Valentine One Custom Stealth Set-up *PICS for days*

[SnakeyeS]

I have been slowly working on this project for a very long time. The idea has changed many times and I have had many lapses in working on it. But I am pleased with the results. Peep it:


I wanted to do 3 things:
1:Hardwire the V1
2:Get rid of the suction cup windshield mount for the V1
3:Install a V1 remote display.

Hardwiring was the easy part. I chose to tap into the 12v supply to my sunroof motor in the overhead console. I ran a the V1 power supply out thru the headliner and to my rear view mirror.

Next, I wanted to get rid of the suction cup windshield mount. I decided to mount the V1 right underneath my rearview mirror. This is actually an excellent place to mount it because it is mounted high for good visibility but it is below the windshield's tint strip. It also is much less noticable to people outside as it "blends in" with the rear view mirror.

I wanted to have the V1 easily mountable and unmountable. So I came up with the idea of having a magentic mount. I used to work in a machine shop so I designed and machined a simple mount consisting of two parts.

The first part(left) is a piece that gets attached to the V1. This was machined out of aluminum because it is easier to machine than steel, it is light weight and non-ferrous. A super strong Neo-Dynamium magnet was press fitted into the aluminum block. The second piece (right) attaches to my rearview mirror. This was machined out of steel because it is ferrous.



The two pieces snap together to create a stong but removable bond:



Instead of attaching this mounting system directing to the V1 I sacrificed my visor mount(who uses this anyway) for its plastic mounting clip. The aluminum clip was epoxied to this plastic mount. This way, I can remove this mount at any time to revert back to a suction cup windshield mount for use in other cars:





The steel clip was mounted to the rearview mirror using a modified L bracket, JB weld and some epoxy:






The V1 sits snugly under the mirror:








For those of you wondering how strong this mounting system really is,

here

here

is a video showing how is this will not come off over a pothole:


With the V1 mounted in its position, it was time to move onto the remote display. All of you V1 owners out there know how hard it can be to read the band off the display since the only indicator is a red LED next to the band's name. Well, guess what i found? www.fullcolordefense.com offers custom multi-color LED concealed displays! I could buy a entirely new display or send my exisiting display in for conversion. I sent it in for a basic color conversion that you see below. Take a look at the results!

Laser-Blue
Ka-Red
K-Amber
X-Green

This configuration follows a stoplight's color scheme according to the level of danger each band poses. Blue=bad news, Ka=almost definite police, K=maybe police, X=probably an automatic door.

Remote display:


PC board of remote display:


New LEDS!





The remote display was then flush mounted into my dash like so:






And there you have it...

[trickyazn]

wouldnt the radar detector/magnet be so heavy that itll eventually make your mirror tilt to the side?

[Eye8Pussies]

that's pretty neat

[SnakeyeS]

Originally Posted by trickyazn

wouldnt the radar detector/magnet be so heavy that itll eventually make your mirror tilt to the side?

No way. Feel how much resistance your mirror has when you adjust it. It doesn't move anywhere.

[Grayguy]

That's a really nice set up. If I could afford a good detector, I'd do something very similar.

[Edmo83]

very impressive

[thoughthard]

Great job!

Just curious if you considered mounting it in the middle of the mirror, or to the post off the back of the mirror?

[SnakeyeS]

^ There is the tilt level in the middle of of the mirror that prevents you from doing that. You could mount to the mirror post but this was much easier.

[darksparkz]

Wow, it looks great, very clean and neat installation.

[-SCWEET1-]

Pretty cool looking.....

[RedPhoenix]

props!

[Epsilon]

Great DIY installation. The new LEDs really make a difference.

For the lazy people like me, I bought the wireless Passport Solo S2 so I can mount it anywhere. Also, the background light matches the gauges and console of the 6th gen.

[Rdizzle]

pretty cool mounting idea!

[SnakeyeS]

Yea, the valentine is way less annoying with a remote display cause the leds aren't all up in your grill.

[El Tano]

Nice work man... I hardwired mine but I like the idea of have it of the glass, It's a pain averytime I have to wipe the windshield..
Thanks for sharing