Radar Detector

[Vulcan]

Originally posted by Gixer
Cops are using more advanced radars,lasers and speed cameras. The day's of a old Ka band radar on a cops dash are few and numbered.

Radar detectors are old technology. Laser detector is useless and laser jammers are illegal in most countries. I'm not sure on their use here in NZ. But I think cops can just point at another part of the car to get a signal back. Cant see how a little jammer on the grill will prevent a return from another part of the car especially at shorter ranges.

Plus there is no defence at all against the unmarked cars just following in traffic.

Detectors,Jammers etc are just gimmics to spend money on.



...-Gixer

For godsake get your foot out of your mouth gixer. I've been using radar detectors and laser jammers  for many years now & they are absolutely worth their weight in gold. Laser Jammers are NOT illegal as they broadcast on the infrared band, same as the sun, halogen lights, and lotsa other stuff.

If you don't understand the technology, or even do some research, just don't reply ok - it just come out looking like a completely uninformed tard.

[J_A_B]

Lidar and Radar both have their uses, in terms of the types of units in use in this area.  One doesn't really replace the other.  


"Alright Im looking for a decent Radar Detector but at a reasonable price, any recomendations for places to look?"

Your car is already equipped with an anti-cop device; it's called the speedometer.  Simply keep the needle close to the posted speed, and you won't be pulled over for speeding


On the flip side, if you spend a ton of money on a dectector, a GOOD (stress the good) officer will simply pull you over and cite you anyway; due to having a detector onboard you're virtually gauranteed to lose if you contest it.  The only reason detectors "work" is there are quite a few lazy cops out there who only use the radar.  In my experience I've found that the BEST "detector" for highway travel is the good old CB radio tuned to 19.  The CB is great since you also get traffic/weather reports and can ask directions if need be and such--it's such an excellent tool that I hate to be without one anymore.

Hint--The police officer doesn't have to use Radar/Lidar to cite you for speeding.   For example, timing cars between fixed points is really easy (I can't stress enough how easy this is).  No detector in the world except the "mark 1 eyeball" will detect that.


J_A_B

[FUNKED1]

Mk I. eyeball is great.  I got by with it for years.  But there are certain situations where only a detector (or a locator like V1) can save you.  And it adds to your general SA.  If you are in the middle of BFE and you get a good Ka spike on a good detector/locator then you know smokey is on the prowl, and it's time to keep your eyes peeled and be ready to slow down.  Also where I live we have some "revenue collection" areas where the speed limits are artificially low in undeveloped parts of city.  It should be marked 55 or 65 but they mark it 45 to make a few bucks.  They only have 2 or 3 units devoted to speed enforcement so it is like a shell game, and the detector lets you know which road has the speed trap that day.  
It's all a matter of knowing how to exploit the tool.  If you don't know how to use it to full advantage then it's not worth the cost.  If you are willing to learn how to maximize it then it's worth every penny and more.

[Gixer]

Originally posted by Vulcan
For godsake get your foot out of your mouth gixer. I've been using radar detectors and laser jammers  for many years now & they are absolutely worth their weight in gold. Laser Jammers are NOT illegal as they broadcast on the infrared band, same as the sun, halogen lights, and lotsa other stuff.

If you don't understand the technology, or even do some research, just don't reply ok - it just come out looking like a completely uninformed tard.

My girlfriend is a cop, I don't think I'm as uninformed as you on current technology that the police use currently or have coming up. Your information is only what you read on the net in reviews, or some sales guy has told you..

That's for the personal insults, new level even for you.



...-Gixer

[GreenCloud]

lol gixer well we drive alot in the usa..and I do knwo my area..

i do agree with vulcan...and th emajoirity here does..so u lose..sorry..

funked..i feel exactly the same

We in California..Northen Cali have no SPeed cameras....

Red Light cameras yes..

...and gixer you make it sound as we dotn drive on our freeways?


we get all our infor from..net--or sales guy?..lolool

[Dinger]

Yeah, I've been in the car with Funked when he got a speeding ticket using an inferior radar detector. Classic situation: freeway in rural illinois, no traffic in sight, clear night, straight road, 17 mph over the limit, radar detector is beeping intermittedly -- probably cellphone towers. Turns out it's a cop driving the other way illuminating as he passes. 10 minutes later we're on the side of the road talking to Mr. Smokey.
And I remember moose getting the full treatment from the flying tires? what was it? 3 tickets, lidar and radar?

I did quite a bit of cross-country driving in the last couple years, and have hit my share of speed traps. I do drive considerably over the limit, but yeah, Mk. I eyeball is pretty handy. I don't have spidey sense, but a car braking downrange puts me on the alert and drops me down...  Haven't gotten a ticket in 10 years (and that was, idiot, in a hurry, going accelerating into a known speed trap, look down, see 90, look up, see cop, smile and pay the bills).  Never had a radar detector either. Then again, some may argue that there's no point in putting one on a 1993 Olds cutlass Ciera with a 4-banger, but Jezebel likes to be driven fast.

Radar detectors are just like the radars used to catch speeders: they're tools that are designed to support the user's sense-perception of the environment with highly accurate data. They aren't supposed to be a "crutch", but many people use them that way.
If a cop is just looking to give a speeding ticket, it doesn't matter to him whether he gives it to you or to the next car.
And I've seen far more highway patrol cruisers parked on the road, fishing for speeders than I have seen patrolling the road.  But why should a highway patrol spend money to upgrade their radar systems if they work, they're still largely effective and the easiest road to improvement is  better training/discipline.

Now, what I'm waiting for is someone to combine radar detectors, GPS and Wireless technologies to create an integrated detection network.

P.S., my brother got busted by a bear in the air a few years back, doing 56 in a 55 zone.  no, he was really clocked at 56, it wasn't a "negotiated drop".

