It is visible from the front more then I would like but it is really nice to get it up out of the way and not have to worry about forgetting to turn it off or on.
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Passport 8500 X50 GMC Jimmy Mount and Hardwire
It is visible from the front more then I would like but it is really nice to get it up out of the way and not have to worry about forgetting to turn it off or on.
nice pics.
this is kinda awkward.. but i think we have the same digital camera!
ahahahhahahahahah
Its a bad idea to use the ignition switch in your car to power sensitive electronic devices on and off, it may seem more convenient for you, but you should remain in the habit of only using the devices power button to turn it on and off.
Are you serious? I thought about this. Heard from a thread it's ok, but always worried about it. Just hard-wired my V1 and it does start up twice (running through radio) when I click to Position I, then Position III kills it, then Position II turns it back on.Originally Posted by Esoterica
We need to make a thread dedicated to turning RD's off/on. Question being, should we manually turn off/on or let the car do it... Let's make/find that thread!
There is a thread about this posted, you will have to search for it.Are you serious? I thought about this. Heard from a thread it's ok, but always worried about it. Just hard-wired my V1 and it does start up twice (running through radio) when I click to Position I, then Position III kills it, then Position II turns it back on.
We need to make a thread dedicated to turning RD's off/on. Question being, should we manually turn off/on or let the car do it... Let's make/find that thread!
Put a voltage and an Amp meter on your car some time while your starting it up and turning it off. Hitting any sensitive electronic device, particularly those containing SMC's and IC's is never good for the device in the long run.
I don't turn any electronic devices on (from the power button on them) till after the vehicle is started and the idle speed has stabilized. I then always turn it off before turning the car off. You can likely get away with doing it a million times and suffer no noticeable damage, however, being in the business for many years of repairing these kinds of things I've long since learned the problems it can cause for you.
If I have a power outage at my house, the first thing I do is franticly run around the house unplugging things from the wall like the TV, DVD Player, computers and related hardware, microwave oven... anything at all with electronic PCB's in them. I've seen way to many of them just blown to smoked charred ashes when the power surges back on, even when plugged into a not even cheap, but not high end surge protector. There's nothing I hate more than having to repair my own crap.
Newer detectors and automotive (or any type for that matter) devices that actually run on software can also develop data corruption from not being properly powered on/off by its physical power button, just like the reason your computer has a shut down sequence as part of its operating system instead of just a power button to kill it. You can usually get away with just powering off your computer, but eventually it can also come back to bite you right in the ass. I've had Linux and Unix systems in particular over the years that wouldn't even boot back up properly after just being instantly power killed and not properly shut down. Even Windows systems will take you to a repair screen after doing so the next time you boot back up, and while not as common I have seen this cause issues even for Windows systems. There's a proper power down sequence there for a reason in software.
Surging power though is a far greater danger. Some devices even have built in surge protection, its usually the first components to blow out during a surge and even though the devices continue to function after the surge protection has been blown out of it, its a one shot deal with these components, the next power surge you take does the catastrophic damage. These are easier to see in your larger regular household devices, open the cover up and look usually where the power cord comes in. Often times you're going to see the one shot surge protection connected right there on the inside end of the power cord, it'll look like an electronic component with two thin metal legs connected across the terminals the power cord connects to. If you see that part blown to pieces you've been hit with a power surge that took the part out (doing its job), the next surge is going to take the entire device out on you.
Vehicles do have voltage regulators, usually installed these days as part of the alternator, however voltage regulators are probably the most common component to go bad in your vehicles electrical system and the vehicle will usually still run once its gone bad, even this though isn't 100% insurance that out weighs the risks of not properly powering something on/off, and a voltage regulator doesn't help you much against a high current spike which is what causes the most damage. Your detector operates on about .5 Amps, most people have the fuse protecting it on a 15 Amp or 20 Amp circuit, I think the built in fuse is usually rated at 3 Amps fast blow. Makes me shutter thinking about sending even just 3 Amps through a circuit designed to operate at a .5 Amp tolerance, and its not like they use a large cartridge fuse, its small enough that a high enough current surge could arc across it even if blown.
The risk just does not out weigh laziness and convenience.
Thanks Esoterica for the information, I think you might have just convinced me to let the device turn itself on and off.
If it is such a small chance that anything will ever happen, I think I will just leave it as is.. After all that was one of my main reasons in getting it hardwired, the other being I only had 2 outlets and have a GPS, cell phone, X50, and a XM.
There's nothing at all wrong with hardwiring it, and I myself consider it more than just a small chance you'd have a problem, but I, as an electronics tech for a good 20 years now, tend to see stuff only when its had a problem. People not having problems don't usually need me to fix their stuff for them.
Hard wiring is great, the problem is by not using the devices power button to turn it on and off. Its not going to hurt anything just leaving it on the switched circuit like you have it, thats perfectly fine and never going to be a problem for you. Its just how you turn it on and off that creates the risk, just use its power button to properly turn it on and off, don't be lazy unless you like things that have to be repaired. You could spend the 2 seconds of your time turning the thing on and off with its power button for the next 5 years and its still not going to add up to the time its going to take to send it in, wait for repairs, then receive it back.
The real problem is with sensitive electronic devices like this, a problem from a spike doesn't always mean the thing just stops working. You could be driving around a long time and not even realize there is a problem that could just suddenly turn up as poor or no detection at all. Its a tough way to find out you have such a problem when your signing a ticket and then post here wondering why your detector failed you or doesn't seem to be detecting right anymore.
Just use your power button and properly turn the thing on or off, or not, your choice, not like it matters to me if you decide you know better. I don't know what you do as a profession, but I'll bet its safe to guess it has nothing to do with seeing or dealing with repairing electronics.
The x50 has a power button?
Do you mean turning the volume all the way down until you power it off before turning off/on your car?
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