slofox
1st March 2010, 14:25
Here it is - the TPX fitted and functioning (see pix).
Very easy install - made more so by having a distribution block already in place. Which means the unit is switched through the ignition and not just connected directly to the battery as per original instructions. Direct connection means the unit drains a tiny little current all the time unless unplugged so switched is more betterer. :yes:
What's a distribution block you ask? See HERE. (http://www.canyonchasers.net/shop/generic/relay.php). Well worth the effort IMO.
TPX has a wireless headset and a visual alert. In practice the visual alert was better for me than the earpiece. I placed the visual LED unit where it catches my peripheral vision - see picture. The earpiece, whilst it is loud, gets a little lost in the general wind noise at highway speeds. It's fine around town though.
The alert tones for each band differ from each other but not that dramatically - except for the laser alert which is quite different. The other three, (X, K and Ka) take a little learning to distinguish. The TPX unit itself has a very good LCD display that is easy to read at any time. A flick of the eyes will tell you which band has been triggered until you learn the tones.
Buttons work fine even in fat finger gloves. There aren't that many functions to be switched through anyway but if you want to change you can do it with ease. Essentially I can see myself getting it set up and leaving it on those settings permanently. I might change brightness and back lighting of buttons for night riding but that's prolly all.
The unit can also double as a cage radar detector. You will see in the pic that I have a bit of 3M Dual Lock on top of the unit. This attaches to a suction cup unit from my original Cobra Detector and works just fine. You can buy a "car adapter" for $67.50 if you are filthy rich but $2.50 will buy you a 6 pin DIN plug which can be wired to a ciggie lighter plug which is what you would get for that $67.50. Just make sure you wire the pins correctly. :whistle:
Actually, that was the hardest part of this device - wiring that bloody DIN plug. The pins are tiny and I needed three hands to do the soldering. Besides which my hands do wobble a bit these days which makes fine soldering even harder - specially combined with dodgy eyes...:angry: I wrecked the first DIN plug but the second one was better - after I discovered that you can pull the pins out to solder up..:o. I might do yet another one but we'll see about that...
Does it work you ask? Yep. Chirps at every door opener in town (you can switch most of that off if you want.) Haven't had to use it "in anger" yet but it sure picked up the speed monitor outside of Otorohanga (K band) from a goodly distance this morning. Perhaps I better roar around at ridiculous speeds for a bit to see if I get caught - purely in the interests of investigation you unnerstand...
Not a bad unit for the money I reckon.
Pix 1 and 2 show general setup. Pix 3 and 4 show visual alert doover - three bright red LED's. Mount is a RAM mount.
Very easy install - made more so by having a distribution block already in place. Which means the unit is switched through the ignition and not just connected directly to the battery as per original instructions. Direct connection means the unit drains a tiny little current all the time unless unplugged so switched is more betterer. :yes:
What's a distribution block you ask? See HERE. (http://www.canyonchasers.net/shop/generic/relay.php). Well worth the effort IMO.
TPX has a wireless headset and a visual alert. In practice the visual alert was better for me than the earpiece. I placed the visual LED unit where it catches my peripheral vision - see picture. The earpiece, whilst it is loud, gets a little lost in the general wind noise at highway speeds. It's fine around town though.
The alert tones for each band differ from each other but not that dramatically - except for the laser alert which is quite different. The other three, (X, K and Ka) take a little learning to distinguish. The TPX unit itself has a very good LCD display that is easy to read at any time. A flick of the eyes will tell you which band has been triggered until you learn the tones.
Buttons work fine even in fat finger gloves. There aren't that many functions to be switched through anyway but if you want to change you can do it with ease. Essentially I can see myself getting it set up and leaving it on those settings permanently. I might change brightness and back lighting of buttons for night riding but that's prolly all.
The unit can also double as a cage radar detector. You will see in the pic that I have a bit of 3M Dual Lock on top of the unit. This attaches to a suction cup unit from my original Cobra Detector and works just fine. You can buy a "car adapter" for $67.50 if you are filthy rich but $2.50 will buy you a 6 pin DIN plug which can be wired to a ciggie lighter plug which is what you would get for that $67.50. Just make sure you wire the pins correctly. :whistle:
Actually, that was the hardest part of this device - wiring that bloody DIN plug. The pins are tiny and I needed three hands to do the soldering. Besides which my hands do wobble a bit these days which makes fine soldering even harder - specially combined with dodgy eyes...:angry: I wrecked the first DIN plug but the second one was better - after I discovered that you can pull the pins out to solder up..:o. I might do yet another one but we'll see about that...
Does it work you ask? Yep. Chirps at every door opener in town (you can switch most of that off if you want.) Haven't had to use it "in anger" yet but it sure picked up the speed monitor outside of Otorohanga (K band) from a goodly distance this morning. Perhaps I better roar around at ridiculous speeds for a bit to see if I get caught - purely in the interests of investigation you unnerstand...
Not a bad unit for the money I reckon.
Pix 1 and 2 show general setup. Pix 3 and 4 show visual alert doover - three bright red LED's. Mount is a RAM mount.