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Uten Model UCA001 auto DVR Review

I’ve never thought I needed a dash camera. I have a 20-minute commute each way, which is mostly limited access or multi-lane highways, and folks generally drive OK. But the team at Uten needed a reviewer, so I volunteered to test their Model UCA001.

Note: Photos may be tapped or clicked for a larger image.

You can’t have surfed the internet very long and not have come across one of those dash-cam videos from Eastern Europe. You know the ones: cars and trucks of mostly Soviet designs that fall apart, swerve in front, flip over and catch fire while the driver tries to dodge. They are the reason I never thought I needed a dash camera. My commute is somewhat staid by comparison. But then I started to notice folks weaving into lanes, pulling in and stopping, slamming on brakes in front of me, and generally not driving well. There are a lot of distracted drivers out there these days. If I were to hit one of these crazies, how could I prove their actions in court? Or how could I explain to unbelieving friends?

What is it?

The camera is a 3.75” x 2.25” x .75” smooth black box with a lens and small speaker on one face, and a full-face screen on the opposite side. Across the top is an on/off switch, AUX input, a mounting hole for the included holder, a GPS input, and a mini USB power input. Across the bottom is a TFT slot (covered by a rubber gasket) and four menu controls: menu, left, right, OK. There’s nothing on the right side (with the lens facing you) and there are only a reset button and a mic hole on the left side.

Hardware specs

  •  1296P+30FPS HD RESOLUTION: Providing great sharp video quality and super great vision.The camera can be mounted on your car’s dashboard or windshield to record what happens in front of the vehicle. Whatever treasured memories you want to keep, our in-car camera will deliver a high-definition record of events that you can watch time and time again.
  • SUPPORT 128G LARGE SD CAPACITY: Super large capacity, storing all your videos and pics of your beautiful life right in this camera, enable you to capture videos of more enjoyable activities such as scenic road trip holidays and exciting track-day races!
  • MSTAR TECH SOLUTION: Great clear night vision, clearly captures the license plates cars as well as road signs during the day and night, making our roads a safer and better place for everybody.
  • 170°WIDE ANGLE+ F1.8 APERTURE LENS: Though most are F2.0 aperture in the market, our F1.8 is better than F2.0. The actual aperture much less, the vision is much brighter with better effect.
  • 1-YEAR MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE: We commits ourselves to creating high quality and great design products. Also being confident in our premium upgrade dash cam and offering a full 1-year guarantee. We will do the best for you!

What’s in the box?

The unit comes packaged in a well-designed black cardboard box with a black heavy paper sleeve. Inside, a lighter-weight black cardboard box contains the 12-volt plug with a 9+foot captured cable, which ends in a molded right-angle mini USB plug. The camera itself is wrapped in a Tyvek-type envelope, with clear stickers over the rear screen and front lens. It is held steady by a black foam insert, centered over a black cardboard riser, under which is the mounting stand. Top marks for recyclable packaging. I think the foam around the camera is the only not-clearly-recyclable piece. You get everything except a storage card. Camera, charger/cord, instruction sheet, and mounting stand: that’s it.

Design and features

The camera is dead simple. You don’t even have to turn it on – just apply power and it is ready. By default, incoming video is cut into 3-minute segments and is set to fill the memory card, then the camera starts erasing the oldest unlocked clips. You literally just point it out the front window and you’re done. I used it for a week or so lashed to the rearview mirror with extra charging cable. (9 feet gives you a good bit of play!)
Settings available are lane departure warning, GPS connectivity, and distance warning. You can also alter the length of video clips, aperture, and time/date setup. The menu screens are pretty bare-bones but offer the settings needed.

 

Performance

The camera is rock solid. It turns on with the power, records until the power is cut, and locks video clips where significant vibration occurred. (I have seen this several times driving a bit quickly through road construction sites.) There is a sensitivity setting for this.

Here’s a sample video using the default settings during the day:

Here’s a sample video using the default settings at night:

What I Like

Simple on/off activation.
Flexible – can be used as front or rear camera.
Automatically cuts video into segments.
Automatically locks segments around velocity events.

What needs to be improved

The Permanent mounting – This would be better as flexible so that you could mount in rentals while traveling, or reposition if you don’t like where you first mount it.
No battery means routing power cord – never pretty.
The captive power cable is also irritating. I have at least one other item charging all the time and only one power outlet. 🙂

Final thoughts

Dash cameras are a natural outgrowth of two modern trends – highly litigious societies, and technical progress. Ten years ago, a similar system would have cost many hundreds of dollars, and a lot of custom programming and installation. However, ten years ago, the road-rage and “I’ll sue you” factors were much lower. With the cheap ability to document things, you may forestall any legal action early on, enough to cover the investment in this little gem. For now, I’m keeping it installed and running, at least when I don’t need to charge anything in the car. Were I to change to a more driving-oriented occupation, I might look into getting a multi-outlet adapter, or finding a camera that doesn’t have a captive cable. Since it’s a standard mini USB connector, however, that may be the route I take anyway.

