Mounting SPOT in Vehicle
- Thread starter GunnIt
- Start date
6Pins
Adventurer
Haven't gotten around to ordering it, but I found this yesterday http://www.ram-mount.com/mount/satellite_tracker_mount.htm
TheRoadie
Explorer
I bought the RAM-mount with suction cup option to stick in the corner of the windshield. RAM makes top-drawer gadgets. Not supposed to use suction cups on-pavement, though, in CA. Somebody should tell all the GPS owners who do that, if they're serious. I've got two 1" RAM balls permanently mounted on the top of my dashboard, so I should add a third one for the SPOT arm.
LandCruiserPhil
Expedition Leader
According to the users guide the SPOT,s logo needs to have an unobstructed view of the sky. So for best performance it needs to be on its back facing up. With that said I regularly use the SPOT on moto trips. I wrap it in a rag and store it my lockable plastic storage compartment on my moto. Sometimes I strap my sleeping bag and tent on top of it and it still seems to work. I travel with friend and he stores the SPOT at the top of his canvas tank bag and both of the SPOTs track the same(95% tracking shows up). In the Land Cruiser I lay it in the corner of the dash and get the same 95% track.
HTH
HTH
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FurthurOnTheFly
Glamping Society
We just velcroed ours to the dash in the FJ. Works well and doesn't go anywhere when off road.
Michael
Adventurer
I use the custom Spot mount from RAM and attach it with the handlebar mount to the grab handle on the passenger side of my Tacoma. The unit faces up at about a 45 degree angle from the horizontal. I'm getting about (updated: near 100%) success in track mode on the trail. See photos.GunnIt said:
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Von Petrol
Observer
I just clip it to the sun visor.
RocKrawler
Supporting Sponsor
August said:
What mount is this? I just ordered my Spot and this setup would work great on my dash...
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teotwaki
Excelsior!
TheRoadie said:
You need to actually go read California law for the facts about GPS mounts as well as the evident stupidity of the elected folks.
http://gps.about.com/od/trends/a/GPS_Bill.htm
"In late September, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law Senate Bill 1567, the GPS Windshield Safety Act, which permits the mounting of portable GPS units in specific areas of vehicle windshields. Windshield mounting was previously illegal in California, and those who ignored the law were sometimes ticketed and fined $108 for "obstructed windshield" violations. California drivers take note: the new law does not take effect until January 1, 2009.
Kudos to the state legislature and the governor for lifting this ban and "decriminalizing" GPS. I've always contended that driving is safer with GPS.
The new law, however, has an odd clause that specifies the GPS must be mounted within "a 7-inch square area in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed from the driver (the passenger side) or in a 5-inch square area in the lower corner of the windshield nearest to the driver (the lower left corner of the windshield)." That means the most common and useful front-and-center GPS windshield mount is still banned. Also, many standard GPS power cords are not long enough to reach from a power port, all the way to the lower corners of a windshield (not to mention the increased wire clutter created by these corner mounting locations).
Also, the passenger side mount is useless to the driver, and the lower left corner mount forces the driver to take eyes off the highway in an awkward way. I guess drivers can only hope that the police will ignore proper center mounts, or issue warnings, rather than tickets.
California was one of only two states (the other is New Jersey) banning windshield GPS mounting."
The law for the rest of this year
26708. (a) (1) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any
object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied
upon the windshield or side or rear windows.
(2) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any object or
material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied in or upon
the vehicle which obstructs or reduces the driver's clear view
through the windshield or side windows.
(3) This subdivision applies to a person driving a motor vehicle
with the driver's clear vision through the windshield, or side or
rear windows, obstructed by snow or ice.
(b) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) Rearview mirrors.
(2) Adjustable nontransparent sunvisors which are mounted forward
of the side windows and are not attached to the glass.
(3) Signs, stickers, or other materials which are displayed in a
7-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed
from the driver, signs, stickers, or other materials which are
displayed in a 7-inch square in the lower corner of the rear window
farthest removed from the driver, or signs, stickers, or other
materials which are displayed in a 5-inch square in the lower corner
of the windshield nearest the driver.
(4) Side windows which are to the rear of the driver.
(5) Direction, destination, or termini signs upon a passenger
common carrier motor vehicle or a schoolbus, if those signs do not
interfere with the driver's clear view of approaching traffic.
(6) Rear window wiper motor.
(7) Rear trunk lid handle or hinges.
(8) The rear window or windows, when the motor vehicle is equipped
with outside mirrors on both the left- and right-hand sides of the
vehicle that are so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the
highway through each mirror for a distance of at least 200 feet to
the rear of the vehicle.
