# mini dv md80 camera...



## stevo (19 Apr 2010)

Hi thought i would just let people know about this camera.
Some people may know already.
Its just a cheap copy of the muvi veho.
but does the job and only cost £17.00 all in off eBay.
Not brilliant quality video but hey what do you want for £17.00.
just have a look on you tube before you decide to buy one,this will give you a good idea of video quality.

*MINI DV MD80.*

STEVE.


----------



## Mark_Robson (19 Apr 2010)

I got mine for a buy now price of £12.50 can't wait for it to arrive.


----------



## g00se (19 Apr 2010)

Had one a while - very good for the price.

It's an asian clone of a muvi - both are reviewed in this thread:

https://www.cyclechat.net/


----------



## stevo (19 Apr 2010)

Mark_Robson said:


> I got mine for a buy now price of £12.50 can't wait for it to arrive.


Hi mark i just got one waiting for it to come.
They look ok on you tube so see how it go`s.
Just thought i would let people know about them as they are cheap.


----------



## stevo (19 Apr 2010)

g00se said:


> Had one a while - very good for the price.
> 
> It's an asian clone of a muvi - both are reviewed in this thread:
> 
> https://www.cyclechat.net/



Hi goose i will have a look at the thread.
Iam hoping they are good as i have a Yamaha xj 600 diversion so will use it on that as well.


----------



## Mark_Robson (19 Apr 2010)

I checked out the Youtube vids for them as well Stevo and they look like a fantastic bargain for the price. Only thing that is a little vague is how long the battery life is. Bloody great time for air traffic to be grounded though. I want my cam


----------



## g00se (19 Apr 2010)

I can get about an 45 minutes recorded fine. Prob longer but usually recharge it after that.


----------



## Downward (19 Apr 2010)

g00se said:


> I can get about an 45 minutes recorded fine. Prob longer but usually recharge it after that.




Just a USB charger (Ie can charge at work !) and how is everyone attaching them and to where ?


----------



## Mark_Robson (19 Apr 2010)

The advertised battery life is supposed to be two hours but the reviews seem to to suggest that an hour is about average. I wonder if you can buy a usb dynamo?


----------



## stevo (19 Apr 2010)

Mark_Robson said:


> I checked out the Youtube vids for them as well Stevo and they look like a fantastic bargain for the price. Only thing that is a little vague is how long the battery life is. Bloody great time for air traffic to be grounded though. I want my cam



Yes i know i want mine too.
They do look good on you tube i have looked at a few videos just the battery life like you said.
but you also have too get a good SD card too.


----------



## stevo (19 Apr 2010)

g00se said:


> I can get about an 45 minutes recorded fine. Prob longer but usually recharge it after that.



Hi goose what SD card are you using for yours as i want to get a good one for it .
thanks.
Steve.


----------



## marinbearvalley (19 Apr 2010)

Note that the original ones record about an hour per Gb, the clones do about 15 minutes per Gb.

You cannot remove the timestamp and having to keep setting it is a faff.


----------



## stevo (19 Apr 2010)

marinbearvalley said:


> Note that the original ones record about an hour per Gb, the clones do about 15 minutes per Gb.
> 
> You cannot remove the timestamp and having to keep setting it is a faff.


Hi marinbearyvalley did not know about that i will just have to buy a few SD cards now thanks for the info.
i also read somewhere that you can use virtual dub to remove the date stamp.


----------



## g00se (20 Apr 2010)

stevo said:


> Hi goose what SD card are you using for yours as i want to get a good one for it .
> thanks.
> Steve.



Class 6 micro SD - something makes me think that there might be a limit of 4GB but I can't be sure.


----------



## g00se (20 Apr 2010)

Downward said:


> Just a USB charger (Ie can charge at work !) and how is everyone attaching them and to where ?



https://www.cyclechat.net/


----------



## stevo (20 Apr 2010)

g00se said:


> https://www.cyclechat.net/



Hi goose thanks for all the info, going to go out and buy the SD card you recommended and the helmet mount.
Going to be using this on my Yamaha xj600 divvy as well so will have to sort something out for my motorcycle helmet as well.
Had a look on you tube at a video which showed a diy mount in side of helmet but not keen on there idea as looks like it would be bad in accident,too close to temple of head and eye.
thanks ...Steve.


----------



## Mark_Robson (20 Apr 2010)

Was that the mount made out of a piece of sharp looking sheet metal Steve?
There's another video with a velcro mount that fits near your chin that looks a little more sensible.


----------



## stevo (20 Apr 2010)

Mark_Robson said:


> Was that the mount made out of a piece of sharp looking sheet metal Steve?
> There's another video with a velcro mount that fits near your chin that looks a little more sensible.



Yes that was the one i looked at the one you mention with Velcro sounds a lot better.
thanks for that i will try and find the video you mentioned MARK.


----------



## 2Loose (20 Apr 2010)

I just had a link to this MD90 (£27 with a 2gb card) arrive in my inbox
http://www.saverstore.com/product/20046591/MD90-Mini-DV-Pocket-Camera-in-Black

Apart from the model number, can anyone point out the differences?


----------



## stevo (20 Apr 2010)

2Loose said:


> I just had a link to this MD90 (£27 with a 2gb card) arrive in my inbox
> http://www.saverstore.com/product/20046591/MD90-Mini-DV-Pocket-Camera-in-Black
> 
> Apart from the model number, can anyone point out the differences?



