Oh jeez I totally forgot about this thread again. I got everything installed by my local guy a few weeks ago. It’s a Viofo A129 Pro Duo (Amazon had a good holiday deal) and my Uniden R7. So that all worked out well.
Blendmount works great and keeps it snug against the rearview - worth the extra money, way better than the suction cup mounts included with RDs.
Dash cam is wired to the fuse holder on the 12v battery itself, with an inline chip for parking mode triggered by the (un)switched acc line. Front cam goes through firewall and up the A pillar, through the headliner, and down. The rear cam is wired back into the rearview panel, inside the headliner trim along the side, and down through the wire sleeve to the hatch panel. RD is the same power deal, accessory line turns it off.
The left metallic-looking side to the forewardmost storage cubby (where the Qi phone charger lives) has my radar mute/power button on it. It’s easy to just reach down and press it without looking.
You definitely don’t NEED to pull anything rear of the dashboard - it can all be tucked in, but it ends up being a bit more clean when it’s all integrated. Front hardwiring is a bit of a different story if you’re using a separate fuse holder. Fuse taps are okay but not completely ideal. Audio installers usually don’t like them too much.
I’m easily bothered by any exposed wires so a full install was just a better route for my own preferences.
Dash cam works great - 4K is a bit excessive so I’m down to 1440p. It uses quite a bit less memory that way. The Exmor R image sensor is fantastic.
The Uniden R7 continues to be my favorite portable RD. The range is awesome. I get Ka alerts from a literal 1.5mi away in general use, and about 1/2-3/4 mile in CO mountains. BSM filtering gets better with each update.
Escort has some better BSM control but at a cost of some range (and ~$250).
Some ran-to-the-garage-at-night pics below. That pic of the blendmount was at a low angle, normal viewing has it against the bottom of the rearview. They’re adjustable to pretty much any position.
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