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Radar Detector Box Mod
Hey guys,
My detector goes dead and falses like hell when it is hot or during the middle of the day when it is on my windshield.
My old post about the problem:
http://www.radardetector.net/bel980-...ects-3502t.php
Here is my solution (hopefully)... It has not been field tested yet on a hot day. I will post results if it actually helps cool the detector down.
Yes... I know its primative.
hmmm...
well i think it will either keep it cooler, since the white will reflect heat, or it will make it hotter, since the heat coming off the unit will have no where to go.
Keep us informed. another possibility would be a similar box setup with a small 12v computer case fan. like the size in some north bridge chipsets pulling the heat away.
Maybe leave the bottom open, so excess heat has somewhere to go. that or a small clip fan somewhere that could blow air across it.
Anyway, good luck, hope you get it figured out.
i just noticed your sig says mounted below mirror. what about something attached behind the mirror, like a hood of sorts, that shades the detector. just throwing out ideas. good luck.
Might get alittle hot. I would recommend butting a fan to circulate some air around the detector.
Have you just tried mounting over the rear view mirror or using a visor mount? This should keep it out of the sun. When I've had mine mounted low on the windshield it gets very hot. That's one reason why I switched to mounting high. I also take my detector out of the car when not in use.
Well, the question is if the UNIT is radiating heat OUT, or if external heat (sun) is causing the unit to ABSORB heat.
I think it is external heat, since just running the unit by itself, it only feels slightly warm to the touch.
Its the sun's rays that really overheat it. Thats a good point about the detector not having too much room to breathe (i did not think of that). I cannot mount this thing up to the visor because i do not have the blinder and 980 is just like a regular detector. Its not exactly a valentine which is very very good at catching laser beams. I Hope for the best though.
I mount high in the tint strip area of my windshield. My RD stays fairly cool when I leave it in the sun. 8) However, I realize that the tint (not to mention the high mounting) cuts down on my laser sensitivity. :? Oh well...
What about going down to CompUSA and picking up a heat sink to stick to the bottom of the RD. Might not work, as it looks like a plastic case, but look into it. On a V1 I would imagine a heat sink stuck off the bottom of the unit would do pretty well for the heat inside the case.
-Bill
what you need is one of those electronic coolers that plug into your cigarette lighter to keep food cold on trips.... 8) I forgot the name of the devise that actually does the cooling but I believe I have seen them for computers also...
It sounds like your talking about a peltier.
that would keep it cool, but they tend to give off a lot of condensation, which could be a problem.
Going off what JettaGLI said, they also make a hard drive cooler, which i think CompUSA sells, it is basically a holder that the hard drive sits in, with 2 fans on it.
it would be a bit bulky, but might work well. you still may need something for the top of the detector though, to keep the sun off it, or invert the cooler.
If you could do some type of a sun visor behind the rear view mirror to keep the direct sun off the detector, that would probably be the least noticeable.
You may just need to experiment with a few different ideas, until something works that you like.
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