Road Angel in 182

[Justin182]

Did a search on this but didnt answer my questions:

Thinking about buying a new road angel 2 but am not sure if it would work too well in my clio. Firstly, as the 182 has a heat reflective window, wont this affect the GPS and laser signals and the square patch at the bottom of the window is partly blocked by the windscreen wipers and the back window is slightly tinted?

I was wondering if anyone on here has got one and how theirs work in their car as well as any adaptions they had to add.

Plus: where abouts you fitted it as i was thinking the tray on top of the dash was good spot.

Thanks guys

Justin

 

[Rufstuf]

You will definately need an external GPS antenna for the RA2 on a 182.

I think they are about 15-20 quid, but they work so well. I didnt need one coz I have a poor mans windscreen!

 

[Rich]

I started off with the RA2 in the bot area off the screen, it worked ok at times, but was slow to pick up signal, if it lost signal on the move ( high buildings trees etc) you would need to stop sometimes to get it to re pick up. It never managed to pick up full signal that much. I also was not convinced the laser sensor would clear the wipers.

Ended up getting the extra antenna from Blackspot ( Phone and ask for the 5m) and by recomendation from the guys on here the antenna sits on the ledge that holds the parcel shelf on the drivers side and wires ran along the sill and up the dash.

I have left th unit near the square cut out but moved it up so it clears the wipers works aswell as it did in my old non UV screened cars.

 

[daveio]

as Rufstuf says you defo need the extra antenna...i soldered mine to the back of the cig lighter and ran it to the parcel shelf and works my camera detector and navman perfectly...if you do it that way it will leave the cig lighter free to charge it while driving if you need to

 

[interceptor]

Does the 172 Phase 2/Mk2 Have HRW?

 

[Justin182]

Cheers guys... thought that would be the case. wont stop me buying one though, just need to find the right price.

r-jay: Does the GPS antenna work well on that ledge near the parcel shelf; do you get a full signal? I was ideally wanting to put my RA2 in the tray on the dash so would prob need an extra couple of lasers for the front and back of the car but think the cost is blooming high and prob couldnt hide it too well. Do they go internally or externally? Anyone got one of these laser extentions.

Thanks...

 

[Justin182]

oh... and can you switch the blue light off when driving at night as i expect it would be quite bright and ruin the warm glow of the orange lights in the clio?

 

[Ambo]

Justin, my local Halfords where selling RA2s at £350 the other day! Might be worth a look!

 

[Rich]

Always stays blue ( Red for alert) and the only adjustment you can make is to the brightness/contrast of the black info on screen and not the blue itself.

Full signal, finds signal instantly and does not lose it while travelling with the additional antenna

 

[Justin182]

Cheers guys,

I take it the blue glow isnt too bright at night then as i have not heard any bad review on this.

£350 is quite a good price from halford (thanks for the recommendation Amboboy) but i just bought one off e-bay from a legit speed camera detector distributor for £310 with 6 months free sub and a couple of extras which is a bargin as it would have normally have cost about £420 including the extras.

Should get it by tuesday and think i will get it handwired into the car...

Oh... and do you think the additional GPS antenna would work directly under the non-heat reflective square rather then wiring it to the back of the car onto the leadge near the parcel shelf. Ive bought both so suppose i could try the old "trial and error" procedure.... thanks


[Edited by Justin182 on 30 July 2005 at 6:35pm]

 

[Rich]

It is quite bright at night but not to bad IMO.

The ant will work upfront in the square, I found it looked tidier on the ledge and that way didnt have the screen to contend with in anyway.

 

[Justin182]

ok then... cheers r-jay

Thanks for your help

Justin

 

[Penfold1977]

Ive got a RA2 in 182 as well and have all sorts of problems even with an external aerial. Ive tried it in the black spotted section, by the square at the bottom of the front screen, by the C pillar and on the parcel shelf. All with limited success! Ive tried a couple of ariels, so in the end I just stick the reciever on the roof, near the place where Starsky and Hutch put the siren!!

