Last week, I wrote about my experience using an old Droid X as a dash-cam, Russia-style. With Tasker and DailyRoads Voyager, the implementation allowed for completely hands-off operation; recording video only when the car was on. The only issue was that I had needed to use the power source as the trigger for letting Tasker know when the car was operating. This was fine until Winter struck here in Michigan, spelling doom for the battery, even with Airplane mode engaged.
I had the capability to run continuous power to the phone from the car’s own battery, but then what would trigger Tasker? I had thought about trying to make something work with the GPS, or even a relay, but each had its pitfalls or inconsistencies. Fortunately, Slickdeals offered a solution to the problem when Best Buy held a fire-sale for the Rocketfish Bluetooth Speaker for iPad. $5 you say? I’ll take 3!
A bit of dis-assembly later, and I was left with this:
Disassembly required.
Now, there is nothing too special about this specific product. I imagine any Bluetooth audio device – including headsets – would work for the task, provided that it do three things:
- After removing the included battery, it must still power up and attempt to connect when USB power is attached.
- Pairing settings must be saved when power is removed – despite the lack of battery.
- If you decide to leave the battery attached, it must still power down immediately after power is removed, without any button presses required.
I suspect many Bluetooth devices will meet these requirements, but I can only vouch for the one I tried.
Bluetooth audio receiver module, Rocketfish RF-TRSPIPAD
So, once you have the board and are satisfied that it will function properly, it must be connected to a USB car adapter that powers on/off with the car. Pair the phone up with the Bluetooth device, and create a Tasker profile to start DailyRoads Voyager when a pairing is made. I have made my profile available below.
- Tasker Profile: Bluetooth Dash-Cam
And it’s as simple as that. No more dead batteries, and everything works just as well as before. I noticed no lag at all in detecting the Bluetooth connection, even after days of it being powered off. It is also worth mentioning that there has been no noticeable impact on the car’s battery, despite the phone running all the time with the radios on (but screen off).
100% hands-off operation, working flawlessly.
BinaryTB
May 12, 2014 at 5:40 pm
This is exactly what I’m looking for! Have you come across any products that do this without having to disassemble? And how easy/hard was the dis-assembly?
InnominateThoughts
June 24, 2014 at 11:05 pm
Pretty much any powered bluetooth device should work. I’m currently using a Nyrius APT-X Bluetooth audio receiver (http://www.amazon.com/Nyrius-Blackberry-Smartphones-Connections-BR51/dp/B00EVYJ4VC ). You just need something that powers on and off with the car (doesn’t have a battery, or is removable), and will auto pair when in range (actually, I think Tasker now supports “BT near” so you don’t even have to connect, just see it)..