Radar detector question

[Poodles]

Laser jammers only work at range, once you get close enough they no longer work.

They buy you time to slow down, nothing more.

Radar detector detectors are quite rare, and so far I've only heard of them being used in states/countries where radar detectors are illegal. Not illegal here so I don't care :rofl:

 

[GrimJack]

Some good info in this thread.

I'll expand a bit on 'lasers'. These aren't really lasers, of course, they are simply a very focused beam of light. Used properly, they are not avoidable without resorting to active jamming. The catch? They are VERY rarely used properly. Their effective range is much shorter than radar, which gives them some odd characteristics:
- Police who are familiar only with radar will try to use them at longer ranges, effectively alerting anyone with a detector with enough time to spare.
- The shorter range means that police using them properly will usually be very easy to spot unless they are very well disguised, which tends to happen only with police trying to make money rather than concerned for safety. (Not that lower speeds does anything but increase risk, but that's another topic.)
- The shorter range also means that when used properly, you won't get any warning from the cars ahead of you because the angle is too steep. They won't be fired directly down the road, alerting dozens of cars - instead, they are fired across at an angle, alerting a few cars at most, especially when you consider the beam width is measured in feet instead of dozens of feet.

 

[tekdeus]

Is it true that laser is not used at night?

 

[Ronald]

Some good info in this thread.

I'll expand a bit on 'lasers'. These aren't really lasers, of course, they are simply a very focused beam of light. Used properly, they are not avoidable without resorting to active jamming. The catch? They are VERY rarely used properly. Their effective range is much shorter than radar, which gives them some odd characteristics:
- Police who are familiar only with radar will try to use them at longer ranges, effectively alerting anyone with a detector with enough time to spare.
- The shorter range means that police using them properly will usually be very easy to spot unless they are very well disguised, which tends to happen only with police trying to make money rather than concerned for safety. (Not that lower speeds does anything but increase risk, but that's another topic.)
- The shorter range also means that when used properly, you won't get any warning from the cars ahead of you because the angle is too steep. They won't be fired directly down the road, alerting dozens of cars - instead, they are fired across at an angle, alerting a few cars at most, especially when you consider the beam width is measured in feet instead of dozens of feet.

makes good sense, thank you!

 

[GrimJack]

Is it true that laser is not used at night?

Well... mostly. Up here in Canada at least, it's considered dangerous for the police to try to stop traffic on foot after dark. So it's rather unlikely that you'll run into anything but car mounted radar, where there isn't anything to pack up and put away before they can chase you down.

I *have* seen setups where they'll have a tagger running with several pursuit vehicles after dark, but only a couple of times in over two decades of driving.

 

[SWD Fredester 3]

Well... mostly. Up here in Canada at least, it's considered dangerous for the police to try to stop traffic on foot after dark. So it's rather unlikely that you'll run into anything but car mounted radar, where there isn't anything to pack up and put away before they can chase you down.

I *have* seen setups where they'll have a tagger running with several pursuit vehicles after dark, but only a couple of times in over two decades of driving.

They use the tagger "setup" quiet a bit around here, especially on the belt
way. The Valentine 1 is a great detector, too bad some one "borrowed" mine.

 

[Fuzz420]

Is it true that laser is not used at night?

where i live the only time have ever seen my radar alert "laser" was in the middle of the night. There was a state trooper in the middle of the road in the median and another walking down the emergency lane :dunno:
Like i said ive only ran accross laser twice in my area and they were both at night

Instant-on scares me more than laser

 

[suprabad]

So why didn't my detector go off when my buddy (who was directly in front of me) got nailed with a laser gun?

It's hard to say. There are so many variables, even the amount of moisture in the air makes a difference on how well they read.

As you pointed out earlier, laser gives a lot less warning time. Most often the traffic officers are not so good at aiming the thing right away, and it takes them a little while to get a good point of reflection and produce a good reading. With a laser detecter you take advantage of that and pick up on all the misses with the laser and hopefully react before the gun is locked in on you.

Let's face it, no matter how good your detection equipment is...your still "fighting city hall" so to speak. It's David and Goliath and you're David.

 

[Ronald]

where i live the only time have ever seen my radar alert "laser" was in the middle of the night. There was a state trooper in the middle of the road in the median and another walking down the emergency lane :dunno:
Like i said ive only ran accross laser twice in my area and they were both at night

Instant-on scares me more than laser

Agree completely, Laser is not high on my list of fear.... Its instant-on followed by POP as the most dangerous for getting caught. Long as there is other traffic in front of you that entices the officer to shoot, then you are well protected from even the Instant-on if you have a quality detector.

