 Now we will talk about the installation, test drives, availability and
the all important Value for Money factor. And, oh yes, one of the test
vehicles was a 1986 Ferrari...
Installation
Installing the Speed Meter is fairly simple but not as easy as chucking
a bluetooth GPS receiver on your dashboard. Correct placement is
important so that the projected speed can be read in your line of
vision. The device needs to be placed flat on the dash. In
most cars this is not a problem; in our Ferrari with its wedge shaped
dashboard it was a challenge.
By the way, when I say our Ferrari, I am a bit of generous with
reality. This beautifully restored motor vehicle belongs to a
friend of mine who has half a dozen classics, such as a powerful Cobra,
an MG, a Dodge Charger, etc. The Ferrari Mondial Quattro Valvole
(doesn't that sound beautiful?) is your typical sunny Sunday afternoon
car: you wouldn't want to drive it too fast. Why? To give as many
people as possible neck pain as their eyes try to follow this growling
monster as it roars thru the 'hood...
We went for a quick installation, meaning we did not follow the
instructions. There were a couple of reasons for this: it was
more about the photo shoot opportunity and not the permanent
installation that I would have in my Ford Falcon. Also, we didn't
want to mess up or alter the beautiful interior. That's right, a
good installation requires splashing around with a bit of soapy water
and trying to hide some cabling. The Speed Meter kit comes with
an iron base plate that the magnetised HG 100 can securely sit
on. The plate is attached with a piece of double sided sticky
tape. Directly above this you need to affix a small rectangular
piece of reflective but transparent tape. Initially from the
photos that GlobalTop supplied it appeared that this bit of plastic was
very dark. Fortunately, in real life, while still noticeable from
all angles, you get used to it pretty quickly. I also tried to
see how it would work without the reflective plastic and under most
conditions you can get away with not having it.
In the Ferrari we tried to put it on without using any soapy water to
easily smooth out air bubbles in the plastic. That doesn't work
too well. Soapy water is the answer. We also had to place
the Speed Meter at an angle on the wedge shaped dash but that worked
out OK as the windscreen was raked back steeply as well. After
plugging in the power to the Head-Up Display the mid-shipped engine
roared to life. Yes, it's not only the Ferrari's looks that draw
attention to it!
Testing the Speed Meter
The numbers in the windscreen were easy to read as we wound our way out
of town to find a piece of flat bitumen to try it out at the maximum
speed. That is the legal maximum speed, not the Ferrari's top
speed at well over 275 k's...
As a charter pilot I fly a pressurised Cessna Centurion in daily life
so I am used to those sort of speeds but, not in a car. I don't
have the need for speed or a death wish... Besides, the
unpredictable kangaroos around here have a habit of making mincemeat of
themselves at the expense of your wallet, if you know what I
mean. Just check out the many roo carcasses on our rural roads!
So we cruised along at a sedate 110 kmh, enjoying the throaty ride and
checking the calibration of our speed machine. Well, what do you
know? The Ferrari is also slightly generous in indicating speeds:
it was easily 10 to 15 slower than indicated. Not that it matters
because there is plenty more in reserve…
The next day I installed the Speed Meter in my Ford Falcon, this time
using the soapy water, the base plate and cabled it up. There is
plenty of cable to go the long way around if you need to.
Let's be honest here: it's not easy to find a flat bit of space on a
modern dashboard. I had to fiddle quite a bit to arrive at a semi
workable solution, also because the windscreen is curved and raked
back. That required the unit to be tilted back slightly in order
to project more clearly. One other aspect you have to be aware
of: in order to actually read the numbers you need to refocus your eyes
from the road far ahead to close by. It would have been better if
the numbers were projected into the distance.
My first drive was at night and the auto dim worked a treat: the LED
display wasn't too bright as I had feared. When the Speed Meter
first starts up and a position fix has not been acquired yet the unit
displays the letters GPS and changes to the current speed once the
position has been determined.
One of the handy functions on the HUD GPS is the Speed Alerter.
As mentioned in Part One, the Speed Alerter can be set at 10 K
intervals. I set mine at 110 KPH, the maximum speed limit
here. If we'll pass that speed the display starts flashing the
current speed. There is no auditory alarm but this alone is quite
effective.
We checked the Bluetooth functionality with several mapping programs:
Co-Pilot Live and OziExplorer. It's quite easy to set up a bluetooth
connection and the HUD GPS pulls in the sats quite quickly. For good
measure we also mounted the GlobalTop Chase 750 Navigator which uses
Gate5 maps for Australia which are excellent. More on the Navigator in
a separate review.
Battery life
For normal use in the HUD mode the Speed Meter is always powered so
battery life is not an issue. It's only when you take the device
with you outside of the car that you would want to know the endurance.
At the moment 10 hours staying power is what you can expect but
GlobalTop is working on a longer battery life as well.
Conclusion
It still takes time to get used to the display in your line of
vision. Some people would not be enthralled by that and that's
OK. Others don't need or want to be reminded of their speed all
the time and that's fine too. The HG-100 Speed Meter from
GlobalTop gives you that option and lets you just use it as a standard
bluetooth GPS receiver sitting unobtrusively in a corner of your
dash. At just $100 retail I feel that you are not being charged
for the extra features and it is a brilliant GPS receiver in its own
right.
Availability and Giveaway Opportunity
The Speed Meter is available now in various European countries,
particularly in the UK, France, Italy and the Benelux countries.
Availability in the United States depends on finding a good distributor
and the same applies to Australia and other countries.
I must acknowledge that it will be hard to develop a Head-Up Display
that can easily be accommodated in all makes and models. There
are just too many variables. However, the alternative, a purpose
built HUD for your car, is a whole lot more expensive…
Where is this technology heading? The next logical step for
GlobalTop and other players in this industry would be to develop a
Head-Up Display with integrated mapping. Now that's a thought…
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