Thinkware Radar Accessory for U1000 Dash Cam (V2)

The media could not be loaded.  I bought this to supplement the Thinkware U1000.Please read this entire review before you purchase it.The dashcam was installed by a professional while I was able to install the radar unit myself, routing the I/o cable through the rain sensor and rear view mirror housing. I am not sure wy the literature states that the module picks up sedan sized objects. I mean, I am not that big right? 🤪😂 In the attached video, you will see me approaching the vehicle, then I gently but firmly, thumped part of the fender to trigger an event recording. You will notice that the video is 20 seconds long- it got me 10 seconds in, then after the thump, it continued recording for 10 more seconds. Please note that all video incident recordings, while in parked mode, are only 15fps. The small photo I also included shows what is stamped on videos. At least, almost all. The only thing I did not include was the speed stamp. You get: Dashcam model number, the Dashcam software version, vehicle voltage, car state and the date with time- YYYY.MM.DD HH:MM:SS. For the car state, when the car is parked and the ignition is off, you will see, 'ACC_OFF.' While you're driving, nothing will be displayed.COVID-19 has caused our government to implement certain measures. Among them, curfews and ushering amendments to the Public Health and Safety Act. As scenic and beautiful my lovely Trinidad and Tobago is, there are barely places to go. So my car may be parked for days at a time. The reading you see in the Kaiweets digital clamp meter were taken after being parked for 2 days. My U1000 is hardwired to my vehicle. I did not buy any extra battery pack. I have 1 battery for my car: an XS Power D4900 with 100Ah. I have not conducted any scientific methods of monitoring battery drainage over any specific period of time. But I want to state comfortably, at least, if you have an XS D4900 battery, you need not worry about purchasing a separate battery pack for your vehicle if you plan on hardwiring the U1000 to your car and using this radar module. I will go as far as to hypothesize that depending on your alternator- if it provides adequate power for your vehicle, its electronics and recharge your battery, the condition of your batter- its age, how capable it is and it does not discharge quickly while your car is off, you may not need an external battery. This radar unit works and allows your U1000 to sip current, only waking the dashcam to record when there is movement in front of the vehicle and an incident occurred.ONE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE: ENABLING THIS RADAR MODULE NEGATES THINKWARE CLOUD FEATURES!!!!!A lot of people, myself included, did not particularly see this. I am not sure if this is any fault of the manufacturer in not communicating this clearly with customers. But only after I bought it and installed it, realised that they were not working, I went online to ascertain why and then I saw it. Once you use the radar module, you will NOT be able to connect to a wifi network when Parking mode is activated. The U1000 will disconnect from whatever network it is connected to and then go to sleep until either the radar module picks up movement or the U1000 registers an impact. With the radar module installed and enabled:1) You will BE ABLE TO connect to a WiFi network and use Live view when continuous recording is enabled.2) You will NOT be able to connect to a WiFi network or use the Live View in parking mode.2) You will NOT be able to connect to a WiFi network or locate your vehicle in Parking mode.3) You will NOT get any notifications of any impact while your car is parked.4) It is apparent that you will be unable to upload videos of incidents (where an impact was registered) while you're driving (Continuous Recording). My dashcam was connected to my mobile's hotspot (LTE network), I simulated incidents of impact by driving in potholes 😅, got the electronic chirp from the U1000 on these two occasions and confirmed that videos were saved in the incident recording file list. I received no notification on my phone and no videos were uploaded to the cloud.While that is not cool, I guess, the main reason I bought this module, was to not just get the recording after an incident has occurred. I want the before and after. That is important to me.If anyone at Thinkware is reading this, I have a suggestion I sincerely and fervently hope you would implement. Provide a software update in which you include an option to, 'Enable Notifications and Uploads,' when the Radar option is engaged. Give us that option. This way, only when the radar module wakes up the U1000, it will connect to a wifi network. And if an impact is registered, it sends a notification to the user's mobile phone and uploads the recorded event to the cloud. Then after the upload is complete, the U1000 goes back to sleep in it's energy saving mode. Some of us are daily drivers so connecting to the network, the negligible battery drain is an acceptable compromise. I am sure that many of us will love to have that option to chose.I gave it 5 stars because it works as advertised- no issues.. But if I had to criticise its functionality, I would give it 3 stars because it cripples the potential and true capabilities of the U1000.Lastly, for those who are wondering, this does not register movement in the back of the car. Even if you have the 2 channel setup like I do. Yeah, I know 🤓. But I saw some people asking about it in some other paces so I figured I'd cater to that audience here too. Here is another opportunity for Thinkware again: you can create a radar module for the back which accepts the existing microUSB I/O from the front unit and connects to the microUSB I/O of the second camera module. That way everyone who has the 2 channel setup can just integrate the new Radar module without breaking their pockets or having to buy a whole new iteration to benefit from that advantage. Just some suggestions, Thinkware.Conclusion:If you do not mind the loss of the U1000's cloud features, BUY IT!If it is important to you that you capture the moments leading up to an impact to your vehicle, including the moments after, BUY IT!If you have a separate battery that is connected to your U1000 and you use motion detection or time lapse in parking mode and you are happy with using Thinkware's cloud features- you can use Live View and also check your car's location while it is parked, you can receive notifications on impacts when you're parked and your videos get uploaded automatically, DO NOT BUY THIS!!Even if you dont have a second battery but you live on the edge and your U1000 is hardwired to you car and you enjoy Thinkware's cloud features, DO NOT BUY THIS!!

Definitely worth adding on to your dash cam system do you won’t regret it. Very impressed with THINKWARE

Not a standalone device. Works perfectly when paired with Thinkware U1000.

DOA

Once attached - it can not be removed without breaking the tape. Unlike the front (and even rear U1000) cameras that have brackets and can be detached this thing is permanent. I installed it with 3M DualLock tape- have to buy separately. You can't use windshield sun protection with this thing installed unless you cut a hole in it. It was designed to withstand heat , but if you look at the camera manual - the heat range is 60C max. The windshield temperature exposed to direct sun will exceed the limit - all windshield electronics must be removable