Road Angel
Road Angel
Has anyone got an opinion or experience of the best Radar, GPS, Laser detector on the market. I do a lot of miles and have been looking at the Road Angel. What do you think.
Last edited by Kelvin on Sat 17 Jan, 2004 19:03, edited 1 time in total.
Road Angel
Would be my choice of the various ones available - I was contemplating such a purchase and did a fair bit of research on them all RA came out at the head of my list
DavidM
DavidM
So I bought one
Took the plunge and bought the Road Angel with the new radar detector. It seems to work very well, makes the drive on the A1 less stressfull as I can now just drive and let the RA warn me of the impending cameras rather than constantly peer through the windscreen trying to spot them. Although I am still wary as I went to to Margate and the RA did not pick up 2 cameras in that area you can identify the location of cameras by pressing a few buttons and RA will then check the location out and add it to their database, but I'm not that familiar with the RA yet and I think it means actually stopping at the location so as to pinpoint it precisely. Not a good thing to do at an accident blackspot me thinks
Radar Scout v Road Angel
Piece in the DT about Radar Scout. How good is this compared to the Road Angel you all seem to have? The paper has on offer RadarScout for £100. How do you play with this and drive safely at the same time ? And how do you top it up with info on new Gatsos? Serious advice plse.
How about this? - GPS camera detector for £69! http://www.gpsinforad.com/english/index.htm
Have not seen one working, but seems like it would do the job - who needs fancy displays anyway?
Have not seen one working, but seems like it would do the job - who needs fancy displays anyway?
- Runroadster
- Joined: Tue 18 Nov, 2003 01:18
- Posts: 177
- Location: Stanmore
- Contact:
Road Angel
We were following Joe back from the Bond cruise he has the latest road angel. Evertime there was a speed camera he signaled to us and we slowed down and had plenty of time before passing the camera. Hence I ordered mine that evening.
The beautiful thing about learning, is no one can take it away from you. Tony & Reet.
- Runroadster
- Joined: Tue 18 Nov, 2003 01:18
- Posts: 177
- Location: Stanmore
- Contact:
Road Angel
We've been out testing the r/a over the last couple of days found it was really good. You can adjust the warning distance up to 1000 metres which gives you more than enough time to slow down. It picked up gatsos when they were facing the other side of the road so found we slowed sometimes when we didn't have to, but hey! better than not slowing down when you need to. Warning tones loud enough also the display flashes red as you approach and stays red as you pass, once you've passed goes back to blue. Haven't tested it on truvellos yet.
The beautiful thing about learning, is no one can take it away from you. Tony & Reet.
Snooper S4 neo
I've just replaced my Bel 990 with a Snooper. GPS rather than activated by live tranmission.
Some of the points mentioned can be programmed out by the Snooper ie cameras on the opposite side of the road etc.
Still getting to grips with it - but its very easy to switch between cars which is why I went for this one.
Some of the points mentioned can be programmed out by the Snooper ie cameras on the opposite side of the road etc.
Still getting to grips with it - but its very easy to switch between cars which is why I went for this one.
Sapphire black/Imola red and black interior/ red roof/ S54 - the only RHD one made.
"The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire."
"The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire."
I have the New Road Angel and its excellent. You update it via USB port on the computer. Since I have had it it has missed 1 camera that I am aware of, but I stored it in the machine and it was up on the next update (I checked). To store a camera you just have to press 1 button and accept the prompt. When the RA is updated it downloads the information to the database and they then check its valid before adding it to the system. The unit also detects the laser guns from speed traps that are ont on the data base ie police spped traps of the day. The only things it doesnt pick up are the radar units (unless they are on the database) , which is good since there are no false alarms going off all the time from every petrol station, garage, shop with cameras outside. There are very very few radar guns theses days since its old tech and 99% are laser now.
The New RA is all in one, the old one had a seperate laser detector head, so this is much neater. I have hardwired it into the car and all you can see is the unit itself. The GPS head is very small and mounted just behind the unit.
