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SolaraGuy.com • View topic - DIY radar mount, install, hardwire
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DIY radar mount, install, hardwire

DIY radar mount, install, hardwire

Postby dinoxor » Sat Oct 22, 2011 1:27 pm

First off I do not want to take credit for this idea but rather integrating the idea to our gen 1 and 1.5 cars.

The original link to this tutorial can be found here and I would HIGHLY recommend that you should read it first to get a general idea!
http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-boxster-electronics/37014-el-cheapo-rearview-mirror-mount-passport-9500ix.html


Okay so to clear things up that there has been a lot of debate on the placement of the radar unit itself.
And after intensive research I've concluded, or somewhat came to a conclusion, that the higher the mount the better your radar detection but your laser detection will decline due to the laser's sight will more likely be shot at your license plate which is the most reflective unit in front of your car.

By having it mid way on your rear view, there is a balance between radar and laser detection which is common where I live so it is up to preference!
Plus I don't have to constantly remove my suction cup anymore and having to worry about someone breaking into my car.

Now that that's cleared up lets begin!

Materials needed:
your radar (in this case my 8500 x50)
your radar's mount with the suction removed
1 cateye reflector (I thought I was going to cough up $5.00 for one but my local bike shop gave it to me for free!)
2 nuts and bolts (I forgot the nut and bolt size :/ sorry I trialed and error until I got a perfect match)
2 washers
small piece of rubber (to wrap around the stem of the rear-view mirror)
- I use a piece of rubber from my old dell ac adapter to make several wrap around the stem, you can use a piece from a rubber hose if needed.

optional: black plasitdip or spray paint!

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all of the materials listed above

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1) remove the reflector with a simple screwdriver

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2) decide on how you want to connect it together.

2a) OPTIONAL: paint your nuts and bolts black to give it a more flush look!

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3) put everything together.
I've decided to put the nut on top since it fits a bit better

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top view (luckily the nut fits flush with the plastic on the left)

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front and back view

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slide your radar inside to make sure you have clearance between the bolt and the radar
- mines a tight fit but no scratches so far

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finished product!


INSTALLATION:

remove your radar prior to installing to the stem to mitigate the installation process.

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use whatever rubber piece you decided and wrap around the stem to make the stem fatter.
eventually the bike clamp should fit snuggly, then tightened the clamp with your screw driver



The next step is rather tedious since we have two ball and socket pivot point on the rear view mirror
park in a nice leveled ground and pivot your radar stem, bend your radar mount to get a nice leveled radar.
You DO NOT WANT YOUR RADAR TO POINT TO THE SKY OR GROUND
That has got to be my number one pet peeve since I have always seen people driving it with it pointing up or down...
not only is it ineffective it looks DUMBB don't do it!!!


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nice and even, although I have the auto-dimming mirror with the chin or tongue
the radar sits snuggly

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side and outside view.

TIP: when parking the car remember to hide your wire, if you leave it hanging it will defeats the purpose of deterring theft!

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heres where I placed my phone head

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outside view
not too bad It would look A LOT stealthier if I were to paint the nuts and bolts black
but as of now it looks good


HARDWIRING:

After a lot of research I thought this was going to be hard but it was rather simple if you have the right tools and time!

Materials:
direct hardwiring cord (Source: http://safe-n-sound1.com/)
The cords felt nice and seems very high quality although it was around $13
so I bought the direct cord with mini blade fuse tap and a flat mute button :http://www.safe-n-sound1.com/Beltronics%20Direct%20Cord%20Flat%20Mute.html

screw drivers

patiences



The wiring kit that came with it was VERY straight forward.

unfortunately I bought my phone after the installation so I do not have pictures but hopefully my ghetto diagram will help:

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1) Pop off the lower left coin holder below the left vent
Disassemble lower dash panel (I'm getting tired so use the search function here to find out how to achieve this)
This panel is held by two screws I think and 2 toyota super clip so gotta use some force to pull it out.

2) connect the phone head and the red tap connector and the black ground ring to make sure everything works!

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The website shows how you connect the mini fuse blade and I use the 20A seat heater fuse to get my 12 volt source
again this is located on the bottom left behind the small coin holder

make sure your GROUNDING IS SCREWED ON AND TOUCHING A METAL SURFACE! grounding is VERY important!

3) after turning your car to acc your radar should turn on
the reason why I used the heat seater was so the radar will turn on each time your car is turned on and vise versa to prevent battery drainage.

4) Unhook everything and mount your radar and gestimate how much wire is needed

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this is the where I tucked my wires all the way to the fuse box

5) OPTIONAL: If you did get a mute cord find out where you would like to place it and open whatever panel to get it there

In this case this is where I put mine :
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doesn't look too out of place but requires taking off the center console and the key ignition cover to get it there.

