Detector - Road Angel or Origin B2?
Discussion
I have been thinking about buying myself a speed trap detector and the Road Angel (with laser detector) or Origin B2 are the favourites. The RoadAngel seems more compact which will be useful as I need to move it between cars, but I believe it doesn't cover DS2 traps and the Origin B2 does. Is that right, and if so, why and does it make much difference? I also read in another post that some Police are still using mobile radar rather than laser. I don't think the RA has a radar option but the B2 does or will have.
I don't know which one to go for. Any advice?
I don't know which one to go for. Any advice?
Ive had both the Road Angel and now a B2.
Obviously the one advantage of the RA is its portability however several points I did not like;
When you are in city driving the unit keeps beeping all the time even when you are beside a camera ( you can press a mute button for 3 seconds and do that everytime but its tiresome.
The unit is quite large swinging around on the dash and the radar detector part ( as in all detectors is....well pretty useless) also NO DS2
As to the merits of ds2, well around my area( west mids) the camera partnerships are using this almost exclusively, so I think if you want to avoid getting caught you should have it.
Likes about the origin B2
Its modern looking, it has a feature that will NOT alert you if you are travelling under the limit.
You can plug a jammer directly into it and it gives you a distance to speedtrap (which may not seem that useful but sometimes with RA I had an alert and no indication of where the trap was!!
Things I dont like about B2, ive had 2 so far and both faulty( may be just bad luck!) oh and another thing.
As with the RA you have a choice to store a camera location and download to the database for checking if in fact the unit did not alert you.
When I bought my B2 there were 5 active traps (2 static and 3 ds2 that did not alert) so I marked these and sent them to origin. Despite e mailing the company and doing the latest downloads the sites still do NOT appear on the datbase at all some 5 weeks later.
so in short origin need to get their act together to provide a better service because if you buy one thinking it will offer you full protection you are , at present im afraid misguided.
Obviously the one advantage of the RA is its portability however several points I did not like;
When you are in city driving the unit keeps beeping all the time even when you are beside a camera ( you can press a mute button for 3 seconds and do that everytime but its tiresome.
The unit is quite large swinging around on the dash and the radar detector part ( as in all detectors is....well pretty useless) also NO DS2
As to the merits of ds2, well around my area( west mids) the camera partnerships are using this almost exclusively, so I think if you want to avoid getting caught you should have it.
Likes about the origin B2
Its modern looking, it has a feature that will NOT alert you if you are travelling under the limit.
You can plug a jammer directly into it and it gives you a distance to speedtrap (which may not seem that useful but sometimes with RA I had an alert and no indication of where the trap was!!
Things I dont like about B2, ive had 2 so far and both faulty( may be just bad luck!) oh and another thing.
As with the RA you have a choice to store a camera location and download to the database for checking if in fact the unit did not alert you.
When I bought my B2 there were 5 active traps (2 static and 3 ds2 that did not alert) so I marked these and sent them to origin. Despite e mailing the company and doing the latest downloads the sites still do NOT appear on the datbase at all some 5 weeks later.
so in short origin need to get their act together to provide a better service because if you buy one thinking it will offer you full protection you are , at present im afraid misguided.
boxster said:
I've found that Origin are very slow to take my updates too. Did the five active traps appear on the RA? If not, did they update it more quickly?
The RA undates were done very efficiently.
what Im saying is that I contacted origin direct with details of the camera partnership sites where all the sites were listed for them. So they need not be reliant upon information given by me. In fact they replied by saying that I should update my unit as they are all on the database. I updated it and in fact they still DO NOT show up.
Now the result of this is that if youbtravel through herefordshire you will get caught 7 times speeding and will hear NOTHING from your B2
I hope this is not replicated throughout the country otherwise its less than perfect. I think they are selling well due to good autocar reports but its a VERY POOR SHOW
I just got a reply from Stuart at BlackSpot (makers of Road Angel) regarding DS2 coverage:
"Road Angel does cover DS2 locations in its database. We have added these recently."
