Quick question, where do you have your radar? where's the best place to keep it? I'm getting one soon, and have few place where to put it, but need only one good stop.

thanks for your input

 

The best place to have it is as high up as possible, that way you get the best reading. I have mine behind the rearview mirror, with just the display hanging low enough to read it.

 

 

Ii've heard the best place to leave it is uphigh also but I keep it on the left towards the bottom of the windshield so its in my line of vision since I usually can't hear the beeping cause of my stereo.

 

You want it in the center of the windshield, as high up as possible, assuming it has rear detection. The reason is that it gets the largest view of the rear of the car, which increases the speed/possibility that signals will be picked up. If you don't have rear detection, anywhere is fine, as long as there is nothing between it and the road. Later

 

Whistler, Hardwired to Ignition..


All wires are Hidden.

 

 

Owners manual I read said that for best laser detection place as low in windshield as possible to be close to the license plate. Typical laser shot is only about 20-30 inches wide aimed at your license plate (typically the only place they can read on the front of your car).

As for rear radar detection. If you dont have the V1 your detector picks up rear radar as it reflects off of objects in front of you, so higher in the windshield wont matter.

 

I was wondering if your laser detection goes off isn't to late to slow down. If so why does it matter how close to the plate it is(detector).

 

The best spot in right under the solar strip on top of the windshield, it greatly reduces its abilities when its any higher.

 

I've only had mine 2 weeks and I've been wondering the same thing. I got one laser warning but I never saw the cop.

 

I live in VA and they are illegal here, but i am going to maryland to get one. Anyone know a place to put it where its not visible to outsiders, but clearly visible to me?

 

hey ricefob, does yours work? it looks like its aimed straight up in the air.

 

Thats what I want to know... I'm in VA also... I'm thinking about making some sort of custom enclosure that would look stock and disconnecting the led display panel and put it elsewhere. Not sure if this is even possible.

drew

 

Hmmm.... I also live in VA... A while back I saw some reviews for the Valetine One... http://www.valentine1.com

Looks pretty nice, but kinda expensive. I also have a 96 Maxima, and living in VA, we kinda need to hide that and once it goes off, pull the power and slow down...

Any ideas on where to mount it or custom enclosures? Also, any suggestions on a particular good detector that does a good job not being detected by the cops?


-Thanks,
Andrew

 

The picture is terrible but...

 

my suggestion is not to put it behind your front windsheild tint at the top b/c laser/radar detectors do not work as well when the have to "see" though tint. The loss is up to 40% put it in the middle right about your heater vents, best spot.

 

Lets get some more pics of peoples setup.....

 

so does that mean that people who have their rear window tinted are out of luck for rear detection??

 

Read any review of radar detectors, or any website with info on them, and they'll tell you that having it high up is the best way.

Sure if your license plate was being targeted, then that would be a good place to have it. However, 1. Watch a cop that's using radar. Most of the time they're just sitting there in the car with the gun mounted on the dash. When it's on the dash, it's at waist-level, so how is it going to pick up the license plate of all cars/trucks/suvs, when each one has it at a different height. 2. I've seen cops using the radar gun while standing outside their car, and aiming it at point-blank range. 3. There's proof that at like 500 feet, the radar "beam" is 100ft wide. Why do you think that those "radar shields" for your license plate don't work?

 

IMHO, I've had the best experiance with it mounted right under the solar strip to the left of the rearview mirror, that way its just a few inches right above my line of sight plus it does not hinder my visability + its undetectable from outside (most important to me, since a lot of cars get broken into on my campus since our parking lot is in the middle of no where) You can barley see it crouching down looking up into my car in my sig, perfect if your not allowed to have them legally since no cop is going to sit inside your car to check if you have a radar conceled next to the rearview.

 

For us va dwellers radar is a tricking thing, I have already scored one ticket just for having one. Solo II cordless by escort, had it in the lower left of the windshield so i could remove it quickly but that doesnt always work out. Anyway i put mine up towards the top to the left of the mirror and in the tinted area of the window. yes i know it may lose some effectiveness but being unseen around here is half the battle. just got back from a road trip today and it saved me 4 times, i like to cruise at 90 or so. it works fine up there plus it has a good rear view. the ticket cost $87 and i was on a city road and the damn thing wasnt even on. price we pay riding in a nice max

 

ONLY $87??? I thought they fine you to death if you get caught with one and don't they confiscate it?

