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Introduction: This project started off as I wanted to get a front and rear dual cam setup. Then as I started thinking of all the parking lot incidents I have experienced over the years of driving which often happened when I was away from my vehicle, and started to consider of how nice it would have been able to capture some video of those incidents since the way my insurance seemed to work is that I was responsible for my $500 deductible unless the insurance had the person's responsible insurance to go after for that deductible amount. Due to the MINI 0906 having multiple parking mode recording operations, I decided to get 3 of those setups to provide complete 360 deg video recording coverage since you never know which direction the damage is going to come from.

This will be an on-going build that I expect may take up to 2 months to complete as a side project. I have received (3) of the MINI 0906 dash cam setups which provides a total of 6 cameras, and they seem really nice. While I had them uninstalled, I decided to set them up with a TENMA adjustable DC power supply and start taking some current measurements and to get more familiar with the camera's different parking mode operations. What I discovered is that when using any of the different parking mode functions, the dual dash cam setup was pulling 200-250mA of current. So while the MINI 0906 has 4 different parking guard modes to chose between, those parking modes seem to be more focused on saving on consuming memory storage while parked and not so much focused on going into a low current standby operation while parked. Therefore with 3 different setups I would expect to see about 700mA of battery current draw while parked and from my experience, that amount of current draw will likely leave you with a no start low battery condition if left sitting 8-12 hours. Therefore, a slightly more complicated setup was needed to ensure this system could provide me everything I wanted while not having to worry about being greeted with a no start low battery condition. Full details to follow.

System Goals
General Use cases
- Provide 360 Deg Exterior and Interior Vehicle HD 1080p@30FPS video recording.
- Accident/Law enforcement infraction evidence capturing of audio, video, GPS, Date/Time, Location and Speed.
- 360 Deg Jeeping exploration video capture
- Away from vehicle evidence capturing (Parking lot door dingers, sticky finger bandits, general A-holes who have a lack of respect for other's property).
Conveniences and battery drain protection
- Will not kill/drain battery if parked for extended periods of time (>12Hours).
- No necessary user interaction. Get in and drive, get out and park and it just works. (No on/off button/switch pressing neccessary).
- Easily reconfigurable based on more use experience both for battery drain protection and preferred system functions.
- Simple component access and part replacement if needed.
- Minimal fuss when re-configuring Jeep in Hard Top on, Soft Top on, and Top/doors off driving modes without losing any system functionality
- Value priced cost
System Presence
- Minimized wiring mess (tidy, out of sight/out of mind)
- Cameras hidden from plane view or from being easily bumped and knocked out of position.

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Total System Cost: $661

Parts List, Application notes and General Prices (If you shop around)


Links to Parts:
MINI 0906 Dual Dash Cam Kit
- Bluesky Sea Branded
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075JHKBR7/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Front Camera quick connect mount
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075LK6BDD/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Mini 0906 Water proof rear cam
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077TN1LLN/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
2-Wire H/W Power Adapter (not used)
https://www.amazon.com/ShineKee-Dash-Camera-Vehicle-Hard/dp/B01C1LIFKW/ref=pd_sbs_107_28?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01C1LIFKW&pd_rd_r=9YPZ5NNW2F909GDCVMSB&pd_rd_w=xY6xt&pd_rd_wg=lEv8c&psc=1&refRID=9YPZ5NNW2F909GDCVMSB
3-Wire H/W Parking Guard Power Adapter Kit
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0761RZ5XB/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
3-Wire H/W Parking Guard Power Adapter Kit with fuse taps
https://www.amazon.com/Blueskysea-Universal-Hardwire-Adapter-Camera/dp/B075WPSZYH/ref=pd_sbs_107_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B075WPSZYH&pd_rd_r=1PGX32D6KES56SKX7QW6&pd_rd_w=8Q36E&pd_rd_wg=JtDwN&psc=1&refRID=1PGX32D6KES56SKX7QW6
CPL Front Camera 24mm anti-glare lens
https://www.amazon.com/Blueskysea-Circular-Polarizing-Lens-Clip/dp/B075WNL9QR/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1527823747&sr=8-2&keywords=mini+0906+CPL
Rear Camera Connection sync cable (1ft)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078H8XG7C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
128GB Micro SD Card (Samsung EVO PLUS)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XFHQGB9/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
128GB Micro SD Card (Samsung EVO SELECT)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XWZWYVP/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
12V/5Amp ON/OFF Solid State Timer controller
http://timers.shop/Multi-Functional-...-amp_p_12.html