Hi sorry don't really know what the difference is but i have read something about the SD cards you get with these are pretty much useless.
you are better off with a 8gb class 6 SD card average price of £14.00.


----------



## g00se (20 Apr 2010)

There seems to be a number of MD80s types about if you google them. The cheapies (the one I have) are plastic with push buttons. Some are advertised more like the original muvi with an alloy body and slider switches (AAE's are like this).

Now, googling MD90, this seems to be an alloy one - but who knows. The difference sems to be more in the speed and quality of the picture and sound - and maybe it can takes stills according to one site. At that price with a card, and if it's shipped from the UK, it looks OK. If you get it, drop a review here.


----------



## stevo (21 Apr 2010)

Mark_Robson said:


> I got mine for a buy now price of £12.50 can't wait for it to arrive.



Hi mark got my camera today works perfect only took 3 days to arrive.
Be fitting it to bike at weekend.


----------



## Mark_Robson (21 Apr 2010)

Glad to here that Steve. Let us know how you get on.


----------



## stevo (21 Apr 2010)

Mark_Robson said:


> Glad to here that Steve. Let us know how you get on.



Will do mark, i will upload a video when i have some test footage.
catch you later ...Steve.


----------



## cyberknight (25 Apr 2010)

Ok here is my go at helmet mounting







I tried to put the weather sleeve on but it does not fit in the mount+ i added a strap as it still felt a bit insecure on the bracket.

And 1st test on helmet


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6BYEUxHF_A


----------



## Mark_Robson (25 Apr 2010)

It looks very good cyberknight, although the angle looks a little high for cycling. I still can't get over what amazing value the clones are. I bought one of the mounts from Halfords, hopefully now that the skies are open again my clone will be arriving soon.


----------



## cyberknight (25 Apr 2010)

I can get it pointing down a bit more so it touches the helmet,it is all trial and error atm , i will try it on my commute tommorow and see how it goes.

Still got to get a hang of video editing (goes and presses random buttons on moviemaker )


----------



## Mark_Robson (25 Apr 2010)

cyberknight said:


> Still got to get a hang of video editing (goes and presses random buttons on moviemaker )


  welcome to my world.


----------



## StuartG (26 Apr 2010)

Just checkout the variant you are getting, the specs are slightly different but even the basic tenner clone 480 job (mine without card off ebay) is more than brilliant for the price - when you shave it to 420 to get rid of the date/time stamp.

I would recommend getting one without a card and being a bit more generous with what you spend on the card. That will make a difference! A genuine class 6 is best. A genuine class 4 may be sufficient but expect real problems with a class 2. IMHO the only way to ensure it is genuine card is to buy from a reputable retailer - not ebay!


----------



## cyberknight (26 Apr 2010)

On the way in worked out at 1.64 gb for 36 mins .

then on the way home i thought i had it on and managed to just record the 1st 10 seconds, i was not sure if it was on i think a case of RTFM  and i managed to translate that the red light should flash when it records from this ..........


*2. Power on to video*

1) Press Power button slightly, Blue indicator light begins to bright, now it enters into startup ready mode, which can enter into standby mode quickly. 
2) Press Record / Stop button slightly, Blue indicator light begins to bright, red indicator light starts to flash slowly. At this time, it begins to make a video. The resolution for video file is 720*480, and frame number is 29--30fps/S. 
3) Then short press Record / Stop button, video is stopped and saved automatically. After saving the red indicator light remains light. 
4) If you need to continue to video, please press Record / Stop button slightly once more.


----------



## stevo (26 Apr 2010)

cyberknight said:


> I can get it pointing down a bit more so it touches the helmet,it is all trial and error atm , i will try it on my commute tommorow and see how it goes.
> 
> Still got to get a hang of video editing (goes and presses random buttons on moviemaker )



Hi cybernight looks pretty good video quality for a cheap camera.
Cant do any test footage on mine for a few weeks now as i broke my foot on friday, that also means no bike no car.
Anyway keep the videos coming as i will be bored for a few weeks now.


----------



## Mark_Robson (26 Apr 2010)

Never mind Steve just put your feet up, send your wife to the library and concentrate on getting a nice tan. 
Joking aside try and make the best of the time and it will go a lot faster than you think. I broke my collar bone four weeks ago and I thought that time would really drag and as it happens it's flown over.


----------



## g00se (26 Apr 2010)

cyberknight said:


> On the way in worked out at 1.64 gb for 36 mins .
> 
> then on the way home i thought i had it on and managed to just record the 1st 10 seconds, i was not sure if it was on i think a case of RTFM  and i managed to translate that the red light should flash when it records from this ..........



Yup - power on with the power button. The lights come on. Press record and the red light flashes during recording.

I had a similar issue with the camera only recording a few seconds. It was down to the card being full. I thought I had deleted everything via a connected laptop but it turned out the deleted files were only placed in a hidden trash folder - so I had to delete that too. So check out to make sure how much space is available on the card.


----------



## stevo (26 Apr 2010)

Mark_Robson said:


> Never mind Steve just put your feet up, send your wife to the library and concentrate on getting a nice tan. :troll:
> Joking aside try and make the best of the time and it will go a lot faster than you think. I broke my collar bone four weeks ago and I thought that time would really drag and as it happens it's flown over.