[SC-Sp00k]

Im a Cop. There are a few "completely uninformed tards" ( to use your words) in this thread but Gixer isnt one of them.

Keep playing with your toys boys. He who dies with the most toys wins and our side has more than enough to guarentee a better than even money bet.

I and others will be waiting for you and your dinky toys.

[FUNKED1]

Spook and Gixer, again, your Aussie stuff does not apply to the USA.  Raptor is from NC = North Carolina.  99% of USA police radar is K and Ka band.  You still see X band every once in a while in rural areas.  
And it's almost all continuous-wave stuff.  They have instant-on equipment but they only use it in static speed traps.  The mobile guys just radiate all the time.  
Lidar is rare.  And it's usually a clumsy tripod setup.  Mobile lidar is not in use here to my knowledge.
And "speed cameras" are not used here except in a few test installations.
You guys may be experten down there in kangaroo land but that don't mean diddly up here.  

[baders]

Here's a novel thought..............ever considered sticking to the speed limit ?? It even has the added bonus of saving lives !! Go figure

I've been a part of Emergency Services for 20 years & i've seen the results of speeding.............again & again & again.

Keep deluding yourselves guys, & Spook, Gixers girlfriend & myself will keep picking up the pieces.

[Dinger]

I'll hook.
I've seen people crash out while speeding. Their problem wasn't that they were exceeding the legal limit; their problem was that they were exceeding the speed limit at which they could safely operate their vehicle. For some drivers in some conditions, that "actual safety limit" (as opposed to "arbitrary legal limit") is 0 mph/kph.
Of all the electronic gadgets and crap that people are putting in their cars, a radar detector is one of the few that actually encourages situational awareness instead of distracting the driver from the environment.
Go ahead and see if you can turn up on the internet a study that claims radar detector users are involved in larger numbers of accidents:

I grabbed from here (a balanced source), the following summary of arguments pro and con banning radar detectors:
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/transportation/radar.htm

Opposition to use of radar detectors comes from three sources - police officers who contend that detectors hamper law enforcement efforts, municipalities that rely on revenue from speed traps and the insurance industry. RADAR, a Florida organization that lobbies against laws banning radar detector usage, maintains myths exist concerning radar reliability.

RADAR argues that lack of generally accepted standards for equipment performance, training requirements and enforcement policies contribute to the misuses and abuses of radar. Many local jurisdictions or individual officers operate speed trips for purposes more related to raising money than safety, RADAR maintains. A survey by the research firm of Yankelovich Clancy Shulman showed detector users had 23 percent fewer accidents per mile traveled than nonowners, and drove almost 60,000 miles farther between accidents. The survey concluded that radar detector owners are at least as safe drivers as nonowners.

The National Institute for Highway Safety in Virginia, however, sees a strong need for banning detectors. The institute maintains that radar detectors are bought and sold for the sole purpose of avoiding speeding tickets. They also encourage speeding. "The only, only, only reason [to have a radar detector] is to help you break the law," says Julie Rochman, the institute's communications director. Institute research has shown that interstate highway drivers with radar detectors reduced their speeds by at least five miles per hour or activated their brake lights when exposed to police radar. Before this exposure, vehicles with detectors were traveling significantly faster than other drivers.

By comparison, I reduce my speed by at least five miles per hour and activate my brake lights when eexposed to police radar -- and I don't have a detector.

for a little less balance: http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/editorial/imho/index.cfm/act/opinion03




I also find that the incidence of speeding (And all kinds of dangerous vehicular activity) increases significantly as I approach urban areas, as does the number of really nasty accidents I see. Yet the speed traps seem to be disproportionately in the countryside.

[Masherbrum]

Originally posted by Raptor01
cops have a tendancy to go for the red sports car before something like an SUV if both are speeding down the road. Unless of course they are lazy then they go for whichever they reach first (dont be up front or in the back... try and be in the middle)


I assume something going for $140 with built in jammer isnt going to do that great a job at detecting or jamming?

Valentine One.  Everything else sucks.

I do not own a detector.  However, I own a 2004 Explorer, but on the last 2002 explorer I owned, a cop "caught me on laser doing 62" in a 45.  Funny thing is, I saw him before he saw me and had the cruise set for 47.   He pulled me over, gave my stuff, he came saying "I wrote you up for impeding traffic ($125) and since your insurance is expired, I wrote you up for that as well ($80)".   Funny thing is I got out of it how?  I just pointed to the Expiration Date of the P.O.I.   He knew it was BS just as much as I did.

Karaya

[FUNKED1]

Speed laws in the US have little to do with safety.  It's all about revenue.  It's basically a tax for using the roads as God and Henry Ford intended.

[baders]

Originally posted by Dinger
I'll hook.
I've seen people crash out while speeding. Their problem wasn't that they were exceeding the legal limit; their problem was that they were exceeding the speed limit at which they could safely operate their vehicle.

You know, i'd like a dollar for every time I heard that excuse. Sorry, but you have a half baked theory of superior driving abilities, I have the end result of such. Delude away though !!

[FUNKED1]

What is with the Australians thinking they have the foggiest clue about what happens on the highways in the States?  Speed limits here are set artificially low to enhance local revenues.  The limits have nothing to do with safety.

[Vulcan]

Originally posted by Gixer
My girlfriend is a cop, I don't think I'm as uninformed as you on current technology that the police use currently or have coming up. Your information is only what you read on the net in reviews, or some sales guy has told you..

That's for the personal insults, new level even for you.

...-Gixer

Wow you can get blow-up-cop dolls now?

Given I've owned, and been protected by this equipment for many years now I'd say I've got good knowledge of how well it does or doesn't work.

Police training does NOT include Laser technologies, or electronics such as radar frequencies.