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"The UK SpeedTrap Guide"
All you want to know...

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Ford Cosworth
Helicopters
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Un-Marked Vehicles

Vector Europa 966R Car Installed
Radar/Laser Detector

Vector Europa 966R Head unit.

With a ban on early warning systems looming this stealth kit could be the answer to all the problems of windscreen mounted systems, including the problems associated with heated windscreens.

This review has extracts from the Motorcycle review of the 966r, but this time its been installed in a car, so we can see how easy it was to install and if the likes of the plastic grill reduces the range.

The development or the 966r as with the bike kit was done by Target Automotive. It is not a Beltronics development and not available anywhere else in the world. FYI Target Automotive is the authorised European Beltronics distributor.

The car kit version is yet again the "dogs dangly bits", it's performance is quite simply brilliant out performing even the industry standard Valentine One..

With some cleaver design and careful tuning of the unit it offers outstanding performance unlike any other on the market. Its a small unit with a detachable brain, optional remote laser head (£49) and remote radar head included.

This unit can also fitted with an optional interface to link the Target Laser Echo 850 unit. Laser detection is then made by the LE850 along with the jamming capability the LE850 offers.

Fitting.

Any doubt about fitting it yourself then don't ask the supplier to recommend someone for the job.

Fitting the unit was the hardest part. In my case I had to remove both indicators and the grill to allow for access, I was lucky to have a bar going across in front of the radiator so I used this for mounting, a word of warning, first test the area before fitting , make sure there is enough space for the unit and that the grill will go back on. I mounted the unit as high as possible and to the left of the car, this was so it may see past cars in front of me, or that was the theory anyway.

The Radar Detector head installed behind the grill.
In my case I had to mount it sideways and used the metal reflector supplied due to space.

You get a fair bit of cable to connect the head to the control unit, there is a connector between the two and the connectors that allow the cable to connect to the control unit are not fitted, but are easy to fit.. This is to allow you to go through a small hole in the bulkhead first.

Once the radar head is fitted you need to sort out the inside of your car and where you plan to place the control unit, take your time on this one, keep it low and out of sight to outsiders but in a place where you can see it and reach it if you need to remove it in a hurry.

Both the 966r and the LE850 can be seen.
The 966r is on the right. In the case of using the LE 850
interface you would not need to have the LE 850 control unit fitted.

I placed mine in the centre consul, and it looked okay, if a ban does take place then I will move it to a place where I can see it but not others.

There is a chose of holders for the 966r, a fitted dash mount frame or a bracket, both can be stuck on or screwed on. I also had the option for a quick release mount, this is a cost option and I went this route for easy removal without cutting holes in the dash.

The optional laser head was fitted up by the rear view mirror, this is for detection only, mounting either by a sucker or Velcro.

You get plenty of screws and a good mounting bracket for all the components. Tie wraps, Velcro and sticky foam are also included. The flush dash mounting frame would make the system look great if its done in the correct way but with the way I change cars I wanted to avoid any large holes. You get a template to make life easy in cutting the hole.

In my case the power came from the cigarette lighter socket. Installing the unit took about an hour for me and was quite easy to do.

The instructions came on A4 paper, with photographs from my site, I have been told they are being printed into a book as I produce this page. They gave some good information and were easy to understand. They also included some information on types of speedtraps you can expect to detect.

Testing Times...

The Laser gun was used in two ways, the first test was directly at the car with the detector in it, although the detector worked and was instant on alarm, if the officer used the first reading you were in trouble. However they often take a few readings so you may have a chance to slow. The second test was to have two cars in front and the operator target the first car and see if there was enough scatter for the third car to get an alarm, it was not a problem for the 966r we had an alarm in all three runs.

In our opinion you could get a warning or you could get nicked when it come to the Laser alert mode.

This is done over a six mile selection of roads taking in two Gatso's and a town centre with Banks, Supermarkets and DIY stores.

The false alarms were very low, the 966r has no X band so the worst cause of false alarms has been removed. We got a couple on the Ku band and that was down to mobile phones.

Over a 500 mile trip the unit stayed pretty quiet. I was more than happy with the results.

Can we recommend it, YES, we can.

What do we like.	What don't we like.
It's performance Stealth install No X band Loud Clear Sounds Selectable Frequencies Size User functions Low False alarms Build Quality Instructions Warranty	Small display No mute No case for the control unit Its a bit pricey £49 Option for Laser detection

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