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Dash cam - power cable/DAB interference problem
A few minutes of driving I noticed the mobius dash cam wasn't on - this operates via a 2 port USB charger from the cigarette lighter in the same place (dashcam goes into data transfer if you use the other USB port). Realised garage had unplugged the charger, soon as I plugged it in, DAB radio goes to pot, choppy and constantly losing signal. Unplug the camera and operate on the limited battery = fine. Checked at home and it seems to be common issue with dashcams and DAB.
I popped into Maplins this weekend and got 3 of the ferrite RF filters, 2 on the end near the charger and one on the dashcam end - not been for a long drive yet but still seems a bit iffy on the short drive home. I believe my fusebox is under the glove box (on the same said as the DAB unit and aerial) so a hardwire isn't going to fix much.
I have heard about shielded charge cables but sites don't seem to sell them (or are talking about stronger cables for floor use), or they're very short - I have a 10m cable so I can run it around the car lining and under my seat to keep the cable tidy and out of the pedals - a 5m might work with careful routing, I'd need to measure it up but wanted to keep the cable out of sight as much as possible.
Any ideas about where to find these or other suggestions? It needs to be the mini USB end not the micro one used in phones.
Sam Vimes' Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness:
People are rich because they spend less money. A poor man buys $10 boots that last a season or two before he's walking in wet shoes and has to buy another pair. A rich man buys $50 boots that are made better and give him 10 years of dry feet. The poor man has spent $100 over those 10 years and still has wet feet.
Comments
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I had a similar problem with my phone. I went through 3 different chargers before I found one that didn't cause interference on the radio.
The one that worked was a dual socket charger from eBay0 -
Pretty poor for supplier to mount DAB using a USB port. It might avoid interference if you separate the source by hard wiring either the DAB or dash cam."A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Ride hard or stay home :iloveyou:0 -
Pretty poor for supplier to mount DAB using a USB port. It might avoid interference if you separate the source by hard wiring either the DAB or dash cam.
The USB is so the car entertainment system can show the stations on the display unit (multipurpose job that does satnav, radio, car info etc), the radio is hardwired, it's just connected to USB (same as if you plug your phone in to use it to play from there).
I drove to work today, even with 3 ferrite filters it's still getting interference, I had a look online and have seen it suggested that the filter should cover the frequency bands in the range UK broadcasts DAB at (174-229 MHz) and the Maplin ones I have are way below that so I'm going to order some other ones and see if I can find a blasted shielded cable!
I've also seen suggestion of using a suppression filter on a hard wired dashcam power setup between the power and fuse, the problem with that is that my dab aerial is on the left side of the windscreen and the direct route to the fusebox would be left and down - may or may not be worse than now (I route the cable right)Sam Vimes' Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness:
People are rich because they spend less money. A poor man buys $10 boots that last a season or two before he's walking in wet shoes and has to buy another pair. A rich man buys $50 boots that are made better and give him 10 years of dry feet. The poor man has spent $100 over those 10 years and still has wet feet.
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Perhaps you could try the dash cam via the cigarette socket?"A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Ride hard or stay home :iloveyou:0 -
So steps will be:
2x ferrite bead with the right range
If no joy, double shielded usb cable (7.5m seems to be maximum easily found for quality cables)
If no joy, hard wire with the suppressor
Then cry if no joy lolSam Vimes' Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness:
People are rich because they spend less money. A poor man buys $10 boots that last a season or two before he's walking in wet shoes and has to buy another pair. A rich man buys $50 boots that are made better and give him 10 years of dry feet. The poor man has spent $100 over those 10 years and still has wet feet.
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Perhaps you could try the dash cam via the cigarette socket?
If I had a charger I would do but it would need a very long cable - the cigarette lighter is in the console between front seats, I would need to have one with a long power cable to run it up to the dash cam behind the rear view mirror or it'll be in the middle of the windscreen!Sam Vimes' Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness:
People are rich because they spend less money. A poor man buys $10 boots that last a season or two before he's walking in wet shoes and has to buy another pair. A rich man buys $50 boots that are made better and give him 10 years of dry feet. The poor man has spent $100 over those 10 years and still has wet feet.
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When I fitted USB ports to my car I had problems initially. If three of them were in use at the same time (sat Nav, dashcam, phone charger) it put a strain on the supply and the sat nav would turn off.
Does your dashcam or DAB work fine on their own?I don't like morning people. Or mornings. Or people.0 -
Sam_Fallow wrote: »When I fitted USB ports to my car I had problems initially. If three of them were in use at the same time (sat Nav, dashcam, phone charger) it put a strain on the supply and the sat nav would turn off.
Does your dashcam or DAB work fine on their own?
The setup is
2x 5v USB (built into car)
1 cigarette lighter with an Anka dual USB port adapter
The dashcam is in the cigarette lighter adapter, nothing else is connected (I use the spare port for charging phone if needed). The DAB is connected to one of the USB ports
The dashcam ran fine for 2 years, when unplugged it is ok - though funnily enough if the cable is in the dashcam, even if it's not connected at the other end, there is still interference with DAB. Remove the cable from the dashcam and on battery it's fine.Sam Vimes' Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness:
People are rich because they spend less money. A poor man buys $10 boots that last a season or two before he's walking in wet shoes and has to buy another pair. A rich man buys $50 boots that are made better and give him 10 years of dry feet. The poor man has spent $100 over those 10 years and still has wet feet.
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If I had a charger I would do but it would need a very long cable - the cigarette lighter is in the console between front seats, I would need to have one with a long power cable to run it up to the dash cam behind the rear view mirror or it'll be in the middle of the windscreen!
I said "try". I suspect the issue may be using a common source for radio / dash cam. This would prove or eliminate that as the cause.
If you don't have a suitable lead you could buy one off eBay for buttons."A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Ride hard or stay home :iloveyou:0 -
though funnily enough if the cable is in the dashcam, even if it's not connected at the other end, there is still interference with DAB. Remove the cable from the dashcam and on battery it's fine.
Sounds like the dashcam is emitting RF interference in the DAB bands, the cable is acting like an antenna for it.0
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