to use it. LIN is cheaper, but common cathode allows for a lot more customization.

the 2008-2015 Ford Edge/Lincoln MKX, 2010-2012 Ford Fusion/Lincoln MKZ/Mercury Milan, 2008-2012 Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner, 2009-2019 Ford Flex, 2010-2012 Lincoln MKS, 2010-2019 Ford Taurus, 2011-2019 Fiesta, and 2011-2015 Explorer all also used the common cathode ambient lighting. interestingly, the 2013-2016 Lincoln MKS and 2010-2019 Lincoln MKT used common cathode as well, but had a 5th wire for a dedicated white LED. everything else uses LIN.

i will take out my 3D scanner sometime soon and see if i can make a 3D printable bracket that allows the Lincoln Corsair cupholder to mount to the Mustang, or maybe even make a brand new cupholder

 

[GrabThatBlue]

i decided to take a break from getting frustrated with amber DRLs, and get annoyed with a different type of lighting instead, ambient lighting. first big hurdle: the Mustang uses a 4-wire common cathode setup. basically all other Fords and Lincolns use a LIN ambient lighting setup. so, i did some digging and found that the Mustang has used a common cathode setup since the S197, but also more vehicles used to use it. LIN is cheaper, but common cathode allows for a lot more customization.

the 2008-2015 Ford Edge/Lincoln MKX, 2010-2012 Ford Fusion/Lincoln MKZ/Mercury Milan, 2008-2012 Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner, 2009-2019 Ford Flex, 2010-2012 Lincoln MKS, 2010-2019 Ford Taurus, 2011-2019 Fiesta, and 2011-2015 Explorer all also used the common cathode ambient lighting. interestingly, the 2013-2016 Lincoln MKS and 2010-2019 Lincoln MKT used common cathode as well, but had a 5th wire for a dedicated white LED. everything else uses LIN.

i will take out my 3D scanner sometime soon and see if i can make a 3D printable bracket that allows the Lincoln Corsair cupholder to mount to the Mustang, or maybe even make a brand new cupholder

Why do you want to make the Lincoln cupholder fit. Did you not already fixed this issue and have a working ambient cupholder? Or are you going to make one plug and play cupholder for others who are interested. In that case I'm in lol. I really want ambient lights in my cupholder but I can't solder or do anything with cables. Wish there was a plug and play solution.

 

[roket]

Why do you want to make the Lincoln cupholder fit. Did you not already fixed this issue and have a working ambient cupholder? Or are you going to make one plug and play cupholder for others who are interested. In that case I'm in lol. I really want ambient lights in my cupholder but I can't solder or do anything with cables. Wish there was a plug and play solution.

yeah, it "fits" and works, but the fit isnt that good, and i have a need to make everything work perfectly. i was originally thinking an adapter for the Corsair cupholder, but i now have a full 3D scan of the stock Mustang cupholder, and found that the Lincoln Aviator has an individual light-up ring in current production. so right now, my plan is to order that light ring and check the spacing. if it works well, then the next step may be using the cupholder scan to CAD a new cupholder with space for the light rings and 3D print it. if all works, i will post a new thread about it, and the 3D print files will be up for anyone to download. the bonus is that this will also make ambient cupholder lighting a thing for the Mach-E, Maverick, Bronco, Expedition, Lower trim Navigators, and any other vehicle that shares the Mustang's cupholder

 

[roket]

light ring has been ordered, 5 days out

 

[roket]

after about a week with the Redtiger F77 V2, i can say with confidence that, for the time being, this is not the dash cam you want. the 4k front and rear is cool, but it covers up a not good and in some cases bad firmware. this review may sound harsh, but expectations are high for such a high price tag.

my biggest issue is how it records. normal dash cams will record in a loop, and if told to, will save X minutes of that loop. the F77, instead, records in blocks of video either 1, 3, or 5 minutes. if you tell it to save a video, it will only save that current block and nothing else. it will even wait to save the video until the current block has completed.

audio quality is as expected for a dash cam, nothing to write home about, but better than an Xbox 360 party voice chat. the screen is also really nice and responsive. wifi is also easy to use and fairly reliable. if you currently have a dash cam hard-wired with a USB-C power connector, the camera will likely work fine. i changed from a Viofo A229 Pro and was able to reuse the cable for power and the rear camera with no issue, so no need to fish out the wires and re-run new ones.