Hi mark thanks i will, going to give bike a service and a good clean.
Watch a few cycling videos play a few games and get some sun.
You take it easy out there and be careful.....catch you later.
STEVE.


----------



## cyberknight (27 Apr 2010)

having problems the maximum it has recorded is 20 minutes before shutting off.The length of time it records varies from a few seconds to 20 mins randomly

It has plenty of charge and memory.

I have contacted the vendor for a refund


----------



## cyberknight (27 Apr 2010)

Update.

left it recording on the desk and again it manage only 20 mins before turning off


----------



## g00se (27 Apr 2010)

It's not in audio mode is it?


----------



## cyberknight (27 Apr 2010)

How can i tell? the instructions are so odd...

on reading the instructions it only goes for 2 minutes in sound mode.

the instructions..

Press Power button slightly, yellow indicator light begins to bright, now it enters into startup ready mode, which can enter into standby mode quickly. At that time, press MODE button slightly, and then you can switch into sound control video mode. Now Blue indicator light always brights, red indicator light flash quickly (indicate sound control standby mode). When decibel of video is more than 60, then it will be video automatically. At the moment, Blue indicator light always brights, red indicator light flash slowly. (Indicate under sound control video)
[FONT=&quot]When sound control starts, the shortest shoot time is 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, if there is no any sound, D001 will save file automatically and switch into standby mode. If there still has sound [/FONT].

Does not help that i am colour blind .

Seems odd though both times it cut out after about 20 mins, on the way home i could hardly hear a thing myself as i was into a headwind and couldn't even hear cars coming.


----------



## g00se (27 Apr 2010)

Hmm, Can you explain what you are doing to turn it on - what the lights do - and then how you record and what the lights do during that? I've got mine here and I'll do exactly the same, leaving it running on my desk, and see what happens.


----------



## cyberknight (27 Apr 2010)

switch on...
3 blue lights light close to record button flashes red 2 times.

press record 

2 blue lights , light close to record button flashes slowly, started 19.48....


----------



## g00se (27 Apr 2010)

switch on - blue light on, red light flashes twice. Blue light stays on.

press record - blue stays on, red (next to record button) starts flashing slowly. Started 19:54:50


----------



## cyberknight (27 Apr 2010)

Still going.

I did try charging it with the mains charger, the usb charger maybe n/g?

half the time the pc did not recognize the device.


----------



## g00se (27 Apr 2010)

I'm up to 23 minutes USB charged. The USB cable that came with the camera is quite cheap - I'm using a better quality one that came with a Nikon camera. What size SD card was it you're using again?


----------



## cyberknight (27 Apr 2010)

Got 43 mins that time.

Looks like a charger issue then.


----------



## g00se (27 Apr 2010)

Still going here at 40 minutes here - what size SD card do you have? When you plug it into the PC, and right click on the drive - select properties and let me know the used space and free space.

Ta


----------



## cyberknight (27 Apr 2010)

Its an 8 gb
Video clip is 820 mb


----------



## g00se (27 Apr 2010)

I gave up at 55 minutes - the file was 840 mb (the largest one so far was about 1.6GB).

If you can be bothered, maybe try again until it stops. Then try again without plugging it in to see if it only works for a very short time. That might indicate that the battery is spent.


----------



## cyberknight (27 Apr 2010)

Thanks for your help g00se.

looks like it was not getting a full charge, i will try an hour via the mains tonight and see what i get on my commute tomorrow.


----------



## g00se (27 Apr 2010)

Not sure about the main lead, but with USB:

When it's charging, the red light (nearest the start button) is constant and the blue on flashes. when fully charged, the blue is constant too.


----------



## cyberknight (27 Apr 2010)

Pasted from bike radar, think its a slightly different variant

*andyp79 wrote:*​I took the plunge and ordered one of these. Arrived today. 

Works fine, but the "instructions" are seriously pish. Trying to adjust or delete the time and date, but it's not happening. 

Hope to give it a road test at Carron Valley this weekend. Seems alright for the cost of the thing. Absolutely tiny! 

Andy​

It is all explained in the previous pages..... I have a notepad page of stuff I cut and pasted from other users. Let me find it and post it as it may help others. 
I would point out that I remember you MUST leave a space (hit the spacebar) after the seconds. 

Here is info from others - take no credit. 

You need to open the root folder of the card in Windows, create a new text file, call it TAG.txt, open the file and type 

[date] 
2009/12/23 
22:04:00 

Don't forget to leave a space at the end of each line. 


(at least that's what I did yesterday - adjust the date/time to suit) 

Close and save the file 

turn off camera 

turn on 

date should be set 

(ignore the file on the CD, make your own) 



The advice I was given was that when the batteries run low the red and blue lights stay on and the unit locks out (can't turn on/off), recharge and that should fix it. Worked for me anyway. 

Press the power button and the blue light is solid and the red light flashes briefly. hit record and the blue light is still solid with the red light flashing once a second. When you press stop the red light flashes quickly for approx a second then goes off. 

windows movie maker 
Didn't have it in 'vox' mode? In vox mode it will turn on when it picks up a sound over 60Db or thereabouts and run for 2mins. Power on and press the mode button, if the red light flashes quick then you're in vox mode, if just a solid blue light then you're in normal record mode, ie press the record button on top. 