6) The kit comes with zip ties so use those to coil and bunch up whatever wires
clean everything up and make sure it works before putting the panels back!
also make sure your fuse from the kit has an easy access so in case it DOES break you have easy access

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again you can see I just stuck it in front of the fuse (it has a safe-n-sound sticker if you can't tell)

PUT EVERYTHING TOGETHER AND BAM YOU GOT YOURSELF A SEXY SET UP THAT GUARANTEES YOU TO GET SOME POONANI WITHOUT HAVING THAT COILED WIRE IN THE WAY! ;]

So all in all:
bike mount: free
nut and bolt : $1.50
direct cord : $12.00
TOTAL: $13.50

pretty cheap compared to that dang $80 blendmount

CONCLUSION:
after a weeks of using this set up the only problem I see was the weight of the radar occasionally pulling the rearview mirror stem down a bit.
stupid double ball and socket design...


but this set up has gotten me so many poon that it don't matter!
good luck!
feel free to post your questions, comments, or concerns!
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Re: DIY radar mount, install, hardwire

Postby wkbrdr91 » Sun Oct 30, 2011 12:42 pm

Looks great! If my radar didn't sit so nicely as-is I would do the same for my gen2.

By the way, have you heard of Escort's new live system? Integrates the radar wirelessly to any android/iPhone for GPS technology and lets users confirm whether the radar is going off where a real cop is... think of it as integrating Trapster with your radar.

http://www.escortradar.com/escort-live/
2006 Solara Sport
TRD RSB, lip kit, 2 12" Sony sub's, Injen SRI, 18" BBS rims, Tein springs, TRD struts, 5% tint, neons, 5 air horns, 55W low & fog HID's.
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Re: DIY radar mount, install, hardwire

Postby 1gSE » Sun Oct 30, 2011 12:52 pm

nice write up, looks good! :up: :up:
Image
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Re: DIY radar mount, install, hardwire

Postby dinoxor » Sun Oct 30, 2011 3:31 pm

wkbrdr91 wrote:Looks great! If my radar didn't sit so nicely as-is I would do the same for my gen2.

By the way, have you heard of Escort's new live system? Integrates the radar wirelessly to any android/iPhone for GPS technology and lets users confirm whether the radar is going off where a real cop is... think of it as integrating Trapster with your radar.

http://www.escortradar.com/escort-live/


hmm I remember when cobra first came out with their iradar a few years back and I must say the idea seems pretty cool!
but hopefully escort did a better job working out their kinks and bugs compared to cobra since based on cobra's support forum there seems to a significant amount of complaints and problems despite being a few year old unit.

But based on the website it seems pretty cool and the powercord also includes a usb jack to keep your phone charging while on the road! A VERY nice touch.
I have a vent mount for my iPhone, however; the idea of having all that wires hanging in my car is just not my style hence this hardwiring tut :D

Also I don't like the idea knowing that my phone is constantly on while driving which will slowly causing the battery to wear out...
But yeah in the near future or when I have money or after a lot of people have tested and this product becomes stable, yess I might consider purchasing this!

1gSE wrote:nice write up, looks good! :up: :up:


thanks!
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Re: DIY radar mount, install, hardwire

Postby wkbrdr91 » Sun Oct 30, 2011 4:20 pm

dinoxor wrote:
wkbrdr91 wrote:Looks great! If my radar didn't sit so nicely as-is I would do the same for my gen2.

By the way, have you heard of Escort's new live system? Integrates the radar wirelessly to any android/iPhone for GPS technology and lets users confirm whether the radar is going off where a real cop is... think of it as integrating Trapster with your radar.

http://www.escortradar.com/escort-live/


hmm I remember when cobra first came out with their iradar a few years back and I must say the idea seems pretty cool!
but hopefully escort did a better job working out their kinks and bugs compared to cobra since based on cobra's support forum there seems to a significant amount of complaints and problems despite being a few year old unit.

But based on the website it seems pretty cool and the powercord also includes a usb jack to keep your phone charging while on the road! A VERY nice touch.
I have a vent mount for my iPhone, however; the idea of having all that wires hanging in my car is just not my style hence this hardwiring tut :D

Also I don't like the idea knowing that my phone is constantly on while driving which will slowly causing the battery to wear out...
But yeah in the near future or when I have money or after a lot of people have tested and this product becomes stable, yess I might consider purchasing this!

1gSE wrote:nice write up, looks good! :up: :up:


thanks!


You turn your phone off while driving?
2006 Solara Sport
TRD RSB, lip kit, 2 12" Sony sub's, Injen SRI, 18" BBS rims, Tein springs, TRD struts, 5% tint, neons, 5 air horns, 55W low & fog HID's.
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Re: DIY radar mount, install, hardwire

Postby dinoxor » Mon Oct 31, 2011 2:11 am

Oh lol I meant like if I were to get the escort live the unit requires the phone your phone to be constantly in use to receive whatever.

So brain dead from all this studying D:
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