radar detectors

[Lewis Ledyard]

I would like to mount a radar detector in my '88 cab. I would like to mount it inconspicuously with a remote display, rathrer than have it hanging on the windshield. I hear that the Valentine is the best, but even with their remote, the main box is still supposed to be mouted to the windshield. I have a remote mounted Passport in my Suburban, but even that has pretty big receivers that mount in a traditional front grill. What have others done with their 911s?

[HawgRyder]

Beltronics makes one....in the 600 series that is in 2 parts.
You mount the black box (transmitter and receiver) in the front grill and mount the control box (with lights, speaker, and buttons) in the dash or under...wherever.
This gives you warning (hopefully) to the front.
Of course....none of the radar warning devices...including Valentine...will warn you of Laser.
Unfortunately the Laser has to be pointed directly at you to set off an alarm....and if it is pointed at you...the officer already has your speed!!!
Bob

[RoninLB]

to my understanding..if you are directly behind a car being hit w/laser you MAY pick up laser scatter..assuming you have a visor mounted unit...there is also a laser jammer around which is legal.....it's a bear eat driver world....................Ron

[HawgRyder]

Having worked at Beltronics in the Engineering and Calibration dept. I can tell you that if you rely on the "scatter" effect to warn you of Laser, you will gather a lot of tickets.
We tried out our units in the real world...out on the streets and highways in actual traffic...and the hit rate was below 10%.
And...the newer pulsed Lasers do not give out a continuous beam...they fire a micro-burst (perhaps 1/1000th of a second) at the car.
The transmitter units are like hand guns...they are not fully automatic...they give 1 burst per squeeze of the trigger.
Personally...I practice Zen driving...being aware of your self, position, cars around you, road, weather, and most important...tuning yourself to think like a police officer!
If as an officer...you would set up a speed trap at any point on the highway...perhaps they have!
Jusy my $.02
Bob

[RoninLB]

Bob...good thread......................Ron

[Neilk]

If laser jammers are legal AND effective, how big are they? Would they fit behind the horn grills of an early 911?

[Jgordon]

I have a K40 laser detector/jammer mounted above (on) my right side foglight. It looks and transmits through the foglight opening in the valance. I'm not sure how well it works though. I've only gotten a direct laser hit once, on long island. I was only doing about 75, and proceeded off the highway to the nearest large parking lot for a couple of minutes, but there was no pursuit that I know of. Both the V1 on my windsheild and the K40 went off. I can try to take some photos, but it's just electrical-taped onto the foglight housing. It was in a license plate frame, but that had to come off for vanity reasons, and it was pointed straight down anyway.

I wrote a thread a while back on possibly cutting a piece out of the rubber strip that goes across the front bumper, and mounting it in there fore maximum exposure and laser jamming (as well as cool "knight rider" effect) but I haven't followed through on that.

Jared

edit -- it's about 3/4" high, maybe 5" wide, and about 1" deep.

[RoninLB]

Neil..in April I tried to buy a "LaserEcho"..but they were in the process of an up-grade..to be out May 1..have not looked into it since...anyway, there is 2 cigarette size boxes that are mounted externally on either side of the front of the car..I was going to install under bumper..it's legal because it's not radio waves like radar..the unit is on/ then shuts off a few seconds after a laser hit to prevent the bear from figuring out he is being jammed..so you have a few seconds to slow down...thats all I know and am not an expert..but the jammer does get good reviews on the sites that cater to motorists involved in this sort of defense..I think it cost about $300........................Ron

[pwd72s]

All of this is good info. I'm seeing more and more Oregon cops using laser these days. So far only State police. At least I think it's laser when the cop is holding the unit to his face...

[jwill911]

If you mount a radar/laser detector/reciever on or in the grill (assuming there is one) or on the front of a car. How will it detect being targeted from the rear? I personally like the V1 (Valentine One) mounted high on the windshield, it has antennae on front and rear and warns of direction and signal strength. If you get full bars, you've been had.

And I agree with the concept of driving zen. You have to be aware of your surroundings. A detector is only a tool. You have to learn how to use it and pay attention to what it tells you.

my .02
jwill

[vesnyder]

Does anyone know, can they use the lasers at night?

[Jgordon]

Yeah, they can use laser at night. Laser guns don't depend on light, they create it.

Jared

[jhugh]

Just break down, drop the cash, put the V1 on your windshield and deal with it. You'll get used to it. None of the others (especially one mounted JUST on the front???) even come close.

[HawgRyder]

I for one would like to know how you jamb a Laser.
The basic principle is columated light transmitted to the target and bounced back to the receiver.
The receiver then calculates the speed dependent on the frequency shift of the beam (doppler effect).
If you transmit any frequency other than the same one out of the gun by more than a few hertz then the gun just disreguards it.
And...those guns are not exactly stable in frequency...they use the same oscillator for both transmit and receive...so it doesn't matter if they drift....but it would matter if your jammer drifted out of range.
Anyone??
Bob

[RoninLB]

Bob...I have the site for the Lidatek EchoLaser..you would understand this better than me
http://www.lidatek.com/specs.html

[cstreit]

Lewis,

Keep in mind that a radar detector is a line-of-sight device. Okay, not entirely, but line of sight makes it more accurate...

It should be mounted as high as possible in the car, and pointing with a slight downward angle. My Valentine is mounted just above the rear-view mirror with the wires running through the windsheild seal, and the remote display down by the steering wheel. Barely noticable... Been pulled over in places where detectors are illegal, and cops never noticed it.

So when you see those people with radar detectors stuck to the lower half of the windsheild, with it pointing upwads somewhat because the mount is cheap, they are probably limiting their range by about 25%. I can send you a picture of my setup if you like.

I used the Blinder M-10 laser jammer. All a laser detector does is tell you to pull over, you're busted! The M10 has saved by butt 3-4 times, and my wife's once as well. Paid for itself many times over!

[PDACPA]

Look at my links below and you can see my K40. The main unit is mounted in my glove box. I have an external speaker by the steering column (size of a dime and black totally unnoticed). There are two little red light on either side of the tach. The lights flash, speaker sounds when the radar pics up a signal for a set amount of time and then they just click. The on/off switch is on that rectangle block to the left of my ignition (not sure if i put a picture of it). The receiver is mounted behind my front bumper. I have tested it with a number of units (not a Valentine yet) and it give a warning as early or earlier.

Escort has just come out with a laser unit called the Shifter. www.escortstore.com Some install guys at Sound Advice went to a class/demo on the Shifter and what the unit does is it picks up the laser and causes and "error" reading on the officers gun. As you get closer the system allows him to get a reading, but you have slowed down by that time. That unit is also remotely mounted. I think its pricey.

K40 has a front license plate frame unit for laser detection (which they tell me can be mounted in the grill or bumper but has to have a clear view. My K40 is older but I think the newer K40 might included the laser option.

[Lewis Ledyard]

Chris:

Thanks. I would like to see a picture of how the Valentine looks when mounted and more info on the laser jammer.

Thanks,

Lew

[cstreit]

Here are some pics of my Velntine setup below.

A few points to consider in no particular order:

1. The directional capability of the V1 is one of the best features, once you get used to it, ALL other detectors will only make you worry more (WHERE is the cop?)
2. The higher the detector is mounted, the better. (Think about cresting a hill, you want the detector to be above the crest BEFORE you are)
3. Passive Jammers to not work. In most cases they make things worse. (See articles in Road and TRack or Car and Driver)
4. The Blinder M-10 has dual emitters, and does not signal the jamming light in the laser gun.

Pictures are in next messages

[cstreit]

Here's another