Radar Detector?

[NomisR]

Well, with a highly noticible car, I'm finally thinking I need a radar detector.  V1 seems to be the highest recommended but what about the Escort SR series that's built into the car with the Shifters, anyone has experience with this?

[Lazerous]

Well, with a highly noticible car, I'm finally thinking I need a radar detector.? V1 seems to be the highest recommended but what about the Escort SR series that's built into the car with the Shifters, anyone has experience with this?

I never had any experience with the SR series, but I did test out the V1 and its damn good!

[Rupert]

http://speedzones.com/

They seem to still be pretty good...

[TheIntrepid]

I'm going to be getting a Valentine 1 soon. Passports seem to be recommended too.

[The Pirate]

Were I to buy a radar detector, I'd get the Valentine 1.  Thus far, common sense and paying attention have worked well for me, albeit with a considerably more mundane car than you drive.

[Colonel Cadillac]

Paying attention has worked pretty well for me, V1s are like $300ish, and that's a lot for what I can use my eyes for. If I lived in New Jersey, however, I would have a V1 for sure.

[NomisR]

Yeah but radar is suppose to detect farther than the eye can see, that's the whole point of it..  the problem is, does the laser "shifter" thing help at all?  If not, i'll just go with the V1

[Colonel Cadillac]

Yeah but radar is suppose to detect farther than the eye can see, that's the whole point of it..? the problem is, does the laser "shifter" thing help at all?? If not, i'll just go with the V1

True, and that you're driving a bright yellow Lotus, you're probably making a good decision.

[Lebowski]

I've had my V1 for about four years and love it.  In fact, I haven't had a speeding ticket over that entire time, and I blatantly speed just about all the time in a high profile car.

[sandertheshark]

Bel Vector.  Nothing else comes close.

[Soup DeVille]

Bel Vector.? Nothing else comes close.

Funny, I had pictured you as having some sort of black box cobbled together out of the ECM package of a F-22 sitting on your dashboard with enough raw wattage to cook stray pigeons.

[sandertheshark]

Funny, I had pictured you as having some sort of black box cobbled together out of the ECM package of a F-22 sitting on your dashboard with enough raw wattage to cook stray pigeons.

I was toying with something like that, but the AN/ALQ-214 IDECM doesn't have a cigarette lighter AC adapter.  The Vector is probably the next best thing though.

[VTEC_Inside]

I'm going to be getting a Valentine 1 soon. Passports seem to be recommended too.

Problem is that laser is the predominate weapon of choice here in Ontario. Couple that with the fact that the detectors are illegal and well....

[Raghavan]

You should get one of those things on your car that detects the laser from the radar gun and sends back another signal that gives them garbage, and when they re-radar your car, you can slow down enough to be doing the speed limit.

[NomisR]

You should get one of those things on your car that detects the laser from the radar gun and sends back another signal that gives them garbage, and when they re-radar your car, you can slow down enough to be doing the speed limit.

That's what I'm looking to get with the Escort.  I know V1 is proven to work but with the increasing # of laser out there... unless you can jam them.. you're SOL if you get a lock on  with those in the first place... but who actually has experience with them though?

[hounddog]

Yeah but radar is suppose to detect farther than the eye can see, that's the whole point of it..? the problem is, does the laser "shifter" thing help at all?? If not, i'll just go with the V1

It will detect the radar beam as far as the beam travels.  However, if the officer is using his vf hold hold button properly, there may be no warning at all.  Once he hits the button it only takes a mili-second for the beam to travel to your car and be reflected back to his radar.  In all it takes about 1 second for the radar to send, receive, calculate and produce a speed reading.  Your detector takes about 1-2 seconds to receive and determine if the micro-wave it is receiving is radar, phantom or stray.  By the time you receive a notification there is a radar produced mircowave out there, the officer will already have a speed reading on you because his cycle was started much in advance to yours. 

Same for the laser, only it is more than twice the speed of the radar beam.  And, in order for the laser to activate a detector the beam must hit the sensor on the detector.  There is a much higher margin of error in detecting a laser beam due in great part to the laser beam spreading far less at considerably greater distances.   A radar leaves it's emmitter and immediately begins to spread out in a 'V' shape, and at a half a mile it is as wide as a four lane freeway.  A laser on the other hand is a very small beam of light that starts out in a straight line.  Because light also consists of particles it can be affected by wind and distance.  At about half a mile it is hardly any bigger than a soft ball.  If the officer is aiming the beam away from your sensor, as you can imagine, you will probably not detect the beam.  We aim the beam through a scope sight on top of the unit at a reflective area on your car, ie a headlight or taillight.  Unless you have sensors in those areas the odds of you detecting the laser is almost zero.  In fact, by the time you detect the laser he already has your speed measured.  It is nearly instantaneous with the laser, and unlike radar, there is no requirement for a speed tracking history.  The courts feel the laser is so accurate the one time speed measurement, which is nothing more than on and off, is enough to issue a citation.

