Scooby

I'm thinking of investing in a speed camera/black spot detection/positioning locator for the car and would like to understand the experiences of the scoobynet family.

Which ones get your vote and why, and where are the best places in terms of price and professional fitting to obtain one?

wide

Check on a search but seem to remember road angel coming out on top for vfm

sherlock

iTrader: (1)

Ask Jaycee he did us a good deal on a B2, Origin B2 gets my vote not failed me yet (touch wood) but don't ask Jolly! 37 in a 30 £60 and 3 points! The B2 was very easy to fit and is one of the cheapest subscription around £50 for the year. Hope this helps.

Sherlock

BrynO

Don't think there is much to choose between the New Road Angel and the Origin B2, personally I went for the RA as I got on well with the version 1 and it looked easier to transfer between cars than the Origin B2.

sherlock

iTrader: (1)

how much does it cost per year for the RA?

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

RA subs:

1 year £49
2 years £79
3 years £99

simo

or the old road angel (classic model ) £99 for lifetime subs (or it was 6 months ago when I paid for mine)

simon

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Thumbs up for the road angel 2 from here! Great piece of kit -if slightly pricey!

Best.

chris's scooby

B2 from Jaycee, Alpha Telecom. Great little toy and a great service as well.

No good user names left

Does the RA detect mobile speed traps and radar guns?

BrynO

RA has a laser detector in it so should pick up the mobile ones, but TBH I don't think laser detection is much use on any of these devices, as I understand it, by time you get the alert you're nabbed already as the laser will have been aimed specifically at your car, If the laser is closer than 200m to your car, the RA won't detect it anyway as the beam is too narrow and will be targetting your plate, not your RA.
I had a Valentine One before the RA which is supposed to be the dogs for laser and radar and that only went off as plod zapped me, too late to do anything about it!

Rokay

Got the Origin B2. Only been using this for 2 or 3 weeks so probably a bit early to pass on any real comment just yet.
One thing though it was a pleasure to fit, at least it was in the peugeot. Not done the Scoob yet but see no reason why it should be any differant.
If i was to offer one piece of advice buy from an authorised dealer. Your get 2yr warrenty and full tech support. Buy from a none authorised dealer, expect just 2 wks warrenty and no aftersales back up. However you will make a reasonable saving on the purchase price. The choice is yours. I choose to buy from a pukka source for piece of mind.

barneyrubble

The new RA is supposed to pick up safety cameras - we've been caught twice just over the limit by Safety vans in cumbria/Lancashire. My RA Classic didn't go off at all so will be upgrading. I think the BA tells you what speed you are doing against the speed limit which might be useful. On the odd occassion when the RA has gone off for a GATSO you panic thinking what if I missed a speed sign!

Jolly

As Sherlock already mentioned the B2 is the product of choice i think plus excellent deal from Jaycee at Alpha telecom. One thing though they dont pick up mobile cameras as in camera vans not a copper with a gun. The mobile vans use radar which is what caught me B*****ds. It does pickup the copper with gun as this is a laser and most of the time you will pickup the residual energy from the laser before your right on top of it so can still give enough warning for a quick application of the middle pedal.
I have seen some websites offering an add on to the B2 of a mobile radar detector but at the minute no one is actually selling it.

Hope this helps

Jol

barneyrubble

I meant B2 not BA, duhhh!

On the Blackspot web site I'm sure it says the RA 2 picks up safety vans?? Can anyone who's using one confirm this as I will buy this if the B2 doesn't

Pedroskate

The only thing RA "Classic" or New Age" detects is Laser (check out this site: http://www.radar-detectors.co.uk/police_speedtraps.asp).
Like the earlier threads say, its a lottery whether you detect laser "scatter" from the car in front in time. If you detect it when your the car being targetted then its a 99% probability its "Goodnight Vienna" your nicked! irrespective of what detector your using.

Halfords are selling RA "Classic" at £299, it does exactly the same as RA "New Age" with the added advantage that you can still buy lifetime updates for £99, which you can't on the RA "New Age".

barneyrubble

The UK’s no. 1 blackspot and camera alert device just got better...

With new fully integrated GPS and Laser technology, ROAD ANGEL alerts you to: accident blackspots, safety cameras (including Gatso,TruVelo, SPECS, Watchman, Speedcurb, DS2) and mobile laser guns; with an audible, visual and voice alerts.

Everyday use of ROAD ANGEL acts as an extra pair of eyes to keep you alert to approaching danger and improves the safety of every journey. It is also very simple to install and update. Using the latest global positioning satellite (GPS) and Laser detection technology, ROAD ANGEL constantly gives you an accurate speed reading and an audible and visible alert as you approach hazardous sections of the road. Should you breakdown, ROAD ANGEL has a unique RescueLoc function which gives you a pinpoint location reading to help direct rescue services to your position.

