UK_Paul's - Slingshot Build & Other Adventures -

The latest addition to the SlingShot is a set of lights for the dashboard.

The left hand switch and blue light are used to switch the center lights on and off. All the European (and Canadian) versions of the SlingShot do not come fitted with these as standard, so I had already installed the Alpha central light/front grille.
- Polaris Slingshot LED Front Grille by Alpha Powersport -
Along with a couple of additional lights, all the way from China, that I have located where the US ones are placed.

Everything works fine and it's well worth the addition, so I know if I'm blinding oncoming drivers with the bank of bright LEDs.

It all fits well and matches the switches on the dash. Well worth the effort of fitting them.

- Improved radio mounting developments -

Things are still progressing well, with the adapter plate, that will reposition any radio, fitted to the SlingShot dashboard. Following my last post on the subject, at the end of August, the manufacturers have made a few, nice, improvements to the design. They relate to manufacturing tolerances and include some slight changes and additional improvements, to the previous version. You will possibly not notice them, but the results are now better that I could have hoped for.

The last test unit has sat outside in rain and winds exceeding 80 mph. It has not shown leaks and has stood up to the elements very well. (Therefore, I will not be "IP testing" the assembly, as I'm very sure it will do all and more of what I will ask of it, even though it isn't going to be officially certified).

The change in the angle of the screen, is absolutely amazing! The problem of reflections, from the sky, will never be removed and the after-market sunshades offered to help with this, obscure the scree, particularly with a large display and a touch screen. I have dummy fitted the new radio, in place and have also adapted the standard Polaris radio, to assess, if there is improvement in viewing that too.

Two points of relevance:
a. The new radio with it's 7" screen does not now have the problems that it did in the standard position. (It's not wired up yet). Previously, all I could see was a bright reflection of the sky. Now it is much improved, not perfect, but it could never be so.

b. YIPPPEEEE!!! The standard, Polaris, radio screen is now visible at last, when riding/driving! I have seen postings describing how to increase the brightness of the screen and/or shade the screen, well for me it has completely solved this problem. I guess that this problem will be much worse for those of you in the Southern states, of the US, or our friends in mainland Europe. (This doesn't solve the matter of the Polaris radio not being fit for purpose, in Europe, but that's another story).

The slight change of the angle, of the screen, approximately +15' towards the vertical (the precise dimensions are critical), is outstanding. It will never completely fix this problem, but then nothing will, other than a solid, full time, roof (or you could just leave your SlingShot, in the shade and in the garage ).

The last "prototype" of the radio adapter plate is pictured below.

Manufacture, of the first production unit, starts next week. I will be having it produced in black, with the outside edges painted red, to match my SlingShot. The cover will be finished in black, and will include the SlingShot badge, from the steering wheel, (see below).

New developments regards the actual radio.

Reading my previous posting many of you will know that I'm having a very hi-tech radio installed, with some "special" modifications made to it.

One of these mods, gives the SlingShot the ability to see who is driving it and track them. This will be great, if it's ever stolen... however this month the UK government is raising a bill to stop stuff like this (and a great deal more) it will be put into law, in May 2018. It will bring the UK in line with future European legislation.

The features will still be in place, however, I won't be allowed to use them. BUT to show just how quickly technology is developing, an independent US company is already developing a (more basic) device that will do much of what will be installed in my SlingShot.

They already have produced two similar devices to a lower spec. but the new version will be much more powerful and of a much higher specification.

So what will it do?
It can track the SlingShot from your own separate smartphone.
It can say when your SlingShot is moved.
It will remember where and when you parked your SlingShot.
It allows two users to track the SlingShot, together or separately.
The above feature also shows the user, that's not with the SlingShot, whether it is with the other user.
It can even send a message saying you are in trouble and need recovering from the location you are at (but, it won't call in a CSAR team, to get you out) It can also do a shed load more than all of that. It can even remind you to stop having fun, in your Slingshot, go home and have your tea.

To make it all work, in a similar way, to my setup, it will be necessary to pair this tiny (oh yes, it sure is small) device, to a radio with both Bluetooth and Internet access, then hide the device in the SlingShot. (Hence, my non-waterproof radio, that has been modified for me). The battery i the commercial device should last around 6-12 months.

The estimated delivery date for the commercial version of this is towards the end of the year or perhaps the start of next. Cost will be around $40 USD but to make it perform to its best you will also need a sutible radio (of your own choice) to go with it. It will not achieve some of the above, without the radio/smart-phone but the important thing is to allow it access to the Internet, when it needs it.

Ok, this version won't say who's in your SlingShot but it could be a great benefit. (NOTE: It will not work with the factory fitted radio).

I've learnt a lot about this stuff in recent weeks/months and so I think I may get one, when it becomes available and test it out... just for fun.

If it's any good then I will report back to you all on my findings. Let's hope for some interesting developments.

You probably also know that my tech. friends are working on an additional device that will talk to people via their smart-phones, when they approach the SlingShot. Who knows what will reach the market next?

I now have been told a little more information relating to the device that I had been talking about in the posting above... If you don't care too much for Hi-tech gadgets then it will probably prove of little interest to you, but if you do, then check it out.

To cut through all of the the technical stuff, it's all part of the Internet-of-Things, known as "IoT." The item is known as a "tag." It was not specifically designed for use for this application but it will work very well indeed, if set up to work with a motor vehicle.

The IoT is where all your items can talk to each other and exchange information. That's the same as, when you can monitor and adjust your lights or heating, using a smartphone or computer, from anywhere in the world.