The New RA is all in one, the old one had a seperate laser detector head, so this is much neater. I have hardwired it into the car and all you can see is the unit itself. The GPS head is very small and mounted just behind the unit.
- Attachments
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- New Road Angel hardwired in
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- New Road Angel, neatly attached
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Joe
- tetchmeister
- Z Register member
- Joined: Thu 11 Mar, 2004 17:19
- Posts: 452
- Runroadster
- Joined: Tue 18 Nov, 2003 01:18
- Posts: 177
- Location: Stanmore
- Contact:
Link- Road Angel
This is where I got mine.
http://www.blackspot.co.uk
http://www.blackspot.co.uk
The beautiful thing about learning, is no one can take it away from you. Tony & Reet.
It's still too large and ugly, and from what I have read (please correct me if I'm wrong) does not display your current speed in relation to the limit (which is v.v.useful).
A missed opportunity in my opinion - still not a contender for the OB2 (which can also be used in cars with those reflective windscreens as it has a separate antenna).
Nice back-lighting though...
Andy
A missed opportunity in my opinion - still not a contender for the OB2 (which can also be used in cars with those reflective windscreens as it has a separate antenna).
Nice back-lighting though...
Andy
M325bhp
I really must get one. Just realised I passed a 'safety van' & may have been speeding. I guess I won't know till something pops thru the letterbox.
Naturally the sneaky sods had it placed where it's perfectly safe to do 70 as it's dual carriageway though the limit is just 50
I saw 5th gear on which they recommended the 'Origin B 2' & the 'Road Angel'. They mentioned two devices NOT detected are Truevelo cameras which are infra red rather than radar & also the SPECs devices that measure average speed over a distance. Also they only work on laser if it's scatter from another victim becuase laser is usually used in momentary bursts & clocks your speed in a few milli seconds so you don't have time to slow. Thank heavens for GPS.
Andy are you saying you prefer the 'Origin B2' to 'Road Angel' ?
Does the Origin B2 display your current speed in relation to the limit ?
Naturally the sneaky sods had it placed where it's perfectly safe to do 70 as it's dual carriageway though the limit is just 50
I saw 5th gear on which they recommended the 'Origin B 2' & the 'Road Angel'. They mentioned two devices NOT detected are Truevelo cameras which are infra red rather than radar & also the SPECs devices that measure average speed over a distance. Also they only work on laser if it's scatter from another victim becuase laser is usually used in momentary bursts & clocks your speed in a few milli seconds so you don't have time to slow. Thank heavens for GPS.
Andy are you saying you prefer the 'Origin B2' to 'Road Angel' ?
Does the Origin B2 display your current speed in relation to the limit ?
Last edited by Robin on Wed 16 Jun, 2004 22:03, edited 1 time in total.
'High G' motoring enthusiast
Since buying the RA in January I have covered around 18,000 miles all over the East Midlands, East Anglia, Kent & Sussex. It has detected Gatso, Truvelo and average speed (Specs I think) cameras without any problems, although since my earlier post about the ones it missed in Margate, I'm wondering whether they were pointing on the opposite carriageway. I've found that if the cameras are able to be swivelled to detect both sides of the road then the RA warns of them irrespective of which way they are facing. If the cameras are fixed, then if you're travelling in the opposite direction the RA stays silent.
I was on the A14 yesterday between the A1 and the M11 and the RA picked up one of the new 'Camera vans' on a bridge above the road. This is the first time that the laser detector has has picked anything up, I was beginning to wonder if it worked or was just a lump of plastic stuck to the windscreen. Anyway, it immediately went into alert (as I assume the first laser was picked up) I braked and a couple of seconds later the RA went into full alert again (the 2nd beam to check the speed from the 1st). I hope my foot went down hard enough, or it's just cost me £60 .
I was on the A14 yesterday between the A1 and the M11 and the RA picked up one of the new 'Camera vans' on a bridge above the road. This is the first time that the laser detector has has picked anything up, I was beginning to wonder if it worked or was just a lump of plastic stuck to the windscreen. Anyway, it immediately went into alert (as I assume the first laser was picked up) I braked and a couple of seconds later the RA went into full alert again (the 2nd beam to check the speed from the 1st). I hope my foot went down hard enough, or it's just cost me £60 .
