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Working from home has freed up a few hours a day for me thanks to not having to commute, so I knocked out a project that's been waiting for me for a while and thought I would share some photos and information.
The pictures below show the Garmin RV 760LMT installed. I picked it up used on eBay for $185 (they're $400 new). I listed the rest of the items needed as well. I hard wired it into the fuse box below the steering column. The whole project was super easy. I screwed the Ram mount to the dash so its rock steady. The camera draws power off of the reverse lights.
The Garmin starts as soon as the ignition is on and no matter what screen the Garmin is on, the second you put the truck in reverse the camera view is shown. I selected this unit because it works with aftermarket wired cameras. It can also work with a wireless Garmin camera if needed.
Can I do a quick survey and not totally hijack this thread? What radar detector do you have in your Defender? What is your favorite if you have one in a different vehicle? Just trying to do some light research since (surprisingly!), I've never owned one. Pro's/cons are also good. Thanks!
Can I do a quick survey and not totally hijack this thread? What radar detector do you have in your Defender? What is your favorite if you have one in a different vehicle? Just trying to do some light research since (surprisingly!), I've never owned one. Pro's/cons are also good. Thanks!
Valentine One generation 2 is excellent at Ka radar protection and screening out false signals like BSM & backup radar. Arrows indicate where the radar is coming from will detect multiple radar signals at the same time. Unlike the first generation V1 I had, it also screens out front laser from Volvo and Infiniti vehicles. Of course it can't protect you from instant-on radar but most cops are lazy and just leave the radar on as cars go by.
V1 will detect laser but like any other radar detector it's probably too late once it detects laser. I used to have a ALP laser jammer in our LR4 that worked great. But the new laser guns give cops the advantage. Now they indicate when their laser gun is being jammed instead of simply not providing the speed reading. Plus they work from a mile away and take a photo of the speed reading and your front license plate and save it to memory for when you go to court. Know that laser requires the cop to be stationary and will not work through glass. Look in the distance for an unmarked car parked perpendicular to the road with a window open.
V1 uses what looks like a phone cord, but not all phone cords work with it. (Depends on number of wires inside the phone cord) If you order a V1, just order a second straight power cord and buy a phone line connector from Lowes. I needed the length of 2 cords to wire from the center power outlet, under the dash, inside the A-pillar and under the front edge of the headliner to where the V1 is mounted to the left of the mirror. I wasn't comfortable with using wire taps in the top center console. Start one wire at the power plug and work left by removing the panel under the steering wheel. Exposed torx screws make it easy to remove the far left grab handle and get the wire from under the dash to there. Then start the second wire at the mounted detector and stuff the wire under the headliner and under the front edge of the A-pillar inside trim. I used a plastic putty knife but a credit card will work too. Meet at the far left of the dash where you removed the grab handle. Connect the wires, zip tie the excess cord into a bundle and wrap that bundle with felt tape or adhesive felt so it does not rattle inside the dashboard.
Can I do a quick survey and not totally hijack this thread? What radar detector do you have in your Defender? What is your favorite if you have one in a different vehicle? Just trying to do some light research since (surprisingly!), I've never owned one. Pro's/cons are also good. Thanks!
I have a Uniden R7. It offers extremely sensitive detection and great customization via software. I use it in my RR on the highway. It's especially good when cruising to Colorado from Kansas. It's a long, flat drive and I usually set the cruise at 84. If a cop is running radar, it'll detect them well over a mile away in the flats.
Another good driving companion is the Waze app which you can load on your phone. It provides crowdsourced reports. People can report all kinds of things from objects on the road to cops sitting at a speed trap. It's pretty popular and I'd say it reports 75% of the cops running a speed trap. A lot of truckers use it.
The Valentine One Gen2 is excellent and when the V1 is paired with a tablet via bluetooth that is running JBV1 (a free Android app) it becomes a powerful tool for knowing what traffic enforcement or road hazards/incidents are in your area and on your route.
In addition to integrating the V1's display into the JBV1's moving map display, it also pulls in radar/laser detections from others who are running JBV1 and sharing their data/hits. Other features:
Automatic GPS lockouts (requires V1) to filter out stationary false positives from door openers and speed signs.
Visually chill out the V1's display in shopping centers with lots of false alerts.
Automatic Low speed muting
Blind Spot Radar false signal recognition and muting for emissions from Hondas, Acuras, Mazdas, and GM vehicles.
Speed Limit Alerts: can display the speed limit right on your device's screen, making it easier to stay within the limits.
Weather Information: can show weather conditions, alerting you to potential storms or rain.
Aircraft Warnings: using online AVSB data it can detect and display aircraft that are likely being used in your area for speed enforcement and show them on the moving map relative to your position and route.
Low-Speed Muting: can configure JBV1 to mute alerts when you're traveling below the speed limit.
Automatic Start/Stop: The app can be set to automatically start and stop with your car's ignition.
Waze Integration: You can configure JBV1 to launch Waze automatically after JBV1 starts.
TMG Laser Jammer Integration: JBV1 can integrate with the TMG laser jammer.
Standalone Use: JBV1 can be used as a standalone app for many of its features even if you don't have a Valentine 1 or TMG jammer.
Data Logging: JBV1 can log alert data, which is stored in an encrypted database on your device.
The V1 is held in an easy to access position on the dash rail by a clamping type cell phone holder (easy to hit the mute button on an alert and to adjust volume, also fast to take down and put away/hide : ). The power cable is connected to the USB-C port in the dash to the right of the Defender's infotainment screen using a V1 USB-C->12V adapter. You could easily just run the coiled power cable down to the 12V power socket below the dash but I thought this was cleaner. The 8" Android tablet running JBV1 is paired to the V1 via bluetooth and rests pretty comfortably in that nook in the center console (it can slide out of place so YMMV depending on the type of driving you're doing and the size of your tablet). Honestly, there is so much going on with JBV1 the safest way to use it is to have your passenger put the tablet on the dash shelf space in front of them and have them interpret the info for you. Your Android device will need a data/internet connection to use all the advanced features, but it'll work fine if the data is via a smart phone's hotspot connection or the Defender's on board hotspot if you have that activated.
It's really an amazing add on to the V1 in terms of capabilities, bordering on overkill but kinda fun in a geeky/power user sort of way and I'm absolutely astonished that the app is free. There is very active community supporting JBV1 and it's developer, I'd recommend donating money to the guy who developed/maintains/updates JBV1 if you really find it useful.
I'm not 100% sure if JBV1 supports any other advanced radar detectors that have bluetooth comms capabilities, someone check me on this.
My Custom Mounted GPS