The device mentioned above is basically a (Eddisone/I-becon) tag.The tag will give out a Bluetooth signal, that can be access by a smartphone and can then do a number of things with the information. The most important aspect of all of this is the advance in technology to "Bluetooth 5."

Previously Bluetooth had a limited range and bandwidth. That is; It didn't transmit very far and it couldn't handle very much data. The new version has improved this dramatically. The result is... It works much better.

Newer versions of Android and I-phones use this (Bluetooth 5) and everything is now moving this way. However, the twist on all of this is that to add one of these tags to your SlingShot, you can get it working for you.

Everything will work fine, if you are within range of the tag. So what happens when you are away from It? That's where the clever twist comes in.

It is possible to install radios that now have access to the GSM cell phone network. If you put one of these into your SlingShot (or even just a smartphone) then it is possible for the tag to access the Internet at will.

So what benefit does that have then? If you have set the tag up to tell you if it has moved it will do that. It can also let you know where it is or where it was last time it made contact with the Internet. It can also send our a help signal or even report back, if it goes too far away from you. I believe that this particular tag will also be able to send you a picture of where it is. (In addition to this it can also do loads more).

I have placed a pr-production order for one of these. It is very similar to the device that's going into my SlingShot now (but a little more limited) my one will have better two way communication, between tag and smartphones, but the user interface will apparently be a lot more complicated. This tag takes out all the difficult stuff and just operates clearly saying what is happening.

These things have been around, in various forms for some time now, but the big difference is that this version works so, so much better than the existing ones. (Well the spec says it dies).

My bespoke tag gets installed during the next month (or so) and I'll see how well it works. The commercial version is due for official release in November and I'll be checking it out. If it does what it's claimed, I'll do a review and let you all know.

Meanwhile. If you are interested this is the link to the commercial tag.

- All New FOBO TAG - FOBO -

It is to be made by Fobo, these are the same guys that produce the tire pressure monitoring system that is available via SlingMods.com so, who knows? Perhaps they will put this out too.

It has now been two months, since I've been on the forum. I was pleased to start posting again, yesterday and have had a few messages, asking how I have been...

Well; if you have been following this thread, from its start, then you will be aware that about a year and a half ago, I became very unwell, with a virus, that subsequently caused some organ failures. That, in turn, inspired the purchase of the SlingShot, as I was not able to ride my motorcycle, any distance. My health had taken a turn for the worse, recently and I was finding that I had become totally exhausted. So much so that I was unable to stay awake more than a couple of hours, some days and when I was awake I did not have the strength to walk to the end of my garden, (top left of picture below)..

Things continued to stay pretty bad, however I now have some improvement.

After some repeated visits to the doctor's and hospitals, I was diagnosed with an additional problem, that it turns out, I properly had from birth. That was I am unable to breath properly through my nose. This had been causing me sleep apnea, possibly, all my life.
- Sleep apnea - Wikipedia -
As this appears to have been the case from birth, I had no idea that this was a problem (as I knew nothing else). All of this had been the tipping point, for all the other ailments, that were giving me troubles.

Result:
Just over a week ago I was prescribed a CAPA machine.

This is a device that helps with breathing, while asleep. The results have been amazing... I have found that I now have symptoms that have lasted my whole life, have dramatically improved in only a few days and my strength is now starting to return. I have also moved forward with some of the other medical problems and visited one of Britain's top transplant hospitals and (as in the way, in Britain) have now been accepted to go onto the national waiting list for a combined kidney & pancreas transplant, when my kidneys deteriorate just a little more.

So... that's a brief update on things and the result will now mean that you unlucky people will have to start putting up with me again.

Things continue to now along with the radio replacement.

It's good to see Polaris have updated the 2018 model with the new infotainment system. While they have been doing that the final design for the replacement double din radio slot is finished.

Top view of the housing and cover.

I had the radio housing painted red and the cover black, to mach my colour scheme.

Two small magnets will fit into the tab at the top of the housing.

The top of the housing is quite deep, resulting in a much better angle for the radio's screen.

Everything is held firmly in place with 4 small screws securing the radio housing. The screw holes will be covers by the standard SlingShot radio faceplate, should I ever wish to return everything back to its original form.

The cover is a secure fit and will be fitted with some magnets that make the whole thing more waterproof and will discouage people from just taking the cover off, as when in place it appears to be a very solid unit.

The finished unit has my old horn button positioned on the front, to give the assembly an OEM look.

The finished radio housing is now fitted in place.

A complete set of pictures showing the housing and cover.

The radio and its atachments will be wired in soon and I'll post some information on how it all goes. It is going to be a big job as I have a whole bunch of sensors and additional recever/transmittrs to be wired into the finished unit.

I'm looking forward to trying out the setup, when it's all done.

A little trip out in the SS today. So I thought I'd post a few pictures of the things that I got to see.

The first job was to convince our two cats that they really didn't want to come Allong for the ride with me.

I headded to a nearby towm called Leominster.
Many people say: Leo-Minsnster. Like the lion. However it's pronounced "Lem(-inn-)ster."
Leominster - Wikipedia

The church court my eye, as it looked quite dramatic, in the winter light.

I then continued on to a beautiful "Black & White house." This was once the local market house, built around the 16th century and now relocated on the edge of the town.

The final item that I noticed was a sign giving some heath and safey advice. (I think. "Don't get eaten by the lions"would have worked much better).
After all, I did say the town name was Leo-Minster.