In conclusion, if you wish to spend money on a radar detector, forget the laser options and buy the best radar alone detector.   And that is coming from a guy who worked traffic once upon a time.

[NomisR]

It will detect the radar beam as far as the beam travels.? However, if the officer is using his vf hold hold button properly, there may be no warning at all.? Once he hits the button it only takes a mili-second for the beam to travel to your car and be reflected back to his radar.? In all it takes about 1 second for the radar to send, receive, calculate and produce a speed reading.? Your detector takes about 1-2 seconds to receive and determine if the micro-wave it is receiving is radar, phantom or stray.? By the time you receive a notification there is a radar produced mircowave out there, the officer will already have a speed reading on you because his cycle was started much in advance to yours.?

Same for the laser, only it is more than twice the speed of the radar beam.? And, in order for the laser to activate a detector the beam must hit the sensor on the detector.? There is a much higher margin of error in detecting a laser beam due in great part to the laser beam spreading far less at considerably greater distances.? ?A radar leaves it's emmitter and immediately begins to spread out in a 'V' shape, and at a half a mile it is as wide as a four lane freeway.? A laser on the other hand is a very small beam of light that starts out in a straight line.? Because light also consists of particles it can be affected by wind and distance.? At about half a mile it is hardly any bigger than a soft ball.? If the officer is aiming the beam away from your sensor, as you can imagine, you will probably not detect the beam.? We aim the beam through a scope sight on top of the unit at a reflective area on your car, ie a headlight or taillight.? Unless you have sensors in those areas the odds of you detecting the laser is almost zero.? In fact, by the time you detect the laser he already has your speed measured.? It is nearly instantaneous with the laser, and unlike radar, there is no requirement for a speed tracking history.? The courts feel the laser is so accurate the one time speed measurement, which is nothing more than on and off, is enough to issue a citation.

In conclusion, if you wish to spend money on a radar detector, forget the laser options and buy the best radar alone detector.? ?And that is coming from a guy who worked traffic once upon a time.

The thing I'm looking for really isn't a laser detector because I know it doesn't help me any, but more of a laser jammer.  I've heard that it works but then again, I've heard that it works only if the officer is lazy and is aiming at the license plate..  this isn't something cheap where i can just toss away if i don't like it... so I want to be careful with my selection.. well of course the V1 will be a lot cheaper but again, it's the whole laser thing that would make the other choice worth it.

[Ron From Regina]

Check out http://www.radardetector.net/

More information on Radar detectors, and Laser jamming then the rest of the internet combined.

[hounddog]

The thing I'm looking for really isn't a laser detector because I know it doesn't help me any, but more of a laser jammer.? I've heard that it works but then again, I've heard that it works only if the officer is lazy and is aiming at the license plate..? this isn't something cheap where i can just toss away if i don't like it... so I want to be careful with my selection.. well of course the V1 will be a lot cheaper but again, it's the whole laser thing that would make the other choice worth it.

No, jammers do not work.  There is no way to jam a particle light beam, unless you are driving a Galaxy class starship of course.  The only way to defeat the particle light beam is to redirect it because it does not work on the same priciple as a radar which uses micorwaves.  And then, even the radar is something only the military is able to actually jam.  What you can do is create ghost images, but again, unless you have the financial wherewithall of the US military...

Sorry.   Your best option is still luck, and a good ole radar detector.  Or simply do not speed.

[Soup DeVille]

It will detect the radar beam as far as the beam travels.? However, if the officer is using his vf hold hold button properly, there may be no warning at all.? Once he hits the button it only takes a mili-second for the beam to travel to your car and be reflected back to his radar.? In all it takes about 1 second for the radar to send, receive, calculate and produce a speed reading.? Your detector takes about 1-2 seconds to receive and determine if the micro-wave it is receiving is radar, phantom or stray.? By the time you receive a notification there is a radar produced mircowave out there, the officer will already have a speed reading on you because his cycle was started much in advance to yours.?

Same for the laser, only it is more than twice the speed of the radar beam.? And, in order for the laser to activate a detector the beam must hit the sensor on the detector.? There is a much higher margin of error in detecting a laser beam due in great part to the laser beam spreading far less at considerably greater distances.? ?A radar leaves it's emmitter and immediately begins to spread out in a 'V' shape, and at a half a mile it is as wide as a four lane freeway.? A laser on the other hand is a very small beam of light that starts out in a straight line.? Because light also consists of particles it can be affected by wind and distance.? At about half a mile it is hardly any bigger than a soft ball.? If the officer is aiming the beam away from your sensor, as you can imagine, you will probably not detect the beam.? We aim the beam through a scope sight on top of the unit at a reflective area on your car, ie a headlight or taillight.? Unless you have sensors in those areas the odds of you detecting the laser is almost zero.? In fact, by the time you detect the laser he already has your speed measured.? It is nearly instantaneous with the laser, and unlike radar, there is no requirement for a speed tracking history.? The courts feel the laser is so accurate the one time speed measurement, which is nothing more than on and off, is enough to issue a citation.

