Herbie

The tracker I've got (the Rewire Security DB2) can be placed anywhere in the car as long as there is a 12V supply to wire it to; could be in the roof lining, could be in the boot, could be in the spare wheel well and so on. It has an internal fuse for safety but, perhaps more importantly, it has an internal rechargeable battery that will keep the unit up and running if the car battery is disconnected or goes flat - you'll see the state of both car battery and tracker battery below. I've never seen a tracker that works on battery alone and I can't imagine it being much use really.

I agree entirely Bill and I'm sure it'll happen very soon after it becomes law.

Two things wrong with that: If the space is that tight I'd be frightened that the people either side of me would damage my car when opening their doors and would therefore never go in such a tight space Driving, manoeuvring and parking are all skills that we should be proud of and they need doing on a regular basis to keep up that skill level. I don't want a machine doing something I take pride in doing well myself.

Don't bother with the aircon service as there's absolutely no need for it. The aircon is a sealed system and there is literally nothing to service. If you've noticed that it's not getting as cold as it used to then you may have a refrigerant leak somewhere, in which case you need to have it sorted. The refrigerant doesn't have a 'use by' date and it doesn't wear out or degrade in any way. I've had cars for 10 years or more, never had the aircon serviced, and it's been as cold as the day I bought them.

All I can suggest then is to have a read of the topic below. In case you don't want to read it all, someone proved that it was down to cold/damp/moisture, in his car at least. He pulled the head-lining down to get access to the motor/ECU assembly and used a hairdryer to warm it up, after which it worked alright for a short while. Unfortunately the fault came back as it got cold and damp again, which seems to imply that the only real cure is a new unit.

You can hide this one almost anywhere you like, just as long as you have a 12V supply, although it has to be in an area that isn't covered by too much metal so that it gets a good GPS signal. There are obviously better ones with constant 24/7 monitoring in a security centre and so on but they cost a lot more and you have to pay for the monitoring as well. I think this one is a good compromise; it alerts you to movement and ignition switch on (as well as other parameters), then you can ring the police and give them a running commentary of where it is. I'm still of the opinion that prevention is better than cure so I also use the tried and tested method of a mechanical steering lock as well, so that hopefully they'll take one look and decide to move on to an easier target.

You'd think so wouldn't you, but no, they're not. They put the plates on an identical car and can then raz around committing crimes, or speeding, or not paying for petrol etc., etc., and it's you the police will come to because to all intents and purposes, that car is registered to you. I fitted a small and inexpensive GPS tracker to my car like this one an unexpected benefit of which is that if someone nicks my plates, I can prove that my car was nowhere near the scene of the crime.

That is correct. If you stick a pin in it you can damage it because it's not designed to move. Low pressure means a partial blockage somewhere, so first (because it's easiest) take out the jet and blast it with compressed air. If you're getting a good water supply to the jet then it can only be the jet at fault but if the supply is poor you'll need to start disconnecting the hoses and blast them too.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thanks guys but I'm afraid I already knew that My question is more curiosity rather than an absolute need to know, but it came after seeing a post in one of the Grom Vline 2 groups on Facebook where someone has installed 'Torque Pro' or something like that on his Vline. It shows some fancy schmancy dials and gauges that display numerical values and I was wondering just how accurate these displayed values are:

