I just purchased a radar/laser detector online. I would like to mount it in the overhead console in the garage door opener position. Is this possible? If the signal from the transmiter can get to the opener in the garage, can't the radar/laser signal get to a detector there as well? I'm not a scientist but I would think this is at least conceivable. I think I saw a similar post a while back but couldn't find it. Any ideas?

 

I dont have an overhead console but I just mounted my radar/laser detector high on the windshield over the rear view mirror. There has been some mention of concerns about signal degragation through the dark tinting at the top of the windshield but I have not had any problems. The detector works just fine. I would think that your location would work just as well.

Hobbit

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99 XLT,4.6L Auto,4X4,tow pkge,Factory Side Steps and Mudflaps, K&N filter,BugflectorII, Amazon Green/Silver, Pace Edwards Rolltop Cover, still want a Superchip and by golly I'm gonna get one (just as soon and I hit the lottery )

 

onemilmhz,

If I understand you correctly, you want to mount a radar detector inside the console. So it would have no direct line of sight to the outside world.

This will work if you want to get lots of tickets. I say this because the way radar works. I got the following from http://www.crutchfield.com/infolib/c...EWJ/radar.html

"How radar detectors work

Think of a radar signal as a beam of light from a flashlight. When you shine a flashlight at an object, your eyes perceive the light reflected from the object.

Now imagine yourself as the object being illuminated. You can see the light from the flashlight from a much farther distance than the person with the flashlight could ever hope to see you. That's because the beam loses energy over distance. So while the beam has enough energy to reach you, the reflected light doesn't have enough energy to travel all the way back to where it started.

That's the idea behind radar detectors. Police radar units transmit a series of radar pulses and calculate your speed based on how long it takes two consecutive pulses to reach the radar gun after being reflected off your car.

Radar detectors look for radar "beams" and find them before they can "illuminate" you. Detectors use superheterodyne design to "see" radar beams even though they may not be strong enough to reflect back to the radar gun. This design sends out a signal which mixes with any incoming radar to produce a lower frequency that can be more easily detected. It also allows detectors to detect beams around curves or over hills, and it extends their range straight ahead. "

This page also has descriptions on the diffrent types of radar.

If you bought a radar dector that has a remote sensor like the PassportSR1 http://www.escortradar.com/ which has a separate display and sensor. Then you could put it in the console. But it would be hard to see.

I think the other articles on this were to power the radar detector from the compas / lights in the console.

Good luck

Sean


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2000 F150 XLT 4x4 Extended Cab

• Deep Wedgewood Blue
• 4.6L Manual Trans
• Ford Tonneau Cover
• Magnum Bug Deflector
• Panther 16x8 wheels with 285/75 R16 BFG All Terrain T/A
• 'Superchips' Performance Chip
• K&N FIPK (With custom mod)
• Westin Side Bars (Black)
• 3" Jardine Cat-Back Exhaust with Crome Tip
• Clear Corners
• Tinted Font Side Windows

[This message has been edited by sigalph (edited 08-29-2000).]

 

Or better yet, just dont speed.. If youre goin the speed limit, you dont need a radar detector! Wear your seatbelts at all times, and maybe save a life or something..

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2001 Supercrew, white/silver Lariat, gray leather capt. chairs, 5.4L, Expedition console, wood dash, cobra hood, billet grill, Ford chrome tube steps, Line-X liner, Magnaflow cat-back dual exhaust w/stainless tips, k/n filter, http://hometown.aol.com/washyourcar/supercrew.html

 

one50npump,
You must be the guy in front of me doing 55 in the fast lane with your blinker on while I honk, flash my brights and curse the day you were born. What the hell does using a radar detector have to with wearing my seatbelt?

sigalph,
Thanks for the info. I think you're right about the other posts. I just remembered something posted about detectors and the console.

Anyone,
Is the power source for the compass adequate for a detector? How else can I wire it so the cord isn't visible in the cab?

 

Yes the compass power will work for th radar detector as long as it is 12v. It will be the white wire(+12)(I think), it's been a a few months since I installed mine so check it with a volt meter. There is a ground wire in there also, but I can't remeber the color. After you get the plug wired up, you can mount the detector using a longer screw in the existing hole in the front of the over head. Hope this helps, I'll try to get some pic's this afternoon.

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My 2000 F-150

It's A KC Thing....You Wouldn't Understand!!!

 

Yes, you can tap into the compass/thermometer in the overhead console, I did mine not too long ago. The wire for power that you are looking for is white, but it may have a colored stripe (I cannot remember what color). All I did was get a power tester (basically just a tool with a light in it and a sharp pointed end, and a clip to attach to a ground point somewhere on the truck) and push the pointed end into a white wire within that harness in the console and see if that is infact the power wire (you will not be able to check the voltage this way, but I assumed it was 12V) and then I grounded the other wire onto the "overhead console mounting bracket", and make sure it is the bracket and not the roof of the truck, I would hate for you to send a screw through the top of the cab...

