Cobra CDR 840, CDR 840E, CDR 840C - 1080P FHD DASH CAM Manual

Controls Indicators and Connections

Product Features

This booklet describes the simple steps for mounting, setting up, and using your dash camera.

Camera Features

Records everything you see and hear in 1080P Full HD with high dynamic range that optimizes video during day or night.

Continuous Loop Recording overwrites old footage unless you want to save it. A time/date stamp is embedded on all recordings so you'll never miss an event while driving.

Ready to use out-of-the-box. Includes a heavy-duty suction cup to mount the camera to your windshield and an 8GB MicroSD card to Record your Ride.

Wide angle view gives you a full view of the road without any edge distortion.

3-axis G-Sensor senses sudden accelerations and collisions and automatically protects footage surrounding the incident.

Additional Features

Emergency Record Button

Motion Sensor

Built-in Microphone & Speaker

Auto-Record and Auto-Power Off

Adjustable Movie Clip Time

What's in the Box

Installation

Where to Mount Your Unit

You will get optimum performance from your camera if you mount it on the front windshield, behind the rear-view mirror. This will minimize the impact on the driver's line of sight. You'll also want to keep the camera centered and angle the bracket to optimize the camera's view of the road ahead.

Windshield Mounting

Peel the plastic film off of the suction cup.

Unscrew the angle locking knob and remove the mounting screw. Be careful not to lose the metal nut inside the angle locking knob.

Slide the mounting bracket onto the GPS receiver and line up the square holes of the bracket with the round holes on the rear of the receiver.

Insert the mounting screw and secure it with the angle locking knob.

Rotate the suction cup locking knob to tighten or loosen the ball joint.
To adjust the angle to the road, if necessary, loosen the angle locking knob. Turn the camera so that it has a clear view of the road ahead. Tighten the knob when done.

Press the Suction Cup firmly onto the windshield. Push down on the lever to lock the suction cup in place.

Plug the 12V DC power cord into the camera.

Plug the cigarette lighter adapter on the power cord into your vehicle's cigarette lighter.

Device Operation

Powering the Device On and Off

To turn the device on, press the POWER button.

To turn the device off, press and hold the POWER button for three seconds.

Charging the device

You can charge the device with the included car charger, or with a USB cable. The device will also run off of its own internal battery for a short time.

NOTE: When the Car charger is connected, the device will automatically power on and start recording video.

Battery: The battery in this unit is intended to operate the unit after power loss due to an accident or crash. Note that while recording may continue, the device was not intended for long-term recording on battery power.

Inserting and removing the Memory Card

Your camera comes with an 8GB Memory Card Preinstalled, but it can be upgraded with up to 32GB with a different Memory Card (not included.)

To remove the memory card, push the Memory card forward gently until you hear a click, and the card should release.

To insert a different memory card, orient the card with the "bumpy edge" facing down and press it in until you hear a click, then release.

Video Record, Still Photo, and Playback Modes

The camera has four separate modes:

Video Mode

Still Photo Mode

Video Playback Mode

Still Photo Playback Mode

To toggle between the modes:
Press the MODE Button:

NOTE: You cannot switch modes or enter menus while the camera is recording video.

Video Mode

Video Mode is the primary function of this device and allows you to easily record HD video of the road ahead of you.

Continuous Cyclical Recording: Once the memory card is full, this camera will continuously overwrite the oldest footage recorded. To protect a clip so that it will not be overwritten, press the FILE LOCK Button. The icon will show on the screen. Files can also be locked from the playback menu in Video Playback Mode.

G-Sensor: The G-Sensor is an accelerometer that can detect an impact caused by an accident. If the G-Sensor is triggered, the current video segment will automatically be locked so that it is not overwritten by cyclical recording.

The sensitivity of the G-Sensor can be adjusted in settings.

To Start and Stop recording video, press the OK button
		The Red Record Dot starts flashing or stops flashing, and the record duration changes to display total time recorded.
To Lock a video while it is being recorded, press the FILE LOCK button
	The Lock Current File message and the Lock icon will appear on the screen:
To Toggle the Microphone On / Off, press the UP button
		The Microphone Mute icon will toggle on the screen:
To Toggle the Screen On / Off, press the DOWN button
		The screen will toggle on and off.

Still Photo Mode

This device can be used to capture high-resolution still photos using its builtin camera. The images are stored on the removable SD Card memory.

