BUSY BUSY BUSY!

The sun is out and things are realy starting to pick up at last!

Yesterday I started with a Parrot CK3100 insto a Dodge Journey in Stockport

The off to Manchester to install a Nokia CK100 kit into an Audi A3

Then off to Gatley to install a set of front & rear Parking Dynamics PD1 invisible parking sensors into a Nissan 370z which looks like a terrifyingly fast car.

It took five hours in total to fit them but it looked areally neat job when it was finished as all you can see of the kit is a small black push button just by the steering column to activate the front sensors.

I'm off up to Westhaughton this morning to install another set of PD1 parking sensors to a Toyota Landcruiser

The Best Parking Sensors?

I'm an installer for the Parking Dynamics sensors.

There is a great deal of argument regarding which type of sensors are best;

Ultrasonic (visible type with heads)
or
Elecromagnetic (invisible type with strip fitted behind the bumper)

The quick answer is neither is best but here are some pointers to influence your buying decision.

Ultrasonic sensors require the bumper to be drilled.
If there is rain on the sensor heads they may not work properly
If the car is any other colour than black, the sensors will need to be colour matched to the car. If that isn't done with the correct primer/paint at the correct temperature the paint will chip off after the first few jet-washes and look rank.
Be very careful what make sensors you get, Steelmate and Laserline are good, there are 101 chinese makes that aren't.
I do still fit steelmates to vans with black bumpers, but on cars now I fit the Parking Dynamics sensors.

Electromagnetic sensors require that the bumper be removed to be fitted.
If you try and do it without taking off the bumper and cleaning it really thoroughly then the strip will peel off after a bit and then be intermittent. I clean the inside of the bumper shell with alcohol spray and then use a special sealing tape and plastic sealant spray after fitting the sensor strip.
To get them to work properly lots of things need to be taken into account, the height of the sensor, the thickness of the bumper the position of the crash-bar. If you have never fitted them before, you're likely to get one of these factors wrong and the sensors will give false warnings.
The buzzer on the parking dynamics kit is a bit too quiet to be fitted in the rear of the car and need to be fitted in the front to be effective.

So in conclusion

Your best option is to get the Parking Dynamics sensors fitted to your car by a professional
Its not the cheapest option, but if you were cheap you'd be driving a Kia (If that's you..... Sorry!)

If you're in the Northwest, I'd be delighted to offer my services.
Reverse Parking Sensors

Parking Sensors Fitted in Manchester, Stockport, Bolton, Oldham, Wilmslow,Macclesfield, Warrington, Wigan, Preston, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, Cheshireand throughout the Northwest.

Cheers......... Rick

Big Brother is hiding in the ground

It seems that the Traffic Wardens Big Brother is now hiding in the Tarmac

They're fitting sensors in the road that will tell the yellow peril exactly how long you've been parked there!

Which pretty much takes the sport out of it doesn't it?!

I'm not sure why the parking attendant is wearing a cowboy hat but I'll leave you to work out the relevance of that one.

PinForce: Using PinForce Sentinel

Motorola TK30 Music and Hands-Free Pro-Install Car Kit

After a long time away, Motorola launch themselves back into the Hands Free Car Kit market with the first in a series of new multimedia Bluetooth kits.

The kit supports 3 methods of physical connection of music sources an iPod/iPhone connector, a USB socket for memory keys and a 3.5mm jack plug for analogue music sources.

Wireless streaming of music from A2DP equipped Bluetooth devices is also supported so you can play music from your phone with it in your pocket or locked in the glove-box on charge.

It features phone book sync with your mobile and voice dialling and voice prompts should mean you can take and make calls safely without taking your eyes off the road.

We've seen kits offering these features from Nokia and Parrot, but the Moto TK30 has 2 (as yet) unique advantages.

1. 4x 15watt per channel amplifier built in to the kit

2. Multipoint connectivity (allows 2 Bluetooth devices to connect simultaneously)

3. It warns you if you get in OR out of your car without your phone (nice touch :)

The kit should hit these shores mid April, prices yet to be confirmed although rumour has it that its going to give Parrot, Nokia and THB a run for their money.

Audi TT Mk1 cradle & Satnav mounting

There's been a severe lack of decent mounts for your cradle for this car as the Brodit one

Is WAAY down in the passenger footwell

And The Dashmount one

Flaps about like a flag when its got a cradle fitted on it

Look at these though

Not cheap.. Prices start from $35.00 USD plus carriage from across the pond but a nice bit of kit all the same, will fit stuff on the drivers side too if required.

Ideal for folks running satnav on their phones

Would work on an Audi A3 too as the air vents are the same

Multipointing or Bluetooth Multipoint

Multipoint is the new buzzword in hands free car kits. The latest car kits from THB and Motorola now support multipointing which allows 2 bluetooth devices to be connected to the kit at once.

This gets around a big problem that a lot of users have had, namely that of switching between users when more than one phone is in the car.

The latest multipoint kits are ideal if;

You have 2 phones, one for work and one personal.

There are 2 regular users of the car who are often in the car together each with their phone.

You're sharing the driving with someone.

The first kit to support multipoint is the THB CC9060