Origin B2 - anyone got one?

[cheekymonkey]

Hi folks been looking at getting speed camera detector & have been recommended the B2 by a local PH'r. Anyone else here got one? Got any feedback? I have read a few reviews and main problem seems to be the product not staying in cradle.

I've been looking sepcifically at the B2solo as it's smaller and seems to do exactly the same thing. Was wondering about the mobile radar guns though. Is this the additional bit i need to make sure the buggers don't get me? If so where does it go in the car?

(Origin b2 Radar Detector £149.95 )

Finally i need to be able to use it in 2 cars so is install and transfer easy peasy?

Cheers

[k50 del]

I've had most of the units on the market, but settled on the B2

It's easily the best unit available, with it's small carkit cradle it's easy to remove from the car for security and updating, there's no windscreen suction cups etc.

The laser sensor is smaller that the road angel and more effective. The unit will also interface with a laser jammer (not that i'd condone the use of one you understand) and has the ability to run the extra (hard wired) radar detector that fits on the outside of the car.

The detector costs about £150 and mounts behind the number plate at the front of the car, it plugs into a spare port within the wiring loom.

Performance wise, it's never less than excellent, although it's slightly fussier at locking onto satellites than my road angel was. It pays to wait until the unit has locked on before driving off.

In conclusion, i wouldn't change it for anything else, and am more than happy with its performance.

>> Edited by k50 del on Monday 31st October 11:01

[cheekymonkey]

thanks k50 del

so is the additional radar detector worth it? at £150 quid plus by the look if it getting someone to fit it is a fair additional cost? How much benefit does it add?

I would only be able to have one of those probably in the lotus and not bother with my other car.

[uk89camaro]

I really rate my B2, I've never been past a camera that wasn't on the database.

The cradle is a bit iffy, Iuse a small dab of blu-tac to keep it in place. (Which is a bit crappy given the amount of cash you've paid.)

Switch between cars should take a few seconds, assuming you buy another harness.

I have the LRC100 (garage door opener~wink~), that saved my bacon on the M50 this year. However, my B2 head unit packed up and I sent it back to Origin who repaired it under warranty (18 month's I think), but said that the Lrc100 was the cause of the head unit packing up. Since then, whenever I try to plug the Lrc100 into the cradle the laser/jammer warning goes off almost constantly, so i can't use it.

[anonymous-user]

brilliant bit of kit, company also great to deal with if any problems (i bought mine on ebay, it didnt work, they replaced it no quibbles!) and if you invest some time in installing it well it looks like it could be standard equipment, makes roadangel look seriously dated.

[cheekymonkey]

uk89camaro said:

I have the LRC100 (garage door opener~wink~), that saved my bacon on the M50 this year. However, my B2 head unit packed up and I sent it back to Origin who repaired it under warranty (18 month's I think), but said that the Lrc100 was the cause of the head unit packing up. Since then, whenever I try to plug the Lrc100 into the cradle the laser/jammer warning goes off almost constantly, so i can't use it.

so is the b2 Radar Detector shown on this page www.originb2.com/order.cfm (It provides alerts for mobile K-Band radar traps.) the equvilent of the LRC100 but one that works with a B2?

thanks guys

>> Edited by cheekymonkey on Monday 31st October 14:12

[k50 del]

cheekymonkey said:

so is the b2 Radar Detector shown on this page <a href="www.originb2.com/order.cfm">www.originb2.com/order.cfm</a> (It provides alerts for mobile K-Band radar traps.) the equvilent of the LRC100 but one that works with a B2? thanks guys >> Edited by cheekymonkey on Monday 31st October 14:12

Slight confusion here, we're talking about 3 units

Origin B2 (unit that sits on the dash)

LRC 100 (laser jammer that is controlled by the origin and emits a jamming signal whenever the origin senses a laser alert - these are a bit naughty and as they can also be used to open garage doors are usually referred to as such.

Origin radar head (as mentioned previously, mounted externally and used to sense radar signals from portable speed guns etc.)

Whether the radar head is worth having is a matter for debate, for a long time I ran my B2 with a seperate (Bel Euro 550) radar detector, but in 50k+ miles never once got a genuine alert.

For the additional spend over and above the cost of the B2, I'd go for the LRC100 every time.

A few other points worth mentioning, Origin's customer service really is second to none, extending to sending out a free ferrite collar if you have problems with a false laser alert when you accelerate hard.
Registering a 2nd hand unit with origin (if you buy one from Ebay for example) costs £35 officially, but if you have the username and password of the existing owner then you can log on as them and change it for free!!

Downloads for the origin cost £50pa IIRC and as previously mentioned, I've never driven past a camera it doesn't know about.
If you get an early unit, the manual states that if you find a fixed camera that the unit doesn't warn you of and you're the first person to notify them of it then you get a free years subscription - not sure if this is the case still.

The points raised above regarding the mounting in the car are valid, the dashmount is a little flimsy if just mounted with sticky pads etc, there are screw holes pre drilled in the mount, but that would mean drilling the dash
There is one lead coming from the dashmount that goes to a set of terminals for plugging in power, radar, laser, LRC100, aerial etc. this lead is plenty long enough to allow for mounting out of sight. (mine's up behind the dash out of the way.

You can also buy the car installation kit seperately if you want to be able to run your unit in 2 cars.

Hope the above is helpful, if you need anything else, let me know.

[cheekymonkey]

ok great that's fantastic help. i think the option will be buying the solo first then maybe the LRC (which is now superseeded by an LRC400 i think having googled it) at a later date. a fellow local PH'r has recently bought a system and get's a reward for referral which he is willing to split thus getting me £50 or so off the unit so that will help, then i can buy direct & get the 2nd car kit too as an extra.

thanks again everyone