For those not sure what the lights on top mean regarding the record modes have a lookie at my Youtube clips, not the best quality with lighting but you only need to see the pretty lights. 

Vox Mode 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyckLr4iqxo 

Normal Record Mode 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPB9R3vF8Sg 

Hope that sheds some light on the lights on the camera. 

Try VLC player, the file is probably incomplete and therefore slightly corrupt. RP, QT and WMP dont handle "unfinished" video files very well. 
+1 for VLC, it has all the codecs already included so there is no need to download/use any more. 

videolan.org is the webby place to look for it or maybe filehippo. 

This might be helpful for some if you wish to remove that annoying time and date stamp at the bottom of the screen. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw0Bl4bIvGk&NR=1 

VirtualDub from sourceforge for editing ot the videos. 

xxcx 


ok - after leaving it on pc charge all night it now seems to be working - took vid of my car trip to work and the clarity is amazing! its now sat on my pc charging again and this time the red light is on all the time and blue light is flashing. 

so mine does the following: 

red and blue on constant - locked out - needs a good re-charge 
red on constant and blue light flashing - usb charging 
red flashing and blue on constant - recording 
red off and blue on constant - power on but not recording. 
blue only means on, blue and slow flash red is recording, blue and fast red flash is on voice active mode, this turns to slow red when it hears a sound and starts rec. it does some flashing on startup, and and the red flashes fast when you stop rec. thats the most of it... 
mine is like this 
red and blue solid = charging 
blue on = power on 
blue on red slow flashing = power on recording 
blue on red rapid flashing = power on saving video 
blue on red fast flashing = power on vox mode on​


----------



## cyberknight (28 Apr 2010)

Update . 19 mins again on full charge, chasing the company for a refund as we speak


----------



## Downward (21 May 2010)

How Or who do I use to upload video clips ??


----------



## HLaB (21 May 2010)

Downward said:


> How Or who do I use to upload video clips ??


Upload them to a site like youtube.


----------



## cyberknight (21 May 2010)

I use
SolveigMM AVI Trimmer 
to cut the relevant clip out .You can use windows moviemaker to do the same but i think my pC needs a new hamster to power it and i find the former quicker.
You can then uplaod the video to your youtube acount.

Just a note i found the avi files large and with my slow connection speed i reduced them in size by converting them to wmv files


----------



## cyberknight (21 May 2010)

While i am at it i think my 8 gb sd card is toast it now uses twice as much memory as before and cuts out at just under 3 gig in half an hour.


----------



## Downward (21 May 2010)

Moviemaker seems easy just cut and upload to you tube, sorted


----------



## cyberknight (22 May 2010)

Anyone finding it is taking longer to charge?
Been on since 8 oclock last night and still not charged after 15 hours


----------



## jimtylee (22 May 2010)

*Battery life*



g00se said:


> I can get about an 45 minutes recorded fine. Prob longer but usually recharge it after that.


Hello,
Ive also got the cloned MD80 camera its got a 2 gig card,
the trouble is on a fully charged battery the battery goes flat after 25 minutes..........have tried re-charging it about 6 times with the same results, wonder if anyone else has this problem....
Jim............


----------



## cyberknight (22 May 2010)

With 2 gig i think you are filling the card so it auto shuts off?

Did a test today 53 mins = a full 4 gig card (3.68 gb) you lose a bit with the way they market cards 4 gig = 4096 mb not the 4000 mb that they really are


----------



## Downward (22 May 2010)

With a 2gb card the camera shuts off after 25 mins ish
need a bigger card


----------



## jimtylee (22 May 2010)

*battery*

No the battery goes flat, i try after it shuts down wiping the card...
and then try switching on again blue light comes on for a second then goes out...........will only switch on again after a short charge up......
cheers Jim..........


----------



## cyberknight (22 May 2010)

I used to have a similar problem, rectified it by charging via the usb port at the back of the pc for me .


----------



## jimtylee (22 May 2010)

*battery*

I've noticed the case gets quite warm whilst charging.....battery heating up ???? does your get warm.....battery that is.
Jim.............


----------



## cyberknight (23 May 2010)

Yes ...............

Ohh the battery , yes they do


----------



## jimtylee (23 May 2010)

*wow wow*

You wont believe it, i got 44 minutes of recording earlier...thats on the 2 gig card..............wonder whats going on........have ordered a 4 gig card today.........£8 pounds on the net..............must say when it is working the quality of the video is very good.........wonder how much the original mini dv is, think someone said about 60 pounds...........
Jim.............


----------



## rochey (23 May 2010)

Hello all, i only made an account to hopefully help others who are having problems. I have the MD90 and the red and blue light were on constantly, i left it charging for 15 hours and nothing happened, light stayed on. 

I tried resoldering the battery like suggested on another forum, to no avail.

However, whilst resoldering, i found that the camera lense is mounted on a block that plugs into the circuit board. My lense had come loose so i think the lights were just to show that there was an error. I slotted the lense back in and the camera works perfectly. Make sure you slot it in the correct way around as it is accepted both ways. Or you might, as in my case, have the blue light just staying on, with the camera still locked up. 

Hopefully my experience will help someone!

Thanks to cyberknight for his break down of what the lights mean, was a very helpful guide!

Thanks all!