Timer Configuration Button Board
http://timers.shop/Timer-configurati...oard_p_18.html

18AWG/3 Conductor PVC Jacket LED Cable wire spool (100ft)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M62HEPU/?coliid=I1PNLVCUC28CFA&colid=41JVCR2XXBN2&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
3-Wire Male/Female quick connector set (5 pairs)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075LKSQJR/?coliid=I3OPNLKOCY894E&colid=41JVCR2XXBN2&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
Mini Fuse Tap (5pack)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077G78KJM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=AQOM05IYH45X4&psc=1
Magnetic Tool Holder
https://www.harborfreight.com/18-in-...der-61199.html

Multi Size Shrink Tube
https://www.harborfreight.com/9-piec...ent-96024.html

1/4in Shrink Tube
https://www.harborfreight.com/1-4-qu...ing-66764.html

3/8in Wire Wrap
https://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-ei...rap-66987.html

8pin 24AWG IP68 cable connectors (2 pairs)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2Pairs-Waterproof-8Pin-24AWG-IP68-20cm-Male-and-Female-Cable-Connector/181722050054?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid =p2057872.m2749.l2649

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System Wiring Diagram



Component locations (coming soon)

TIMERS:
http://timers.shop/Multi-Functional-...-amp_p_12.html
The (2) Timers are likely the most complicated part of this setup. The intent of the timers are to prevent excessive battery drain while parked, while at the same time provide adequate video recording which are suitable enough to meet the typical daily driver use cases. Use cases such as going into a store, parked while at work, and overnight parking.

Timer #1= Long Term Parking (Work, Overnight, multiple days). Parking Times > 8 hours.
Timer #2= Short Term Parking (Store Parking Lot). Parking Times < 1hour

The timers will control the BATT power to the cameras H/W Power adapters. These timers can be configured to meet many different applications but the one that is most useful for my needs for this setup is a basic DELAYED TURN OFF. The way the Delay off function will work, is that when you turn off your ignition, the IGN=OFF signal will then trigger the timer to start counting down and after a set amount of time, the timer will cut the power to the cameras by shutting off their BATT power connection to the H/W power adapters which in turn will power down the cameras.

The really cool thing about these timers is that they can be programmed through the use of a couple switches to have a delay turn off time anywhere between 100mS and up to 40 days.

My initial settings will be the following where I may have to adjust depending on the amount of battery drain I observe.
Timer#1(Long term parking)= 8 hours
Timer#2 (Short term parking)= 1 Hour

What will happen is that immediately after I turn the ignition off, then all 6 cameras will go into Auto Time Lapse parking record mode and continue to run for a duration of 1 hour (Timer 2 setting). After 1 hour the power to 4 of the cameras will be cut, thus reducing the battery drain by up to 500mA while parked. The side cameras will remain on since they are powered by Timer #1 and the battery drain during that time will be around 250mA. After 8 hours of being parked, then the power to the side cameras will be turned off, thus fully removing any battery power drain after 8 hours of the ignition being turned off.

Timer Basic Delay off wiring circuit diagram


Timer IC



Timer Harness (x2)


Programming Timers (Coming Soon)

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Camera Information and Setting details

Camera Settings Details:


Above are the settings I have currently decided would work best for me, I may adjust them as I get more familiar with the system.

Further Settings and System Setup Details:

Parking Modes and Hare Wire kits:
For the Parking guard features to work, you need to purchase an additional "hard wire kit". However, what I learned is that there are 2 types of hard wire kits which are available, so you need to look at that closely if you purchase a MINI 0906 setup which includes separate bundled H/W kit. One of the H/W kits has 2 power wires (B+ and GND) and the other has 3 power wires (B+, ACC/IGN, and GND). The one you want for the parking functions is the 3 wire type since it has the necessary additional ACC/IGN control wire which tells the camera if the IGN is ON or OFF. The 2 wire H/W kit will not control the parking guard functions. The camera is powered by a standard Micro USB connection which has Ground, +5VDC, and 2 USB data lines. The +5VDC usb wire supplies power to the cameras. When IGN is ON/OFF, the 3 wire kit will communicate through the USB data lines to tell the camera the IGN ON or OFF status. When BATT power is removed, then the +5VDC usb power is turned off.

