" Tesla Sentry Mode " feature install using Blackvue Cameras as security / surveillance recorder

[Theherofails]

After having a few people get a little TOO comfortable with the Bronco, I made the plan on replicating the Sentry Mode found in Teslas to the best of my ability.

Cameras:
DR900X PLUS 2 Channel with IR
DR750X PLUS 1 Channel
You could also use the DR750X PLUS 3 channel package for the same cost. The reason I used two different cameras was for the ability to record trail runs in 4K without having to also run a GoPro. The DR750X is a 1440p camera. You can see the quality difference in the examples below.


Misc Equipment:
Micro2 Fuse Taps
Wifi Hotspot with 12v charger & optional USB-C battery bank.


What it does:
This system is hardwired to backup power which in turn is charged off the internal vehicle battery. The backup power has the capability to be charged via solar panels I have for the roof when overlanding.

While driving, it's just your average dashcam setup. The magic happens when you park and the system goes into 'parking mode' - AKA, Sentry mode. Until I return to the vehicle, all cameras are recording 1FPS and will automatically activate and record videos of any motion (internally) or if the vehicle is tampered with in any fashion internally or externally (all cameras) via shock sensors. This works with the doors and roof on or off, and all cameras are shielded from direct rain. I have the option of external motion activated alerts if needed.

Any incidents are immediately transmitted over a wifi hotspot to the cloud and I get an emergency ping on my phone with the ability to view live video from anywhere.

For the wifi hotspot, I am using a spare cell phone plugged into a 10,000mAH battery pack via USB C, which in turn is topped off by the vehicle battery. This gives me approx. 1 week of standby power for wifi.

The system is set up to first attempt to use my home wifi. If it's unavailable, it falls back to the built in vehicle WIFI. If that is unavailable as well, it falls back to the wifi hotspot. This saves data when parked at home but assures instant notifications on the move.

The entire setup is designed to switch off if the vehicle battery crosses a voltage threshold to make sure I don't come out to a dead battery.

The Install:

Zero wires visible as I piggybacked off the rearview mirror harness and entered the vehicle trim that way. A little tricky to route it around the window frame but a trim tool helps greatly here.

Free Pro Tip: Despite the onboard vehicle owners manual stating the in vehicle fuse panel is behind the glove box, it is not. Those instructions and photos are actually from the Bronco Sport. You have to remove the entire bottom dash piece below the steering wheel and the the in vehicle fux box is tucked back by the A pillar. Most of the fuses are the new Micro3, which I could not tap. The left side is the older Micro2 and are available to tap for both intermittent and constant 12v.


Front & Internal Camera (inside view)

	As you can see, this setup is totally stealth from the exterior due to ceramic coating on windshield.

Rear Camera

	Rear Camera is mounted directly to the rear window with enough slack to allow the window to open without tension on the power cable.
	Totally stealth from the rear as well.
	This is the only visible cable in the entire install. There is absolutely no way to hide this cable going to the rear window, but Ford didn't try hide theirs either so it all blends.

Front Camera Test Footage:


Rear Camera Test Footage:


Inside Camera Screenshot (Infrared/Night Vision)

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[BluBronco]

how comfortable were people getting with your bronco?

 

[Theherofails]

how comfortable were people getting with your bronco?

It's actually pretty insane some days. I'll come out of Costco to an entire army of boomers all around it. People like looking in the windows, touching it etc. Quite unnerving. I'm a private person and don't enjoy the attention as much as some.

Another issue is I've almost been driven into more than a few times by gawkers. I'm worried about insurance claims.. People drive where they look, and if they are staring at you, they tend to almost drive into you a lot.

Finally, I had some homeless dude randomly try to hit my rear glass window as I drove by.

Enough that it warranted this solution .

 

[BluBronco]

well that's unfortunate, thanks for the writeup. I was thinking of getting the dash cams but sentry mode is really the goal. Looks like a very useful set up!

 

[Theherofails]

well that's unfortunate, thanks for the writeup. I was thinking of getting the dash cams but sentry mode is really the goal. Looks like a very useful set up!

The install is quite simple, believe it or not. I would say my LED lighting tutorial was much more difficult, though still not bad.

What took the most time was finding the bloody fuse box. Ford really needs to update the manual..

 

[Roll Sound]

Good job!

 

[Rubisquatch]

Really nice work. Ballpark cost for the whole set up?

 

[Theherofails]

Really nice work. Ballpark cost for the whole set up?

Out the door with tax was just under $700 for the two camera solution. I already had the backup cellphone for the tertiary wifi hotspot. The 3 channel solution I linked Is $750, so you save money by doing the two seperate cameras and IMO the install is easier, as you don't have to snake a wire from the dash to the rear window like you have to do with the 3 channel. Plus, 4K footage.

 

[Cbiggs]

It's actually pretty insane some days. I'll come out of Costco to an entire army of boomers all around it. People like looking in the windows, touching it etc. Quite unnerving. I'm a private person and don't enjoy the attention as much as some.

Another issue is I've almost been driven into more than a few times by gawkers. I'm worried about insurance claims.. People drive where they look, and if they are staring at you, they tend to almost drive into you a lot.

Finally, I had some homeless dude randomly try to hit my rear glass window as I drove by.

Enough that it warranted this solution .

I totally agree with the unnerving part that comes with the attention. It gets better after a few weeks, but at first it’s a bit unsettling.

I don’t have the chops to do the install on something like this myself, but I’d be interested in what the ball park is on the hardware and what time it would take?

I had a 10ish year old kid stand on my back wheel looking in my BL with the top off while his parents were right there not saying a thing. I generally like all kids, I have kids, but at that moment I would have paid almost anything for your set up LOL.

 

[Theherofails]

I totally agree with the unnerving part that comes with the attention. It gets better after a few weeks, but at first it’s a bit unsettling.

I don’t have the chops to do the install on something like this myself, but I’d be interested in what the ball park is on the hardware and what time it would take?

I had a 10ish year old kid stand on my back wheel looking in my BL with the top off while his parents were right there not saying a thing. I generally like all kids, I have kids, but at that moment I would have paid almost anything for your set up LOL.

You can do this set up much cheaper by skipping the 4K and going with 1080p. Total install time for 2 cameras was.. maybe 2 hours. A large portion of that time was spent looking for the blasted fuse box. I've never seen a vehicle where you have to rip the bottom dash panel out just to access the fuse panel.. This install didn't even require pulling trim panels, because you just shove the cable up between the window and the trim and it slides in the little gap just fine.

if you skipped over the internal monitoring, you can do forward and rear for well less than half of what I spent.

 

[Cbiggs]

You can do this set up much cheaper by skipping the 4K and going with 1080p. Total install time for 2 cameras was.. maybe 2 hours. A large portion of that time was spent looking for the blasted fuse box. I've never seen a vehicle where you have to rip the bottom dash panel out just to access the fuse panel.. This install didn't even require pulling trim panels, because you just shove the cable up between the window and the trim and it slides in the little gap just fine.

if you skipped over the internal monitoring, you can do forward and rear for well less than half of what I spent.

thanks, that’s awesome and sounds doable. I think I’m in.

 

[goalie]

Have you tried getting the video of a long drive/trail drive yet? Is there a way to trigger it to record until you say stop, i.e. when starting a trail? I'd rather not have to stitch together a bunch of short videos to make my whole trail run.

I have my DR900X-2Ch sitting right here, waiting for a bronco home. TBH, the box is getting a little dusty.... grrr.

 

[Theherofails]

Have you tried getting the video of a long drive/trail drive yet? Is there a way to trigger it to record until you say stop, i.e. when starting a trail? I'd rather not have to stitch together a bunch of short videos to make my whole trail run.

I have my DR900X-2Ch sitting right here, waiting for a bronco home. TBH, the box is getting a little dusty.... grrr.

The software you install on PC will stitch it back into a single video in very little time. I'm still playing with that part.

 

[goalie]

The software you install on PC will stitch it back into a single video in very little time. I'm still playing with that part.

perfect!

 

[bigblueboing]

Good write up but you really just need this.

After having a few people get a little TOO comfortable with the Bronco, I made the plan on replicating the Sentry Mode found in Teslas to the best of my ability.

Cameras:
DR900X PLUS 2 Channel with IR
DR750X PLUS 1 Channel
You could also use the DR750X PLUS 3 channel package for the same cost. The reason I used two different cameras was for the ability to record trail runs in 4K without having to also run a GoPro. The DR750X is a 1440p camera. You can see the quality difference in the examples below.


Misc Equipment:
Micro2 Fuse Taps
Wifi Hotspot with 12v charger & optional USB-C battery bank.


What it does:
This system is hardwired to backup power which in turn is charged off the internal vehicle battery. The backup power has the capability to be charged via solar panels I have for the roof when overlanding.

While driving, it's just your average dashcam setup. The magic happens when you park and the system goes into 'parking mode' - AKA, Sentry mode. Until I return to the vehicle, all cameras are recording 1FPS and will automatically activate and record videos of any motion (internally) or if the vehicle is tampered with in any fashion internally or externally (all cameras) via shock sensors. This works with the doors and roof on or off, and all cameras are shielded from direct rain. I have the option of external motion activated alerts if needed.

Any incidents are immediately transmitted over a wifi hotspot to the cloud and I get an emergency ping on my phone with the ability to view live video from anywhere.

For the wifi hotspot, I am using a spare cell phone plugged into a 10,000mAH battery pack via USB C, which in turn is topped off by the vehicle battery. This gives me approx. 1 week of standby power for wifi.

The system is set up to first attempt to use my home wifi. If it's unavailable, it falls back to the built in vehicle WIFI. If that is unavailable as well, it falls back to the wifi hotspot. This saves data when parked at home but assures instant notifications on the move.

The entire setup is designed to switch off if the vehicle battery crosses a voltage threshold to make sure I don't come out to a dead battery.

The Install:

Zero wires visible as I piggybacked off the rearview mirror harness and entered the vehicle trim that way. A little tricky to route it around the window frame but a trim tool helps greatly here.

Free Pro Tip: Despite the onboard vehicle owners manual stating the in vehicle fuse panel is behind the glove box, it is not. Those instructions and photos are actually from the Bronco Sport. You have to remove the entire bottom dash piece below the steering wheel and the the in vehicle fux box is tucked back by the A pillar. Most of the fuses are the new Micro3, which I could not tap. The left side is the older Micro2 and are available to tap for both intermittent and constant 12v.


Front & Internal Camera (inside view)

	As you can see, this setup is totally stealth from the exterior due to ceramic coating on windshield.

Rear Camera

	Rear Camera is mounted directly to the rear window with enough slack to allow the window to open without tension on the power cable.
	Totally stealth from the rear as well.
	This is the only visible cable in the entire install. There is absolutely no way to hide this cable going to the rear window, but Ford didn't try hide theirs either so it all blends.

Front Camera Test Footage:


Rear Camera Test Footage:


Inside Camera Screenshot (Infrared/Night Vision)

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