DIY Cop Dash Cam: Drill a Hole in your iPhone Windshield Mount
12:00 am, September 6th, 2009, Tim Cox
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.
Hit the jump to see a video showing the DIY dash cam at work.
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.
Posted by Tim Cox in Tips & Tricks, iPhone | Comment on this article
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Tim Cox is the social media and communications coordinator for a private university in the Los Angeles area. He has written for a number of online and print publications and has presented on technology and social media at the national level. One of his greatest accomplishments was networking a Mac Plus with a Mac Pro. In his spare time he writes music, poetry, and trains for Street Fighter IV tournaments. He is married with 5 beautiful kitties. He encourages you to 
IMHO, you’re driving too fast!
Luigi Provenza, on September 6th, 2009 at 2:41 am
Nice video! Shameless plug time though – if you’re going to use your iPhone while driving check out our app, PlaySafe, which will make it much, much easier to control playback (and therefore, much safer). http://bit.ly/4QQiG.
Dave Hornsby, on September 6th, 2009 at 4:56 am
Great mount. I’ve been using one for a few months. You cAn’t mount it in the middle of the windshield though in Peoples Republic of California – against the law. Heard Obama is pushing for it to become a Federal law also.
Wingspinner, on September 6th, 2009 at 10:57 am
How do you discretely route a power cable to an iPhone mounted on the windshield? And what cable do you use? It must be a long one…
HD Boy, on September 6th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Maybe it’s the camera angle, but it seems like you’re cutting out a large slice of your forward visibility with this setup. I’m not surprised this kind of mount is illegal in certain states – are you sure you’re not setting yourself up for a hefty lawsuit here?
enricoid, on September 6th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
It would be nice to have something like this as a sort of flight data recorder (like the ‘black boxes’ that jets use) but for car accidents and police stops.
Car manufacturers should install camera mounts on the trunk and hood and put a USB 3 or Firewire port inside the car.
Owners could install cameras and an iPhone or other small computer to continuously record video, car lights, and speed from the car’s internal computers.
Insurance companies may even help subsidize the cost.
Marc in Chicago, on September 6th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
@HD Boy
The cables just hang straight down from the iPhone. Both the headphone and usb cables are 3′ and the connect right below the phone on the console. Its not neat and tidy but it works and impresses my friends.
Tim Cox, on September 7th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
cool idea..what software did you use to speed up the video and add the music?
thank you
Alexis, on September 7th, 2009 at 8:04 pm