2-Wire Hard Wire Kit (The one you don't want if you want Parking mode operation)


3-Wire Hard Wire Kit (The one you want)
There are also 2 types of the 3-wire H/W kits. One of the kits contains fuse taps, the other contains an inline B+ fuse instead, the one with fuse taps are slightly higher priced. Other than that difference, they're identical. If you plan to tap into your JK fuse box IGN switched and Constant Power connections like I am planning to do, I suggest purchasing the kit without the fuse taps and purchase the inline fuse version, cut the inline fuse off and then purchasing 2 separate Fuse taps. The reason being is that the kit with the fuse taps contains 4 different types of fuse taps, and only 1 fits out JK fuse sockets. So you end up paying more for 3 fuse taps that you can't use and what you need are 2 of the same fuse tap. (1 for IGN, 1 for BATT)

3-wire Hard wire kit with fuse taps


3-wire Hard wire kit with inline fuse

Battery Drain Protection:

Another benefit to the 3-wire H/W kits are that they include an additional battery drain protection feature. There is a switch on the side of the adapter where you can switch between 11.8V, 12.0V, 12.2V, and 12.4V. A fully charged healthy battery will typically output around 12.6 Volts when the engine is not running. As the battery drains, the output voltage from the battery will start to drop. The adapter will monitor the B+ voltage and when the battery voltage drops below the switch setting, the adapter will turn off the 5V DC voltage output, thus shutting off the camera which is being powered by the power adapter. I'm going to start with a battery drain protection setting of 12.2V and see how well that works out for me and adjust if necessary.

Settings Additional Details:

Parking Guard Functions:
All of these parking mode operation options require you to purchase the 3-wire hardwire kit, since it's the hardwire kit which communicates to the camera to let it know if the Ignition is on, or off (Parked). Maybe obvious to some, but I will provide further details how each of these different modes function.

- Always Time Lapse:
When the ACC voltage signal to the H/W kit is turned off, 30 seconds later the camera will automatically transition from your settings full resolution configured record mode into Time Lapse record. Time Lapse will record video at a resolution of 720p @ 2 Frames per second. When the recorded time lapse video is played back, it is good quality but it looks like it is playing back as if someone was holding the FF scan button. This saves a lot of storage space being consumed while parked, while still providing adequate information to capture any events that may have taken placed while you were parked and away from the vehicle.
Here is a nice and boring video of it raining to give you an idea of how the Time Lapse record looks.

- Auto Switch Lapse
This works the same as Time lapse recording, with the addition that if your vehicle is bumped, the motion will be picked up by the G-sensor built into the camera, where the camera will then automatically switch from the Time Lapse 720p@2FPS to 720p@30FPS. The camera will continue to record at the 720p@30FPS for a duration of 30 seconds after the G-Sensor gets triggered, and then switch back to 720p@2FPS time lapse record mode if no further motion is detected.
- Motion Detection
When the ACC voltage signal to the H/W kit is turned off, 30 seconds later the camera will automatically transition from your settings full resolution configured record mode into Motion Detect record mode. The camera is in a standby operation mode, not recording any video while park. When the vehicle is bumped, the camera's G-Sensor will get triggered and start recording at 720p@30FPS for a duration of for a duration of 30 seconds after the G-Sensor trigger even, and then switch back to no recording standby operation if no further motion is detected. This parking mode is also the only one which can be linked to the Power Off Delay setting. Turning the Power Off Delay setting to OFF, allows Motion Detect to continuously run without powering down the camera.
- Normal Recording
When the ACC voltage signal to the H/W kit is turned off (Engine OFF), the cameras will continue to record video at whichever resolution you have selected in the settings menu.

Power Off Delay (Setting=OFF)
This setting seems to be tied to the Parking Guard 3-Wire kit, in that it will power off the cameras after a set time after ignition is turned off. However, the max power off delay time setting is 5 minutes which wasn't long enough for my needs. Another annoyance about this setting I found is that when the camera powers down due to the time delay setting being reached, when you get back in and start the vehicle, the camera does not automatically fire back up and start recording. Instead, you have to manually press and hold the Power ON button of the camera to turn the camera back on. However, what I found is that if B+ is removed from the Parking Guard H/W kit, then when B+ is restored, the camera will automatically turn back on and start recording. This is the reason I chose to set this setting to "OFF", since it would turn into a major inconvenience of remembering to press the Power ON button of each camera to get them to turn back on and start recording each time I get back into the vehicle. This is also the reason I decided to add the timer circuits, where I am having the timer circuits control turning on and off of the Parking Guard's B+ connection. Therefore when the timer circuit's time setting expires, it will cut power to the B+ of the parking guard H/W kit, and then when I get back in, and turn on the vehicle, the ignition on from the vehicle will cause the timer to restore power to the B+ connection of the parking guard thus causing the camera to turn back on and automatically start recording.