If you have a larger car/van/SUV that may benefit should you be rear-ended, using this mounted and aimed out the rear glass may help you in the event of an accident. Seeing the driver checking their email just before they hit you and their airbag deploys may be great party footage as well, after your car gets out of the shop.

Price: $49.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Uten.

This little iron keeps your collars looking perfect

I don’t like ironing, so I try to quickly hang up shirts as soon as the dryer buzzes so they don’t need ironing.  Sometimes, though, the shirt will look fine, but the collar just won’t lay flat, and it needs ironing anyway.  With the Compact Touch-Up and Portable Iron, you won’t have to get out the ironing board and full-sized iron just to touch up a collar.  The iron was created by a Marine to keep his uniform looking good, so you know it will work for you.

The iron has two facing heated plates that smooth out the wrinkles in a collar or sharpen up a crease.  It has angled edges so the iron can fit between buttons to smooth out that area near the neck that never seems to dry flat.  And when needed, those plates can lay flat to serve as a mini iron.

The Touch-Up Iron has six settings for various fabric types:  polyester, silk, wool, cotton, denim, and linen.  It measures 5.25″ x 3.3″ x 1.5″ and the flaps extend to 6.5″; it weighs 0.81 pounds.  It operates on 110V or 220V power.  It’s great for use at home for quick touch ups, and it’s sized perfectly to throw in your suitcase for travel.

The Compact Touch-Up and Portable Iron is $34.95 at The Grommet.

Namisu X-01 Aluminum rollerball pen: simple, smooth, solid

We’re big pen fans ’round The Gadgeteer bullpen (we don’t really have a bullpen, it just sounds cool), and I think our readers are as well, so when I stumbled upon the Namisu X-01 Aluminum rollerball pen, I felt obligated to share. With a very solid, yet simple and smooth appearance, the X-01 Aluminum pen features a twist mechanism and utilizes a Schmidt P8126 refill, which writes smoother than a ballpoint as it uses water-based ink instead of oil-based ink.” However, the X-01 can also be used with Parker-style refills in case you need one in a pinch, or you prefer the Parker (I find the Parker refills to be most adequate myself). The X-01 Aluminum rollerball pen is currently available in Comet Grey or Satin Black, each for £40.00 (about $56US as of this writing). Visit Namisu.com for additional info or to order.

Own your own copy of the golden records sent out on the Voyager spacecrafts

Back in the 1970s, NASA sent out two interstellar probes, the Voyagers 1 and 2.  They were designed to travel through space, not directed at any particular star, with information about us should any intelligent life happen upon the probes.  The information in the Voyager vessels was in the form of two golden records, which were a sort of calling card to other life in the universe.  Carl Sagan likened the Voyager records to sending out a message in a bottle with information about life and cultures on Earth.  And they also had information describing our location – in case someone out there wanted to come for a visit.  The Voyager records made appearances in movies like Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Starman, both of which showed what might happen after Voyager was intercepted by alien life.  Those movies piqued my interest in those golden records.  And apparently I’m not the only Earthling who’d like to have their own copy of our inter-galactic invitation, because ThinkGeek is offering The Voyager Golden Record: 40th Anniversary Edition Vinyl 3LP Box Set.

The set contains:

  • 3 translucent gold 140 gram vinyl LPs in poly-lined paper sleeves; sounds remastered from high-resolution digital transfers of the original golden record tapes
  • 3 heavyweight jackets, gold ink on black
  • 96-page softcover book containing all images included on the original Voyager Interstellar Record, gallery of images transmitted back from the Voyager probes, and new essay by Timothy Ferris, producer of the original golden record
  • Gold foil print of Voyager Golden Record cover diagram, archival paper, 12″ x 12″
  • Full-color plastic digital download card for all audio of the Voyager Golden Record (MP3 or FLAC formats)
  • Turntable slipmat featuring NASA/JPL-Caltech diagram of the Voyager spacecrafts’ trajectories across the solar system, gold ink on high-quality black felt
  • A deluxe record box with pull-ribbon, gold ink on black

The Voyager Golden Record: 40th Anniversary Edition Vinyl 3LP Box Set is $99.99 at ThinkGeek.

Julie’s gadget diary – I’m ditching paper and going back to a digital To-Do system

I have been using a very simple Bullet Journal style of task management for the last 4 years. It has worked out well for me because I can keep a notebook open next to me all day so I am able to see a daily list of what I need to do and I get a natural buzz from checking off tasks each day.