It doesnt look the best (luckly I drive a black car so the unit blends in a little), by the signal never seems to drop out. When Im not in the car, I just tuck the unit in under the sun visor.

Not the best look, but it works perfectly.

 

[Rich]

Thats odd - I have the Blackspot sold one with the 5m lead. On the rear parcel shelf edge bit right next to the glass with a zip tie and it gets full signal.

A few people on here have placed theres the same.

 

[Justin182]

r-jay: when you say the ledge next to the parcel shelf, do you mean the bit just top left/right of the rear passenger seats next to the rear side windows as it is flat and has a clear view above due to the curve of the glass. Think that would be a good spot...

 

[Rich]

I will go and take a pic now...

 

[Rich]

Here you go

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/r-jay-clio/ra-2.jpg

Cheers

Rich

 

[Justin182]

oh i see.... didnt think it was that small. Take it the heated elements in the rear window dont bother it then. Your spot and the place i suggested probably give the same results... will test it out on tuesday.

Sorry to be a bother and thanks for your efforts..

Cheers Rich

Justin

 

[Rich]

No worries, works spot on where it is, heating elements dont seem to effect it. Full strength nearly all the time. Its only about 3 cm x 2 cm so nice and small, I zip tied mine on so not to leave any marks on the trim.

I think some else had it where you suggested and it worked. With the 5m cable it can sit where it is in mine and still have cable to spare. They sent me the 3m cable first and it would quite even reach the quarter light.

 

[Justin182]

yeh.. i ordered the same antenna from blackspot but i didnt get the option of how long it is to be, so lets hope its reaches..

 

[Rich]

Cancel it mate...you need to phone them and ask for the 5m or you get the 3m one.

 

[Justin182]

really!! how far down the car does the 3m one go? (sounds stupid but i presume a lot of the 3m is lost by all the "hard wiring")... only ordered it tonight so might be able to make changes to the order... im on the case..

[Edited by Justin182 on 31 July 2005 at 12:05am]

 

[Justin182]

Phones are not open on sundays according to their site so will phone first thing monday morning before they recieved my order (hopefully)

Thanks for that advice... would have been really annoying to have set the whole thing up and then discover the GPS antenna lead is too short.

Cheers

Justin

 

[Rich]

The 3m cable when ran across the top of the dash, down the side to the kickwell, along the sill etc only reached the back seat and rear quater panel area for me.

Hope you get it sorted. Worst comes to the worst it will work to a fashion in the screen cut out, i used mine that way for about a month before getting totally p*ssed off with it.

 

[Justin182]

Ok then... 5 meter one for me.

Cheers mate.

 

[Penfold1977]

Quote: Originally posted by r-jay on 30 July 2005

Thats odd - I have the Blackspot sold one with the 5m lead. On the rear parcel shelf edge bit right next to the glass with a zip tie and it gets full signal.

A few people on here have placed theres the same.

No idea why, I even sat mine right in the centre of the parcel shelf by the window and got a signal which would sometimes just drop out for no reason. It might have been a dodgy aerial though. Doesnt bother me too much, as the way I have it now works perfectly

 

[Justin182]

Just recieved an e-mail back from Blackspots technical support and they recon that the GPS antenna can be placed...

"inside of the windscreen on the black speckled section behind the rear view mirror. You can then push the cable into the gap between the roof lining and the chassis, down the A-pillar and behind the dashboard.

Ensure that the you keep the antenna the correct way up, it needs be fitted so that the label faces inwards."

So they say that the 182 has a non-heat reflective bit above the rearview mirror and the sqaure bit at the bottom.

Anyone able to back this up as i trust renaultsport enthusiasts more then some technical support desk when it comes to knowing stuff about clios...

 

[Justin182]

E-mailed them back to clarify and they said....

"The black speckled section is non-UV coated and the antenna will work fine there"

We will see...

 

[Rich]

This is the case on Peugeots, I never tried mine there.