Radar, Laser Jammer, and Parking Sensor control box in cubby ; sensors in nose cone

With delivery of my Model S only weeks away, I spend much of the weekend truing to finish up projects that have been underway for months.

The control box for the Blinder 905 Quad Laser Defense system, Passport 8500ci radar detector and the Parking Dynamics PD1 electromagnetic parking sensor is wired up, bench tested, and just about ready for installation when my Model is delivered. It has the control units/ECUs for the Blinder, Passport, and Parking Dynamics systems, along with two USB connectors for software and firmware upgrades, and an off-on switch for the Parking sensors. I’ve used carbon fiber vinyl to make it compatible with the carbon fiber interior accents on my car. The control box is designed to fit in the lower cubby under the display screen.





I bought a spare cubby to set it all up. I’ve designed it to be plug and play so that all of the wiring for the components can be done separately, run through the firewall to under the display, then plugged into the control box. This photo of the back side shows all of the plug and play connections.



The metal foil antenna for the Parking Dynamics system is on the backside of the nose cone. It has a sticky back, so you just tape it in place. I covered it with two layers of matte medium for extra protection. I set it up for extra sensitivity and range by running two parallel lines, and a few connecting lines between the two parallel ones (recommended by Parking Dynamics). No holes in the nose cone or bumper are necessary for this system. As the Blinder 905 system also functions as a parking sensor I should have parking pretty well covered.



Do to the plug and play set-up, when my Model S arrives I’m guessing it will take only about three hours to set this all up.

kevincwelch said:

Your skills are epic level, Artsci!

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Thanks. I've loved doing these kinds of things since I was a kid. It's great fun.

kevincwelch said:

I love to tinker, take things apart and put them back together again, but this sort of thing would make me cringe! Seeing how everyone is customizing their MSes is a real enjoyment. Does this all get powered off the 12V or is there a second battery system?

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All off the 12V -- very little current draw.

bhuwan said:

I wonder how well the hole less parking sensors work?

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I'll know very soon. There have been a number of skeptics on this board, but I guess I'll have some proof in about three weeks or so.

blc1017 said:

artsci, it looks like you have concentrated the parking sensors in the nosecone only..am I seeing that correctly? If so, how are you handling parking sensors in the remaining bumper areas?

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Correct. Based on what I've read about the system I think that should work well. If it doesn't provide full protection, I'll add another antenna strip the full length of the bumper.

bhuwan said:

I am intereste in seeing if this works well - excited! When so you take delivery?

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Just got my delivery email this evening. I'll have the car by the end of April and as early as the third week of the month. So soon, but not soon enough

bhuwan said:

great! I am anxiously waiting - extremely curious as to whether the holeless sensor work ;-)
)

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I should be able to test it this week, before the car arrives. I found a way to do a static test of the proximity sensor capabilities of the system, which I'll do by mid-week.

bhuwan said:

Videos please!!

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Videos of what? Maybe audio would be more appropriate as there's not much to show visually. The static test will be with only the nose cone connected to the system ECU in the cubby control box. The system provides audio warnings in the form of beeps that get more frequent as you approach an obstacle. I'll trigger it for the static test by walking in front of the nose cone.