Radar detectors: Do they still work?

MattD1zzl3

MattD1zzl3

2 Slow 2 Noisy
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Miamishire
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1996 & 2003 Mazda Miatas, 1995 Chevy Camaro Z28
Due to my habit of gently pushing the boundaries of the speed limits on the interstate, i have been looking into getting a radar detector. A word with my father (a police officer) provided me with information: They dont work anymore, because police no longer use passive radar "guns", but some kind of laser gun that can only be detected when its turned on, and by then its too late to slow down.

So for a few weeks i left it at that, then one night cruising on a deserted freeway in the everglades in my friends Z28 (speed ~ 130-140) i suddenly saw his radar detector light up like a christmas tree. Remembering my friends advice i thought we were screwed for sure, we had just been "lazed"! Despite this my friend gets on the brakes in a hurry and gets us down to something close to the speed limit, just in time for us to blow past a highway patrolman sitting there.

Now i am convinced that this device saved my friend some serious trouble, and it would appear that they still work just fine. Is there any truth to my fathers statements that "laser" speed detectors have/will make the window-mounted radar detector obsolete? Also, what is a good price to pay for one, can you recommend a model?
 
I have a Radar Detector and it has helped many times.

Cops use radar guns still, K-band, Ka-band, rarely X-band.

However, they DO use Laser, which radar detectors are only good for telling you "oh shit, you've been lasered" Most the time, it tries to warn you when someone CLOSE BY has been lasered.

I use a Valentine 1. Its about $399. It has saved my ass many times. But I do live in Georgia, where they do use A LOT of lasers (a company called Laser Atlanta gives the cops their guns....) Its hard for the V1 to do anything about laser.. I do have a little...*cough*laserjammer*cough* to help me out.
 
A lot of cops still use radar because it is cheaper than lidar (aka laser). But more importantly...

There is one very simple reason why police will never stop using radar:

It is illegal in all states to jam radar but you can jam lidar (aka laser) in all states except (minnesota, california, utah). Also, lidar only works if the laser beam has a very reflective surface to bounce off of....aka headlights, license plates, and to a certain degree the color/glossiness of the paint.

Radar and lidar detectors are all passive devices..where as a lidar jammer can actively jam the lidar and you can literally be going 100mph right by a cop and he can't do a thing. That's what happened to one of teachers at my school. He just (he's a doctor) flew by this cop and said he actually saw the cop shaking the lidar gun.
http://www.radarbusters.com/detectorsfaqsarticle.cfm#laser
 
Back when I had my Cavalier, I used a Valentine One for a couple of months from a friend, and it sure did help me out. But actually found myself speeding a lot more, and seeing signals a lot more. Never purchased a detector since I've had my liscense...and not speeding tickets yet

I got to use a LIDAR gun back out at Edwards AFB, and found that a lot of the people that got pulled over for speeding over the lakebed...had no warning via detectors. But then again your not supposed to have any kind of device to give you an advantage over SF cops on base...
 
So, laser jammer + Radar detector is the way to go... expensive, but i'm sure they pay for itself.

Is there another way to mount them besides window? I know cops see movement in the car + suction marks as an admission of guilt...
 
I have a fairly cheap (<$100 - but it was on clearance) Cobra that seems to work well and it has a LIDAR detector. There are a few places around where the X-Band always goes off no matter what, usually when I am high on a bridge that has microwave relays on it or near the Vessel Traffic Control Center. Also, those automatic door openers use X and K-band radar.

I have driven past the stationary "This Is Your Speed" signs and the the unit picked them up no problem, some emergency vehicles are equipped with a radar emitter that is designed to trigger some radar detectors. Mine has this feature and if an equipped Ambulance or other vehicle is nearby my unit will emit a unique tone and audibly warn me that an emergency vehicle is approaching (yes, it speaks and tells you the triggered band).

I've never been hit with LIDAR that I know of. The fact is that around here I don't see cops setting up speed traps, they make more money on carpool lane violations and aggressive/dangerous drivers. If they enforced the speed limit around here the bay would just come to a halt. Traffic regularly moves at 80 mph in a 55 zone - and I mean ALL the traffic, not just the passing lane.

MattD1zzl3 said:
So, laser jammer + Radar detector is the way to go... expensive, but i'm sure they pay for itself.

Is there another way to mount them besides window? I know cops see movement in the car + suction marks as an admission of guilt...
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You used to be able to get units where the sensing unit could be mounted behind the grill and the display mounted inside the car wherever you want (like under the dash, out of sight). For best results you want the sensor mounted high in your windscreen so it will pick up any radar emissions as you come over hills. If you mount it low then your whole car is visible before the sensor can see what's going on. I had mine mounted low, right on the dash but moved it to above my rear view mirror. I ran the power under the trim and headliner and you can hardly see it from outside the car.

