Radar Detector cheapo mirror-mount

geo2maz · Postby **geo2maz** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 9:14

Just wanted to share this... Recently bought a Beltronics GX65 radar detector, and after looking for alternative mounting methods, I was excited to find this super-easy-cheap mirror-mount how-to:
http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-boxster-electronics/37014-el-cheapo-rearview-mirror-mount-passport-9500ix.html

I was able to put that together for $6 and it works great, compared to the closest options on Ebay which are $40/$80 for mirror-mounts.

I also followed the auto-dimming mirror hard-wire instructions from msf.org,
final result:

~Barn~ · Postby **~Barn~** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 9:14

Nicely done.

Website · Postby **Shadowden** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 9:14

Well done indeed.

I'm curious about the gps. Is that also your head unit display? Can you run video through it? Is that thing stock, or aftermarket? Does it fold down?

So many questions.

Learjet45 · Postby **Learjet45** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 9:14

I'm pretty sure that's the stock navi system for a Speed3, and I don't think it's the headunit display. I do believe the little screen underneath the air vents is the display for the stereo and AC. And I do believe it folds down. I know they do in the 6.

geo2maz · Postby **geo2maz** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 9:14

Shadowden wrote:Well done indeed.

I'm curious about the gps. Is that also your head unit display? Can you run video through it? Is that thing stock, or aftermarket? Does it fold down?

So many questions.

yup it's the stock Navi, i love it and use it a lot, even if i know where i am for better shortcuts and such haha... (grew up here so i know the area enough)
It does fold down when you turn the car off, or if you press the button, also has a tilt option.

Unfortunately it doesn't play dvd's-stock, i looked into that a while back... but you can get a splitter/adaptor type thing that let's you do that, but you still need a dvd-brain-unit to handle that aspect... I really wish they had made it dvd-compatible stock, that'd be sweet!

It displays the typical navi stuff, including clock and speed, but it doesn't display any head-unit-radio type of thangs...

zmarko · Postby **zmarko** » Fri Mar 02, 2012 9:14

I'm going to be doing this today!

Heading out in a little bit to source the reflector/arm. Where did you find yours?

geo2maz · Postby **geo2maz** » Fri Mar 02, 2012 9:14

zmarko wrote:I'm going to be doing this today! Heading out in a little bit to source the reflector/arm. Where did you find yours?

I got it at a bicycle shop, you have to ask them for a 'cat-eye-reflector' since they dont really sell them packaged, they usually have a big box full of them in the back that they add to bikes they fix/sell... first shop i tried had one so I think most should,

Also one little thing you may need to tweak, is the cat-eye's clamp is slightly bigger than the stem of the rear-view-mirror on an MS3, so you'll need to wedge something in there to make up for the gap, i used a bunch of those soft-fuzzy-bumper things you put under chair-legs and it worked great,

let us know how it goes

zmarko · Postby **zmarko** » Fri Mar 02, 2012 9:14

geo2maz wrote:I got it at a bicycle shop, you have to ask them for a 'cat-eye-reflector' since they dont really sell them packaged, they usually have a big box full of them in the back that they add to bikes they fix/sell... first shop i tried had one so I think most should,

Also one little thing you may need to tweak, is the cat-eye's clamp is slightly bigger than the stem of the rear-view-mirror on an MS3, so you'll need to wedge something in there to make up for the gap, i used a bunch of those soft-fuzzy-bumper things you put under chair-legs and it worked great,

let us know how it goes

]
Do you remember what shop you went to? I went to one on Parker Rd today (somewhat near 225), and they didn't have one with an "arm" connected to it. Just the reflector and circular mount.

Website · Postby **Shadowden** » Fri Mar 02, 2012 9:14

Next time you stroll through the bikes, look at the rear refectors attached to the seatposts and the front reflectors attached in various ways. There are different kinds and different manufacturers use different ones. No telling where you minght find the right one. The bikes must be sold with the reflectors in place, but that doesn't mean that some people don't ask the shops to remove them afterward, and they will. I'll take a look in my boxes of bike parts and see if I have a random reflector that might work for you.

zmarko · Postby **zmarko** » Fri Mar 02, 2012 9:14

Shadowden wrote:Next time you stroll through the bikes, look at the rear refectors attached to the seatposts and the front reflectors attached in various ways. There are different kinds and different manufacturers use different ones. No telling where you minght find the right one. The bikes must be sold with the reflectors in place, but that doesn't mean that some people don't ask the shops to remove them afterward, and they will. I'll take a look in my boxes of bike parts and see if I have a random reflector that might work for you.

I went quite a few places in the bike sections, but wasn't able to find exactly what I needed (at least that wasn't priced like $25). I'm going to search around online and see what I can find.

zmarko · Postby **zmarko** » Fri Mar 02, 2012 9:14

Looks like Amazon has what I need I think. [ame]http://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-Piece-Bicycle-Reflector-Brackets/dp/B0006JI0V6/ref=pd_sim_sg_1[/ame] Looks like there's the right mount w/ arm in there. I'll order it and we'll see. I should have all the other hardware here in my tool box. I'll let you know when I get this next week.

EDIT - Found a cheaper reflector with the same arm. [ame]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NNCOI0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A2TE9IQP68MWQU[/ame]

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:14

I don't even have a radar detector and I'm thinking about buying one just to try this LOL.

Learjet45 · Postby **Learjet45** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:14

Buy my 9500ix speedjunkie! Lol.

geo2maz · Postby **geo2maz** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:14

zmarko wrote:]
Do you remember what shop you went to? I went to one on Parker Rd today (somewhat near 225), and they didn't have one with an "arm" connected to it. Just the reflector and circular mount.

I got it at the bike shop on Pearl & Mississippi, most should have it you just have to ask...

zmarko · Postby **zmarko** » Thu Mar 08, 2012 9:14

Got my reflector in yesterday. Installed it today. Used some washers and a nut & bolt I had in my tool box. Works fine. It's kind of a tight fit in my Legacy GT with the Homelink mirror, but the rear facing radar/laser recepticle has a clear shot back to the rear of the car. I might change the angle of the arm and radar clip a bit so it sits a fraction of an inch lower, but for $6 and 7 mins to install, it works great. I used about 1 1/4" - 1 1/2" of a corrugated cardboard to line the inside of the ring to keep things tight.

Here are some pics....

Radar Detector cheapo mirror-mount

Radar Detector cheapo mirror-mount

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