beyerj

So I bought the above mentioned helmet. The camera uses an SD card. I can't get the camera to work or more accurately, I can't get the pictures and videos to download onto my computer. When you turn on the camera, you get a chime to let you know its on. There is also a blue light that turns on.

The charging port is also labeled as a USB port. If I plug in the helmet to my computer, it doesn't register, regardless if the helmet is on or off. If I take the SD card out of the helmet and plug that into my computer or phone, either device tries to reformat the SD card. I've reformatted the card, inserted it back into the helmet and taken some pics. If I reinsert the card back into my computer or phone, it wants to reformat it again.

I've repeatedly contacted pedalwise about this and not gotten any usable help from them. It almost seems like there is some app I'm suppose to download except there is no such app. Any ideas appreciated.

SpedFast

It sounds to me like you got a defective camera. I bought a go-pro knockoff from the bay a few years back that did the same thing. It was my first experience with little action cameras and I assumed for the longest time that it was just me not knowing how to work it. After several emails with the seller, he refunded my money and told me to keep it. To this day I still have it and it still doesn't work even though I have several others now that work flawlessly. HTH

beyerj

Something I didn't mention above is that the first helmet I had for two days before I was in a nasty bicycle accident. The helmet did its job but took a beating. Pedalwise did send me a new helmet free of charge. The first helmet I only had a day to get the camera working before my crash but no joy. And now I have to assume that it doesn't work. The second helmet is the one I've had more time to get working, also no joy.

rsbob 

Did you format the SD card? If not, no bueno

beyerj

Yes, repeatedly. I would format the SD card and then insert into the helmet. I'd shoot some video and take some pics and then put the SD card into my computer again. My computer would then prompt me (again) to format the SD card. it's an endless cycle.

veganbikes

I would recommend getting a regular helmet and then you can add all the random stuff externally and get quality stuff. This looks like they tried to pack a bunch of cheap Temu stuff into a helmet and called it smart. Nothing smart about a helmet with parts that don't work and aren't easy enough to use.

beyerj

Thanks for your recommendation, but that doesn't answer my questions.

SpedFast

Glad you're all right. Sounds like the helmet did its job even if the cam won't work.

Bald Paul

Without any online documentation, the only advice I can offer is to check the requirements for the SD card. It looks like the helmet will only allow a 128GB card, Anything larger may not work. You also have to check the speed of the card and make certain it matches the specs of the helmet camera. Hopefully they tell you what cards are compatible somewhere in the manual (assuming a manual was included with the helmet.)

veganbikes

It wasn't a question but technically you said any ideas appreciated. Unfortunately it sounds like this company is out and I am doubtful there is a great solution that you haven't tried. Having known quantity and quality stuff will alleviate the issues and if something does happen you will have good support from say Light and Motion and Go-Pro or Insta360 or Sony or something like that.

beyerj

Requirements for the camera are at least 128 GB with a c10 class rating (10MB/s). I'm using a 128 GM SD card with a U3 class rating (30MB/s). I do have a manual and will upload some screen shots in a minute. From the research I've done, the class rating difference between the card and minimum requirement would only create a problem if the card was slower. But who knows, maybe I'll have to buy another one if I can't find any other remedies.

beyerj

Yeah, technically I did say any ideas would be appreciated. Ideas about the problem I have and questions I've asked. Not someone implying that I wasted a bunch of money and then telling me what I should have done is this. I don't like trolls.

I'm not sure what qualifies for quality stuff to you but the helmet did its good. I was in a nasty accident where I was hit by a car while I was doing 20+mph and walked away with two broken ribs. The helmet has a flat spot on the side from the impact with the curb. The brake light mounted on the back of the helmet completely came apart. There were pieces everywhere but when I found them all, they weren't broken. I reassembled them and the brake light (and accelerometer) still work to this day. As do all of the bluetooth functions.

So just to clarify, I'm just looking to see if there something I'm overlooking or missing. That's why this post is on here. Thanks.

Barry2 

Found no online support or docs for your helmet. But I do have a question.
can you leave the SD card in the helmet, but plug the helmet into the PC to read the files?

Barry

beyerj

I have tried this. My computer doesn't recognize the helmet as a device or drive. And that's weird because the charging port does have a USB symbol next to it so you would assume that it could work that way. But no joy.

veganbikes

You didn't say that you said Now you are calling me a troll because I am trying to help you? I get it you spent the money thinking this has to be a great product and unfortunately it isn't because the company is not wanting to support the product and it isn't working as it was sold to you as. I have suggested buying a quality helmet with quality lights and quality camera separate so you can get good support but you know you will have a good working products with good support. I am sorry that making the suggest you should have good working products with good support seems like trolling but it isn't.

