Radar/Laser detection- plot thickens...

[Steve Carlton]

I discovered Escort offers remote detectors with laser shifting- an alternative to continuous laser jamming. I haven't studied the website, but there's some choices there. The top model is $1,600!!! Even then, it has the guts of the 8500, not the X50. That means you might not pick up the POP radar signal. The best protection they offer is an X50 + the laser only shifter (ZR3), which retails for $500. Escort only sells the units on this website through the retailers, so a group buy would have to be organized through one of them...

I love the idea of having the unit out of the windshield. They say you mount the sensors by the front & rear license plates.

http://www.passportsr1.com/

[acidburn]

put it together im in for one, it will be fun for the gsxr project bike.

[BMW Atlanta]

my lead tech just installed this system on his R1100S, much prettier then my K40 setup. But my K40 setup offered indemnity/insurance against any tickets received for the 1st year where Escort does not. He's real happy with it though and I think we became an Escort dealer as a result. People start chiming up and I'll see what I can do.

[Flatbutt1]

How does it stack up against the V1?

[hdd3md]

FYI from their site:

"There are no federal laws restricting the use of laser jammers. However, some states may regulate their use. The use of laser jammers is prohibited and/or restricted in California, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Utah. Check your local laws before using the laser "shifting" feature of the ZR3."

I might consider it as an adjunct to my V1....

Can we self install with the group buy (sounds like a stupid question but the website implies prof. install required -- yeah right!)?

[JonyRR]

If that gear is so complicated that it needs 'professional installation' then it's probably too fragile for a mo'sikkle environment; however, the promo on their website shows an R1100S as a test mule for the 'blinder'. I don't know about you folks, but it'll be a cold day in hades before some 22-year-old piercing-addict 'professionally installs' jack on anything I own. Most of the retail mosikkle dealerships I'm in nowadays have techs that look too young to shave, much less wrench competently on MY stuff. An AMI graduation certificate does not a wrench (or electronics technician) make.

[Steve Carlton]

The guy I spoke with at Escort said you could comply with the law if you shut off the laser shifting before you passed the cop (after you slow down).

The Blinder website says it's not illegal at all to jam laser, since it's light.

[Doogie Howser]

Bobby,

How about a pic of your tech's Escort install?

[Jeff Williams]

Hi all,
thought you might like to see the test results
jeff

Escort Shifter ZR3 ($449.95 suggested retail)
Escort doesn't use the J word, choosing instead to diplomatically christen their jammer a "shifter". Terminology aside, we found it to be a tie with the BEL LaserPro 904 for user-friendly operation and ease of installation. Like the BEL, its twin front and single rear transceivers simply plug in to a junction box whose two wires attach to power and ground. The bulk of the installation time, as in the BEL and Blinder, is consumed by mounting the transceivers. Figure on a couple of hours for a proper job although it doesn't take a graduate engineer to get it done.

The Escort Shifter ZR3 uses the control/display module, sans a few features, from their high-end remote detectors and we found it to be the class of the field. Audio alert volume can quickly be adjusted using the simple thumbwheel control that also is used for power on/off chores. Better yet, the ZR3 can be linked to Escort's superb Passport 8500 detector using one thin cord with telephone-style connectors at each end. Once coupled together, the 8500's text display will spell out warnings of laser attacks and also tell you when it's doing its laser-shifting routine. Of the units tested, we found this to be by far the most elegant way of conveying information.

The ZR3 proved to be quite adept at confusing lasers, achieving a remarkable 99 percent efficiency rating against the five guns. In fact, had it not missed our 450-foot threshold by a scant two feet against the LTI Ultralyte LR gun, it would have scored a perfect 100 percent, the best jamming ability we've ever witnessed. If you want better protection against lasers, most likely you'll have to buy a judge.



Tested: Six Laser Jammers - Results
Effectiveness
Rating Overall
Rating
BEL LaserPro 904 $349.95 Dual JT 110 ft. / 100% JT 60 ft. / 100%
JT 432 ft. / 100% JT 451 ft. / 99% JT 537 ft. / 84% 97%

Blinder M10 Twin $289.95 Dual JT 111 ft. / 100% JT 193 ft. / 100%
No jamming / 0% JT 965 ft. / 0.5% JT 462 ft. / 97% 60%

Escort ZR3 $449.95 Dual JT 108 ft. / 100% JT 382 ft. / 100% JT 282 ft / 100% JT 452 ft. / 99% JT 350 ft. / 100% 99%

K40 Diffuser Plus $299.95 Single JT 146 ft. / 100% JT 984 ft. / 0.5% No effect / 0% JT 690 ft. / 65% JT 273 ft. / 100% 53%

Lidatek Laser Echo LE-20 $349.95 Single* JT 521 ft. / 86% JT 101 ft. / 100% No jamming / 0% No jamming / 0% No jamming / 0% 37%

Rocky Mountain Radar Black Widow $239.95 Single No jamming No jamming No jamming No jamming No jamming 0%

* Dual transceivers ($449.95) optional

Vehicle: 2003 Chevrolet Suburban
Vehicle color: Burgundy
Test parameters:
Test site was a two-lane country road free of traffic. Each laser was tripod-mounted and placed on the opposite shoulder of the vehicle's path, purposely inducing a 3-degree cosine error to test the jammers' ability to defeat an off-axis laser beam. The front license plate was targeted and each laser's sighting reticule remained on that target for the duration of the run. Test vehicle made three runs from 1000 feet and the distances were recorded at which continuous target speeds could be obtained. This number is expressed as JT (Jammed-To) followed by the target distance (in feet) where the laser gun could begin tracking the vehicle.
The average of the three runs against each model laser is listed.
Effectiveness rating determined by the jammer's ability to prevent target speeds from being obtained until target vehicle was within 450 feet of laser gun. Effectiveness rating determined by a) dividing 450 by the jam-to range in each column (100% maximum score), b) adding the effectiveness percentage in each column and dividing by 5 to determine the overall effectiveness rating.