----------



## quidditys_shore (31 May 2010)

bought one of these clones last night as a buy it now (lots of others!) for £9.31 delivered 

cant grumble at that price!


----------



## Rev_JD (1 Jun 2010)

Well hello yall, I got one of there little things too. Came across this forum tryin to figure out a way to remove the stupid date/time without editing. So far that looks to be the only way.

Have not had a chance to take it out yet. When I got it I plugged it into the wall charger it came with for 2 days. The charger said it was full but it never charged, finially plugged it into a USB port and it charged. Could of used it today when we were on the back trails. DId have the Tony Hawk helmet cams (2 for the same price as this thing ).

JD


----------



## Armegatron (3 Jun 2010)

quidditys_shore said:


> bought one of these clones last night as a buy it now (lots of others!) for £9.31 delivered
> 
> cant grumble at that price!



Youll have to come up with a youtube account now


----------



## cyberknight (4 Jun 2010)

I am finding the battery takes longer and longer to recharge now, having to leave them on overnight to get a full charge.


----------



## g00se (4 Jun 2010)

You really aren't having much luck!? My one charges up fully in an hour or so.


----------



## cyberknight (4 Jun 2010)

I am really thinking of binning the whole idea atm .

left one charging for a good 6 hours and it managed 20 mins on an empty card.


----------



## kewb (5 Jun 2010)

cyberknight said:


> I am really thinking of binning the whole idea atm .
> 
> left one charging for a good 6 hours and it managed 20 mins on an empty card.



might be battery memory ?

the terms memory effect or memory problem was coined to describe a cyclic memory problem where the NiCad battery would "remember" the amount of discharge for previous discharges and limit the recharge life of the battery. The problem is less prevalent with modern Ni-Cd batteries, which are designed to avoid cyclic memory issues. 

The memory effect is caused by a change in crystalline formation from the desirable small size to a large size which occurs when a NiCad battery is recharged before it is fully discharged. The growth of large crystals increases the cell impedance and can eventually prevent the battery from discharging beyond that point and/or cause rapid self-discharge of the battery. 

The growth of large crystals can be avoided by either completely discharging it each time it is used or by using a NiCad battery charger which has a built-in discharge circuit. 

*Memory effect can sometimes be reversed by putting the battery through several complete discharge and recharge cycles which helps to recover the smaller crystal formations. This is called reconditioning.*


----------



## cyberknight (5 Jun 2010)

It is now not showing charged even after an overnight charge ....


----------



## Manonabike (6 Jun 2010)

kewb said:


> *might be battery memory ?
> *
> the terms memory effect or memory problem was coined to describe a cyclic memory problem where the NiCad battery would "remember" the amount of discharge for previous discharges and limit the recharge life of the battery. The problem is less prevalent with modern Ni-Cd batteries, which are designed to avoid cyclic memory issues.
> 
> ...



These cams use lithium battery so no memory effect on those.


----------



## kewb (6 Jun 2010)

Manonabike said:


> These cams use lithium battery so no memory effect on those.



must be either a duff battery or shorting somewhere , might be cheaper and less hassle to replace than fix if its a copy .
pity cause those cams look vg i think id still get one myself for the price of a chinese carry out meal .


----------



## cyberknight (8 Jun 2010)

Had both on charge for 12 hours and still not showing a full battery on either .

Also having to reset it some times as they do not switch off .

Has anyone got a proper muvi ?

I am trying to compare ,if i need to buy a new clone every month i might as well go whole hog and get a "proper " one .


----------



## kewb (8 Jun 2010)

i just ordered a clone hope it works .


----------



## chillyuk (17 Jun 2010)

I am sure someone else has done this but just in case I have just had a look at the battery in my clone. It is a 3.7v 230mAh job and it's dimensions are 35.2mm x 15mm x 5.8mm. I have a spare camera that only runs for about 40 minutes so I am going to remove the battery and use an external one if I can't find a battery to fit inside. It only needs some thin wire and a miniature two way connector from Maplin.


----------



## Wobbly John (17 Jun 2010)

I've had 2 clones that have failed with a variety of problems - won't turn off, colour casts, etc. They always seem to work fine for a few minutes, but fail if you try to use them longer.

I have one original MUVI which works fine every time, touch wood.

Maplin have the original (badged as AEE) at £40 with sports pack.


----------



## Armegatron (17 Jun 2010)

chillyuk said:


> I am sure someone else has done this but just in case I have just had a look at the battery in my clone. It is a 3.7v 230mAh job and it's dimensions are 35.2mm x 15mm x 5.8mm. I have a spare camera that only runs for about 40 minutes so I am going to remove the battery and use an external one if I can't find a battery to fit inside. It only needs some thin wire and a miniature two way connector from Maplin.



Keep me informed. I was thinking of doing this if my clone started playing up. I was going to use something like a phone battery or similar 3.7v battery.


----------



## kewb (17 Jun 2010)

still not recieved clone 
from hong kong ,it has been posted so surely its in uk by now lol .


----------



## Downward (17 Jun 2010)

I got this one 
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MINI-DV-SMALL...ryZ11724QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Still going strong, Battery life is excellent (Charges in about 30 mins lasts about 4 hours)
It doesn't like fast descents under trees though with the dark and light changes


----------



## chillyuk (18 Jun 2010)

mike.pembo said:


> Keep me informed. I was thinking of doing this if my clone started playing up. I was going to use something like a phone battery or similar 3.7v battery.