(9) A clear, transparent lens affixed to the side window opposite
the driver on a vehicle greater than 80 inches in width and which
occupies an area not exceeding 50 square inches of the lowest corner
toward the rear of that window and which provides the driver with a
wide-angle view through the lens.
(10) Sun screening devices meeting the requirements of Section
26708.2 installed on the side windows on either side of the vehicle's
front seat, if the driver or a passenger in the front seat has in
his or her possession a letter or other document signed by a licensed
physician and surgeon certifying that the person must be shaded from
the sun due to a medical condition, or has in his or her possession
a letter or other document signed by a licensed optometrist
certifying that the person must be shaded from the sun due to a
visual condition. The devices authorized by this paragraph shall not
be used during darkness.
(11) An electronic communication device affixed to the center
uppermost portion of the interior of a windshield within an area that
is not greater than 5 inches square, if the device provides either
of the following:
(A) The capability for enforcement facilities of the Department of
the California Highway Patrol to communicate with a vehicle equipped
with the device.
(B) The capability for electronic toll and traffic management on
public or private roads or facilities.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), transparent material may be
installed, affixed, or applied to the topmost portion of the
windshield if the following conditions apply:
(1) The bottom edge of the material is at least 29 inches above
the undepressed driver's seat when measured from a point 5 inches in
front of the bottom of the backrest with the driver's seat in its
rearmost and lowermost position with the vehicle on a level surface.
(2) The material is not red or amber in color.
(3) There is no opaque lettering on the material and any other
lettering does not affect primary colors or distort vision through
the windshield.
(4) The material does not reflect sunlight or headlight glare into
the eyes of occupants of oncoming or following vehicles to any
greater extent than the windshield without the material.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), clear, colorless, and
transparent material may be installed, affixed, or applied to the
front side windows, located to the immediate left and right of the
front seat if the following conditions are met:
(1) The material has a minimum visible light transmittance of 88
percent.
(2) The window glazing with the material applied meets all
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205 (49
C.F.R. 571.205), including the specified minimum light transmittance
of 70 percent and the abrasion resistance of AS-14 glazing, as
specified in that federal standard.
(3) The material is designed and manufactured to enhance the
ability of the existing window glass to block the sun's harmful
ultraviolet A rays.
(4) The driver has in his or her possession, or within the
vehicle, a certificate signed by the installing company certifying
that the windows with the material installed meet the requirements of
this subdivision and identifies the installing company and the
material's manufacturer by full name and street address, or, if the
material was installed by the vehicle owner, a certificate signed by
the material's manufacturer certifying that the windows with the
material installed according to manufacturer's instructions meets the
requirements of this subdivision and identifies the material's
manufacturer by full name and street address.
(5) If the material described in this subdivision tears or
bubbles, or is otherwise worn to prohibit clear vision, it shall be
removed or replaced.
26708.2. Sun screening devices permitted by paragraph (10) of
subdivision (b) of Section 26708 shall meet the following
requirements:
(a) The devices shall be held in place by means allowing ready
removal from the window area, such as a frame, a rigid material with
temporary fasteners, or a flexible roller shade.
(b) Devices utilizing transparent material shall be green, gray,
or a neutral smoke in color and shall have a luminous transmittance
of not less than 35 percent.
(c) Devices utilizing nontransparent louvers or other alternating
patterns of opaque and open sections shall have an essentially
uniform pattern over the entire surface, except for framing and
supports. At least 35 percent of the device area shall be open and
no individual louver or opaque section shall have a projected
vertical dimension exceeding 3/16 inch.
(d) The devices shall not have a reflective quality exceeding 35
percent on either the inner or outer surface.
26708.5. (a) No person shall place, install, affix, or apply any
transparent material upon the windshield, or side or rear windows, of
any motor vehicle if the material alters the color or reduces the
light transmittance of the windshield or side or rear windows, except
as provided in subdivision (b), (c), or (d) of Section 26708.
(b) Tinted safety glass may be installed in a vehicle if (1) the
glass complies with motor vehicle safety standards of the United
States Department of Transportation for safety glazing materials, and
(2) the glass is installed in a location permitted by those
standards for the particular type of glass used.
Michael
Adventurer
Michael said:
I guess to be completely legal after 1 Jan 09, I'll have to swing it down into the 7" square at the bottom. Shouldn't require any changes and it will work just as well at that position. Ironically, I tried it there and found that any distraction/interference was less in the higher postion. See post #6 in this thread for photos.