Can some one elplain to me how they work??? At first i thought it just tells you if any cops or any of those sorts of cars are around... or near by...I bought a Escort Passport 8500 and I just drove by like 3 cops and nothing happened...What triggers the detectors???

Chris

 

hows this for your answer??? click here for all you need to know

 

common misconception...but there is a reason it is called a radar detector, not a police detector....

 

Arn't radar and lidar jammers illegal??? I know detactors are okay in CA.

 

Laser Jammers no..

 

it detects RADAR..it doesn't sniff the cops out..


andy

 

hoooooold everything - you mean a radar detector detects.... radar????? nope, i dont believe it. i think youre trying to pull a fast one on me.

























oh man thats good stuff

 

Hey what's radar spelled backwards? RADAR ha!

 

Not every police car has radar, and even the ones that do aren't always on.

And remember this--if the cop sees you speeding and THEN flips the switch on the radar, your detector won't help you; it'll be too late.

 

http://www.escortradar.com/zr3.htm

Here is the latest from Escort. It's a LASER jammer that is LEGALto use and works! It can also be daisy chained if you already have a Escort 8500. It explains how it all works

 

i believe it is the other way around...because since the FCC regulates radar frequencies they have chosen to ban radar jammers but since the FDA regulates laser/lidar laser jammers are legal....

 

OMG .. you're right

 

And that's what I said.... Reread both posts...

 

The FDA (food and drug administration)... okie... if you say so..

-Tom

PS. I think the actual distinction is that nobody seems to care about regulating the spectrum at the wavelengths used by lidar... in essence you can output as much "light" as you want :-) wheras if everyone were allowed to start sending out emf at the frequencies in use for radar (or any radio-type frequency for that matter) you begin to interrupt legitimate services (licensed to operate by the FCC) in a very broad area (depending on your output power)

 

Passive radar and lidar jammers are legal, but they DO NOT WORK. My brother is a police officer and so is a very good friend of mine. I've tried several VG-2 non detectable radar detectors and several brands of jammers over the years. Non of the passive jammers worked the least. Dateline also tested numerous jammers and none worked. Active ones work quite effectively, but are illegal in all 50 states. Out of the 5 or so VG-2 non detectable radar detectors, the more expensive Bel's and the Valentine were the only ones to sneak by. The Valentine was put 2 feet from the unit and it didn't detect it. The Bel was detectable within 5 feet or so.

 

I guess the cops radars were set in donut mode.
They have to actually be running their radar for you to pick it up. They know that every man and his dog has a radar detector, so they are tactical with their use of it.
If they can cruise on the highway and flip it on when they either see a fast approaching car from behind, or see a car ahead travelling faster than anyone around them, they may just flip it on at the last second to clock your speed.

Laser on the other hand - good luck reacting to that one! it takes about 1/3 of a second for it to calculate your speed, once the trigger is pulled. once your Passport 8500 beeps, you're already caught.

 

here's a nice radar/cop detector... the driver. Yes, the eyes, ears,and even your neck will help. Cost: free.

I got on the freeway at like 2 AM one night, and i felt like speeding since the freeway was almost empty. There was one catch, there was a big horde of cars behind me, and no one in front but me. I got sort of suspicious, so i just cruised at 85. Then i see one car speeding up in my rear view mirror from a distance.. odd thing was, it was ONLY that car. Needless to say, i slowed down to 65 mph cruise for about a mile or 2. I take an exit and a California Highway Patrol passes me on the left.
Now, let's see a radar detector catch that...

 

I've actually heard rumors of a way to rig a "COP DETECTOR" yes.. that is correct.. a detector that will detect a COP! not the car, not the radar, but the COP!!!

Now this may just be an unfound rumor (i haven't investigated) but from what I understand it works something to this effect. The 2 way communications systems in use by cops rely on a more powerful transmitter/antenna mounted in the car, and a repeater which broadcasts to some more portable (ie. less powerful) set that the cop carries around (ie. the lapel sets that state troopers carry around). Now if you can rig something together which picks up on this repeater frequency, every time something is transmitted, the cop is effectively giving away their presence. When the transmission is incoming, you locate the car... when the transmission is outgoing, you locate the cop. In either case, the cop and the car usually go together in a speed trap...

