Road Angel

[TJW964]

ORIGINAL: Chris5150

Hmmm i have been thinking about investing in a unit for a while now. The road angel seems to be ranked pretty much the best, but its such a big ugly thing!..the road pilot micro seems easier to locate in the car somewhere out the way. Has anyone hard wired a micro pilot in?...I would need the laser detector unit mounting to somewhere..I note that many people in the US have them with a laser sensor mounted in the front grill and a hard wired unit in the cockpit. There seems little point in going for a unit that just shows speed cameras etc, hand held laser is pretty common nowadays, Would be interested in hearing others thoughts/experiences on this

You are making the mistake that assumes that fitting a device will be a solution. It will not. It will be your downfall.
A laser/radar detector will not help you, unless you are very lucky.

1. The detector needs to be located on or next to the number plate
2. The gun will detect your speed in say 1 second (i.e. instantly)
3. If the detector picks up the signal (IF !!!!) it will then alert you
4. Say a fraction of a second.
5. You will then have to react and drop your speed, say 1 or 2 seconds.
6. Speeding Ticket collection from local court
7. Refund from .... I don't think so.

As Gary says, note where they are, add in locations of camera vans and then drive with caution.
Life sucks, but at least we see it from the inside of a Porsche !! Enjoy.

 

[okellyt]

Have road angle plus battry powered thing - gives local limits which is one of the key reasons for me having one.

Also as I travel a lot for work and don't often know the roads it also gives a balckspot warning which is inevitably a hidden lane , junction or link for traffic to come onto the road.

I have found the last peice the most useful for avoiding surprises or accidents as locals come flying out of no where assuming everyone else knows the road.

Taking the point on board about reaction times - If plod is at a distance say motor way gantry these devices have a beam that spreads out so it might get you off while they are cattching the guys ahead but basically once a beam is detected the odds are on you are the target so they already have you.

The GPS camera location is good

Don't think laser or other detectors are illegal yet. The law has been changed to allow them to be outlawed but this has not yet been exercised

 

[Andy Rodgett]

All helpful comments but I am really most interested in knowing the prevailing speed limit plus Gatso sites and not the laser detection! Sounds like it could be a Road Angle(sic) Plus then!
Andy

 

[Alex L]

Got my Road Angel plus the day after I ordered it last Friday.

Initial impressions are good. Comes with latest software and pre-downloaded internet update so that saves you a couple of weeks on your 6 months free subscription.

If you do go with Road Angel Plus then this is a good review which gives you a couple of set-up tips:

http://www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk/roadangelplus.htm

So far I used it on a couples of trips. Warns you of all fixed cameras and any accident blackspots where Police may be lurking. The GPS calculated speed is interesting too - both my Porsche and my Audi are only a few MPH over even at 70.

The ONLY thing I *may* regret in getting the unit is I am not sure whether the Road Angel model with Sat Nav built in has all the same features as the Plus and at the same price. I know I don't need navigation in my Porsche but my Audi doesn't have sat nav so that would have been handy for family trips out when transferring between cars.

 

[sotoole]

I have the Plus battery powered version and overall its ok. Battery life isn't great and for a long run more than 2 hours I end up having to plug it into the 12V socket. I also find that if you let the battery die completely, it takes a long time to recharge and often needs a reset to get it going again. It is also hit and miss sometimes when plugging it into PC - have had to deinstall and reinstall a few times to get the PC to recognise the unit.