To take a picture
Press the OK button.	The screen flashes black and the image briefly freezes to show that a picture was taken.
To digitally zoom in or out
Press and hold the UP or DOWN buttons.	The image zooms in or out, and indicates the zoom factor on the screen. (1x - 4x)

Video and Photo Playback Modes

This device stores video and pictures on its removable SD Card Memory. Playback mode will allow you to review the saved video and photos, and play back the video with sound.

File Selection Screen

Video Playback Screen

To play or pause video playback
Press the OK button.	The video will begin playing or pause playback, and the Play / Pause icon will toggle.
To Fast forward or rewind the video
Press the UP or DOWN buttons.	The video will begin playing faster or rewind, and the playback speed will show on the screen as 2X, 4X, etc.
To return to the list of saved files while in the middle of video playback
Press the MODE button.	You will be returned to the video selection screen.
To adjust the playback audio volume
Press MENU to bring up the Playback menu. Make sure VOLUME is highlighted, and press OK.
Press the arrow keys to select a volume level, 0-10. The selected volume level will have a red box around it. Press OK again to confirm and close. Finally, press MENU to exit.
To delete a file
Press the MENU button to bring up the Playback menu. Press the down arrow to highlight DELETE, and press OK to confirm. To delete just one file, highlight the icon with just one item in the trash, and press OK to confirm. You will then see the "select a file" dialog. Use the arrow keys to highlight the file you want to delete with the red box, then press OK to confirm. The "Delete Selected File" Dialog will appear. Make sure YES is selected, and then press OK to confirm. The file will be deleted and you will return to the video selection screen.

Video Protection Screen

To Lock a video or image while in playback mode
Press the MENU button to bring up the Playback menu. Press the down arrow until PROTECT is highlighted, and press OK to confirm.
To protect just one file, highlight the book and key icon, then press OK to confirm. You will then see the "select a file" dialog. Use the arrow keys to highlight the file you want to protect with the red box, then press OK to confirm. You'll see the "Protect Selected File" dialog. Press the UP arrow to ensure that YES is selected, then press OK to confirm.

The selected picture will now show a lock icon:

This means this file will not be overwritten by continuous loop recording in Dash Cam mode.

Adjusting Camera Settings

Language Selection

While in Video or Still Photo mode, press the MENU button, scroll to the language menu, and press OK to enter the Language Selection menu.

Use the UP or DOWN arrows to select the desired language, and then press OK to confirm.

The following languages are supported:
English, Dutch, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Chinese.

Video Settings

Note: If you are currently recording video () you'll need to stop recording with the CAMERA button first.

While in VIDEO mode, press the MENU button once to enter the menu selection screen. Verify that Video Settings is selected, then press OK to confirm.

Press the UP and DOWN arrows to select the setting you'd like to modify, then press the OK button to confirm.

A window on the right edge of the screen will display the available options. Use the UP and DOWN arrows to make your selection, then press OK to confirm.

A list of the settings and their meanings are shown on the next page.

Adjusting Video Settings

To Adjust General Settings

NOTE: If you are currently recording video () you'll need to stop recording with the OK button first.

While in VIDEO or STILL PHOTO mode, press the MENU button once to enter the menu selection screen. Press the down arrow until General Settings is highlighted, then press OK to confirm.

Press the UP and DOWN arrows to select the setting you'd like to modify, then press the OK button to confirm.

A window on the right edge of the screen will display the available options. Use the UP and DOWN arrows to make your selection, then press OK to confirm.

A list of the settings and their meanings are shown in the next section.

Still Photo Mode Settings

While in Still Photo mode, press the MENU button to enter the menu selection screen. Verify that Still Settings is selected, then press OK to confirm.

Press the UP and DOWN arrows to select the setting you'd like to modify, then press the OK button to confirm.

A window on the right edge of the screen will display the available options. Use the UP and DOWN arrows to make your selection, then press OK to confirm.

Connecting to a Computer

To connect your camera to a Computer

Connect the camera to your computer using the included USB to Mini-USB Cable.

By default, your device connects to your computer in Mass Storage mode, and acts like a flash drive. Videos can be viewed with any standard video player that supports.avi files.

NOTE: Quicktime, the native video player for Mac, only supports specific types of.avi files and cannot playback this camera's videos. For links to third party players that will work on Mac, visit www.cobra.com/support/software-downloads.

Movies that are locked begin with "SOS_" and movies that are not locked begin with "MOV_".

Note that if the Memory card gets too full, videos that are not locked will be overwritten to make room for new videos. If you want to save any videos that begin with "MOV_" you should copy them to your computer, or Lock the files.

NOTE: Start your web cam application before connecting the camera.

If you want to review the videos alongside the GPS position on a map, then you'll need to download Cobra's Video player from:
www.cobra.com/dashcamsoftware

See the next section for how to use this software.

