Radar Detectors

[LePaul]

There's two intersections I go by every day that are on a 35mph stretch of road.  Daily, I get the green light and pause, look both ways...and there's some moron speeding thru who obviously floored it when the light was yellow.  I wish there were automatic cameras for idiots like that (who no doubt are visiting from New Zealand with a Bel Laser Pro detector?  )

But even worse than that is the truckers who use jake brakes in areas that are clearly signed as USE OF ENGINE BRAKES ARE PROHIBITED.  They should have a system that just fires an anti-tank missile and leaves the carnage on the side of the road for other dense truckers to observe     Furthermore, the offenders should be subjected to 24 hours of sleep deprivation and sound bombardment.   

[Obie303]

Vulcan, check your PMs.   

Obie

[bj229r]

I drive about 50k a year in mostly rural areas, and have had 2 tickets in the last 5 years, both of which involved the leech setting up his gun at the bottom of a long DOWNgrade (LOTS of those in SW VA)--usually run about 5 over, by the time I realize Ive gone from 60 to 65-68, THERE is the 'gentleman' with the gun. F#$^#n leeches, there is NO safety for him to be improving on here, 2 lanes each way with a median, an exit/cross-street every 4-5 miles--only goal is revenue generation. if I saw one of those 'gentleman' drive off a bridge, I wouldn't even slow down to look at the bubbles.

[Pooh21]

And I have prime building land in southern Florida!  Tell me how can a detector pick up radio waves and light waves.  Lidar is target specific.  That means the Lidar beam is approximately 2 feet wide.  It's pointed directly at the front plate of a vehicle (usually) and it happens in a split second.  That whole speed of light theory that some guy thought of.  I can't quite remember his name. 

How do you jam light?  Reflect it, refract it, or absorb it, sure.  But unless GM, Ford, and the imported cars are building "stealth" cars, I think somebody is selling you up the river.

Obie

 
You guys are the best.
Vulcans already answered but. One box usually has a buncha electrodoodads in it and an antenna for detecting radio waves, and a sensor for laser energy. Modern tech you know

It maybe target specific but occasionally it scatters.

[BGBMAW]

Valentine or PAssport 8500   300+$  only  worth detectors worth buying

I have owned the passport for 4 years loved it...when i buy a replacement it will be a Valentine..Its nice to see what direction the Fuzz is at

Radar is wide beam....

Lazer/Lidar is narrow precise beam...You cannot react in time to slow down

Use of Laser is infrequent as the costs are much more then a Radar unit...but they are out there in small numbers..

[Elfie]

Lazer/Lidar is narrow precise beam...You cannot react in time to slow down

That is not entirely accurate.

With Veil and a good laser jammer you should have plenty of time to slow down before the police can get a speed reading.

[Creamo2008]

See Rule #5

[Ripsnort]

See Rule #5

So, is Creamo headed down the Nuke PNG path? Heh.

[rpm]

Furthermore, the offenders should be subjected to 24 hours of sleep deprivation and sound bombardment.   

Uh, they already are. Quit yer whining.

[snowey]

are they any good for finding them in dips in the road there is one near my house and it is a perfect speed trap you have to slow down and everyone blows through there at about 45 when the speed limit is 30 after reducing from 40

[RAIDER14]

Can you put a special coating or paint on your car that would reflect or absorb the radar beam similar to stealth aircraft...?

[Ack-Ack]

Time the lights so people are caught in the intersection when it turns red which triggers the camera

Which is what happened in San Diego a couple of years back when in a part of the city they had placed cameras.  It ended up costing the city a few million in revenue as they had to refund all the paid fines and dismiss those open cases during the time the cameras were installed.  It took a year to get the mess sorted out and working properly before San Diego started to use them again.


ack-ack

[Vulcan]

Lazer/Lidar is narrow precise beam...You cannot react in time to slow down

Debatable. Lidar is actually a cone. I've heard numbers of 1 metre for every 100, too 1 metre for every 250 depending on the model. I got busted doing 118km/h in a 100km/h zone, I wasn't speeding though, the cop insisted I was the only vehicle on the road (and he was clearly lying as it was peak traffic time on an urban motorway), he pinged me at 475m. Later on I found out that this distance was considered dodgey for a handheld (at 475m a 1 degree offset can = as much as 8m off target) by the manufacterer. I'm fairly confident that in my case the beam picked up a vehicle coming up behind me.

So I wouldn't entirely call LIDAR a 'narrow... precise... beam'.

[Gixer]

Why waste money on a radar detector when most police departments are moving towards laser and of course more and more speed cameras. As for radar detectors, ever traveled with Highway Patrol? They just have a trigger on the steering wheel and just hit anyone they think is speeding. By the time you've realised and your box of cheap electronics has beeped it will be all over.

From riding Hayabusa's and GSXR's on the road for many years, the only good detector is common sense when and where to speed. Now with more and more speed cameras I'm spending more time going fast on dirt and back to track days/events.


<S>...-Gixer

[Vulcan]

Why waste money on a radar detector when most police departments are moving towards laser and of course more and more speed cameras. As for radar detectors, ever traveled with Highway Patrol? They just have a trigger on the steering wheel and just hit anyone they think is speeding. By the time you've realised and your box of cheap electronics has beeped it will be all over.

In instant on mode Ka broadcasts a very strong signal, it goes for miles. So if you're driving the main roads it's not unusual to pick up an instant on 5 minutes away. As for speed camera's, they use a narrow Ka band beam that is constantly on - this is where you find the quality difference between detectors, a good detector will give you a 500m-1km warning of a mobile speed camera depending on how it is setup. Laser is easy enough to jam. So all the more reason to use a radar detector/laser jammer combo.