I have the Origin B2
I prefer the Orgin B2 to the older RA as its a neat descrete fit in the car which can be easily removed and placed in your shirt pocket when you park , its similar size to a pager. The new RA looks a little smaller, but it still sits on the windscreen which I think can look messy.
With regards to what devices it picks up Robin, the Orgin B2 picks up everything EXCEPT Mini Gatso..Which work off radar rather than Laser.
Radar devices were seen to be a bit of a nuisance as if you have a reader fitted it can tend to false alert if you go past anything from traffic lights to an automatic doors outside a supermarket as they all now use Radar.
I spent quite a bit of time searching through all of the devices ( Jan Feb 2004 ) and in the end wittled it down to the Snooper S4 ( about the size of a packet of cards ) and the Orgin B2.
I was advised by several people that although the S4 was a great device its database was still a bit patchy where as the RA and the Orgin B2's is top notch. Also the GPS receiver is built in so the windscreen issue comes into play.
The main benefit with the Orgin B2 over the others is
1) It is a decrete mount which can be placed anywhere in the car.
2) More importantly the actualy GPS receiver is a seperate unit which can be placed once again anywhere in the car. This is important as many new luxury or high performance cars have lamintated front windscreens, which many GPS devices will not work through...Top of the range BMW, MErcedes, Renault, Pugs , just to name a few all have these windwcreens.
Its swings and roundabouts...You will find that there is not one device on the market which " Standalone " will detect every type of camera / speed trap. Snoopers have an addition for the radar, in order to pick these up.
But as said this can be hit and miss.
Laser guns detectors from plod on the street at 30mph are a bit of a gimick as well, all detectors pretty much can pick these up, but once again by the time plod have zapped you and you have been warned they already have you, its only if the beam is bounced off the car infront that you have any warning
I believe Origin are working on a Radar addition at the moment which is due out soon, but whether its worth investing in this or not we will have to see.
take a look at www.radardetectors.co.uk
JUNGLE
With regards to what devices it picks up Robin, the Orgin B2 picks up everything EXCEPT Mini Gatso..Which work off radar rather than Laser.
Radar devices were seen to be a bit of a nuisance as if you have a reader fitted it can tend to false alert if you go past anything from traffic lights to an automatic doors outside a supermarket as they all now use Radar.
I spent quite a bit of time searching through all of the devices ( Jan Feb 2004 ) and in the end wittled it down to the Snooper S4 ( about the size of a packet of cards ) and the Orgin B2.
I was advised by several people that although the S4 was a great device its database was still a bit patchy where as the RA and the Orgin B2's is top notch. Also the GPS receiver is built in so the windscreen issue comes into play.
The main benefit with the Orgin B2 over the others is
1) It is a decrete mount which can be placed anywhere in the car.
2) More importantly the actualy GPS receiver is a seperate unit which can be placed once again anywhere in the car. This is important as many new luxury or high performance cars have lamintated front windscreens, which many GPS devices will not work through...Top of the range BMW, MErcedes, Renault, Pugs , just to name a few all have these windwcreens.
Its swings and roundabouts...You will find that there is not one device on the market which " Standalone " will detect every type of camera / speed trap. Snoopers have an addition for the radar, in order to pick these up.
But as said this can be hit and miss.
Laser guns detectors from plod on the street at 30mph are a bit of a gimick as well, all detectors pretty much can pick these up, but once again by the time plod have zapped you and you have been warned they already have you, its only if the beam is bounced off the car infront that you have any warning
I believe Origin are working on a Radar addition at the moment which is due out soon, but whether its worth investing in this or not we will have to see.
take a look at www.radardetectors.co.uk
JUNGLE
Hi Robin
Yes thats correct, the Truvelo is infra red, but as they are fixed sites they are added to databases that products like RA and Orgin etc all use.
This is how most of the devices actually work, its all through databases, most now also have a " laser " detector which picks up those type of hand held and "man in a van " type of traps but like I say most of its via databases and thats why its so important to buy a product which is backed by a top notch one..somthing like RA and Origin.
