DIY Cops Dash Cam: Drill a Hole in your iPhone Windshield Mount

by Tim Cox on September 3, 2009


badboysbadboys

Since I mount my iPhone on my windshield for easy access to my music, I thought it would be appropriate to drill a hole in the plastic to let me take pictures and video while driving. It wasn’t difficult to do. If you have a dremel or a drill you can crank this out in 3 minutes. The plastic is durable enough to handle the pressure of the drill and there isn’t any cracking.

I have the Griffin WindowSeat which comes with adapters for ipod touch and the 1st gen iPhone. It’s a great deal/gift for someone who has an aux input in their car.

I took this video of my drive to work set to Animal Collective. The shot is a little high, but my windshield is angled awkwardly. Yours will probably be just right.

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{ 13 trackbacks }

iPhone cop-cam - Hack a Day
September 17, 2009 at 1:01 pm
iPhone cop-cam | Diy all the Way
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Turn Your Camera Phone into a Police-Style Dash Cam [DIY] · TechBlogger
September 19, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Turn Your Camera Phone Into A Police-Style Dash Cam | Lifehacker Australia
September 19, 2009 at 6:40 pm
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September 19, 2009 at 10:20 pm
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September 20, 2009 at 2:32 am
Turn Your Camera Phone into a Police-Style Dash Cam [DIY] | Key To Eden
September 20, 2009 at 7:56 am
iPhone Dash cam and Bumper cam « Mobile Photo & Video including Cameraphones & Videophones
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Homemade iPhone Dash Cam · TechBlogger
September 21, 2009 at 5:09 am
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Mac+ » Transforme seu iPhone em uma câmera de vigilância
September 21, 2009 at 10:46 am
Homemade iPhone Dash Cam | Student Tech News
September 21, 2009 at 2:32 pm

{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }

M. Brandon Lee September 3, 2009 at 3:21 pm

I thought putting things on your windshield was illegal in California?

Man, I’m such a n00b. I have no idea what I’m doing out here haha.

Reply

David September 10, 2009 at 11:07 am

I’ve always thought it would be useful to have an always-running cam capturing my drives. I’m sure the footage would come in handy some day if I was involved in (or witnessed) a wreck, or if I just wanted to gripe online about a bad driver.

Reply

Jim K September 10, 2009 at 11:09 am

What kind of video camera did you use? Any particular film speed or time lapse setting?

Reply

john September 17, 2009 at 1:21 pm

did u not read the entire article? iphone mount…for an iPhone. timelapse through post editing

Reply

Special K September 17, 2009 at 1:30 pm

Jim K, did you even read the title of the post?

“What kind of video camera did you use?”

Think about that, it’s an iPhone windshield holder mod. Perhaps Tim put his iPhone 3Gs in the holder, set it to capture video, and toggled Time Lapse in iMovie, or otherwise selected a time lapsing effect after moving the file to the computer.

Reply

Jesse September 17, 2009 at 1:39 pm

It’s an iPhone…hence the post title “Drill a Hole in your iPhone Windshield Mount”.

Reply

justinthegeek September 17, 2009 at 2:22 pm

DIY Cops Dash Cam: Drill a Hole in your iPhone Windshield Mount

It’s an iPhone.

Reply

JD September 17, 2009 at 1:32 pm

@Jim K – He’s using an iPhone for the recording.

Reply

Mat September 17, 2009 at 2:08 pm

At 8 seconds – looks like you ran a red light ;)

Reply

Dave R September 17, 2009 at 2:08 pm

Jim K, he clearly says he mounts his iPhone to the windshield. NJ Tim :)

Reply

Ascension September 18, 2009 at 2:05 am

Awesome video! Recognized the entire drive! (almost… hehe) I miss speeding down Telegraph Blvd., since I now live in Texas :)

Reply

Tim Cox September 18, 2009 at 2:16 am

They have Dunkin’ Donuts in Texas. I’m jealous.

Reply

Duh September 19, 2009 at 7:56 pm

Perhaps it would help if the camera were actually aimed at the roadway and not the sky.

Reply

JC September 19, 2009 at 10:23 pm

With the angle the video does look like a dash cam… Nice….

@Mat – the light was yellow when he made the turn.

Reply

MK September 20, 2009 at 4:02 am

Which software did you use to record the video with your iPhone?

Reply

sly September 20, 2009 at 4:55 am

I have a better idea. I use it now. Open sun visor and put on it 2 or 3 elastic threads and they bring your camera oriented street. Easy. And it is legal

Reply

Tim Cox September 20, 2009 at 1:21 pm

Sly, I like your style.

MK, I used cycorder which is available through Cydia.

Reply

sebastienb September 20, 2009 at 2:53 pm

If you use this with qik you could stream the video online and use this a a surveillance camera. check out my youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdi6-KQRKTA
sebastienb´s last blog ..Yummy! A Bakery

Reply

MeatPopSci September 23, 2009 at 5:43 pm

Holy Crap! I was thinkin’bout this on my drive home yesterday .. and F-me if you didn’t put a favorite song of mine in for extra spookiness.

Very cool … to bad my recently purchased recharger mounts directly into the cig lighter.

Again, nice.

Reply

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