VANTRUE T3 features radar detection parking mode; the radar detection also knows as wave guard. It uses unique microwave detection technology and emitting waves that are then reflected back to the receiver. The receiver analyzes the waves that are bounced back. When it senses the moving objects in front, it will automatically start recording. Compared with other products that rely on video motion detection, it is more effective at identifying movement, especially in low-light conditions (and it’s at night that you most need your motion detection technology to be working well).
Last year, we received a lot of feedback that the motion detection dashcams recorded a lot of empty videos (even when no cars or people passed by, the dashcam would still record ) while parking. This is because motion detection parking mode was not only triggered by the moving objects but was also triggered by light changes (light turns dark or bright) or shaking trees in front of the camera. Hence, compared with motion detection, radar detection will be more accurate in capturing the moving objects. And no more empty videos!
Vantrue offers an OBD cable for supplying constant power when the car is powered down. So, we don’t need to buy an extra hardwire kit. You may ask, what’s the difference between the OBD cable and a hardwire kit? Both cables could supply constant power when the car is off and both cables have a cut-off system, that is, the cable will cut off the power when it drops a certain voltage.
For example, Vantrue OBD cable’s cut-off voltage is 11.6V, when the voltage drops to 11.6V, then the cable will cut it off and turn the dashcam off. Thus, protect your dashcam from draining its battery.
Vantrue T3 will enter stand-by sleep mode if it doesn’t detect any moving object in front. As long as there is a power supply, even if you turn off the dash cam, it will start auto-recording. This is really friendly feature if you are afraid of your battery draining.
Of course, the battery drain can happen for many reasons, we will talk about it later.
The T3 dash cam has great film quality at 1520 P. It has no problem picking up details such as license plate numbers. It also films good quality video day or night as it has excellent night vision with the Sony Starvis and WDR technology built in.
All in all, if you are looking for a parking dashcam, you can take it into consideration. The disadvantage of the Vantrue T3 is that it doesn’t have the Wi-Fi function. The GPS function is optional, we need to buy an extra GPS mount to make it work.
Will Dash cam drain your battery?
Please check 3 things.
Hardwire kit (Or OBDcable)
Hardwire kit has a smart low voltage protection system that will automatically shut off the power to your dash cam when the battery voltage drops to 11.6V or 22.8V, thus preventing it from draining the battery. If the dash cam isn't off and still recording when it reaches a certain voltage, this means the hardwire kit is defective. For that case, please contact the support team to get the replacement.
Another thing we should note that, if your car's lowest start up voltage is higher than 11.6V, we do not recommend you hardwire the dashcam. This will make your car battery keep consuming until it drops to 11.6V.
Your car's battery
Car batteries typically run out of power when people leave things charging while the engine is off. Leaving the lights on, playing the radio, and charging a phone will all drain power from the car battery when the vehicle is not running. The dash cam also uses some of this power and contributes to the drainage.
Waiting several days without driving your car increases the chances that electrical components will drain the battery. If you know that you will not drive your vehicle for several days or weeks, you may also consider unplugging the dash cam to prevent further power loss.
The extreme weather
We found out this because a customer said his car is hard to start up when weather gets extremely cold, at first, he believed that this was the dashcam drained the battery, but later he found out it is the reason of the weather.
Then we found out the cold weather is also a reason that makes your car hard to start up or the battery drain easily.
Cold weather slows everything down, especially the chemical reaction happening inside your car battery. In fact, at 32°F, a car’s battery loses about 35% of its strength. And at 0°F, it loses up to 60% of its strength—but your engine requires nearly twice as much power to start!