Further to my playing:

I have ordered one of these. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300367885744&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

It is a compromise between longer recording time and the time taken to recharge the battery. I am hoping for between 3 and 4 hours which is about the longest I ride anyway, and my 8gb card will probably fill up before the battery dies. I did think about, and haven't yet discarded the idea, of a simple AA similar type of 3.7v cell as they do those with fairly high mAh ratings, and it would be easy to fasten in one of the ventilation slots on the helmet.

There are people who make custom sized batteries. I haven't looked into the cost, but for a small number it would probably be cheaper to buy a decent camera!!


----------



## TWBNK (18 Jun 2010)

I got my clone yesterday and was annoyed to find that the thing wouldn't work with the 8GB micro sdhc card that I bought for it, but it worked with a 2GB.

After some fiddling and the addition of three layers of sellotape to the far end of the contact side of the sd card it now fits, is recognised by the device and I can record onto it. 

Only thing is with all the messing the battery ran out after 5 minutes once I got the card working.


----------



## Armegatron (18 Jun 2010)

For reference, the seller I bought from is lucky2009-allen - the camera (touch wood) is working well, and on par with the Muvi. 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300436556066


----------



## cyberknight (18 Jun 2010)

Keep me posted on this !

Opened one of mine up and its is a 3.7 v 230mAH battery.

Will a higher mAH battery fry it or not?

Does not seem to be charging at all
Found this ........



http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Battery-3-7V-230mAh-65358-01-Plantronics-CS60-CS50-/280486385813

How would you charge the battery you ordered?


----------



## chillyuk (18 Jun 2010)

cyberknight said:


> Keep me posted on this !
> 
> Opened one of mine up and its is a 3.7 v 230mAH battery.
> 
> ...



A higher mAh battery will not fry the camera. The camera will only draw from the battery the current it requires to operate. I would guess they operate at about 100mA, giving 2 hours from a 230mAh battery (theoretically of course, I know most don't achieve this). I decided to fit a higher capacity battery to extend my operating life between charges. As for charging. I tend not to remove the camera from my helmet, I just plug in the charger. I see no reason why things should change, it will just take considerably longer to charge. I will be removing the internal battery completely. If the camera charger takes too long I will use a mobile phone charger suitably terminated with a plug to suit however I terminate the battery. I intend using a plug and socket to connect the battery to the camera.

Of course, none of this may actually work in practice, but the cameras and batteries are cheap enough to have a play around and take a chance.


----------



## cyberknight (18 Jun 2010)

chillyuk said:


> I am sure someone else has done this but just in case I have just had a look at the battery in my clone. It is a 3.7v 230mAh job and it's dimensions are 35.2mm x 15mm x 5.8mm. I have a spare camera that only runs for about 40 minutes so I am going to remove the battery and use an external one if I can't find a battery to fit inside. It only needs some thin wire and a miniature two way connector from Maplin.



Mine only worked for about 40 mins anyway before they all packed up


----------



## chillyuk (18 Jun 2010)

cyberknight said:


> Mine only worked for about 40 mins anyway before they all packed up



Are you saying they only worked for 40 minutes on the original battery or have you already tried the external battery route?


----------



## cyberknight (18 Jun 2010)

That was on the original battery, i think i had some dud ones according to some posters here.


----------



## chillyuk (19 Jun 2010)

I have done a quick lash-up with the external battery, and all seems to be working well. It looks a bit messy at the moment but it is only a prototype.
First impressions are the LED's seem brighter than before with the old battery, and on charge it is the first time the blue light has flashed to indicate charging. It was on charge when I photographed it, hence the USB cable in the bottom of it.

It is an 850mAh battery so should give me a lot longer recording than the original internal battery.

http://s950.photobucket.com/albums/ad346/briarman/?action=view&current=DSCN0133.jpg&

http://s950.photobucket.com/albums/ad346/briarman/?action=view&current=DSCN0133.jpg&#!oZZ1QQcurrentZZhttp%3A%2F%2Fs950.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fad346%2Fbriarman%2F%3Faction%3Dview%26current%3DDSCN0136.jpg%26


----------



## cyberknight (19 Jun 2010)

Looks sweet , did you have to solder the battery to the original connectors? and where are you mounting the battery on your helmet?


----------



## chillyuk (19 Jun 2010)

For now I have used a jack plug and socket to connect the battery to the camera. I had to extend the camera wires as when I cut out the internal battery the wires were only about inch and a half outside the camera. I drilled the hole to feed the wires out before thinking about the camera mounting bracket, but fortunately the wires cleared OK. I will pop down to Maplin's tomorrow and get some very thin wire and some heatshrink tubing so I can do a much neater job, and connect the longer wires to the camera inside the camera.

If you follow the red and black wires visible on both photos down towards the camera the battery is the silver thingy with the yellow top. I mounted it beneath the camera mount and it is fastened to the helmet partly by the camera mount itself and partly by a nice dollop of blue tack beneath it! It seems firm enough to go for a ride tomorrow and see how it goes. For the future perhaps self adhesive velcro might be better than blue tack. The wires from the battery were ready fixed on the battery so I just had to solder them to the jack socket.