Fuzz420 - - - Your signature is HILARIOUS, i missed it earlier in the day, i must have been too stoned.

Anyways I keep clicking the button to smoke more pot, and I get this strange reaction - - - My wife wapping me in the head telling me to get up off the couch and "Do something already!!!"

But if you're packing... :hitit:

 

[IJ.]

Biggest issue with Laser is it's targeted and instant on, meaning that the Donut Disposal Unit has to actually target you and pull the trigger.

In the time that it takes to lock and you get a warning you have minimal time to scrub speed off, if you're travelling fast you're gone.

Rader can be set and left on and is done this way a lot of the time so you'll get reflections from other traffic and an early warning.

BUT some officers will use it in instant on mode and again this is very hard to defend against if your speed is high.

 

[KicknAsphlt]

My take on the topic...

Instant-On radar is ALWAYS going to be a risk to anyone and everyone. You get a VERY short notice of instant-on even with the best radar detectors, by nature of the way it works. Still, i've been plugged by it a couple times and slowed down VERY quickly and avoided the ticket (however if you are too far over the limit you'll not have enough time to get down unless your braking is AMAZING). Its great if there are cars on the highway up ahead of you, you are tipped off by the cop hitting those cars. But if you are the lone driver on a highway, thats when you're at risk if you're going too fast to come down in speed when hit by Instant-on.

I was reading the book on my X50 one day and you can set it to detect for 'Instant On' rigs, but it said that it increases the chance of false-positives in the detector.

 

[KicknAsphlt]

Let's face it, no matter how good your detection equipment is...your still "fighting city hall" so to speak. It's David and Goliath and you're David.

True....lol. The only reason I got pulled over that day was because the cop nailed my buddy, and he pulled me over for 'pacing' him....falker.... :3d_frown:

 

[speed]

I've owned neither the 8500 nor the V-1, but i have close friends with each - the V1 is a very good detector, but IMO the 8500 is better. Better detection, less of an eyesore to look at.

Can't go wrong with either, but I'll be picking up a 8500 soon.

 

[7Mboost]

Only good radars out now are the Escorts and Valentine. I have a feeling a better laser protecting radar detector will be released soon with the PD's switching over to laser more and more these days.

On a side note, I have never received a ticket with my Escort 8500, just drive smart and be very aware is your best protection, besides following the speed limit...

 

[IJ.]

Ronald: DOH sorry for the echo I didn't read the earlier posts

 

[Mr. Sinister]

For those that think that Escort is the best, check out the unbiased test:

http://www.guysoflidar.com/august-2007/radar-detector-test.html

Poke around the site a bit. Their sabotage was pretty interesting too.

 

[tekdeus]

For those that think that Escort is the best, check out the unbiased test:

http://www.guysoflidar.com/august-2007/radar-detector-test.html

Poke around the site a bit. Their sabotage was pretty interesting too.

Interesting. Those tests show the Valentine 1 to be the best. They intentionally used weak signals for those tests, so maybe the 8500 provides ample warning from the signals it gets in the real world, hence the good feedback on it. The 8500 is 1/2 the price too.

 

[suprabad]

For those that think that Escort is the best, check out the unbiased test:

http://www.guysoflidar.com/august-2007/radar-detector-test.html

Poke around the site a bit. Their sabotage was pretty interesting too.

Great link.
There is so much misinformation and conjecture with regard to these devices. This was a real world test. As I stated in post #3...the Valentine One is the best of the bunch.

 

[7Mboost]

I have been in a car with both detectors and I can say that the Valentine picks farther distances but not a substantial amount over the Escort.

 

[pb92supraturbo]

The directional detection arrow feature of the V1 makes it the best radar detector hands down. I've owned a V1 since 1996 and have had zero issues with it and knock on wood, no tickets while using my V1. Yet another bonus, what other radar detector on the market is upgradeable? The case may be bigger than the competitors, but at least it is made out of magnesium and doesn't feel like a disposable detector - function over form.

Mike Valentine co engineered the original Escort detector way back when and decided to build his own detector when he split off from Cincinnati Microwave, so he knows a thing or two about the technology .....