Anyway, great pics on your site! Where you located at in Richmond?

drew

 

Definitely don't put it behind the front strip. I did an experiment today in a shopping center where my v1 was picking up automatic door openers. The signal was a lot weaker behind the blue strip. Thinking about it now I probably should've turned around and then seen if the signal was weaker because of my rear tints

 

With laser signals, if it is a genuine one coming from police, you're caught as soon as it registers. It is vehicle specific, because the signal is only about 5 feet wide or so. Basically, it cannot be on you and the car next to you simultaniously. Usually, when you pick up a laser signal from a cop, your detector will immediately go from noting to full laser signal. Small "stray" signals are usually not police, but are a good indicator to slow down for a mile or so to see if the signal gets stronger. Later

 

I'd have to add in a couple things...the laser beam may be narrow but it refracts all over the place. You can have a car ahead of you but it'll bounce off and could be detected by your setup.

Also, ive never seen a laser detector with "intensity"...its either on or off. The only thing ive seen a false alarm on the laser is with a neon sign. Otherwise my vector always works...and pickups the laser gun as soon as i see the dude shooting it at me on the side of the road.

 

I heard that driving with your lights on can give you a little amount of time to spoof the laser radar, or something like that. Anyone else heard about it? Also, what if I drive w/out front licence plates? o.O

...getting my V1 on monday

 

more rumors.

1. If you're in a cluster of traffic, and the cop gets a reading of someone speeding, he pulls over whoever he feels like, just because it could have been anyone, but everyone got targeted.
2. Go ahead, drive w/o a front license plate. IT doesen't really matter because your whole car is a target. Now you can have the fun of getting 2 tickets.

 

Solar strip does not seem to make an appreciable difference for normal radar, detection range is ridiculous. As for laser...who cares. This is the best spot to mount it...no complaints. Also note remote display in front of steering wheel: so we aren't broadcasting the fact that we have a detector...

 

Thats a V1, correct? How much do those run 200-300?

Thanks,
drew

 

$400, available only from valentine1.com. Expensive, but the only detector worth *any* amount of money as far as I'm concerned...

 

HEY just discovered a funny thing...was reading a little about the laser detection and saw this...

"Mounting high behind the tint band may reduce the laser signal somewhat, but it reduces the sunlight contamination by the same amount. The result is an unchanged laser-to-sunlight ratio from the scene beyond your vehicle, but with reduced hood reflections owing to a higher vantage point—a net gain. Only in the dead of night would a just-below-the-tint-band mounting position be beneficial. "

So maybe mounting behind the tint makes sense after all...nice!

 

Also, having no front plate and driving with your lights on may actually help against laser...it's not a myth. That's why they make most state's license plates white now...that's what laser operators aim for and they need it to reflect.

For all practical purposes, though, laser is undetectable and you should fear it. I've gotten tagged with laser twice...both times my old Bel detector worked perfectly: it went off as soon as he shot me.

 

The best place for radar detectors is in the trash. If they want to get you they will. I have never had a detector save me. Everytime it goes off there are no cops around and everytime I see a cop running radar it is too late.

Smart driving avoids tickets. Never depend on technology. If man made it, that means that its god flaws.

 

400 new...

 

Btw, this post was moved in the wrong forums. I wanted to know WHERE to mount radar on 4th! Gen maxima, NOT ask about what radar to get. And I dont wanna know where 3rd or 5th gen people put their radars at, it aint helping me...so thank you admins for moving this post...grrr

 

Here's a pic from my 3rd gen. My 4th and 5th gens have them in the same location: below the rear-view mirror. You can see the power cable running up the rearview, into the headliner, down the left A-pillar and hooking to a switched power behind the dash. That way, when the car's on, the unit is powered.

I dunno if the sunstrip makes a diff or not. I do kno that I get less false alarms when I mount it up there.

I have semi-metalic tint strip on my 93 windshield, and it also gives less false alarms. I dunno if semi-metalic in the rear makes a diff cuz I got tint first, then detector

In my 97, I have Solarguard Metallic tint, but not the highest grade (this will fade in 10 years). I also have it over my whole windshield. It decreased falsed alarms by a lot!!! I had detector first, then tint.

Same with my 2k Max, which has the highest grade Solarguard tint. Even more filtering here.

Jae