G-trigger parking mode is also useless, as it turns off the camera until a force within the trigger is detected, then it turns on and starts recording. this whole series takes 5 to 10 seconds, long enough for the person to hit and run and you have no evidence at all.

the rear camera mount is also incapable of correctly aiming for a steep rear window, like most performance coupes have, so you have to file down the stops on the mount to make it work. also dont forget to tighten the 2mm hex bolt that stops the camera from rotating every now and then, or else it might need some of those little blue pills they become so floppy. this assumes that the double-sided tape actually holds, because mine certainly didnt and i had to JB Weld the front camera mount to my car's front camera shroud.

i also hope you like seeing your dash, because you will be seeing it in reflections all the time. no CPL filter is being currently made for the F77 at all. there is also no compatibility with external storage. you record to built-in storage only, but can transfer footage to an external microsd card up to 512GB in size.

honestly, unless front and rear 4k 30fps is at the very top of your priorities and nothing else matters, dont get the Redtiger F77 V2. and even then, i have heard about some issues with the video compression, but i did not check that for myself. had i known the issues i would have with it, i would not have spent $330 on it. i e-mailed them about my experience and suggestions, but my response felt like it was AI-generated and equivalent to an inbox that leads to the trash. if Redtiger fixes the firmware issues, i will definitely consider using it again, but for now, i am only keeping it installed until i find another dash cam and can get a replacement front camera shroud. its better than nothing, but not by much. quite a shame given the very capable hardware

 

[GrabThatBlue]

after about a week with the Redtiger F77 V2, i can say with confidence that, for the time being, this is not the dash cam you want. the 4k front and rear is cool, but it covers up a not good and in some cases bad firmware. this review may sound harsh, but expectations are high for such a high price tag.

my biggest issue is how it records. normal dash cams will record in a loop, and if told to, will save X minutes of that loop. the F77, instead, records in blocks of video either 1, 3, or 5 minutes. if you tell it to save a video, it will only save that current block and nothing else. it will even wait to save the video until the current block has completed.

audio quality is as expected for a dash cam, nothing to write home about, but better than an Xbox 360 party voice chat. the screen is also really nice and responsive. wifi is also easy to use and fairly reliable. if you currently have a dash cam hard-wired with a USB-C power connector, the camera will likely work fine. i changed from a Viofo A229 Pro and was able to reuse the cable for power and the rear camera with no issue, so no need to fish out the wires and re-run new ones.

G-trigger parking mode is also useless, as it turns off the camera until a force within the trigger is detected, then it turns on and starts recording. this whole series takes 5 to 10 seconds, long enough for the person to hit and run and you have no evidence at all.

the rear camera mount is also incapable of correctly aiming for a steep rear window, like most performance coupes have, so you have to file down the stops on the mount to make it work. also dont forget to tighten the 2mm hex bolt that stops the camera from rotating every now and then, or else it might need some of those little blue pills they become so floppy. this assumes that the double-sided tape actually holds, because mine certainly didnt and i had to JB Weld the front camera mount to my car's front camera shroud.

i also hope you like seeing your dash, because you will be seeing it in reflections all the time. no CPL filter is being currently made for the F77 at all. there is also no compatibility with external storage. you record to built-in storage only, but can transfer footage to an external microsd card up to 512GB in size.

honestly, unless front and rear 4k 30fps is at the very top of your priorities and nothing else matters, dont get the Redtiger F77 V2. and even then, i have heard about some issues with the video compression, but i did not check that for myself. had i known the issues i would have with it, i would not have spent $330 on it. i e-mailed them about my experience and suggestions, but my response felt like it was AI-generated and equivalent to an inbox that leads to the trash. if Redtiger fixes the firmware issues, i will definitely consider using it again, but for now, i am only keeping it installed until i find another dash cam and can get a replacement front camera shroud. its better than nothing, but not by much. quite a shame given the very capable hardware

But still better than the Viofo A229 since you decided to keep this RedTiger until you find something else?

I'm going to receive the Red Tiger F17 Elite in a couple of weeks to test it out. I'm curious how good this one compares with the your F77 V2.

 

[roket]

But still better than the Viofo A229 since you decided to keep this RedTiger until you find something else?

I'm going to receive the Red Tiger F17 Elite in a couple of weeks to test it out. I'm curious how good this one compares with the your F77 V2.

no, if i could, i would switch back to the A229

 

[GrabThatBlue]

no, if i could, i would switch back to the A229

You sold it?

 

[roket]

You sold it?

no, its just where i would normally put it there is a mount for the F77 JB welded in place. its not going anywhere

 

[GrabThatBlue]

Thanks for the review. The way it saves the video's and how you described it, is something that I really don't want for a dashcam. I also backed out today of the Red Tiger F17 Elite dashcam because of this.

Now I'm going for the Viofo A329S

Update:
I just ordered the Viofo A329S 3CH. It comes with a discount at the moment and a free sd card since it just came out.

 

[roket]

hit my first animal last night. i was going to get some boba from Scottsdale Quarter, and there was a dead coyote in the road. it did no damage, but i had to turn back home and clean the blood off my splitter. the whole drive to Scottsdale Quarter smelled like burning fur. no damage overall. i could tell it was a coyote due to how i couldnt smell it from a distance, javalina smell a lot worse and from a ways away. apparently Phoenix dead animal pickup does not pick up anything that is not on a freeway or of a weight below 150lbs, so it was still there this morning too

Sponsored