The “Combo” series, due to its popularity and relevance, was further developed in the face of the “three in one” hybrid - it is “Carcam (Carcam) Combo 2 Plus” (radar detector / GPS-informer / video recorder). That is, the developers were able to include three useful devices in one gadget at once, and not to the detriment of the compactness of the device. Let's try to figure out what came of it and whether the universal novelty is worth the money spent on it.
So, the subject of this review is the Karkam Combo 2 hybrid. User reviews and opinions, advantages and disadvantages of the model, as well as the main characteristics of the gadget will be discussed in this article.
Contents of delivery
The device is packed in a dense and surprisingly high-quality box with a beautiful design, which is a rarity for most of the company's devices. In general, the Karkam series is the first model that has sensible packaging with an attractive appearance.
The interior is very well organized, so the dimensions of the box can be called small. As for information content, here everything is not as smooth as we would like. Available information does not allow to properly evaluate the characteristics of the gadget or at least its appearance. As a rule, such devices are signed on the packaging in the face and profile, although it is given a small but specification, and in our case we see one image of the device and the main hybrid indicators, that is, the presence of GPS, a DVR, a radar detector, and more.
Customer reviews about "Karkam Combo 2" in this regard are simply teeming with discontent. For offline purchases, you have to additionally pull the manager to find at least some specification for the device, or even pre-visit the manufacturer’s official resource to analyze the capabilities of the gadget. This approach clearly does not add points to the brand.
Equipment:
- the device itself;
- data cable for connecting to a PC;
- power cable to the car network;
- suction cup bracket;
- double-sided tape holder;
- user's manual;
- warranty card;
- driver reminder;
- booklets (advertising and random reviews about the Karkam Combo2 dashcam).
Documentation
Separately, it is worth noting the information content of the instruction manual: all aspects of working with the gadget are thoroughly painted from and to. Nevertheless, some users did have discrepancies with the manual and actual data. Responses of owners to the Karkam Combo II video recorder have repeatedly noted the fact that the gadget's menu is sometimes very different from that described in the instructions. It is all about the firmware: the manual is designed in full accordance with its earlier version, while the latest updates, albeit not at the root, but change the position of branches and sub-items.
The memo to the driver acts as a kind of mini-instruction, which outlines the main features of the device and the basic settings. This is a fairly competent move, which eliminates the study of a multi-sheet manual. Reviews on the Karkam Combo 2 dashcam are extremely positive in this regard. Some car owners simply do not need to crawl into all these specific jungle gadgets, but only basic functions that are completely revealed by the memo.
Appearance
“Carcam (Carcam) Combo 2” turned out to be a really compact and convenient device, where the occupied space is clearly less than if it were a separate video recorder and a radar detector. The front of the device, where the display is located, has a small visor that protects well from sunlight. Thanks to this, information from the gadget is easy to read at any time, whether it is earlier in the morning, noon or late evening.
There are four function buttons directly below the screen: menu call, step down and up on the interface and "OK". A little to the right is a small blue LED that notifies the user of the device turned on. It does not interfere with the driver while driving, which can not be said about a similar "firefly" on the cigarette lighter connector. Users have often left negative reviews on Karkam Combo 2 about this. The diode on the connector cable distracts the driver with its brightness, so you have to either cover it with something, or try to turn it around (which is not always possible).
Interfaces
On the left side of the device is a button on / off the gadget, which also acts as a fine-tuning the sensitivity of the detector or even allows you to turn it off. A little further along the case is a small hot reset button and an interface for micro-SD cards.
The right end is reserved for a mini-USB slot for synchronizing with a PC and recharging the device, as well as a regular AV output. From above, you can see the grooves for mounting the device on the windshield, where, if necessary, you can remove the detector from the bracket in one motion. Judging by the reviews on "Karkam Combo 2", the grooves are correctly designed and securely hold the gadget, not allowing it to pop out while the car is moving.
On the bottom of the detector are original holes where you might think that the device is equipped with some kind of active cooling system. There is no mention of this in the documentation, but during operation, if you listen, you hear a sound very similar to the rotation of the fan blades.
On the rear side of the device is the lens of the local oscillator receiver, which is precisely the detector of police radars. A good half of the back of the device is the peephole of the DVR camera. The working angle of the matrix varies between 160 degrees, which is very good. As for the GPS module, it is hidden somewhere in the bowels of the gadget.
Housing
The case of the device is surprisingly well and well assembled. Judging by the reviews on "Karkam Combo 2", during the operation of the gadget no backlashes, creaks or crunches were noticed. Even visually it is visible that the body is made of high-quality plastic.
The design turned out to be non-marking, but it is better for users to avoid contact with lenses, optics and screen: they collect fingerprints, which are then very difficult to get rid of. The device can be rotated 360 degrees, so directing the DVR to the desired object (for example, a traffic police officer) is not difficult, as well as recording an accompanying audio track.
Testing
Field trials showed that in an urban environment the gadget behaved quite worthily: it detected radars and warned about speed limits. Of course, there were false alarms, but with rare exceptions, the detector reacted to the photocells of store doors and parking sensors in front of going cars.
As for the track, here things are somewhat worse. The device almost every time signaled danger, having seen the next gas station equipped with photo cells.
Detector
Despite the shortcomings in signal selectivity, the device with enviable consistency determined all police cameras: hanging radars, tripod devices, all kinds of “hair dryers” and other direction finding equipment. Moreover, the detection was carried out about a kilometer, which is quite enough to slow down.
The feedback on Karkam Combo 2 regarding the operation of the radar detector and GPS module is mostly positive, and minor flaws such as triggering on photocells and parking sensors cannot be called critical for this segment, because a good half of competing devices have the same problems.
DVR
There are no serious questions about the work of the DVR. The device copes with shooting in the daytime in Full HD resolution and perfectly distinguishes the numbers of cars in front. At night, things are slightly worse: poor photosensitivity (ISO 400 units) does not allow to see the license plate number of cars, but if you conjure with the settings (exposure parameters), you can get a pretty tolerable twilight picture, where the information, if not easy, is more or less correct readable.
Summarizing
Such hybrid gadgets as Karkam Combo 2, as a rule, receive only the basic functionality of each built-in device. In our case, this is not entirely true. Tests have shown that we are dealing with a full-fledged radar detector with a GPS module and a DVR, which are simply enclosed in one case. Such synergy did not harm the device at all, but only benefited the driver. Here we have both cost savings and free space on the windshield.
Judging by user reviews, most of them had a purely positive impression of the device, even despite the shortcomings. The device definitely deserves your attention and is worth it to be bought.
The estimated cost of the device is about 10,000 rubles.