Regards
JUNGLE
This is how most of the devices actually work, its all through databases, most now also have a " laser " detector which picks up those type of hand held and "man in a van " type of traps but like I say most of its via databases and thats why its so important to buy a product which is backed by a top notch one..somthing like RA and Origin.
Regards
JUNGLE
HI Jungle
Jungle so as I suspected, Truvelo alerts are thru database & GPS rather than detection.
cheers
cheers
'High G' motoring enthusiast
Snooper S3 neo
I'm thinking of a "Snooper S3 neo" does anyone have any opinions on them, good/bad/indifferent????
Thanks
Dan
Thanks
Dan
Hi
I nearly bought the S4,( very similar to the S3 ) in the end I plumped for the Orgin B2.
Out of all of the Snooper range I think the new S3 and S4 are the best of the Snooper range. However the one thing that deterred me was that I had read quite a few reports on how bad the Snooper database was. ( I do hear that its improving though ) The database is used to locate most of the camera's out there so its quite an important part of the kit. Snoopers are renouned for good performance in locating "man with a gun " etc but once again I have read several reports of false alarms.
Another point to think about is the Snooper uses a GPS locater which is built into the devide to locate satalites, however if you have one of the new UV windscreens this GPS locator will not work..
The one good thing about these Snoopers ( S3 and S4 ) is that they really are just plug and play and are extremely small, about the size of a packet of cards ) Im sure Auto Express did a review recently ( early part of this year ) on all of the speed detector devices, might be worth a " surf " to try and find it.
Regards
JUNGLE
Out of all of the Snooper range I think the new S3 and S4 are the best of the Snooper range. However the one thing that deterred me was that I had read quite a few reports on how bad the Snooper database was. ( I do hear that its improving though ) The database is used to locate most of the camera's out there so its quite an important part of the kit. Snoopers are renouned for good performance in locating "man with a gun " etc but once again I have read several reports of false alarms.
Another point to think about is the Snooper uses a GPS locater which is built into the devide to locate satalites, however if you have one of the new UV windscreens this GPS locator will not work..
The one good thing about these Snoopers ( S3 and S4 ) is that they really are just plug and play and are extremely small, about the size of a packet of cards ) Im sure Auto Express did a review recently ( early part of this year ) on all of the speed detector devices, might be worth a " surf " to try and find it.
Regards
JUNGLE
have i a prob with road angel
hi,was on the m11 last night ,they have new road works on there,a 40 mile speed limet and loads of mobile camers,the camera,s have been up about 3 days,between the stansted and m25 juction,well went down there last night and road angel never picked 1 up,and the same on the way back,i must have passed 10 cameras without a warning going off,any ideas ,i have seen the flash going off from other cars,,i cant belive angel never picked them up
The Road Angel and Origin etc, pick these cameras up from a fixed site database. As these cameras are new for the roadworks along the M11, the database probably hasnt added them.
You could add them onto your Road angel as either a new camera or a personal store so that next time you use the road it will automatically remind you.
If you store them as a New fixed site camera rather than a personal note, the Angel will upload them into the main database ( eventually ) for everyone else to enjoy
Jungle
You could add them onto your Road angel as either a new camera or a personal store so that next time you use the road it will automatically remind you.
If you store them as a New fixed site camera rather than a personal note, the Angel will upload them into the main database ( eventually ) for everyone else to enjoy
Jungle
This is one of the reasons why I do not rely solely upon a gps database system (road angel etc).
There is no substitute for the additional protection of an active detector. Particularly in Dorset, where the "cash for a dash" crews are crawling all over the place with their mini gatso money trees.
There is no substitute for the additional protection of an active detector. Particularly in Dorset, where the "cash for a dash" crews are crawling all over the place with their mini gatso money trees.
David O
I use Snooper ---------
It can take several weeks for a new site to be added.
Sapphire black/Imola red and black interior/ red roof/ S54 - the only RHD one made.
"The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire."
"The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire."