RoQueTT

TTeam:

I've been thinking a little laterally about radar detection since being nailed on CA 280 at 100+ a month back.

Thought experiment goes like this, and I'd be grateful for feedback, ideas, criticism, and practical help from any electronics engineers out there. Sorry, Roadster owners, some of this won't apply.

1. Dismember Valentine V-1 control unit.
2. Fabricate small black mounting pod, with stub antenna on top (for appearance), to replace Coupe roof antenna.
3. Into this mounting pod (made of potting compound?) insert V1 front and rear radar & laser detector elements.
4. Make up wiring harness for detector elements, and lead it via existing cellphone cabling route to:
5. Inside of dash, where the fun begins.
6. Remove driver & passenger side heated seat control switch assemblies.
7. Parallel both seat heaters to passenger side switch. Fuse should be fine with this.
8. Rebuild driver side switch as control for V1, using LEDs and existing switch mechanicals.
9. Hide rest of V1 components in a box under dash.
10. In the static center of rotary switch assembly, bury the 2-digit red alphanumeric LED display from the V-1.
10. If we need another on/off switch or pot control, a micro-toggle or small pot can be mounted almost anywhere.

So, am I nuts? Or could this be made to work? Advantages would seem to be total invisibility to the "boys in blue" and no excess stuff cumbering up the interior. Disadvantages would obviously include huge expense & custom work. But I think we're all a bit nuts that way anyway.

So?.......

Larrytt

This would work for both coupe and roadster:

hack the unit as you are saying. But instead of having everything in one location on the roof, pace the rear detector inside the HMSL (3rd brake light) and the front detector on the forward facing area of the rear view mirror. This too would be totally 100% stealth.

The entire unit could then be hooked to the remote display with the main controller hidden somewhere else. It might be easier to implement and would not involve a large box on the roof.

RoQueTT

However, I have a funny feeling that the Valentine folks need the front & rear detector elements physically very close together... ?

If not, your solution would be very much better. The little elements are, after all, pretty tiny and would fit nicely where you indicate.

Larrytt

I bet if you called them up and asked for tech support they would answer you.

I know quite a few companies are performing all sorts of custom work on V1's. From integrating them into rearview mirrors to making remote mounts and who knows what else! lol

Pancho225

My old Bel Detector fell an broke into several pices(Mostly cosmetic, still functional) and I was tiered of the false alarms anyway. I bought a Passport 7500 and works great but I am tiered of the cluter on my windshield/dash.

So I started to build up my bel back in two pices a control/display module and a reciver unit, Not an easy nor cheap task.

I have wired the frankenstain detector together wity a 10ft ethernet cord to conect switches and LEDs to the reciver unit, and I am having voltage problems,(because of the long cord) and quite frankly i havent had the time to finish.


Any way I am still using the new passport and quite frankly i see no hope for my Frank'n'stain detector...

.. but your idea sounds interesting, Good Luck

RoQueTT

Nice one! Agree, these projects need lots of heads-down time - in short supply

CarTTman

and impair the accuracy of the direction finders, bogey counters, etc.<ul><li><a href="http://www.valentine1.com/lab/Previously1.asp">http://www.valentine1.com/lab/Previously1.asp</a</li></ul>

RoQueTT

Agreed, seems logical that there would be small shops out there doing this sort of thing. Would save reinventing ALL of the wheel if parts of it have already been done by others.

Do you (or others) know of any in CA?

Must scramble now: meeting Evan for the 1st time for a beer & biz meeting at 4. This forum's certainly been interesting!

RoQueTT

But if the antennas were kept together, with the electronics remotely???

CarTTman

I presume you could always email them.