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Technical Details and power consumptions

I measured current draw to be able to understand how much power would be consumed by the camera setups in all possible states it could be in, as well as to understand how much current each individual component was drawing. The 14V measurements are intended to simulate when the JK engine is running, and the 12.5V measurements are for when ignition is turned off and parked. I will mostly be interested in the measurements taken using the 3-Wire H/W kit but since the cigarette outlet power adapter came with the camera kit, and I unintentionally purchased the 2-wire H/W kit, I decided to take those as well in case anyone else was interested.

These measurements were taken using a single MINI 0906 setup, so for my intended application purposes, these measurements can be multiplied by 3 for the 3 dual cam setups I'll be using.

14V=Engine ON
12.5V=Engine OFF
*Note: "Power Cord Disconnected" means the USB power cord connected to the front camera, thus if that is unplugged what you are seeing in regards to current draw, is the power of the 12V to 5V power inverter adapters which are still connected to your battery.

Summary Power Comsumptions (if you're not interested in the additional details below)


Cigarette Outlet System power consumptions




2-Wire H/W kit System power consumptions



3-Wire H/W kit System power consumptions



PARKING GUARD System power consumptions
Next up are the different available parking mode operation power consumptions (3-wire H/W kit required). To my disappointment my hope was that when the camera was configured to be in the MOTIION DETECT parking guard mode, the camera would go into a standby low power draw mode, and then if the G-Sensor motion was detected (The vehicle was bumped), it would wake up and start recording. However, that does not seem to be the case, the dual cam setup was still drawing 200mA of current when in motion detect mode, it just wasn't recording any video and when motion was detected, the cameras started recording video. Therefore, I concluded the motion detect parking mode intended use case is to save on storage memory and not intended as a low current standby operation mode.

Another similar disappointment was that when in Motion Detect parking mode, there is an additional "POWER OFF DELAY" setting that is only used when in that parking mode where those power off delay settings were 1, 3, and 5 minutes. How it would work, say for example if power off delay was set to 5 minutes is that after you turned off your engine, the camera would stop recording and go into Motion Detect operation mode. Then after 5 minutes, of being in motion detect mode, the camera would power down. After the camera powered down, the system did go into a low power consumption, drawing just 35mA instead of 200mA. However, after the camera was powered down in the 35mA current draw state, any motion does not turn the camera back on and start recording. An additional problem was that when you got back in and started your JK after the camera had powered down, it would not automatically turn back on and start recording due to ACC now being turned back on. You had to either manually press the camera's power button to turn it back on, or BATT power to the H/W kit had to be turned off and then back on. This was going to be a problem, especially for the cameras which were not in reach from the driver's seat. Due to the camera would power back up after a BATT wire off/on cycle, I had originally considered wiring in some toggle switches to the BATT power wires for each camera to make better use of the motion detect parking mode. However, that seemed not so user friendly, where I would need to remember to flip switches every time I got in and out of my JK. The BATT power toggle switches were a PIA work around at best.

Due to these problems, I decided to abandon my original thought of using the Motion Detect parking mode and the BATT power toggle switches idea and search for a better overall solution. After searching around, I think I found an ideal solution. See the 12V/5A configurable Timers in my parts list. (More details on these coming)
http://timers.shop/Multi-Functional-...-amp_p_12.html

Parking Mode Operation Power Consumptions


Hardwire Kit (3-wire) Battery protection power consumption
If the battery voltage drops below the Hard wire kit switch setting, the H/W kit cuts power to the camera connected to it. This is the power consumption that is left remaining powering the H/W kit.

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This table below shows the sizes of the video files which get recorded onto the micro SD card which is plugged into the front camera. The Mini 0906 records 2 separate files, 1 for the front cam and 1 for the rear cam. Interesting observation, although both cams are set for 1080p@30FPS records, the rear camera file sizes are slightly smaller. I'm unsure the reason why since both files show their video resolution is 1920x1080 with a 30FPS frame rate.
Both the front and rear video files contain audio, where the rear audio is an exact duplicate copy of the front audio. There is no microphone located on the rear camera. Turning the audio mic off, does not reduce the file size.

