Backup no-beep "White Noise" Alarm

After turning off the stooooopid inside-cabin reverse gear beep alarm two months ago, I was worried about the silence of my PiP while backing up in crowded parking lots, etc. Searching for a piezo-electric add-on backup beeper audible behind thater than in the PiP, I found this site:

Alarms-White Sound | Brigade Electronics

I could futz with posting my pix but the good ones are on their web site above. Dimensions: about 3 inches x 1.5 inch x 2 inch (imprecise).

I just installed my BB TEK White Noise alarm yesterday. Although pricey, it does exactly what it claims. The install was quick too, in the left cargo pocket under the tire inflation kit tray. The sound is pleasant, noticeable, directional and it does arouse alertness because of its curiosity. The Brigade web site has an audio file and that's exactly how my BB TEK sounds in real life.

Installation notes: The PiP has an interior sheet-metal flange under the trunk left-side tire inflator lit tray with a handy unused hole on its top. I just hung the BB TEK vertically from the hole, to the outside of the flange, with a Zip tie. Power: The reverse (white) bulb has a red wire and a white wire. Use the red (hot) wire. There are several handy body bolts in the compartment to ground the other (neutral) wire of the two-wire BB TEK. The by-far longest install time was wrestling with un-pinning and re-pinning the plastic and felt trim pieces to get in & out. Thanks to OCKEVIN's thread on installing his new LED rear lights for some visual guidance.

Choice of BB TEK model: there are multiple ones to choose from. Prices vary! I chose the BB TEK 72 decibel model, and now I suggest the 92-decibel model, as mounting the BB TEK inside the car shell does muffle it a bit. Although the BB TEK is weather-sealed, I just could not find a safe outside mounting point like you could on a utility truck or van for best sound dispersion.

US Distributor: it's in Delaware, see: Brigade Offices | Brigade Electronics and their phone # is 1 (610) 826-7870.

and gave me a two-day service.

Yes, this is more pricey than some cheap piezoelectric beeper like a Radio Shack one I added to my 2003 Prius back in 2003. However, I always worry about unsuspecting cart-pushing parking lot people getting hurt because the PiP is so silent in reverse gear. In the end, I figured the price for this cool Aussie gizmo is worth someone's life & limb, and my own liability exposure too.

 

Jonny Zero,

Actually, my early-order PiP doesn't have this feature. I read that newest Prii are supposed to get them. My PiP was ordered back in January, built (I guess) by late March, and delivered in late April.

The only thing the PiP had when in reverse gear was the super-annoying and worthless, actually misleading inside-cabin multi-beep. The Toyota dealer turned it off except for the one mandatory beep after I learned about that option here on PriusChat. So, my car was really silent in reverse - hence the BB TEK. Actually, the car is silent at low speed in either direction.... but I can easily see my progress when I'm going forward.

 

Jonny Zero,

OK, now that I listened to your VPNS in action, that is pretty much what my BB TEK backup thingy sounds like: white noise. Mine doesn't have the echo chamber reverberation that I hear on your sound clip, and mine is interrupted while yours seems constant.

I wonder if Toyota took up the Brigade BB TEK or a similar concept of white noise as the solution. I can appreciate this being useful in forward motion as well. Hmmm....

 

Update I had forgotten to post: I eventually found a better mounting location, so that the directional white noise goes to the outside rear of the car and not into the cargo compartment.

I pulled off the rear plastic bumper cover - just a bunch of snap clips and two screws or so. There are rear bumper cover disassembly videos on YouTube.

The bumper itself is a metal (aluminum, I think) rectangular cross-section horizontal bar. Both bar ends have a convenient hole drilled in the bumper bar. I hung the Brigade White Noisemaker from the left hole with two (double security) Zip-ties and wormed the wire back to the rear backup light through some handy grommet in the area.

The noise projects through the plastic bumper cover directly to the rear, and the plastic bumper cover keeps the gizmo safe from the elements and from prying fingers. Inside the original mount location I chose, i.e. the left nook of the cargo area, the noise was unfortunately significantly muffled.