How to Open an Otterbox Defender Case for an Apple iPhone

I have purchased many an Otterbox case over the years and after upgrading to a brand new Apple iPhone 6s Plus I instinctively ran out and purchased a new Otterbox Defender Case for the Apple iPhone 6s Plus.  That’s the new case right there in the photo to the left prior to opening it. Like I already said, I have been through quite a few Otterbox cases over the years.  This one however stumped me a bit.  As I went to take the rubber case off the plastic shell, I took notice that the rubber was somewhat more stiff, rigid and … Read more



How to Mount an Escort Radar Detector to a Rear View Mirror

There are only a few locations that work best when mounting a radar detector.  While a radar detector can technically be mounted almost anywhere, somewhere near the windshield works best.  That leaves your choices to a windshield mount, dash mount or your rear view mirror.  Escort makes some of the best radar detectors including the 9500ix, 8500×50, Solo S3, Redline Series.  Today we discuss how to mount an Escort radar detector to a rear view mirror. Almost all Escort radar detectors utilize a mounting system that utilizes a slot at the top of the device (the Escort Max series is an exception). … Read more



How to Repair a PBA or FOP Shield Car Mount Holder

PBA (or FOP) shields are a New Jersey thing, perhaps also New York.  I have never seen them in other states.  It works like this.  You have a close relative that’s a current or retired police officer.  They receive a limited number of brass police shields and give them out to their close relatives.  That person displays them inside their car in plain view.  When and if they get pulled over for a minor infraction, the officer sees the shield and might give them a warning instead of a ticket.  At least that’s the way it’s supposed to work.  I … Read more



How to Mount an Ambient Weather Station

An Ambient Weather Station is a great addition to monitor what’s going on outside.  There are many different models to choose from and most will enable reporting to sites like Weather Underground and WeatherCloud.  A few can even populate a database on a PC to populate your own website. This isn’t an article about the capabilities of an Ambient Weather Station (although it might be fun to write).  This is a mount site, so that’s what this article is about.  Let’s get on with the mount discussion. Mount Analysis An Ambient Weather Station comes features an attachment for round poles.  There … Read more



How to Attach a Garmin Cradle to a Tackform Mount

If you take a look at the number of vehicle GPS units introduced by Garmin over the past decade, it’s well over 100.  Sure, some of these are merely map or feature variations of an existing model but it’s still a lot.  Deploying a Tackform 20mm Mount (also known as the 20 Series) with the latest Garmin GPS models can be done.  Let’s see how to do this. Garmin Cradle to a Tackform Mount Basics So we’re going to look at a few ways to attach a Garmin cradle to a Tackform Mount.  Before we do that, let’s review Garmin … Read more



How to Apply a Suction Cup Mount to a Car Window

I know it sounds like an easy topic, but you would be surprised to know that it isn’t always as simple as just pressing the suction cup mount against the glass and walking away.  Suction cup mounts are among the most popular for mounting devices such as a smartphone, GPS, satellite radio or small tablet.  it’s especially handy when using your phone with a GPS application such as Waze. Surface Preparation is Important First, let’s talk about surface preparation.  The top reason for adherence issues with these mounts is a dirty windshield.  Over time, you might notice a film developing … Read more