Successful first test of my new "Electrostatic" reverse parking sensor [more...]
01-19-2004, 10:03 PM
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Successful first test of my new "Electrostatic" reverse parking sensor [more...]
So I went out on a limb and ordered a Taurus T123 parking sensor from <a href="http://www.add-a-cdchanger.co.uk/add_parking_sensor.htm">http://www.add-a-cdchanger.co.uk/add_parking_sensor.htm</a> and had it shipped to my friend in London who carried it from the UK back to North America for me. The sucker cost me a whopping 80 british pounds (about C$190 or US$145)!
So I got the product from my friend and I kid you not - it looked like somebody made it by hand - like a science fair project. I was a bit skeptical, but none-the-less, I do realize that many grand things come in modest packages.
Test time. Though the unit is designed to be powered by the reverse lights, I wired the unit's power to a spare cigarette lighter plug that I had, with the intent of powering the unit (for test purposes) via the cigarette lighter jack in the trunk. I then taped the sensing antenna to the rear bumper of the car, as well as the sensor module.
The only tests I performed were ones where I didn't move the car, but instead, I walked closer/further away from the rear bumper of the car. The unit successfully detected me every time in each of the 3 proximity zones. The results were pretty consistent and repeatable. I couldn't detect the plastic stool that I happened to have around at the time, but that's somewhat expected considering the theory of its operation.
Some pics of my trial are below. Once the weather gets better and I have more time, I'll be doing the final install on the inside of the bumper.
<img src="http://cecil.homeftp.net/audi/OtherPics/Taurus-T123-1.jpg">
<img src="http://cecil.homeftp.net/audi/OtherPics/Taurus-T123-2.jpg">
<img src="http://cecil.homeftp.net/audi/OtherPics/Taurus-T123-3.jpg">
<img src="http://cecil.homeftp.net/audi/OtherPics/Taurus-T123-4.jpg">
<img src="http://cecil.homeftp.net/audi/OtherPics/Taurus-T123-5.jpg">
So I got the product from my friend and I kid you not - it looked like somebody made it by hand - like a science fair project. I was a bit skeptical, but none-the-less, I do realize that many grand things come in modest packages.
Test time. Though the unit is designed to be powered by the reverse lights, I wired the unit's power to a spare cigarette lighter plug that I had, with the intent of powering the unit (for test purposes) via the cigarette lighter jack in the trunk. I then taped the sensing antenna to the rear bumper of the car, as well as the sensor module.
The only tests I performed were ones where I didn't move the car, but instead, I walked closer/further away from the rear bumper of the car. The unit successfully detected me every time in each of the 3 proximity zones. The results were pretty consistent and repeatable. I couldn't detect the plastic stool that I happened to have around at the time, but that's somewhat expected considering the theory of its operation.
Some pics of my trial are below. Once the weather gets better and I have more time, I'll be doing the final install on the inside of the bumper.
<img src="http://cecil.homeftp.net/audi/OtherPics/Taurus-T123-1.jpg">
<img src="http://cecil.homeftp.net/audi/OtherPics/Taurus-T123-2.jpg">
<img src="http://cecil.homeftp.net/audi/OtherPics/Taurus-T123-3.jpg">
<img src="http://cecil.homeftp.net/audi/OtherPics/Taurus-T123-4.jpg">
<img src="http://cecil.homeftp.net/audi/OtherPics/Taurus-T123-5.jpg">
01-20-2004, 04:53 AM
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Re: I have this from COBRA
<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/29075/spacer_rear.jpg"></center><p><ul><li><a href="http://www.cobra.it/eng/Products/parkmaster.htm">http://www.cobra.it/eng/Products/parkmaster.htm</a</li></ul>
01-20-2004, 06:32 AM
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my moms car has this option
she drives a 2002 ls430, fully loaded, its mad tight
but gets anoying thou too, beep bepe bep beep beep bepe bep, louder and louder, theres a picture of the car in the center dash and has signals on which side your the cloesets too, i guess if you wanted to park with ur eyes closed this would be the best option =p i understand if your a crappy driver, yes, but if u can park you can park, if your old, can't drive but you do anyway this helps, as the alarm goes, hire little elfs to live in your trunk and when you park your car they come out and patrol around it, thats the next big upgrade i'm geting
but gets anoying thou too, beep bepe bep beep beep bepe bep, louder and louder, theres a picture of the car in the center dash and has signals on which side your the cloesets too, i guess if you wanted to park with ur eyes closed this would be the best option =p i understand if your a crappy driver, yes, but if u can park you can park, if your old, can't drive but you do anyway this helps, as the alarm goes, hire little elfs to live in your trunk and when you park your car they come out and patrol around it, thats the next big upgrade i'm geting
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01-20-2004, 07:58 AM
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Hmm... I won't know until I take it out into the real world :)
I'll post again when I try it out next or do the final installation. Probably within the next month or two.
01-20-2004, 08:08 AM
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[ More Details... ]
A few things I neglected to mention.
The sensor antenna is a simple adhesive foil tape that you're supposed to tape to the inside of your bumper. For test purposes, I just taped it to the outside. The beauty is that there's <b>no drilling</b> involved.
The unit alerts you by beeping 3 times once you shift into reverse to tell you it's initializing. Then, it's silent. Once it detects something that's about 3 feet away, it beeps around 2 times per second. At about 2 feet away, it beeps 4 times per second, and about 1 foot away, it's a steady tone.
During my test though, the distances were not as advertised: the first zone was correct (about 3 feet away), but the second zone seemed to be when something was 1 foot away, and the third zone was only 4 inches away from the bumper. I didn't play with the sensitivity setting though.
The installation is meant to be really simple: just tap into the reverse light for power and ground, mount the speaker somewhere in the rear of the car where you can hear it, drill a small hole somewhere to feed the senser's wire from the inside of the trunk to the outside, tape the antenna to the inside of your bumper, and you're done.
Unfortunately, I may have to remove the bumper cover in order to tape it on. Bummer. I'll play with mounting the senser antenna lower on the bumper, in the area that I would be able to tape the sensor on the inside without removing the bumper cover.
The sensor antenna is a simple adhesive foil tape that you're supposed to tape to the inside of your bumper. For test purposes, I just taped it to the outside. The beauty is that there's <b>no drilling</b> involved.
The unit alerts you by beeping 3 times once you shift into reverse to tell you it's initializing. Then, it's silent. Once it detects something that's about 3 feet away, it beeps around 2 times per second. At about 2 feet away, it beeps 4 times per second, and about 1 foot away, it's a steady tone.
During my test though, the distances were not as advertised: the first zone was correct (about 3 feet away), but the second zone seemed to be when something was 1 foot away, and the third zone was only 4 inches away from the bumper. I didn't play with the sensitivity setting though.
The installation is meant to be really simple: just tap into the reverse light for power and ground, mount the speaker somewhere in the rear of the car where you can hear it, drill a small hole somewhere to feed the senser's wire from the inside of the trunk to the outside, tape the antenna to the inside of your bumper, and you're done.
Unfortunately, I may have to remove the bumper cover in order to tape it on. Bummer. I'll play with mounting the senser antenna lower on the bumper, in the area that I would be able to tape the sensor on the inside without removing the bumper cover.