RADAR Active
Last Updated on Tuesday, 07 September 2010 21:25 Written by Administrator Sunday, 29 August 2010 21:38
Electronics
Social Networking has changed the way people use the Internet. It has become a powerful tool for connecting people and sharing information. Now thanks to RADAR Active you can have extra eyes and ears on the road through the power of social networking.
The range of a good RADAR detector is up to about 2 miles. But what if you could extend the range of your detector by a factor of ten or more? What if you had a fleet of other detectors scanning ahead for you? This is what RADAR Active can do. It can turn your Valentine One RADAR Detector and your iPhone into a super speed trap detection community. By using your iPhone for GPS and Internet connectivity and your Valentine 1 RADAR detector, RADAR Active can share your alerts with others and you get the benefit of their alerts as well.
RADAR Detectors can certainly save your bacon, but they do have some weaknesses. They are vulnerable to LASER speed measurement (called LIDAR) and Instant On RADAR (IO). When your detector goes off in these circumstances, chances are it's already too late. RADAR Active can help overcome these weaknesses by letting people who have traveled the road before you help identify when and where your RADAR Detector is going to go off.
All you need is RADAR Active's Valentine One to iPhone Adapter. Here's how it works:
- Download the free RADAR Active software from iTunes and install it on your iPhone.
- Connect your iPhone 3G, 3GS or iPhone4 to the RADAR Active adapter using the phone's headphone jack and the included connector from RADAR Active.
- Plug the adapter into your Valentine 1
- Plug the RADAR Active adapter into the Valentine One's 12-volt car adapter.
- Fire up the V1 and the RADAR Active software and you're set!
The iPhone will now act as a remote display for your V1 and will automatically share data points for RADAR alerts that the V1 picks up. In turn you'll also receive data in near real time. As you approach a location marked either by you or someone else, RADAR Active will alert you. You can then check your speed to ensure you're operating within the posted speed limit.
Even if you don't have a Valentine One RADAR Detector you can still use the RADAR Active software. You will get the same alerts and you can even help tag locations where police are actively monitoring traffic.
The RADAR Active software has both a vertical and horizontal mode. In vertical mode the system shows a map with your position on it and the location of nearby reported police activity, red light cameras, speed cameras, and other activity locations. If you approach a tagged area you will get an alert, long before your detector even goes off.
At the bottom of the screen is the remote display for your Valentine One, which will light up and function exactly like the detector itself. When the Valentine One is plugged into the RADAR Active adapter it functions in "dark mode" where all lights are disabled. This becomes particularly helpful at night when the glaring lights from the detector can be somewhat annoying.
In this map mode the system will show you various icons placed on the road to represent the differing types of driving hazards. Version 1.4 now adds the ability to zoom out on the map and see hazards in a particular geographic area. This handy feature can help you plan your trip accordingly or see what roads have the heaviest enforcement.
In horizontal mode the system acts like a remote display with larger more readable arrows and indicators. RADAR Active has three different screens in this mode. One shows the currently selected music and your current speed. The next screen shows your current speed and course heading. The last screen shows: speed, course, altitude, GPS coordinates and current GPS accuracy.
The system currently only has one drawback: using the iPhone's audio jack for the RADAR Active interface overrides the iPhone's 30-pin connector for audio. So if your stereo currently has native iPhone or iPod support over the 30-pin USB connector for audio you will have to use the auxillary 3mm headphone style input for sound. To do this you simply connect to the RADAR Active headphone pass-through port though. We are told that a software fix for this is in the works. Once this happens it will take care of our biggest gripe.
If you happen to be out of range of network coverage, the system will store your data points and then upload them when you are back in range. If you are driving through an area like this you may not get a map on the screen; however, any data points created by other users will show up on your iPhone, despite the lack of a map.
If you're a serious driver this system is definitely for you. The iPhone's GPS and network capabilities combined with the Valentine One RADAR detector can help remind you to watch your driving habits. These powerful tools are brought together into an amazing system by RADAR Active. Hardwire the entire setup for a super clean installation and expand the range of your Valentine One detector. With RADAR Active you can put the power of social networking and thousands of other RADAR Detectors to work for you.
http://www.radaractive.com