Using Cobra's Video Player

Using Drive HD^™ Dash Cam Software

The Drive HD Dash Cam player allows you to view your videos along with recorded GPS location, speed, direction, and G-Sensor data. To download Drive HD Dash Cam player on your PC please visit www.cobra.com/dashcamsoftware and select the software link for the CDR 840.

Install and open Drive HD Dash Cam player.
Click on the folder icon and look for "Removable Disk" or point to the directory or file you'd like to play back.

To Erase a file, click on the RECYCLE icon.

To pause or play video, or skip to the next / previous file, click the track navigation buttons at the bottom.

Using Cobra's Dash Cam Software

The player will group together files that were shot sequentially. Those files are displayed in the "group" list at the bottom left.

Individual files are also shown in the list in the bottom right.

The Map View in the upper right shows the route you took for the duration the file was recorded.

Specifications

Camera Specifications

Visual Angle: 118 degrees
Sensor: 5 MP CMOS
Video resolution: 1080P 1920x1080 30 fps
720P 1280x720 60 fps
720P 1280x720 30 fps
480P 640x480 30 fps
Video Format: .avi
GPS Logging: Supported
Picture Resolution: 4032x3094 (Max. 14 MP)
Picture Format: JPEG
White Balance: Auto
Color Effect: Auto
Continuous Loop Recording: Supported
Motion Detection: Supported
Date and Time: Supported
Media Supported: SD Card - 8GB Included (32GB Max)
Languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Chinese
Sound Recording: Synchronous video and sound record
Sound Recording can be disabled: Supported
Player Software: Use Operating System's video player or Cobra Drive HD player
USB Interface: USB 2.0
USB Web Camera: Supported
USB Mass Storage: Supported
Display Screen: 1.5" TFT
Battery: Rechargeable Lithium-Ion

Camera Capacity

1080P Recording time with 8GB card (included): 120 minutes
1080P Recording time with 16GB card: 240 minutes
1080P Recording time with 32GB card (max): 480 minutes

Product Service & Support

For any questions about operating or installing this new Cobra product, PLEASE CONTACT COBRA FIRST...do not return this product to the retail store. The contact information for Cobra will vary depending on the country in which you purchased and utilize the product. For the latest contact information, please go to www.cobra.com/support

For products purchased in the U.S.A. you may also call 1-800-262-7212 (1-800-COBRA-12).

For Products Purchased in the U.S.A., if your product should require factory service, please go to www.cobra.com/support and follow the instructions for returning your product to the Cobra Factory Service Department for service.

Troubleshooting

If your unit does not appear to be operating properly, please follow these troubleshooting steps:

• Make sure the power cord is properly connected.
• Make sure the socket of your vehicle's cigarette lighter is clean and free of corrosion.
• Make sure the power cord's cigarette lighter adapter is firmly seated in your cigarette lighter, and the Status LED is on.
• Check the power cord fuse. (Unscrew the ribbed end cap of the cigarette lighter adapter and examine the fuse. If required, replace it with a 2-amp fuse only.)

For detailed and up-to-date FAQ's, please visit www.cobra.com/support/faqs.

Trademark Acknowledgement

Cobra, the snake design, Drive HD™, the d design, and Record your ride™ are proprietary trademarks of Cobra Electronics Corporation, USA. Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners.

Cobra Electronics Corporation™ is a trademark of Cobra Electronics Corporation, USA.

HDMI, the HDMI logo, and High-Definition Mutilmedia Interface are trademarks or HDMI registered trademarks of HDMI licensing LLC in the United States and other countries.

NOTE: This device complies with part 15 of FCC rules: Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

1. This device may not cause harmful interference, and
2. This device must accept any interference received including interference that may cause undesired operation.

Modifications or parts not approved by Cobra Electronics Corporation may violate FCC Rules and void authority to operate this equipment.

This device complies with RSS-310 of Industry Canada. Operation is subject to the condition that this device does not cause harmful interference.

CAN ICES-3B/NMB-3B.

DISPOSAL OF ELECTRONICS EQUIPMENT: This product may contain hazardous substances that could impact health and the environment if not disposed of properly.

The crossed out wheeled bin symbol indicates that the product should not be disposed of along with household waste. It should be handed over to an applicable collection point for the recycling of electrical equipment. By ensuring that this product is disposed of correctly you will help/prevent potential negative impact on the environment.

If you need more information on the collection, reuse and recycling systems, please contact your local civic office or the shop where it was originally purchased.

This product contains chemicals know to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.