Talex

Used Car Buyer, April 2005, by Dave Pollard
Smile.. you're not on camera

There are now about 5000 fixed speed cameras in the UK which will net this car-hating government more than £20million profit during 2005. Clued-up UCB readers won't want to be paying any more in stealth tax than necessary, so a GPS locator is an increasingly wise investment.

Talex is the new kid on the block and, like the established opposition, it uses a GPS satellite link and a database of all known speed camera sites to beep a warning as a cash machine approaches. It's a simple, portable one-box device that takes its power from the cigar lighter – it's simple to wire-in permanently if required. It's secured to a magnetic pad that sticks to the dashboard, something many drivers won't want to do. There's an excellent flexible windscreen mount as an option, but this adds £25 to the price.

The Talex runs in camera mode (when it warns solely of fixed speed traps and mobile camera sites) or safety mode which adds such things as schools, accident blackspots and congestion charging zones. It has no laser sensor but as these are about to be banned that's no hardship.

You can't adjust the warning distance as on rivals, though we didn't find this a burden. Downloads of new sites and, occasionally, software updates to the machine itself are carried out on the internet so a computer is a necessity. This worked well enough, but the serial connection is old hat and USB would be simpler. The unit comes with six months' free downloading, after which it's £29 a year.

Probably the best bit is the unit's price: at £249, it's £100 cheaper than some models.

VERDICT:-
A few minor niggles but if you want to protect your licence with a simple, no-frills product, it stands up very well.


Auto Express, March 30th 2005 - 4 stars
A Brilliant debut for a new name at a good price. The stick-on magnetic mount and serial PC connector didn't impress, but a swan-neck bracket and USB adaptor are available.

The rest of the device was good, with clear voice warnings, a GPS speedo and the option to select camera sites only, ignoring accident hot spots. It worked well, but the GPS signal was lost briefly.

Talex is ideal for those buyers on a tight budget.


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