Why do so many people complain about the RA sliding around all over the dash? It is supposed to come with a windscreen mounting kit that I think attaches with suckers and should hold it still, or is this a recent addition that other people didn't get? I am going to need something to hold the unit (of whatever type), I have an E36 BMW and there isn't much of the dash that is flat.
"Road Angel does cover DS2 locations in its database. We have added these recently."
Why do so many people complain about the RA sliding around all over the dash? It is supposed to come with a windscreen mounting kit that I think attaches with suckers and should hold it still, or is this a recent addition that other people didn't get? I am going to need something to hold the unit (of whatever type), I have an E36 BMW and there isn't much of the dash that is flat.
Mr E said:
Speaking of Very Poor Show,
I'm currently awaiting a replacement unit.
They had 3 attempts at fixing my first one. Have finally admitted defeat......
When it works, it's fab.....
well I think a bit of bad publicity is in order here, obviously they are selling well but the purchasers have yet to be the victims of a poorly administered database and customer service!
I have the Road Angel Laser, and no complaints yet.
There was a problem with early laser units that were triggered by electrical interference. I have just received a replacement laser module following my phone call to Blackspot. All I have to do is return the faulty module.
The Origin B2 is nicer looking than a Road Angel but does it really do a better job ?
The Road Angel connects to my Ipaq with a serial cable and gives me GPS navigation using TomTom Navigator 2 software.
I am happy with Road Angel.
There was a problem with early laser units that were triggered by electrical interference. I have just received a replacement laser module following my phone call to Blackspot. All I have to do is return the faulty module.
The Origin B2 is nicer looking than a Road Angel but does it really do a better job ?
The Road Angel connects to my Ipaq with a serial cable and gives me GPS navigation using TomTom Navigator 2 software.
I am happy with Road Angel.
the RA is a good unit and many are happy with it.
Its hardly an unobtrusive unit and its quite heavy so one has to remove it from the car when leaving it.
I dont think B2 does a better job it just works more unobtrusively with more features.
most 2nd generation gps will provide a gps output for mapping ect
As for the laser detectors of any of these units they are not much use and its hit and miss at best.
Its hardly an unobtrusive unit and its quite heavy so one has to remove it from the car when leaving it.
I dont think B2 does a better job it just works more unobtrusively with more features.
most 2nd generation gps will provide a gps output for mapping ect
As for the laser detectors of any of these units they are not much use and its hit and miss at best.
At the risk of asking a stupid question but, if these are all GPS based and detect your location by linking to the satellites (or do they?) then why do they need to update by internet links?
Surely if they knwo where you are via GPS, then why don't they alert you to the cameras the same way?
Surely if they knwo where you are via GPS, then why don't they alert you to the cameras the same way?
Davel said:
At the risk of asking a stupid question but, if these are all GPS based and detect your location by linking to the satellites (or do they?) then why do they need to update by internet links?
Because the smeaky bastards move temporary cameras (when roadworks are complete), changine speed limits and putting new cameras up.......
Updates are a very good thing.
I use the velcro spots to fix the RA to the dash.
Also for those RA users that still have the blackspots muted. Next time you update, untick cameras and blackspots and tick cameras; then update - the unit will be erased and then updated with camera locations only.
I know this sounds obvious but loads of people were moaning about the blackspot warnings on another forum.
Also for those RA users that still have the blackspots muted. Next time you update, untick cameras and blackspots and tick cameras; then update - the unit will be erased and then updated with camera locations only.
I know this sounds obvious but loads of people were moaning about the blackspot warnings on another forum.
beano500 said:
Funny to hear the negatives on the B2. I haven't (yet) invested in one, but I had a conversation at VW with a nice chap who was clearly pleased with his B2, having upgraded from the previous model. Couldn't praise it enough!
That was me (probably) - swear by it. Actually I had a poke around the cars at VW. I spotted 1 or 2 radar detectors, 3 B2s and nothing else.
I even had a look under the grills for laser diffusers and didn't spot any...
>> Edited by NugentS on Tuesday 28th October 21:40
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