[Rapid Dog]

i want to know more.
i want HARD adaptable
i want dual sensors
i want dual jammers
i want remote display with sound
i want complete concealment
i
i
i

[Dingo Joe]

Hey Bobby, I'd be interested in a beta test/group buy situation. Perhaps as you negotiate dealer status with Escort, you could include the group buy somehow in order to get a honey of a deal...

[Steve Carlton]

Bobby- can you sell the 8500/X50 as well in a group buy?

[GotRoad?]

Originally posted by Rapid Dog
i want to know more.
i want HARD adaptable
i want dual sensors
i want dual jammers
i want remote display with sound
i want complete concealment
i
i
i

I want a home equity loan.

[Steve Carlton]

Leaning toward Escort ZR3 http://www.passportsr1.com/zr3.htm as it interfaces with the 8500 and doing so eliminates need for display unit. Have question to Aaron at legalspeeding.com to see if HARD works with ZR3/8500 linked...

Found mounting brackets for detectors and rear transponder at http://www.radarbusters.com/products/accessories/motorcyles/mounts/default.asp

Need group purchase price from Bobby at BMW Atlanta for ZR3...

POP radar may not be too much of a threat. So far, it's not prevalent and the instructions say it's not good enough to base a ticket on. Not that that will stop it from happening...

[Steve Carlton]

Aaron doesn't know if HARD system will work with 8500 & ZR3 linked, but doesn't see why not. The ZR3 sends its input to the 8500 just like the power cord does, and the HARD system splices in between. Aaron is going to see if the HARD system can be made to receive input from an 8500/V1 as well as a Blinder system within the next 60 days or so. He doesn't anticipate a problem, but hasn't decided whether to sell it if it works.

Escort says 8500s with serial numbers starting with EZ will link to the ZR3. Serial numbers starting with EA will need a $30 programming upgrade. Perhaps by spring '05 there will be a programming upgrade to include POP detection for $80. (This upgrade will include the $30 upgrade if needed).

Escort says POP is mainly in Nevada, with 50-something units. Other than that, they say there's only a handful in the rest of the US.

[Rapid Dog]

thanks for the research Steve.
I'm not to worried about Laser personally.
Most chips in Cali use standard radar junk.

[Steve Carlton]

I'm more worried about local police with radar (and laser where I live now). When I was talking to someone at Escort, I asked if there was a good source of info for who's using what. She suggested The National Motorists Association at www.motorist.org which I haven't explored beyond this interesting link at http://www.speedtrap.org/speedtraps/stetlist.asp

[Gavin O'Neill]

Hi guys,
Just joined up tonight and having a read through. I don't know anything about your "shifting" but I do have a beltronics rx65, which I have had adapted so that it transmits an fm radio signal to a radio receiver velcroed to the back of my lid, then to a small speaker inside. Am still in the testing stages, as nothing like this is available anywhere. Would be very interested to hear any comments.


01 R1100s Pale yellow/black, Staintune, induct, FIM chip, advanced cam sprocket set, cf hugger, hi rise bars& screen.

[Joe]

Here's a repost of my old setup ..... I'm working on a visual warning onto my GPS screen (flashing RED besides the audio warning into my wireless headphone setup.

MY GPS unit in a Waterproof Otter box.... still can use touch screen...



Here's what I did for Radar/Laser protection.

This is the remote display unit....Snooper360



I wired in my own cable and din connector for quick disconnect. I have a jumper plug which supplies power to the remote pieces even if the display is not connected(good for states that don't allow radar detectors......... audio warning still sent to helmet)



I epoxied a (hard drive super magnet) to the bottom of the display unit and made a suction cup windshield mounting bracket.(easy on & off)


Here's the display lit....... still in the field of view without blocking gages.



Here's the remote units a K40 laser detector & jammer and the X,K&Ka receiver(had to lower the fender a 1/2" to clear these)


I ran a wire from the radar audio warning circuit to my wireless headphone transmitter in the smuggler trunk which is mixed with the MP3 hard drive(for music) and sent wireless to my helmet.

Older pic transmitter with minidisc player( I use 20gig HD now)ADDED....I use the left over memory in the GPS unit to play MP3's now_good for at least 10hrs with a large SD card.


Transmitter & suction cup receiver and nicad batteries.

[Mike Gehl]

Joe, as usual a nice job.

What GPS are you using - is that an iQue? What do you think of its capabilities, readability at speed, etc?

I have a Tungsten T3, and am thinking of using it as a GPS (TomTom Navigator or some such software)

Mike