A lot of good points there Len - I'll do my best I'm not being nasty or derogatory to anyone in any way, but instructions have to be written for the lowest common denominator and they are aimed at the 'ordinary Joe Bloggs'. With that in mind, when you use your formatting software and it gives you dire warnings to back up important files, and also the warnings from the professional photographer that "formatting your SD card will erase all its data", they are talking in 'Joe Bloggs' terms. To all intents and purposes, as far as 'Joe Bloggs' is concerned, yes, all that data will be erased - but only because 'Joe Bloggs' doesn't have the knowledge or the software to make them visible again. They are still there and they can easily be recovered after a format if you have the software and the knowledge to use it, but to Joe Bloggs those files have gone forever. It's only because of my (initially) hobby interest in computers and later on doing 10-12 years as a self-employed computer technician doing repairs and bespoke builds that I know this. Quite often I would have to condemn a client's computer as being beyond economic repair and after transferring their data to a new one, I would have to use specialist software (such as Active KillDisk or DBAN for example) to carry out secure deletion to make sure that no one could ever recover any of that client's data. There are a couple of different industry standards for secure deletion but one of them is the American DoD (Department of Defence) 7-pass method, where the software writes zeros to the entire disk on Pass 1 then writes ones to the entire disk on Pass 2 and so on. If a simple format really did erase all the data without possibility of recovery then there would be no need for secure deletion programs like the above. Good question about the frequency of the recommended format Len; I have no idea why it's calendar time and not run time - I'll see if I can find out. Basically, yes, that's correct. The camera records on the card until it's full and then it goes back to the beginning and starts to record over the existing files, ad infinitum, with the oldest files being overwritten first. I suppose, just like everything else, age begins to take its toll on the card eventually.

That seems as helpful as a Windows error message

Nextbase always say "For best results we recommend the Nextbase memory card." Viofo always say "For best results we recommend the Viofo memory card." And so on. The sad thing is that we already know these manufacturers don't actually make their own memory cards anyway, they just buy them in and stick their own label on them. I'm not saying that my way is good, their way is bad, or even that there's a right or wrong way. Just saying that manufacturers sometimes do things for their own reasons which are not always obvious. The description I gave above really is the way that formatting works, so I can't see any difference in achieving the end goal. Either way overwrites old files with new ones and either way seems to work fine. I haven't formatted my card since installing the camera back in March when we bought the car and it's never missed a beat.

I'm not sure I agree with that Len. When any drive or card is formatted the existing files are not deleted or erased in any way. All that happens is that the device (camera, computer, tablet or whatever) loses its map of where the files are located. Think of it like ripping out the 'Table of Contents' from a book; the pages are still there but you don't know where to find any given chapter. Formatting just removes the table of contents from the drive. All the existing files are still there and still intact* but the device doesn't know where they are and can't see them, so it thinks the drive is empty and the space is available to write new files into. So, format the card or leave it alone, it makes no difference; the end result is still constant overwriting; any errors or change in functionality are probably caused by other factors. *This is how and why data can be recovered from faulty, corrupt or damaged drives/cards.

The isolation switch for the RX is not actually 'in' the glove box but if you open it and look at the surrounding lip, it's in there. I know it's not a UX but it's got to be worth a look.

When you play a song, the Gracenote software interrogates the CDDB (CD Database) and displays the album cover photo, the artist name and the song name.

Exactly what Len says above. Here's where mine is located:

Welcome to the Club Donk, I'm sure you'll find it very helpful. Lets see some photos of your new beast when you get it

It's just amazing to see how little respect people have, for what is most likely the most expensive purchase they ever make apart from buying a house.

I have no idea Rob but that does not sound good whatever it is. Hope they get it sorted for you quickly and at minimal cost.

With no actual numbers on the gauges these days, how do we know what the proper operating temperature should be?

So, logically then, the inverter coolant system is just a red herring and it must be something to do with the engine cooling system.

Unless the shaft was turning in the bottom fixing there's no way you should need to use pliers. It's not like you're tightening down a wheel nut or something; just hand tight will do. I've had mine off a few times recently. To take it off, simply push down on the leather boot where it meets the knob and unscrew. Replacement is the reverse procedure.

This company are great to deal with and sell good quality products: https://www.auto-lighting.co.uk/eng_m_Xenon-HID-Lights_HID-Xenon-Lamps-1298.html

Somewhere around here there's a PDF file documenting how to work safely around the hybrid battery and its components and I'm almost sure that taking out the Service Plug Grip is all you need to do as this isolates the HV battery. HOWEVER - I can't be held responsible if this advice is wrong and you must confirm it 100% yourself before relying on it

Well done my friend, good to hear a nice successful conclusion.