11.7GB of file storage is used per 1 hour of 1080p@30FPS video/audio recording of both the front and rear cam.

The LOOP RECORDING setting, sets length of the separate video files will be recorded. Once the SD card reaches full capacity, the cam will delete the oldest file stored and start a new file.

When in "TIME LAPSE" recording mode (my preferred parking mode operation), the cam will record front and rear video at 720p@2FPS. It breaks these files up into 1 Hour duration lengths, where the video is actually 4 minutes in length and has good quality but looks like things are in fast motion. A key benefit to this mode is that it seems to take very little storage space, but is able to capture any events when you are away from your vehicle for extended durations.

The file format is a .MOV container, with H264 MPEG-4 encoding.


With the 128GB micro SD cards, I'm able to capture just over 10 hours of 1080p video of both the front and rear cameras before it starts to loop and overwriting the older files. When in TIME LAPSE record, it is able to capture over 259 Hours of recording before looping, which is just under 11 days.


Typical daily use storage capacities (coming soon)

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General and install pics (coming later)
CAMERA MOUNTS
Front View CAM and Interior occupants


Roll Bar Cam Mounts (Topless/soft Top - Rear View and Interior front facing. Additional Cam cable connection to connect to Under chassis cam)
I used a magnetic tool holder, cut the length to 11in and removed the magnets and secured it to the rear roll bar using large zip ties. I needed a sturdy bracket which was 1inx11in to stick the cameras onto. I used the tool holder since it was cheap, already powder coated black, and a nice sturdy metal.

Interior View


Rear Window Cam Mounts (Hard Top ON - Rear View and Interior front facing) -coming soon

Driver Side Cam Mount (Driver Side View - Attached to Sound Bar looking out side rear window)


Passenger Side Cam Mount (Passenger Side View - Attached to Sound Bar looking out side rear window)


Under Chassis Cam Mount (Front suspension and front ground terrain View) -coming soon
Power wires ran from fuse box to interior complete:
Originally, I had planned to tap into M8(ACC/IGN) and M4(BATT) for power since they were both open but had to change plans. Fuse taps can't be used in both of those locations simultaneously since the taps interfere with each other. I had to use M7 instead of M8 for the ACC/IGN power signal.

Fuse box assignments/locations


Fuse box connections wired up


Power wires Firewall pass-through location (these wires were wrapped in wire loom and then routed along the back firewall along with existing harness wires)


Once fed through the firewall grommet hole, the wires can be accessed through the driver side dash panel
Interior power wire connectors (2 sets as shown in wiring diagram)


Front/Rear Camera Cable Splicing

Exploring into the unknown.
I carefully pealed back the layers of the cable which connects between the front and rear cams since I will need to add the quick connect/disconnect connectors for the rear window mounted cam, as well as create a Y-Adapter cable to be able to move the rear came from the rear window mount when the top is on and be able to move to a location on the roll-bar when the top is off.

Here's what the dissection of the cable looks like. I ohmed out all the shields in the cable and they all have continuity, indicating they connect to a common grounding point on the connector side. What I will do is tie the (2) data line shields together when splicing in the connectors and connect the outer braided shield to separate wire in the connectors. Then hope and prey once I get the connectors inserted into the cable, test it out to ensure the rear camera still works with the spliced cable. The nice thing is that all the wires inside of the cable are color coded which will make life much easier when splicing in the connectors.

Cable Splice to connector (THIS DOES NOT WORK!!!)

Unfortunately, after I got this all spliced together, I tested the cable out and the cable no longer works with the splice. I even ohmed it out and compared it to a good cable. All physical connections are present, but unfortunately, it just seems highly unlikely to be able to cut into this cable, likely due to the data lines requiring all the shielding and twisted pairs to remain fully intact. Time to shift to Plan B for the back window mounted camera setup.

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Lessons Learned and Improvements (ongoing)
- Splicing of the included USB cable which connects between the front and rear cams is not feasible.
- Mounting of the front cam on the sound bar using the provided 3M VHB tape does not seem very secure due to the tape does not seem to adhere well to the plastic on the sound bar with the combined weight of the front cam. The rear cam seems ok to do this due to its reduced weight. May need to find better mounting solution for front cam mounted on sound bar for driver side view capture.

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Videos (Coming later)

jedg

Okay,... BIG thanks! I really need this information. Well done!