If you get pulled over with a detector don't expect any leniency; it's a trade-off to be sure.
 
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This totally depends where/how you drive. Of course, detectors are still, and always will be effective, if you know how to use them and set them up.

First and foremost, don't bother with one if you only drive in urban areas, where you shouldn't be screaming around anyways. Most cops, if they catch you speeding, will estimate your speed without using equipment - and their word will stand in court, as they are trained to be able to estimate speed accurately. Second, depending on the quality of your detector, there is way too much interference from building security systems, automatic door openers, etc that will set it off constantly, and you'll start to ignore all the false alarms pretty quick, eventually to your peril.

On the highways is where these things start to shine. Most cops have active radar in the cruisers for highway patrol...meaning they're actively pinging away with forward and rear facing radar. The guys hidden on the sides of the roads doing revenue generation are the ones using laser with the handheld guns, picking off individual vehicles. A quality radar detector like the V-1 and the 8500 will pick up the radar from patroling cruisers from miles away. Laser, however, is trickier. In heavy to moderate traffic, you can be assured that the cop at the side of the road with laser will be picking off guys ahead of you, and the laser will actually splash off the cars ahead, and a good detector will pick that up. Its line of sight however, and at a relatively close distance - coming over the crest of a hill, for example, is where cops like to hide out and you need to be careful, cause even if they're just on the other side, your detector won't pick it up.

A friend of mine has a V1 with a mirror mount and screamer (boosts the detection noise to a "screaming" level) on his Gixxer; even riding behind him at 'excessive' speeds, I could hear it chirping away. Saved us both many times. Cost of V1 with setup: $475. Cost of excessive speeding ticket: $500. The thing paid for itself about 7 times over this summer.
 
i'd love to have one, am caught about twice a month or so :( (always between 50-150?)

but if they find one in your car, they impound the car :|
 
It works, but not all the time and not with all types of speed traps.

Most people get the wrong impression of the laser jammer, it wasnt designed for you to speed and get away with it, its was designed to help you so you wont get screwed over for doing 70mph in a 60zone, certainly not made for you to break the law.

Having said that, its definetely something that id recommend to have.
 
so my best bet is to mount it on the mirror, and rip it off if i'm busted... (i think they'll notice if they are behind me :p)


I've never gotten busted for speeding (the rules: 1. Dont be a dick, keep the speed to what you know you can do safely 2. Keep up a constant scan for police 3. Slow down near hills and overpasses ) Common sense will do 90% of the ass-saving, i just want something for the remaining 10%.
 
MattD1zzl3 said:
so my best bet is to mount it on the mirror, and rip it off if i'm busted... (i think they'll notice if they are behind me :p)


I've never gotten busted for speeding (the rules: 1. Dont be a dick, keep the speed to what you know you can do safely 2. Keep up a constant scan for police 3. Slow down near hills and overpasses ) Common sense will do 90% of the ass-saving, i just want something for the remaining 10%.
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those things come off within seconds, hide it in the cubbyhol or under the seat and you will be fine.
 
Why don't you just not speed, i think your police father intentionally left out some of the above info mentioned, which he probably knows perfectly well....and is kind of hinting to you to not drive like a jackass on the freeways.

I own a V1 and honestly i stopped using it a couple years ago and just stopped driving excessively fast on the freeways.
 
nist7 said:
Also, lidar only works if the laser beam has a very reflective surface to bounce off of....aka headlights, license plates, and to a certain degree the color/glossiness of the paint.
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Hahaha! That could explain how I've escaped getting busted by the KHP a few times now. They use LIDAR and my car is flat black, with flip-up headlights and no front plate. I need to invest in a decent scanner and laser jammer though, a friend of mines got one and the set up has paid for itself many times over.

LeMans GTR said:
GPS radar/lidar detectors are legal here, aren't they?
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Not that I know of. You can expect no mercy from a cop if he notices you've got one though.
 
its illegal here in Virginia too... the question is can they detect that you have one or is the only way for them to catch you is if they see you with it?
 
tigger said:
Hahaha! That could explain how I've escaped getting busted by the KHP a few times now. They use LIDAR and my car is flat black, with flip-up headlights and no front plate. I need to invest in a decent scanner and laser jammer though, a friend of mines got one and the set up has paid for itself many times over.
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Yup 8)
 
CBuck03 said:
its illegal here in Virginia too... the question is can they detect that you have one or is the only way for them to catch you is if they see you with it?
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Ever heard of Radar detector detectors? Like the Spectre II or III? :p While receiving the radar the radar detector emits some itself, this is what the Spectre catches. Apparently there are methods to block the outgoing radar though, but I'm unsure how good these are.
 
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