Sounds plausible, but a little too simple! has anyone else heard anything to this effect?

-Tom

PS. i wouldn't put much faith into anything claiming to passively jam radar... Furthermore, I would put even less faith into anything claiming to counteract LIDAR. (except those license plate covers.. which do... but do not prevent the cop from simply re-aiming the laser to another reflective surface, and then giving you a ticket not only for speeding, but for an illegal license covering as well...)

 

Passive Radar and Lidar Jammers don't work.. Active Radar and Lidar Jammers do..

There isn't an Active Radar Jammer available for sale that jams KA band Radar.

 

Ka is very wide... available for sale or not, anyone with a basic understanding of electronics *should* be able to rig together an active jammer at any particular frequency you want... over a range of frequencies is a little more complicated, and I would imagine that covering the entire Ka would be challenging, if not impossible for a single transmitter. (besides being highly illegal)..

In any case, chances are that your local radio shack has all of the parts you need :-)

-Tom Z.

 

To the people who are inquiring about jammers: It's a waste of time and money. As stated before, they DO NOT WORK-PERIOD.

Now, to the more direct subject of the workings of Radar Detectors. I've said this before, but I will repeat it anyway. Detectors are just that, they DETECT a signal at a given frequency. If there is no signal, no detection. If the signal is instant and short, so will the detection signal. In other words, people think that because they buy a radar detector they are immune to being either clocked/stopped/ticketed by law enformencement. This is an absolute myth. The radar detector is only a TOOL, much like your beloved car, that is only as smart as it's operator. If you drive on a deserted road and it's a 1-1 encounter with instant-on radar, you're toast no matter what radar detector you have. You're only chance is to have a radar detector that is good enough to "sniff" out signals from great distances (provided it's not a false alarm) when SOMEONE ELSE is being clocked, thereby giving you a chance to slow down before YOU get clocked. That is the ONLY theory behind radar detectors. The detection capabilities of each unit is unique and highly debatable. The reputable ones will cost more money than the not-so-good ones, but they ALL do the same exact thing: WHEN THERE IS A SIGNAL DETECTED W/I THEIR RANGE.

I am not going to go on and on about this, but remember one thing very clearly- Radar detectors are not a magic pill, permission to break the law, or immunity when you do. If used correctly, it can and does serve a purpose for those of us who tend to bend the margin of speed.

I'm sure if people do some research, not just here on the org but all over the internet, they will find all the necessary info to make an educated purchase. Be careful about false claims and exaggerated numbers. Usually an unbiased or uninterested third party testing the device will give you the best info you can rely on.

 

so u are saying bel is the best radar internal,


wat about external radar? how good are they? I know that non of the exterior nor interior can detect laser quick enough, but which one is the best out of those in laser detection.

 

You're not understanding what he is saying. He is referring to VG-2 detectability. In some states, it is illegal to own/operate a radar detector. The police use a radar detector detector. Their unit detects you HAVING a radar detector and you will get ticketed. Most units now a days come with a feature which they claim makes THEIR radar detector invisible to the police's detector. Some work, some don't.

That is what he was trying to say.

 

I am a police officer!!!!! As for the question of the "BEST" laser detector, There is no effective detector. Let me rephrase that, there is no laser detector that will give you enough warning to slow down. At 2 miles, the average beam of light that is transmitted by most police used lidar guns is only 8 FEET wide. Yes. 8 FEET wide. That means, if you had a clear stretch of road that was 2 miles long, and the officer could see you clearly enough to target you, even if he shot you with the lidar, the car next you wouldn't even pick up the signal if he had a so called LASER DETECTOR. Since most officers don't use radar or lidar any further than 1/10th of a mile, imagine how hard it would be to detect that. The beam would effectively be approximately 4.8" wide. yes 4.8 inches wide at 1/10th of a mile. Pretty hard to detect huh?