----------



## chillyuk (20 Jun 2010)

*Update*

I have a 8gb class 6 card in the camera. The camera will only record in about 4gb blocks. At 3.9gb it shut down. Press the power button and it starts again for another 3.8gb then it shuts down again. There is plenty of juice in the battery as I have filled up an 8gb card, twice, a 4gb card and a 2gb card. I have had the camera working for several hours and the external battery is fine. I must admit to feeling disappointed though as I had hoped to just be able to start it recording and leave it to fill up 8gb which should cover most of my rides. If things don't work properly, and I can't fix it, I cannot be bothered with them so will probably end up removing it all from my helmet and not bothering until I can find an affordable camera that can record a decent chunk of video.


----------



## ian turner (20 Jun 2010)

You can't fit a file in excess of 4gb on any memory card on most such devices. They all use FAT32 formatting with a max file size of 4gb and don't support anything capable of handlinding larger files. Think the sony playstation only handles that format so you can't attach external harddrives formatted in NTFS which would allow larger files as that is not supported.
Hence why I bought a 4GB card. Only buy larger if intending to switch the camera on and off at various points during your ride.
Problem I'm currently having is the LEDs aren't bright enough in day light and it's difficult to tell if it's started to record when the button is pressed.


----------



## chillyuk (20 Jun 2010)

ian turner said:


> You can't fit a file in excess of 4gb on any memory card on most such devices. They all use FAT32 formatting with a max file size of 4gb and don't support anything capable of handlinding larger files.



thanks Ian, I didn't know that and it answers the question.


----------



## kewb (20 Jun 2010)

do these cams come with mounts to fit to helmet or are they bought seperate ,
the ad had a small clip in the pic and all the ones ive seen online have the same but ive seen lots of people attatch them to their helmets ?
is it via this clip device ?


----------



## chillyuk (20 Jun 2010)

Most come with a small selection of mounting brackets. However my first one came with only the crocodile type bracket, but the second camera came with the crocodile type, a magnetic one to stick to a fridge or something metal, a hinged one which allows you to set the camera angle (ideal for helmet mounting), and I am sure there was another one but I can't remember and I can't be bothered to go and look right now. You need to make absolutely sure what you are getting when you order. Some sellers from the far east are removing the mains charger to save postage weight, which is fair enough as long as they tell you they are doing so. Charging is then done by USB lead.


----------



## kewb (20 Jun 2010)

thanks chilly as far as im aware i ordered camera charger and driver/leads 
but clip mount was in pic so i will check it over when it arrives ,
i will look out for that hinged bracket aswell .


----------



## chillyuk (20 Jun 2010)

kewb said:


> thanks chilly as far as im aware i ordered camera charger and driver/leads
> but clip mount was in pic so i will check it over when it arrives ,
> i will look out for that hinged bracket aswell .



I just looked at my brackets. The hinged bracket can be made out on the photo of my camera on my helmet. Disregard all the blue tack, that's just temporary. The other bracket was the magnetic one that has a ball joint mounted piece to allow the camera to fix on with it's crocodile clip.

You can always get the sports pack which has a wider selection of mounts, brackets and straps and costs about a tenner.


----------



## kewb (21 Jun 2010)

thanks chilly ,
cam arrived today btw heres what came in the pack
silicone sleeve 
velcro strap 1" thick elasticated about 8" long 
one ball joint clip 
one aligator clip 
one fixed clip (with slots for a headband which wasnt included )
a landyard 
velvet style bag and neck strap 
usb link 
mains adapter (nifty looking usb lead plugs into bottom of it )
......

brackets dont look too strong but cam is very light ,
cam build looks vg and video quality is impressive ,
it came charged with 2gig card (no card was in description when i bought it so a possible freebie ? ) 

pleased so far , will post video as soon as i get it mounted etc .

total cost inc postage = £14 and loose change .


----------



## kewb (26 Jun 2010)

got it set up on my helmet very secure thanks to mini cable ties set off for trial run and captured some cracking footage of the road beneath my wheels ,
the 2gig card it came with gives 22 minutes of video so an upgrade to 8 gig would be better imho , incidentally that means the 4gig cards give around 40 minutes the same amount of time some say the battery gives in at , maybe its not the battery but the memory ? 3 blue lights = memory full .
will get cam set up better but quality is vg apart from flimsy brackets (easily sorted with cable ties no big deal imho )
instructions are hillarious btw .


----------



## g00se (26 Jun 2010)

With a 8GB card, just remember that the FAT file system used means you can not have a file bigger than 4GB - so you'll need to stop and start recording again after about 40 mins


----------



## kewb (26 Jun 2010)

g00se said:


> With a 8GB card, just remember that the FAT file system used means you can not have a file bigger than 4GB - so you'll need to stop and start recording again after about 40 mins



thanks for the tip ,
is it possible to re format i wonder ?


----------



## ian turner (26 Jun 2010)

Of course. You could reformat to various formats that support larger files.
But then it wouldn't work in the camera would it


----------



## kewb (28 Jun 2010)

ian turner said:


> Of course. You could reformat to various formats that support larger files.
> But then it wouldn't work in the camera would it



claim is -
Supplied with a 2gb microSD card, which is enough to record up to 90 mins of high quality footage.
thats just wrong i got 20 mins surely its the format 2gig on my other digital cam gives an hour at least of video (1hour twenty mins exactly ) 
somethings not right with codec or format or resolution or all three 

im going to look around for a firmware alternative for cam i think then do a re format if possible ,
if i put a 4gig card in i will get 40mins an 8gig card 80 mins split in two hmm
ok it was cheap and im not complaining but maybe this can be fixed if i put 4gig in my digital can i would get as many hours of video at same resolution .