The fact that I’m a pen, notebook, and stationery addict has made using an analog task system easy for me over the past few years. But I’ve recently realized that although I enjoy using a paper notebook, something is missing and I’m not as productive as I could be if I were using a digital To-Do system.


My main problem with an analog To-Do system is that there’s no easy way to search past entries. For example, click the image above and you’ll see my very dumbed down Bullet Journal system which consists of tasks with a box next to them. If I finish the task, I put an X through it. If I didn’t finish it on the day it was listed, I draw an arrow and add it to the next day’s list of tasks. It’s extremely simple, but it has been working very well for me. Except, for notes. If you look at my pages above, you’ll see that I have a couple of notes where I talk about problems with my eye, and a note about blowing out a tire. I also make notes on ideas I have for articles that I want to write, quotes that I want to remember, and more. But with an analog system, I can’t go back and do an easy search to find these notes. The best I can do when I want to find something I’ve written is to manually flip through pages. But mainly, I’ll write down ideas and they will be forgotten forever.

You might suggest that I take pictures of my pages at the end of each day and upload them to Evernote or Google Keep which allows text searching within images. That’s a decent idea, but I’m too lazy to do that on a regular basis. I might have good intentions and do it for awhile, but I know that I won’t keep it up for very long.

A couple of weeks ago I decided that it was time to go back to a digital system and I’ve been stuck down a rabbit hole searching productivity sites, apps, and To-Do list ideas. There are so many options out there that it makes it difficult to pick something and get started. My list of must-have features include:

  1. Free or no reoccurring fees – I don’t want to pay a monthly subscription for a task management system but I’d be willing to pay a one time fee to buy a piece of software
  2. Ability to add notes
  3. Ability to add sub-tasks
  4. Easy to search for past entries
  5. Completed tasks aren’t deleted
  6. Must be able to use it via the web or mobile app

List of nice to have but can live without features include:

  1. Ability to tag entries
  2. Ability to add web links, and images to entries
  3. Easy to make entries via email
  4. Ability to add a task using Google Assistant

I have decided to try out different apps and services for 3-4 days at a time and write quick posts about what I think of each one I try and hopefully spark some interest where you’ll chime in with ideas of other task and To-Do systems that I should check into.

The first To-Do system that I decided to try is:

Google Tasks

If you’re not familiar with Google Tasks, it’s a simple To-Do list system that’s built right into Gmail. Since there’s never a time when my browser doesn’t have a Gmail tab open, I figured that this would be the perfect system to start using first.

I’ve found three ways to access Google Tasks and I’ll show you each one.

Google Tasks through Gmail

Login to Gmail and you’ll see a drop-down menu to the right of the Mail header under the Google logo. When you click the arrow, you’ll see Tasks. Click on it.

A small widget opens in the right corner of your browser with your Tasks list. From this widget, you can view different tasks groups, add, delete, and sort your tasks.

Google Tasks through Google Calendar

If you don’t want to clutter your Gmail window with a Tasks widget and you like to have a Google Calendar tab open in your browser, you can access the Tasks list from there too.

To do so, all you have to do is click the 3 dots to the left of the Reminders calendar under My Calendars in the left sidebar. You’ll see a Switch to Tasks option at the top. Click that and the Tasks will be listed in the right sidebar of your Calendar window. This view works exactly like the smaller widget in Gmail.

Google Task’s own web app


You can also open Tasks in its very own tab by going to https://mail.google.com/tasks/canvas

Having Google Tasks open in its own window is nice because the tasks list items probably won’t word wrap since the screen is wider.

You can even add notes and due dates for each task.

When notes are added, they show up to the right of each task item and the due dates display below each item. If you add a due date, it will also be added as a Google Calendar entry.

Regardless as to which way you view Google Tasks, you can rearrange the order of the list by dragging and dropping with your mouse, keyboard shortcuts, or using the arrow buttons in the toolbar.

It also looks like you have unlimited subtasks. I stopped testing after adding 20 subtasks.

What I like about Google Tasks

I like that I already have access to it without having to download and install a new app and that I can access from any computer with a browser. I also like that it’s easy to use and that I can even create a new task with an email.

All you have to do is select the email, click the down arrow next to More, and select Add to Tasks.

Things I wish were better with Google Tasks

Other than being able to add tags, images, and web links to tasks entries, the biggest feature that’s missing from Google Tasks is the ability to search tasks based on a word. As far as I can figure out after using Google Tasks for the last few days, there’s no way to find a task other than just scrolling through the list. Since search is one of my must-have features, it’s not going to be a big surprise that Google Tasks is not going to cut it for me and my new quest to find my ultimate productivity and task manager is just getting started.

I haven’t chosen my next system to try. Do you have any suggestions?