Discussion
Yes, the most popular ones appear to be the Origin b2 (which I can vouch for as being very good), the Blackspot Road Angel and the Morpheous Road Pilot.
Being GPS based they are all excellent at warning of fixed speed-camera locations (Gatso, Truvelo, Specs), however provide no protection of mobile cameras (vans and handheld - of which almost all now use laser rather than radar). Most of them offer radar and/or laser detector add-on modules, however the laser alert is pretty useless since by the time you get the warning you've had your speed read, photo taken and just need to wait for the NIP to land on the doormat
I've got an Origin b2 and have recently purchased a Target LRC100 laser-diffuser (for opening the garage door at home of course!) which integrates with the b2. All that's then needed is a sharp pair of eyes to look out for traffpol cars (of which there aren't many left because they've all been replaced with cameras!)
The bottom line - unless you never break the speed limit, I would definitely recommend buying one of the GPS based devices to offer a basic level of protection and then look at add-ons depending upon how many points you have already and how fast you drive.
HTH, Martin.
Being GPS based they are all excellent at warning of fixed speed-camera locations (Gatso, Truvelo, Specs), however provide no protection of mobile cameras (vans and handheld - of which almost all now use laser rather than radar). Most of them offer radar and/or laser detector add-on modules, however the laser alert is pretty useless since by the time you get the warning you've had your speed read, photo taken and just need to wait for the NIP to land on the doormat
I've got an Origin b2 and have recently purchased a Target LRC100 laser-diffuser (for opening the garage door at home of course!) which integrates with the b2. All that's then needed is a sharp pair of eyes to look out for traffpol cars (of which there aren't many left because they've all been replaced with cameras!)
The bottom line - unless you never break the speed limit, I would definitely recommend buying one of the GPS based devices to offer a basic level of protection and then look at add-ons depending upon how many points you have already and how fast you drive.
HTH, Martin.
The Origin b2 is about the size of a pager and plugs into a cradle which I've mounted (only using velcro)onto the dashboard. All the signal, GPS receiver and power cables plug into a single cable that then goes directly into the b2 cradle. The b2 unit plugs into the cradle with the aid of a magnet (to keep it securely in place) and can then be simply detached so it can be moved to another car or stored out of view when parked etc. You can purchase additional car kits from Origin (see www.originb2.com) at £99. I've just purchased an additional carkit so I can use the b2 in my beemer as well as the Noble
I've got a Target LRC100 Laser diffuser plus Morpheus Road Pilot (GPS camera locator thing, that also does much more) plus the optional Road Pilot Radar detector.
The Laser diffuser will require some work to get working correctly. I had to cut a hole on the front grill mesh before it worked (tested by the nice folks at speedtraps.co.uk). Either that or mount it exposed to the elements under the number plate.
The Road Pilot plus Radar is excellent, except that it keeps blowing the cigarette lighter fuse (a real pain as it's the same curcuit as the stereo and interior lights as well). Installation is very clean with minimal wires exposed. Note to self - must get round to taking a photo soon!
The Laser diffuser will require some work to get working correctly. I had to cut a hole on the front grill mesh before it worked (tested by the nice folks at speedtraps.co.uk). Either that or mount it exposed to the elements under the number plate.
The Road Pilot plus Radar is excellent, except that it keeps blowing the cigarette lighter fuse (a real pain as it's the same curcuit as the stereo and interior lights as well). Installation is very clean with minimal wires exposed. Note to self - must get round to taking a photo soon!
). How easy (or difficult!) was it to position and wire in to the electrics? Plus where did you feed the wiring through the front bulkhead into the cabin? Cheers, Martin.Martin, I cheated and got the factory to fit it while my car was in build. They did an excellent job.
The buzzer is mounted within the steering wheel housing. The on/off switch is mounted on a new bracket they made and fitted at the bottom of the steering wheel housing where the original Ford would have had the adjustable steering wheel lever. Not a good picture, but you can just about see it here:
The diffuser head has been mounted on the red towing eye, inside the grill.
As mentioned, the grill then needs to have a hole cut out so the diffuser has a clear view. (You can also see the Radar head on the left)
The wiring follows along the front of the chassis then joins the light loom up from the front, where it then branches off into the space where the water bottle sits. This is where the connector is situated. A new hole has been drilled through the bulkhead at this point, and has a rubber grommit/washer thing to protect the cable and prevent water getting into the cabin.
Just inside the cabin at this point, if you look in the footwell on the extreme top right side, there is a large flap of carpet that can be peeled back, behind which is an excellent place to locate all the surplas cable length.
I do not know where the factory picked up power from, but expect that there is a live feed somewhere inside the steering wheel housing. The LED has been placed on the front left of the steering wheel housing mirroring the standard Alarm LED on the front right.
The buzzer is mounted within the steering wheel housing. The on/off switch is mounted on a new bracket they made and fitted at the bottom of the steering wheel housing where the original Ford would have had the adjustable steering wheel lever. Not a good picture, but you can just about see it here:
The diffuser head has been mounted on the red towing eye, inside the grill.
As mentioned, the grill then needs to have a hole cut out so the diffuser has a clear view. (You can also see the Radar head on the left)
The wiring follows along the front of the chassis then joins the light loom up from the front, where it then branches off into the space where the water bottle sits. This is where the connector is situated. A new hole has been drilled through the bulkhead at this point, and has a rubber grommit/washer thing to protect the cable and prevent water getting into the cabin.
Just inside the cabin at this point, if you look in the footwell on the extreme top right side, there is a large flap of carpet that can be peeled back, behind which is an excellent place to locate all the surplas cable length.
I do not know where the factory picked up power from, but expect that there is a live feed somewhere inside the steering wheel housing. The LED has been placed on the front left of the steering wheel housing mirroring the standard Alarm LED on the front right.
Thanks Danny, an excellent set of pictures - I'll have a go at replicating your set-up next week (if it stope raining!). I wouldn't have thought of attaching the laser-head bracket to the towing eye, but looking at the photos it looks like a neat install and saves drilling holes into the undertray or trying to epoxy the bracket to the clam.
Just one word of note Martin, when tested - even WITH the hole cut in the grill - it was about 90% effective, not 100%. To make it more effective either
a) Get yourself a stick-on numberplate or
b) Get a non-reflective numberplate or
c) Mount the head unit as close as it can be to the center of the numberplate.
Basically, the Laser gun operator will target your numberplate, and numberplates are extremely good at bouncing light back. These diffusers just fire a signal back at the Laser gun to confuse it. If the beam of the gun is being reflected more powerfully than to beam from the diffuser can emit, the gun wins and they get a reading.
a) Get yourself a stick-on numberplate or
b) Get a non-reflective numberplate or
c) Mount the head unit as close as it can be to the center of the numberplate.
Basically, the Laser gun operator will target your numberplate, and numberplates are extremely good at bouncing light back. These diffusers just fire a signal back at the Laser gun to confuse it. If the beam of the gun is being reflected more powerfully than to beam from the diffuser can emit, the gun wins and they get a reading.
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