In conclusion, if you wish to spend money on a radar detector, forget the laser options and buy the best radar alone detector.? ?And that is coming from a guy who worked traffic once upon a time.

Most officers don't use the laser gun like a sniper rifle however, but more like short-burst automatic, pulling the trigger and then sweeping across the front of the target vehicle until a good read is obtained. This produces more scatter than the technique you've described, and can (and has!) be detected by vehicles quite a bit behind the target vehicle.

[Soup DeVille]

No, jammers do not work.? There is no way to jam a particle light beam, unless you are driving a Galaxy class starship of course.? The only way to defeat the particle light beam is to redirect it because it does not work on the same priciple as a radar which uses micorwaves.? And then, even the radar is something only the military is able to actually jam.? What you can do is create ghost images, but again, unless you have the financial wherewithall of the US military...

Sorry.? ?Your best option is still luck, and a good ole radar detector.? Or simply do not speed.

Laser jammers do work, radar jammers (except for higly illegal ones) do not: although I have no idea what a particle light beam is. Laser guns use higly focused infrared light in the 900 nanometer range.

The funny thing about laser is that it is not controlled by the FCC like radar is, it falls under the FDA's jurisdiction (because of supermarket scanners of all things). Also, there are no licenses required to transmit infrared laser. Good, commercially available laser jammers are expensive (the best one currently being the Lidatek LD-20 which runs about $1000), but do work, and by emitting their own laser in the same (randomly modulated) frequency as the officer's gun can prevent a proper reading at any range.

But I'm going to agree with you:

The number one most effective detector is the mark 1 eyeball.

[Raghavan]

That's what I'm looking to get with the Escort. I know V1 is proven to work but with the increasing # of laser out there... unless you can jam them.. you're SOL if you get a lock on with those in the first place... but who actually has experience with them though?

You're screwed if they find out though, and some picky cop may pull you over to see what's going on. It's pretty easy to find all the radar gun jamming stuff though.

[Soup DeVille]

Because light also consists of particles it can be affected by wind and distance.?

[heelntoe]

still stuck in the newtonian era.

[J86]

?A radar leaves it's emmitter and immediately begins to spread out in a 'V' shape, and at a half a mile it is as wide as a four lane freeway.?

Realllly...so how do they cops know that they got you and not the guy riding next to you?

[Eye of the Tiger]

Realllly...so how do they cops know that they got you and not the guy riding next to you?

That's why they use LAZER !

[J86]

That's why they use LAZER !

The laser warning on my friend's escort gives me the heebie jeebies...

[Eye of the Tiger]

The laser warning on my friend's escort gives me the heebie jeebies...

Mine too, but it's almost certainly too late once it detects the laser beam.?

[hounddog]

Laser jammers do work, radar jammers (except for higly illegal ones) do not: although I have no idea what a particle light beam is. Laser guns use higly focused infrared light in the 900 nanometer range.

The funny thing about laser is that it is not controlled by the FCC like radar is, it falls under the FDA's jurisdiction (because of supermarket scanners of all things). Also, there are no licenses required to transmit infrared laser. Good, commercially available laser jammers are expensive (the best one currently being the Lidatek LD-20 which runs about $1000), but do work, and by emitting their own laser in the same (randomly modulated) frequency as the officer's gun can prevent a proper reading at any range.

But I'm going to agree with you:

The number one most effective detector is the mark 1 eyeball.

A particle light beam is a laser.  And being that light is comprised of particles, and it is used in police infrared lasers (infrared is light, duh) we are using particle light beam to measure your speed.  Basic physics 101.    Sorry, but you are wrong about the laser jammer.  Used them from the time they came out in 1994 or 1995 until I retired last year, and they can not be jammed.  As I stated, they can be redirected not jammed.  Provide me with one credible study link to disprove what I said please.  The problem with the example you provided is this; a laser is pointed and returned to its emitter.  In the matter of nano-seconds.  A "jammer", as you call it,  which might also emit a laser would have to be aimed DIRECTLY at the officers laser receiver, and tuned to the EXACT frequency of his laser unit.  The odds are rediculous that it would ever work.   How do you preprogram a laser emitter to send out signals to the exact location where an officer would be sitting on either side of the road, and with the proper angles?  And then program it to hit the exact frequency while the officer is using his laser?  Oh wait, I think I have the answer...

However, in Michigan there is a law which makes any instrument positioned on a car which it's sole purpose is to jam or negatively affect law enforcement speed measuring devices.   It is a misdemeanor. 

[heelntoe]

light is not made up of particles. it is "made up" of waves.