To answer the original question, I don't think so...infact, I have also wondered about the strength of my radar detector signal after it goes through the tinted portion of the window also..it seems to be weaker, so I may try to lower mine below the tint (if possible)

Good Luck

One50npump: I got my radar detector because I got tired of being "singled out" by cops on the highway - Imean, almost everyone out there is going 10-15mph over the speed limit, but when a cop passes you and he is staring at you to see what color you are and figures:"this guy has plenty of money, I can fill my quota for the day by ticketing him for 10 over, and he has plenty of money to pay for it..." while all these other drug dealers and criminals go loose on the street, I got sick of it...

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2000 F150 4x4 Lariat SuperCab
5.4L V8, ORP, Tow Pkg, Lthr Captain Chairs
Plain Black w/o trim color
Mobile 1 synthetic user

Mods so far:
-SuperChip from Mike T. (Best $225 ever spent!!!)
-Clear front corner lenses
-20% tint (drivers/passgrs windows to match factory tint)
-United Welding Service solidlid toolbox w/rails
-Herculiner (love it)

 

Spargo2,
I would really appreciate some pics. I'm sure I can feel my way through it but pics would be a big help.

Captain,
I am going to try to mount it below the tint after reading a couople other posts. It seems to weaken the signal for whatever reason. About the cops looking for an easy ticket, I couldn't agree with you more. Especially here in California. When I lived in GA all it took to get a cop to lean my way was seeing the state flag on the front of my truck. Here, the CHP tried to ticket me for it! I can't wait for the "big one" when "Commiefornia" slides into the ocean taking the CHP with it!

 

Ok onemil,
Here's the pics.
This one is the wiring harness for the compass. Just make sure you get your polarity correct!!!

The next two pics are the mounting points. Just remove the screw in console, pull the console off and wire it. Find a longer screw and modify your bracket. SOOOO simple!!


If you have any other ???'s give me a shout.


[This message has been edited by Spargo2 (edited 08-30-2000).]

 

No problem, I'll try to get the pics up tonight.

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My 2000 F-150

It's A KC Thing....You Wouldn't Understand!!!

 

Spargo2,
Thanks man! That's the kind of install I'm going for with this. Do you think the tinted portion of the windshield affects the performance of the detector? I've also thought about mounting it next to the driver side A-pillar and running the cord behind the trim there to the dash. Either way the tint will be an issue. Thanks again for the pics.

 

I haven't had any trouble with the tint. I had mine in the lower left of the windshield, and it works just as good on the console as it did down away from the tint. I went to Bristol TN last weekend and the detector saved me a few hundred dollars. There was a TN state trooper standing on an overpass running radar and I picked him up a good ways back. Good thing, he was radioing back down the road to another somkey bear. If you need anymore help just let me know.

 

Whoa! Look out for Tennessee State Troopers! One will sit on top of an overpass and tag you while a couple line up on the entrance ramp to chase you down afterward. Very efficiant. I was pulled over with SIX other cars one Thanksgiving weekend while heading home to GA. I was just "keeping up with traffic" as they say. 82 in a 70. I usually only cruise 9 miles over but everyone was 10-15 miles over when I got hit. Tennessee made a lot of money that day!

 

Alert, Alert, traffic jam on the freeway. As the cars lined up the officer only had one thing to say "Well folks, I'm writing as fast as I can."



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97 F-150, 2WD, Reg Cab,Flareside,Dk Toreador Red, Windsor 4.6, Magnecor 8.5mm wires, Bosch Plat +4s, 3.55 LS, EGR Bug Deflector, ******* Bed Cover, Bed Liner, XL Full Length Running Boards, Air Aid Kit, Gibson Single Out Cat Back, Superchips, TransGo Shift Kit, Hellwig Rear Sway Bar, Hellwig 2500# Overload Springs,Energy Suspension Polyurethane Front Sway Bar Bushings, 265 70 16 tires, Rancho RS9000 shocks

 

Well I heard on the news that the TN State Troopers are cracking down on speeding the last 3 weeks and this weekend they will be cracking down even harder all this comes after a Trooper was killed by a speeding truck diver that hit his car and killed him on I-40 in Jackson little over a month ago. Makes you wonder if that didn't happen if they would be doing this crack down they been doing the last 3 weeks.

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2000 F150 XLT Reg. cab
4.6 Triton Engine
4x2 3.55 rear end gear
sliding rear window
automatic keyless entry
white styleside short box