Radar question...

[Boob Johnson]

Just bought a radar detector (Bell X50 Passport 8500) for my bike & wanting a few tips, so do share your experiences please.


I have sorted the mounting of it out (getting a small piece of flat ali @ work for free :2thumbsup) but have not yet sorted out the ear piece part. What ear piece do you use & where did you get it & at what cost?


I've been told to power this lil money/licence saver up all you need to do is wire it up straight from the battery. Im not an electrician & have never done any work like that so wondering if that is as simple as that?



Cheers in advance :niceone:

[Blackbird]

Not straight from the battery, from the switched connection on your fuse box or you'll flatten your battery at some stage. If you're set on an earpiece, go and get a mini flat plastic speaker from Dick Smith and velcro it into your helmet. Personally, I abandoned an earpiece because wires either broke when I needed them most or I accidentally disconnected it when moving around on the bike. I use a screamer now - do a search on my evaluation. Oh, and get yourself a waterproof cover if you haven't got one fromRadar Direct.

[Warr]

I've wired mine off the lighting circuit - just means its off till I turn the lights on which is when I'm out on the road.
As to getting the notification to you brain there is more than one way to choose.
Audible
- Screamer mounted on the bike facing you
- Wire to your helmet .. Check out here (http://www.amalgamate2000.com/sales/)

Visual
- Head-up LED thingie
- High-powered LED mounted on your fairing blade facing directly into your eyes.

I use Pinfold speakers in the helmet and a lead.

[Delphinus]

If you mean the escort X50 you'll be wanting this:
http://www.magnell.net/cmags/subaru/SmartCordSchem.gif
If you're not sure about circuit diagrams,
Green (G) is ground or negative
Red (R) goes via a 2A fuse to positive.
Going into a RJ11 telephone cable.

Source: http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=25106


I'm curring wiring up / programming a microcontroller with some smarts for a radar detector screamer for bikes. Can sort you out with one when I have it sorted.
In the meantime I have a earphone extension cable (male to female) so i can easily plug an earpiece (using earbuds for now) into detector and if I walk away without remembering to unplug (twice so far) it self unplugs.

[Warr]

I havent tried it myself, but was speaking to a guy at the '07 Grand Challenge and he connected a 'high-power' blue LED straight across the speaker on an 8500. Nothing else. He was quite happy with its performance.

[DMNTD]

... he connected a 'high-power' blue LED straight across the speaker on an 8500.

Could you please explain what you mean by that?
Cheers

[Warr]

Could you please explain what you mean by that?
Cheers
From the mono speaker plug connect directly to the high-power LED - available from DickSmith or J-Car.
It could be polarity conscious, meaning if it doesnt work connected one way reverse the lead, As the LED is polarity sensitive.
The guy I spoke to had found that there was sufficient drive on the audio output to fire the LED.

[SVboy]

I just mounted my new BEL rx65 centrally, on the tripple clamp. It is exposed-not under the blade. Over the weekend-I got lots of false radar alerts.
Any ideas?

[Delphinus]

Over the weekend-I got lots of false radar alerts.
Any ideas?

Have you turned X and K bands off? Only need Ka and Laser in NZ

[Blackbird]

I just mounted my new BEL rx65 centrally, on the tripple clamp. It is exposed-not under the blade. Over the weekend-I got lots of false radar alerts.
Any ideas?


If X and K bands are disabled, has it got POP? If so, disable it as a check. POP can trigger alerts from some agricultural machinery which use electronic componentry for positioning. The other question is that how do you know they're false? When I ride across the Hauraki Plains which is flat with no obstructions, I get a lot of signals which I assume are patrol vehicles operating on other roads.

[SVboy]

Cheers BB , I will investigate. Dangerous thought it might be sun thru the blade.I started putting my hand over the unit-which seemed to settle it down. I will see if those bands are disabled. I dont believe they were genuine alerts-esp down the Kaikoura coast-we would have seen something.

[TerminalAddict]

My CURRENT solution (Its changed a few times :) )

cheap set of computer type headphones from DSE $12
Dismantle, hot glue the joints to the speakers (cause they break ALL the time :( )
jam in helmet, with only a small amount of lead dangling .. about an inch
extension cord to the radar.

Finding an extension cord that is light is quite difficult however

[Fatjim]

You can make a power lead out of a modem cable, the rj connector that plugs into the the modem (not the wall socket) is the same connector. These are a dime a dozen and you probably have one kicking around. Wire it to the switched output of your ignition, or as close to it as possible. you may want to fuse it.

Turn of X and K bands.
Keep the detector as high as possible.

despite a fantastic wiring job I still got laser falseys when I use the horn or I overtake close to a car. I've turned it off as I was sick of getting a warning just as I was pulling in front of a car at some silly speed only to have to jam on the brakes, which would really piss off the cages.

[Fatjim]

My CURRENT solution (Its changed a few times :) )

cheap set of computer type headphones from DSE $12
Dismantle, hot glue the joints to the speakers (cause they break ALL the time :( )
jam in helmet, with only a small amount of lead dangling .. about an inch
extension cord to the radar.

Finding an extension cord that is light is quite difficult however

Do you run the lead down your right sleeve? This allows you to use a heavier cable, but it does mean you have to be careful not to take your hand off the throttle.

[Hawkeye]

Power - Just do what everyone else is saying. Wire through the fuse box.

Sound - I bought a 3.5 - 3.5 extension lead (DS) which I ran through the bike and have the plug sitting where the detector sits and the socket sits at the base of the tank/front of the seat. (stores easily under seat when not in use). (changed the 3.5 plug for a 2.5 to fit detector although you can get an adapter)

Cheap pair of headphones (with curly lead and volume control). Pulled out the speakers and put them into helmet behind the padding. Wire comes down at the shoulder and I plug into socket as I get on/off the bike. Being a curly lead it keeps it tight against the body. Added advantage is when I use the same setup for the MP3 instead of the detector, I can adjust the volume with the control.
If I get off forgetting to disconnect, the plug just pulls apart.

[Boob Johnson]

Some great idea's there guys, cheers. Will try some of them out ;)