■ The benefits of New ROAD ANGEL
■ Simple windscreen mount and plug & go installation
■ Easy to position in any vehicle in direct line of sight
■ High visibility speed, time and compass display
■ User programmable locations
■ Full range of hazardous sites
■ Audible and visual warnings
■ Instant distance to danger reading
■ Speech alerts
■ No false alerts
■ Alert instantly switches off after hazard
■ USB database updates
■ Designed and manufactured in the UK
■ Simple to adjust settings
■ Technical help desk

LASER ALERT SYSTEM – mobile camera alert
A powerful front and rear Laser detection device, LASER ALERT SYSTEM detects mobile Laser traps and gives an audible and visual alert through the ROAD ANGEL display.

RescueLoc – additional safety feature built-in
If you break down and don’t know exactly where you are, you can find your precise latitude and longitude co-ordinates at the press of a button on your ROAD ANGEL display. This can then be passed on to your rescue service.

ROAD ANGEL – comprehensive database
Capable of storing up to 50,000 unique sites, your ROAD ANGEL is pre-programmed with all the latest data. Updated and verified continuously by Blackspot Interactive, the central database can also be easily personalised to include information specific to you.

ROAD ANGEL – no false alerts
Unlike many radar products, which are constantly triggered by false alarms, ROAD ANGEL only responds to designated hazards.

ROAD ANGEL – simple and effective
Easy to install, designed to provide all the information at a glance, portable and robust, your unit will rapidly become a valued companion on every journey.












Personal protection for you and your passengers from:

■ Accident blackspots Fatal accident areas as designated by the Police and Local Authorities.
■ Safety cameras Including Gatso, TruVelo, SPECS, Watchman, Speedcurb, DS2.
■ Mobile Laser guns
■ Mobile roadworks cameras Temporary Gatso and Truvelo.
■ Your own personal danger areas.
■ Your own mobile camera sites Areas known to be monitored.
■ Regulated roadworks Fixed and average speed measurement areas.

jmk

Had the B2 for approx 6 months and used to have the Origin Blue-i. B2 far better to fit, use, features and remove from the car.

Both have suffered from dubious build quality but when it goes wrong - which it will, I returned my Blue-i to Origin approx 5 times and my B2 twice - Origin always repair / replace it with no fuss.

Suggest you try and buy directly from them rather than a reseller. I got a cracking price on my B2 - admittedly I'd suffered from poor reliability for the Blue-i for over a year and was upgrading.

Would I buy one again - yes.

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

I would buy a Used Road Angel Classic from someone who has paid the £99 lifetime registration (for the fixed sites via GPS) and then an LRC 400 (garage door lifter) for the lasers.......

Just gotta find a used garage door lifter...LOL

wrxmania

B2 it has to be - bit plastickly but does the job and no trailing wires etc.

Brian.

robinH20MRV

i have a road angel 2, much better than my previous road angle one, you still need to tie it in to a blinder though, a lc 100?

imho,

cheers robin.

Lum

Is the only functional difference between the two the fact that the old one has no laser detector?
The old one is looking better as I could put it out of the way and mount the aerial under the dash. the new ones are bloody obvious on cars I see with them.

What do people think of the Morpheous kit BTW? I still have one of their radar detectors which can integrate with the Road Pilot. Is the Road Pilot any good?

Ricey155

http://www.radar-detectors.co.uk/micro_roadpilot.asp

road angel 2 works really well, but i kinda think the micro road pilot is smaller and does the same thing

http://www.radar-detectors.co.uk/snooper_s6_neo.asp

im gonna try the S6r neo if its a decent size box

all expensive but worth it

pmarch

Thanks for a jolly impressive summary which you have obviously taken a lot of time and trouble to compile - or are you a RoadAngel agent?

The one thing I would like to know is - how accurate is the RA in displaying the actual speed of the car, and by what method/connection does the RA know how fast the car is going?

Pass my regards to Fred and Wilma next door.

Pedroskate

Just saw RA Classic with plug-in laser detector in "Maplins electronics" reduced to £249.

Simon C

I have just bought a S6R, and its huge!!! Its not the length / height that its the problem, its the width, its about 1.25 inches. It has a built in modem for updates, and that is what makes it so big.

As for what its like to use, hopefully I will find out in the next few days, if the boss is ameanable, I'll be plumbing it in at work tomorrow.

barneyrubble

Will do pmarch, Yaber daber dooo!

By the way I lifted the info from www.blackspot.co.uk which is the Road Angel manufactureres web site

Mery Christmas to all

Barney

Nick100

My vote is for B2 - had it a year and excellent, with no problems. You can achieve a much neater install than the road angel if you don't want to be able to move it around.

One big downside of the original Road Angel is it doesn't know/tell you what the speed limit is when there is a camera. So it tells you there is a camera, but you either slow down to 30 just in case, or need to be certain of the limit. I know you should know what the limit is anyway, but it's useful to get a reminder

The B2 does tell you about the camera and the speed limit.

Someone above said the new RA is identical to the old one, in which case this feature is still missing.
Nick