We had received a number of emails from readers asking about the Talex GPS speed camera system, so we got hold of one to put it though its paces.

The Talex system has 2 major selling points, the first is its use of the latest generation of GPS chipsets, the SiRF Star III  technology improves accuracy and start-up times. The second is its selling price which undercuts the Road Angel Compact by at least £50.

Fitting the Talex system to your car is a very simple process, the unit itself is small (103 x 67 x23mm) around the same physical size as an iMate Jam smartphone although it weighs considerably less. The package contains a sticky plate which is the magnetic mount for the Talex unit, this is easily fixed to your cars dashboard in a suitable location before the unit is sat onto the plate. Power is derived from the cars cigarette lighter or other 12 volt socket and the lead supplied is of sufficient length to allow a choice of locations in the average vehicle.

We chose to update our Talex unit before starting the first test drive, this is a very simple process where the Talex unit is connected via the supplied USB lead to a host PC. The update application is downloaded from the main Talex website (2.3Mb) and this then in turn manages the collection of the latest data and the loading of this onto your attached unit. During the test we noted that the database had been updated on average at least once a week.

With the latest database on board and the Talex unit sat magnetically locked to our dash it was time for a first road test. The unit fires up on sensing power from the car, so in our test vehicle starting the ignition brings a warm "'Talex system active, fasten seat belts'" spoken message and the screen displays the current time. On the first connection it takes a little while for the time to be set but this was greatly reduced compared to any GPS navigation systems we've tested to date. Within a minute we had the current time obtained from the GPS signal displayed on the front of the unit in green text and we were ready to start driving.

Once on the move the Talex GPS system shows your current speed in miles per hour on the display and this is the only sign that the unit is online and doing its job. In fact it is connected to multiple GPS satellites in the same way that a navigation system works and it is continually comparing your location to the database of sites held within.  As you approach a site you get a warning depending on the type of database entry. For speed cameras you get a warning message of " Speed camera" and a distance (normally 500 yards) the display flashes your current speed and if you are over the posted speed limit the voice instructs you to reduce your speed, this stays persistently until you either slow down or pass the camera (possibly with a ticket!). The audio warnings are sufficiently loud on their maximum setting and these can be adjusted using a wheel on the left side of the unit.

The unit not only knows about fixed cameras of various varieties (Gatso, Truvelo and Specs) but also likely mobile camera spots, the message for mobile cameras is different and warns of "possible mobile camera" and the speed you should be travelling at. Alongside the camera warnings the Talex can also warn of other speed sensitive areas such as primary and secondary schools and there is a feature to warn if you are approaching a congestion charge zone, very useful for London drivers.

Our first few drives were uneventful and mostly checked if the Talex database knew of fixed Gatso and Truvelo cameras. Here it scored a 100% record even knowing about a set of temporary Gatso cameras in roadwork's which had not been made available on the free cameras database we had loaded on our TomTom go unit. Further journeys away from the main arterial routes started to show the value of the mobile site entries, here Talex seems to have a good picture of sites used by local police forces possibly from the many forces who now post locations online as well as the team who keep the database up to date. Driving through villages where we know the police like to hide (and yes we mean hide!) the Talex unit managed an 80% success rate of lettings us know it was an area to be careful in.

After a full week of test drives we found the Talex system to be very accurate and far more reliable than the free databases we've tried and easily comparable to the Road Angel database but perhaps with better mobile site coverage. One of the most impressive features is the extremely quick start up times, where our TomTom unit would take up to a minute to start from cold the Talex unit is showing our speed before we even get out of the car park. One slight annoyance is the units time checks and safety warnings, on each hour it announces the time and also every 2 hours it suggests you take a break. These can be disabled by changing the operating mode to "cam" however this removes the mobile site notification along with schools and congestion charging.

This is a minor point and it does little to spoil a very good devices, overall Talex is an excellent system combining simplicity of operation with accuracy of camera sites and all for a bargain price. The basic system is available through our partners Amazon for a low price of just £119 including 6 months worth of database updates, further years are available for £30 a year or £60 for a three year package.

We seem to be on a roll with quality gadgets that do what they say on the tin and Talex gets a big thumbs up from the Lordpercy.com team, especially when you consider that this unit will survive any possible move by the UK government to outlaw radar and Laser detectors.

Published - 11/12/12005

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