As for the "COP DETECTOR" repeater monitoring system. The hardest part would be setting up an accurate metering system to tell how far away the transmitting officer is. How will you be able to differentiate between the officer you just passed and the one 5 miles up the road? A "side unit" as we like to call them, works entirely different than the radar antena that sits on the front and rear dash. Those antenas transmit in a certain direction and at a certain width. Our side units transmit in a 360 degree pattern. Sure, you would be able to tell if an officer was within 5 miles of you or so, but honestly what good is that. If you live a city, lets be honest, you're always within 5 miles of an officer most likely. What good would it be.

If you got any questions, or comments, let me know. I'm not affraid to let out a few secrets, but think I'll give away all our secrets.

 

I believe for an accurate measurement of speed the officer has to be within a very close range of the car. I do not want to throw numbers because I forget them. Detecting a police car within 5 miles is very usefull on open highways where one could travel 5 miles in mere minutes.

 

Sure, open highways, it would be great, but whats not to say he got on behind you two exits back. That damn contraption you made will never stop beeping or hissing or whatever you make it do. It'd be like a superman mosquito on a hot day and you're all out of kryptonite!

 

I remember when I was going on a trip with my friend on his vetta who also had a Cobra 9200 and that thing would not stop beeping. Anyway, he got so ****ed he just took it and threw it out the window. I was like WTF!! After, using my Cobra 6200 for a while now I can understand him and most of the time it just sits in the glove compartment.

 

As the contributing officer stated, the physical capabilities of any radar detector is limited. I truly don't know what good a "cop detector" as some have called it would be. What purpose would it serve? Law enforcement is literally everywhere at one time or another. Not all use radar equipment, not all are monitoring traffic. You guys need to realize that even an officer w/o a radar can pull you over and ticket you for speeding. The car speedometer, just like the radar gun, is calibrated. You can be paced. Even with a small window for speedometer error, your ticket will hold up in court since he probably didn't pace you at just 5mph over.

Bottom line is that radar detectors are not meant to be used as a cloaking device, permission to speed, or magic shield against tickets. That's what your brain is for. If you drive with your brain in the "on" position, the radar detector is only an extra set of eyes that sometimes helps.

People drive faster than the speed limit every single day. Law enforcement, for the most part, is tolerant to this fact to a degree. Where you get into trouble is when you over do it and stand out among all the other passing motorists. Get it?

 

The reason passive jammers don't work is that they don't exist. Any claims to the contrary are fraudulent.

You cannot, until the laws of physics are repealed, jam a signal passively. Jamming requires that the jammer be transmitting.
Passive means no transmitting. QED.

You can, however make it harder to be detected. See the F-117 and B-2 bombers. Their shapes reflect the radar beams so that the reflected energy coming back to the radar unit is much weaker than it would be if it had bounced off a non-stealthy aircraft of similar size.

Back in the days of the 55mph NMSL, the Car and Driver folks experimented with a bra lined with some radar dispersing material (IIRC, it basically reflected the radar beams every which way)

They put the bra on to a 911, and cut down the detection range to half of what it was without the material.

Some cars are stealthy than others. I suspect the Maximas are not very stealty at all, giving their rather boxy shape.

The 3rd generation Vette was stealtier than the 4th, because of the way the headlights retracted, and the angle of the radiator.

 

Just for fun, I'm gonna try to get my ElCheapo WalMart digital camera into my patrol car soon. I'll try to cut a short video in .mpg format to show you guys just how fast the radar works. Our department only has one lidar gun, and it is like way old school. Its the size of a large briefcase literally and I'm not certified with it. So you'll just have to keep speculating on that one. Our department uses it mostly for measuring off extremely accurate distances on fatality accidents. I can tell you one thing, if an officer is mobile (ie not stationary) there is absolutely no way he is using LIDAR. LIDAR is stationary only and must be "AIMED" at a highly reflective part of the vehicle. This is why your local DMV is so proud to put that reflective material on your license plates. Thats usually what officers aim for. Also, thats why you can get that citation for no front LP. It's been a pretty much chicken ***T citation to write in the past, but with more and more LIDAR guns becoming available, thats one citation that will probably start getting alot more attention pretty soon.