I am not off topic here I am not here to insult you or do anything that a troll would do I am trying to help you. Unfortunately when I see a product that is not up to snuff and doesn't have good support I can't just say yeah keep at it and waste more time and money to try and maybe get it working. It is just not what I do. I try to help people move on and get something that is working easily. Why be frustrated and spend more money on a product like this?

beyerj

beyerj

But there is the problem. You are not helping. Suggesting I spend more money on a completely different setup is not helping me with my problem. And as I've already said, I can't say that the camera isn't working. I can't prove that one way or the other right now. It could be an incompatibility between the SD card and helmet or the format type of the helmet and my computer. IDK. That's why I asking this question seeing if others have had similar problems.

Your recommendation is equivalent to a problem like my car stopped running so I should buy a new one. That makes perfect sense. Let's not try to figure out the issue, just buy a new one.

squirtdad

As best I can tell very few people have this helmet (based how few reviews and references show up on a search) so there is likely not a lot of hands on help to be had.

I think at this price point trying pack in everything they did means that it is all low end parts (like a big box store BSO) and performance/quality support will be more likely to suffer.

I don't see any references to certification (which GIro, Bell and Smilth all list) which makes the safety suspect. (just reading the marketing hype is funny it is all great...but no specifics, like how many lumens of light)

I am of the camp that says return and get your money back, get a good helmet (MIPS) to help save the noggin and then get quality solutions for other functions

Probably not what OP wants to hear.

beyerj

I really wish people would take the time to read before posting. This helmet has already saved my noggin once (reference post from 3-31-2024 8:32pm in this thread).

The brake light is listed at 200 lumen, easy enough to find. Certification for the helmet is USA:ASTM f1447, CPSC1203, again easy enough to find.

I guess I should have made two separate posts. One asking for ideas to a solution and the other asking opinions about the helmet for those who wish to boost their post count. 03-3103-31-24 08:32 PM-24 08:32 PM

Outrider1

OK, champ. Instead of asking advice from folks who don't own the same product, why not call or email the company that manufactured the helmet/camera/light?

50PlusCycling

I recently started using an Insta360 Ace Pro camera, and found that my computer will not recognize the camera or go into U-Disk mode unless I remove and reinsert the SD card into the camera. It’s a annoying quirk, but as it only takes a few seconds, I can live with it.

Bald Paul

Ah, one thing I noted in the manual is that the files the camera uses for video are MJPEG. You may want to check the requirements for playback of MJPEG files. Chrome or Firefox may be needed. You might try just taking test photos with no video on the card, as photos are in JPEG format. Problem playing mjpeg video content - Microsoft Community

The manual states that the SD card has to be removed from the helmet cam to access the files. The USB plug is most likely wired for charging only, and not data transfer.
If you have another SD card laying around, try using that one. It's possible there is a problem with the one you're using.

veganbikes

No my recommendation is like buying some obscure smart only vehicle (so it is all done through apps and stuff like that there is no normal keys and ignition) that never made it to the U.S. and isn't supported in it's home country either and there is no info on it and it was a cheaper car and someone is suggesting get a good reliable car like a Honda or Toyota or something.

I understand you spent the money and you want it to work but it seems like the company has no interest in their product and I don't know your SD card usage but buying new cards and buying more stuff to make this work is not a smart move. Don't pump money into something that doesn't work out of the box and is so hard to use. I know it is tough to hear, I had an old iPhone and was like I could put a battery in it and do all of this stuff to prolong the life a year or two or just get the new phone and not have the issues.

Granted yes slightly different in that iPhones are well supported and a known quality and quantity but similar in that I was better off getting something reliable.

If I had the helmet in front of me and your laptop I might be able to figure something out but I am a bit doubtful just knowing some of these types of items. One of our interns bought a camera equipped drone off of Temu and tried to get the camera working and it wouldn't work and there was no support.

JohnDThompson 

Have you tried a different SD card?

beyerj

From the productive part of this thread, suddenly now I can view the videos and images on the SD card. I was talking to my boss about it this morning. He suggested trying to use my company computer to view the files. I don't like using that computer for personal stuff but he's the boss. My personal computer is an HP using windows 11 and the company one is a Dell with windows 10. So I plugged the SD card in and the company computer had no issue recognizing the card and files on it. Dozens of videos and even more pics. And just so even don't get some troll calling me a liar, here's part of this mornings ride to work. For some reason it records in 3 minute increments.


The funniest thing about it was the look on my boss' face. Like he was expecting it to work on that computer. He smiled and just walked away. So cool, camera works fine. Oddest thing is that NOW my home computer can see the SD card and all of the files on it. Almost like there was a plug-in missing or something??? Or the work computer is magic. IDK. Boy, sure glad I didn't just toss it into the garbage and spend of bunch more money on a different setup.

And I would like to thank everyone who actually tried to help me troubleshoot this. I guess regardless of the website, there will always be trolls.