----------



## kewb (28 Jun 2010)

http://electroflip.com/shopexd.asp?id=114
this the exact i have 
quote -
*2GB Memory Included - which will give you almost 2 full hours of recording,* the MD80 has a maximum capacity of 8GB and can easily be upgraded

i couldnt get 2hrs with a 8gig card ?

theres reviewers saying they are taking 1hour vids + yet im only getting 20mins 
thats just wrong ,
i used card via an adapter in canon cam and got much longer than in md80 
i can only think its the fat32 format to blame unless ??? , i set time stamp to funny time 
i wonder if thats interfering ?, 
oh its late im getting tired and this is getting ridiculous lol .


----------



## g00se (28 Jun 2010)

kewb said:


> http://electroflip.com/shopexd.asp?id=114
> this the exact i have
> quote -
> *2GB Memory Included - which will give you almost 2 full hours of recording,* the MD80 has a maximum capacity of 8GB and can easily be upgraded
> ...



Sorry - a bit of a mix up going on here. There are three cameras like this.

There is the muvi (metal with slider swithes).

There is the MD80 OEM version (sometimes branded from the manufacturer AEE) which is the Muvi but unbranded.

And there is the Chinese clone MD80 which is plastic with push switches.

It's the Chinese clone that has shorter recording times - as it doesn't seem to be able to compress the files on the fly as well as the proper ones.

Also, the Chinese copy has a timestap you can't remove. With the 'proper' one, I'm not sure, but most of the clips I've seem from them don't have time stamps - so either it doesn't have that facility or it can be turned on/off.

The picture in the link is for an OEM version (slider switches).


----------



## ian turner (28 Jun 2010)

quote from memorybits description of their clone "Record up to 10 minutes of video per 1GB to a removable Micro SD Card, up to 16GB."
Which matches your estimates.
FAT32 dictates the maximum size of card (larger than any current flash cards), maximum filesize (4gb) and maximum numbers of files (128 in the root directory). As g00se said it's the compression methods applied that are the problem.
Any other device will use FAT32 anyway.
You'll just have to fork out £50 for the muvi if you want better.


----------



## kewb (1 Jul 2010)

by the time i buy a 16gig card i couldve bought a muvi ,
pity its a neat cam


----------



## Armegatron (1 Jul 2010)

kewb said:


> by the time i buy a 16gig card i couldve bought a muvi ,
> pity its a neat cam


16 gig would be overkill anyway. I get just over 4GB before the battery dies, which is about an hour or so of recording. I use an 8GB card though to cover it if it goes over 4GB. 

I am doing the same battery mod as chillyuk though, so should be able to get a few hours out of it. 

My Muvi gets about an hour on a full charge, just a touch over 2GB.


----------



## ian turner (1 Jul 2010)

Would just over 4gb be just under 4gb ? As otherwise it's going to stop recording as you'll have exceeded the maximum file size. (Do not confuse GB on computers generally speaking with the manufacturers trying to overstate the size of their storage capacities)


----------



## Armegatron (1 Jul 2010)

ian turner said:


> Would just over 4gb be just under 4gb ? As otherwise it's going to stop recording as you'll have exceeded the maximum file size. (Do not confuse GB on computers generally speaking with the manufacturers trying to overstate the size of their storage capacities)



Over 4GB as separate files. I stop and start recording at different legs of the journey.


----------



## Armegatron (1 Jul 2010)

chillyuk said:


> Further to my playing:
> 
> I have ordered one of these. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300367885744&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
> 
> ...



I got impatient waiting for the battery  (I ordered it yesterday - very impatient). Connected it up to 3x 850mAh AAA cells and looking hopeful 
I forgot I had them, I also have some 1000mAh ones. Using some servo plugs I had spare as the jack


----------



## Armegatron (1 Jul 2010)

Update:

1hr 30mins at least from the 850mAh AAA cells. They will probably go another few hours but Im off to bed  The 1.5hr file has took 2.11GB, although Im aware the times do vary when moving pictures are being captured in daylight. 

I will use the 850mAh tomorrow without topping up the charge to see how long they go for.


----------



## kewb (2 Jul 2010)

had a techy friend to give my cam the once over and the verdict isnt good ,
cant change memory issue .

looking for an alternative that wont break the bank .


----------



## garyhgaryh (19 Sep 2010)

I have the keychain camera I use for biking and it takes about an hour worth of video. One good thing about this camera is that it saves the file every 30 minutes so you can keep taping as long as you have power. The most you can lose is about 29 miinutes (but you can recover it if you're able to pull off a file that is not closed properly which I have done by updating the header of the avi file).

So i tried putting an external battery on the unit and decided to buy an md80 because you can run off a usb external battery instead since it would involve some surgery on my keychain camera to get an ext battery to work. And getting the md80 would only involve holding down the record button as you insert the usb battery source.

I got the md80 yesterday and after reading this forum, I find out it only records 4GB and then stops! That' sucks! Now I'll have to figure out a way to get the keychain camera to work with an ext battery.
Gary


----------

