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  1. #1
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    Saranac Lake NY
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    Default 9500ix Installation Pix - direct wire w/remote kill switch plus other gadgets

    Here are some pictures of my Pathfinder Setup: 9500ix direct wire w/remote switch, TomTom 720, Magellan Meridian Color, and Tunebase FM/iPod. See full layout & fullsize images on my SmugMug page.


    View of dash around steering wheel (note DirectWire switch is not in final position)


    Remote Kill Switch (top, blue; yellow switch is for my emergency lights - LED strobe front passenger visor & back window, rotating dome on top). Visible wires are from TomTom and Magellan cigarette lighter power cords. I will be rerouting these behind dash. The remote kill switch is wired into constant power. I leave the 9500ix on and use this switch to turn it off when I leave the vehicle, back on when I start up. I can also use this switch to kill the detector if a LEO is harrassing me on my tail.


    My Passport 9500ix and TomTom 720 (preferred mode for 9500ix is Highway, first letter only and scanning dots). 9500ix direct wire runs up left window column and across headliner. Only visible portion is from the rearview mirror to the RD itself. 9500ix is mounted at bottom of window tint with top half just inside the tint. I may move the detector into the tint area to hide it better and sacrifice laser detection, but I want to wait until I get my first laser hit.


    Magellan Meridian Color GPS & DirectWire Remote for 9500ix (in final position). I use the Meridian GPS for field mapping. I also like the topographic line map display when traveling.


    Close-up of Remote Switch. I will be tucking the wires out of sight better once the 3M tape sets up (hold does get stronger with time).


    My TomTom 720 & TuneBase FM w/iPod Classic. I have hacked the TomTom 720 to accept voice input when specifiying a destination.

    ~~~~~~~~~~
    So that is my Pathfinder gadget installation. Still left to complete: reroute wiring/direct wire TomTom and Magellan to hide ugly cords.

  2. #2
    Radar Fanatic
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    Apr 2008
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    Nice set up, fellow upstater.

    Do you find that the smart cord remote light blinds you at night in it's current position? I have mine on the right side of the cluster and am considering putting a piece of masking tape over the light.

  3. #3
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    Jul 2008
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    Yes, Doc, the remote lights DID blind me at night. I colored over them with a black sharpie permanent marker. Despite several coats of marker, the lights shine through just fine, but no longer eye-blindingly bright.

    And I am so glad I held off purchasing until the ix came out. I feel sorry for the folks who Escort treated as beta testers with the 9500i. The ix offers so much more and should be a free or low-cost exchange for recent 9500i purchasers.

  4. #4
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    Lol, I considered the sharpie too...

  5. #5
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    Saranac Lake NY
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    Lightbulb What I didn't show . . .

    What I didn't show in these interior shots are the switches that control my off-road lights. I have PIAA off-road lights and fog lights, with remote switches that allow me to turn them on or off. If switched ON, the fog lights come on only with the low beams and the off-road lights come on only with the high beams. I can select either set or both. Driving down the remote roads around these parts, I can leave them switched on and control them with the standard high beam toggle on my steering column. The switches are mounted low left of steering wheel, below the Magellan GPS.

    If anyone is interested, I can share interior and exterior shots of the PIAA setup, plus my emergency lights for use when I am stopped on side of road to collect samples, etc.

  6. #6
    Power User
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    Where did you buy that blue led switch?

    Also, what is the Magellan Meridian Color for?

  7. #7
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    Default About the switchs and Magellan GPS

    Quote Originally Posted by focalcivic View Post
    Where did you buy that blue led switch?

    Also, what is the Magellan Meridian Color for?
    The Blue LED switch is a Pilot ED round rocker switch (Pilot LED Round Rocker Switches). I bought mine locally at an auto parts store (Advanced Auto Parts I believe). It fits a 3/4" round hole and can be wired so LED is on when switch is on.



    Pilot LED Round Rocker Switches, available in several LED colors.

    The Meridian GPS is a portable unit that I use in the field to mark locations of sampling stations, boundaries of wetlands, etc. The nice thing about this unit is that you can easily upload and download waypoints between the GPS unit and computer. I use it while driving simply to visualize the surrounding landscape (features, topography, etc.). It also has the capability to do turn-by-turn and direct goto directions and was my primary navigational GPS as well prior to acquiring the TomTom 720. The Magellan Color is no longer manufactured. With the switch to Nav units, it is getting harder to find a decent portable GPS for field work.


    The Meridian Color GPS

  8. #8
    Old Timer
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    i believe the leos in LP use Ka? idk about saranac

  9. #9
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    Good stuff, cedareden ! Thanks for sharing !

    I'm a car-gadget freak, my dashboard also has quite a few gauges, switches, etc. It's not a far stretch that I really like your dash.

    Quote Originally Posted by cedareden View Post
    The Blue LED switch is a Pilot ED round rocker switch (Pilot LED Round Rocker Switches). I bought mine locally at an auto parts store (Advanced Auto Parts I believe). It fits a 3/4" round hole and can be wired so LED is on when switch is on.



    Pilot LED Round Rocker Switches, available in several LED colors.
    Those blue ones are awfully bright.

    I had a "bank" of such switches in one of my DSMs, and the blue ones were horribly glary, even in the center console, below eye-level, it still burned away at night!

    I've got a red one that's the switch for some of my auxiliary gauges, which sits at my left knee. I still find that it is rather bright...... I've got an amber one that I'm about to put in as an "arm" switch for my intercooler sprayer (either that, or to use it, properly, as the cut-off switch for the rear fog light, and use the blue for the intercooler sprayer), at that location, and I wonder how it will do.

  10. #10
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    ^^ TSi- Your car is sounding very double-o-seven-ish!

 

 

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