Anyways, if you're real familiar with the org, I will probably need a little help getting the video on the site when it becomes available. Hopefully by next week. I'll try to get as much footage of work as possible. Kinda like "COPS.ORG" <--Bad Boys

 

You guys are missing the point. You can try, try, and try, but it will not work. The police officer will just shoot at another surface on your car, i.e. headlights or plain bumper, in order to get an accurate reading. There is absolutely no defense for LIDAR that is proactive. The only defense is reactive in that the radar detector unit has to have a very broad range of detection thereby giving you the ability to detect when OTHER cars are being clocked. If it is you that is being clocked, there is absolutely no way that any unit on the market today can or will warn you with enough time to stay out of a ticket. Think about it; once the officer aims the LIDAR gun at the car, he pulls the "trigger" and it almost immidietly tells him a reading. If it doesn't, it's due to obstruction or bad reflection, he/she then re-aims and re-fires. Unless you are traveling at an outrageous speed (which visibly then they could have reason to stop you) they could aim and re-aim a few times before you're by them. It is then reasonable to assume that the only real chance you have against this is to A: have the luck that the officer will not get an accurate reading when shooting you (see scenario above) B: You detect when the car NEXT/INFRONT of you gets hit and then quickly slow down. It is very difficult to do either since as the officer stated, they are trained and certified and the gun generates a very thin "signal" to be detected.

 

I have posted in threads in the past that were the "Stoopid cop! Ticketed me at 145 in a 35!!" type threads before too, and it seems that usually my posts are just passed over. I have also tried to shed some light on confusing subjects (of course with the disclaimer that these laws pertain to my state and maybe not yours) and am often ignored there too. I have mostly decided that it is not worth the hassle.

I would however like to comment on a few things!

I stopped a Maxima for about 8 mph over once. I generally don't stop for less than about 11mph over (I am in traffic court less that way!) Anyway, I stopped him and visited with him for a while about his car. He was very nice, quite cordial really, and I told him about the various Maximas I have owned. He was very impressed! I encouraged him to watch his speed and sent him on his way. I actually like to occassionally stop a nice car and chat with the owner about the car! The funnest was an Audi TT spyder when they first came out. This guy (a doctor) FLEW around a corner and I was coming his direction. It was probably a 60mph corner! He hit the brakes half way throught the corner and brought the tail almost all the way around! The guy was HORRIBLY embarassed, he had just gotten the car, and had a younger chica in the passenger seat. Obviously not his wife! Anyway, I chatted with him about his car for a while, and sent him on his way. His embarassment was clearly harder for him than an $80 ticket ever could have been!

Also, I live near the Utah/Idaho border. Utah and Idaho police officers don't have a very amicable relationship. On trips to SLC I always use a radar detector and drive responsibly. Sure, I keep my eyes open. However, the last thing I want is to get stopped by UHP. UHP (and ISP for that matter) almost always run with moving radar on. Officers who do that are EASILY detectable with a decent radar detector. I think that the majority of users are out to defeat this type of speed detection. I don't currently have moving radar in my police vehicle, so I just use a handheld. Used effectively, they can be very hard to detect. Laser is not currently used in my region. Too much expense.

Third, I received an issue of Sport Compact Car in the mail yesterday that has a write up of a police scanner that does work off of the above mentioned repeater signals. It sounds an alert when you are within 3 miles of a police car broadcasting a signal. I don't think there is an option to reduce sensitivity. It is a neat item because while it provides the alert tone, it also allows you to listen in on the police band as well as Citizen Band radio. Something I wouldn't mind having in my own cars!

Lastly, it seems that it is hard for some people to grasp that a police officer CAN also be an automotive enthusiast! I am and many are! In fact, I was at an autocross recently where State Trooper was putting down some of the fasted times of the day in his ZR-1!

Do I like speed? YES! Do I resist the urge? Mostly! Do I get a thrill when I am travelling at 75 mph and a car passes in the oposite direction at 90mph, and I have to run my crown vic at almost 130mph to catch up to it? YES!! When I pull up to a GSR or a GSX at a light, do I have the urge to race them? YES! Do I do it? NO COMMENT! Just kidding, No! Racing is a violation of my fiduciary duty, and can result in dismissal.

So there, that is my take on life!

