Mobile phone as dashcam?

[Peter Jason]

Does anyone make a cradle to support an old mobile phone to use as a
dashcam?

[Xeno]

Post by Peter Jason
Does anyone make a cradle to support an old mobile phone to use as a
dashcam?

You can buy them on eBay but I would advise against using any phone in a
manner where it will be placed in direct sunlight. The battery won’t
appreciate the heat and will shut down the phone when you need it the most.
I keep a suction cup phone mount in the glove box but can only use it on
cool overcast days, something we don’t get a lot of up here on the mid
north coast. FWIW, I don’t use the phone as a dash am, just as a GPS, but
the mount I have will function for either purpose. I suggest you get a
decent dashcam, one that can handle the extremes of heat it will encounter
up on the dash.

____
Xeno

[Clocky]

Post by Peter Jason
Does anyone make a cradle to support an old mobile phone to use as a
dashcam?

Phones aren't really suited to be used in such a manner, certainly not
if you intend to leave the phone in the car at all times. The batteries
don't like the heat and the phone won't turn on (or it shuts down) when
the batteries get too hot and won't turn on again until they have cooled
down.

I'm sure you can find something on eBay, Temu, or Aliexpress etc if you
want to try it.

[Noddy]

Post by Peter Jason
Does anyone make a cradle to support an old mobile phone to use as a
dashcam?

Given that your phone battery will cop a massive flogging if set on
continuous video record, combined with the fact that your internal
storage will be consumed *very* quickly, you would be far better off
just buying a dedicated dash cam.

[Daryl]

Post by Noddy

Post by Peter Jason
Does anyone make a cradle to support an old mobile phone to use as a
dashcam?

Given that your phone battery will cop a massive flogging if set on
continuous video record, combined with the fact that your internal
storage will be consumed *very* quickly, you would be far better off
just buying a dedicated dash cam.

Agree that an old phone isn't going to work that well as a dash cam
unless someone makes an app for that purpose that only uses a set amount
of storage then starts again.
Phones also aren't made to handle high heat and sitting on a cars dash a
phone is going to get very hot so not a great idea.

[Xeno]

Post by Daryl

Post by Noddy

Post by Peter Jason
Does anyone make a cradle to support an old mobile phone to use as a
dashcam?

Given that your phone battery will cop a massive flogging if set on
continuous video record, combined with the fact that your internal
storage will be consumed *very* quickly, you would be far better off
just buying a dedicated dash cam.

Agree that an old phone isn't going to work that well as a dash cam
unless someone makes an app for that purpose that only uses a set amount
of storage then starts again.

You are so far behind the 8 ball. Dash cam apps have been available for
iPhone and Android for quite a while now. Just do a Google search.

Post by Daryl
Phones also aren't made to handle high heat and sitting on a cars dash a
phone is going to get very hot so not a great idea.

Depends on where you mount it but, with most windscreens having a low
rake, there's usually not a lot of choice.

The simple fact of the matter is that a phone does not the perfect dash
cam make. You need to spend some money and buy a decent (read:expensive)
dedicated dash cam that is designed to handle the heat all the while
giving you useful and detailed recordings of traffic scenarios.