 

So, when are we going to race. Modded Victoria vs Modded Maxima

 

Here in NC, with no front plate, I'd suspect that LIDAR would not be as useful, since the LIDAR operator would have to be stationary, and the speeder is moving away. You'd have to use two cars to easily operate a LIDAR based speeding enforcement action (I'm guessing.)

Like someone else wrote, if you're speeding out alone, and you're the first one that a RADAR gun measures for a while, you're caught (unless the officer triggers the RADAR too soon, and your detector lets you slow down before you enter the measurement zone.)

 

Uh, the maxima would romp ALL OVER my crown vic! It is OOOOOOLLLLLDDDD! I am a reserve so I don't get the fancy new equipment! The department here has one Z28 though, you could try to race that one! The VIC is excruciatingly slow, but the Lumina is even slower!

Tell you what though, race my radio with your modded max!

 

My 2001 SE will outrun a 2001 Crown Vic. Both were stock at the time. It was a slow night, at an empty airport, with supervisor approval. Heck it was the supervisor. The Crown Vics are fast, but the Motorola is even faster. Don't think you're gonna walkoff and leave a Vic in the dust though. Even with a large lightbar, they will still run around 130. All I have to do is keep you in sight. Unless your Max will run 170+, you won't lose a Vic. I know my Max won't do 170, and I don't know of many that will. Its still interesting to see how they stack up against each other though isn't it.

 

You have to remember that LIDAR can be used w/o a front license plate. Here in GA, we also do not have front license plates and LIDAR is everywhere. The officer will shoot/aim at your headlights (the gun only needs a reflective somewhat flat surface to get an accurate reading). As stated before, he does have to be stationary but he can be facing your direction. Only one radar gun can measure speed while moving in the same direction. For this reason, most police vehicles are either clocking in the opposite direction they are traveling or stationary.

No matter what some literature may say, it is not an easy task to beat a speeding ticket. Either on the road or in court. Some police officers, I hate to stereotype here (I have been told directly this), will not be as lenient if they see a radar detector on your dash.

Bottom line is that, I'm beating this into the ground now, a radar detector is designed to warn you of a signal received in a certain direction. It is a finely tuned ANTENNA. Some better than others, but basically it is only an antenna with other fancy electronics. It is passive and therefore requires a little human brain to interpret your reaction to the warning.

Use good common sense and you will not find yourself on the side of the road mumbling...."Yes, sir...Yes, sir...I wasn't paying attention or Yes, sir I didn't realize I was speeding, sorry". BTW, the second response will go further to get you a break than the first one.

 

Utah Highway Patrol has equiped all of their cars with moving radar that can clock cars moving in the same direction in front and in back of the patrol car. Most moving radar has always been able to clock a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction, both in front and behind the police car.

We hardly have any units with moving radar in my city, so if you get clocked most of the time it's with a hand held...instant on baby...hard to beat that.

 

Well, if memory serves me correct (I'm getting old you know), there is only one kind of radar gun that can clock you ACCURATELY while moving in the same direction, i.e. squad car in front/behind you traveling the same direction. Reason for this, according to what I read, is that while stationary it is easy to do the speed accurately because the radar signal is bounced off the moving object back to a stationary one which then only requires a simple and never changing math formula to calculate speed. If you are moving in the same direction, the normal radar guns would not be able to factor in the ever changing factor of distance since it's always changing unless you are moving at the same speeds (the formula requires an additional factor of a logyrithm to work correctly). Additionally, most radar guns that are squad car mounted use an antenna and a wide signal (lidar excluded) that only reads out the fastest speed detected. In other words, in any situation containing more than one car the officer has to decide which car is moving at the speed displayed since the readout only displays the fastest speed, not what car is speeding. Which leads me back perfectly to my point all along. If you use your noodle when driving, you can avoid inconviniences by not being the center of attention while traveling thereby reducing your chances of being picked as the faster moving object.

 

What do you mean you are getting old, you are only 32!

Okay, you make a good point, however, moving radar is just that, moving radar. A patrol car that is moving in one direction and clocks a car travelling in another is still moving! The complexities are still there. I do think though that moving radar that clocks a vehicle travelling in the same direction is much more complex.