The Phazer

[Bill Douglas]

What do you guys think of, or know about, the Phazer?

www.technoscout.com/general/product/product.asp?product=185&Prod_Name=Phazer_II_Radar_Jammer&site=85870

I know there have been jammers around since the days of the Fuzzbuster but this thing confuses laser signal as well.

[Adam]

"ticket rebate program" ??

That makes it worth a try, Bill

Legal in NZ?

[Bill Douglas]

It might be a bit hard to get a ticket rebate if you are outside of the good ole US of A, but I guess it shows they mean well.

We are allowed jammers but we are not allowed to broadcast at certain frequenceies. This devices talks about FM. I would say the cops would probably not take you to court if there was a resonable agrument you could put up.

What's the situation in Victoria. I know in NSW they give speeders absolute hell.

As a side note; we lose our license for a while if we do 50kms over the speed limit. Ummm, Sunday was 120kms over the limit

[pwd72s]

I'm suspicious...if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

[stuartj]

Victoria is out of control. The answer to everything it seems, is more speed cameras. Speeds kills, Wipe off 5, we are inundated with bull***** slo-mo ads showing peanuts crashing into trucks, and told that we can avoid all this by driving 5kmh slower. It is infantile crap to address the worst community of drivers I have seen anywhere in the world.

The new mobile cameras are virtually impossible to see (no flash box on the road) and can be mounted in anything. There are more and more fixed positio cameras going up.

1 point for 1-15 kms over, 3 points for 16-30. 12 points, three months suspension. Points roll off after 3 years....The money being generated is beyond belief. There is going to be a backlash, because "ordinary"people who are "good, law abiding" drivers to and from teh bowls club are going to start losing their tickets soon.

Interestingly, the increase in cameras seems to be inversley proportional to the police actually enforcing road rules in other ways. So the odds of being booked for anything if you are on a twisty B road at say 6am Sunday morning, trying catch Victor on his new fancy pants tyres, are extremely low.

There is a poster here who has a great tag about giants and mickey mouse. Entirely appropriate.

stuart





Fortunately, they are only

[Adam]

Stuart's absolutely right. The answer, for our Govt, lies in further revenue-raising speed cameras.

That's why I brought a shiny little radar detector home from Hawaii last month, which is permanently fixed to my windscreen. It's paid for itself at least 4 times over so far!

It picks up speed cameras at a range of approx 800m (remember, they're facing the other way!). I don't actually drive super fast (unless I'm on a deserted mountain road, or out with our other Melbourne Pelicans - Then I'm desperate to keep up!) so it's really just a warning for me to check my speed, rather than slow down 20-30kmh for the camera...

[stuartj]

Adam
A word about detectors in AUS. I used to have one 10 yrs ago, and it worked great. Then they got banned. At one time time it was a heavier fine to have a RD than an unregistered semi auto gun. I got for my brother, who was done by a police car carrying a detector detector (i ***** you not) confiscated unit +$500 fine, Benalla Magistrates Court.

Now that was more than 10 years ago. I doubt the police are mounting units in cars anymore, but I bet those laws are still on the books. Permannet mounting may not be a good idea.

Anyone seen TMGs new HSV GTO toy? I have some opics if someone can tell me how to post them...

stuart

[Randy W]

Bill, I bought a Phazer years ago - it does not work with any effectiveness, save your money.

[stuartj]

Actually Adam, keen to know more...what type, how big, how mounted, good agaist the laser guns? $$?

stuart

[Adam]

Stuart,

My detector is VG2 invisible (which is the band Police use to detect detectors - sounds like Monty Python, eh?) and is only mounted on suction cups between my visors and above my rear-view mirror. I've driven past cop cars without it alerting me to VG2 usage, so I suspect it's only the Highway Patrol boys that use VG2. I can tear it off in about 2 seconds if I need to, or simply tip the visors to hide it. The top 3 inches of my screen is tinted, so it's well hidden!

My detector is a Uniden. It isn't the best one on the market, but it certainly does the job! It's about the size of a pack of cigarettes and has a nice long cable, which I've routed around the window seal/frame. It cost me US$60, but I've seen them for sale on Amazon.com for only US$39.95! It has a Laser antenna array, but it's only good for telling you that you've been booked as it relies on the scatter effect of a laser being aimed at you and picking up reflection/refraction from other cars nearby.

If you want, email me the pics and I'll post them pics for you tonight.

[stuartj]

Thanks Adam
What about "falsing" around town. The older generation ones were dreadful around auto door openers, shopping strips etc

stuart

[Victor]

Originally posted by stuartj
................ if you are on a twisty B road at say 6am Sunday morning, trying catch Victor on his new fancy pants tyres, are extremely low.

I was only trying to dislodge DDR964 from my tailpipe.

[Adam]

Stuart,

It's pretty good. It has a "City" mode which tends to dull the sensors' sensitivity. It sometimes beeps if I drive past a supermarket, but on the whole, it's pretty good.

[Fishcop]

Gentlemen, as you may or may not be aware, I am a former Victorian cop with some extensive traffic experience. I'll give you this for free...

Victoria police traffic cars ARE fitted with detector detectors (very easy to make). They no longer use the Kustom Falcon radar guns, the new ones are all laser, this makes any kind of "radar" detector obsolite, so if you are using one you're risking a fine for nothing.

Laser travels at the speed of light, even if you had a laser detector that worked, as a human, you DO NOT HAVE THE REFLEXES to respond. The new laser technology does not give off ambient signals like radar does, so you won't get a warning of one ahead until it hits you.... then it is too late.

The only effective response is to remove/hide/disfigure your plates.... Bigger fine than the speeding one. I have seen some ingenious solenoid operated "hinged" number-plates that swing out of view at the press of a button, but you have to be ready....

Victoria, NSW and Queensland use Moving Mode Radar (that is the jam can out the side window) this may set of a detector, but once again your reflexes will probably be too slow as the cruiser pops up from a rise comming towards you.

For the record, I do agree that the majority of camera use and the propoganda that goes with is purely to raise revenue for the government. As a FORMER copper, I can say that

By the way, we use the laser guns up here in Queensland for detecting speeding vessels on the water (exceed 6 knots = $150)
Just in case you were thinking of visiting with your jetski

Bill, save your money.

[Victor]

Dammit. Busted.

[LeRoux Strydom]

Check out www.k40.com. Apparently this device puts out a jamming signal on the laser ferquency that "disables" the laser gun's speed measurement. Disclaimer: I have not seen it in operation and cannot verify any of the claims, but the principle sounds good.

Personally I use a little Radioshack radar/laser detector that seems to work OK (sometimes gets confused by cell phone towers!). It picks up the laser gun, but as the previous posts mention, you have very little to no time to react. I have not seen any "scatter" from the laser beam being bounced off other cars, the laser beam is so narrow that the detector only warns when the cop points it directly at your vehicle, usually the number plate. This K40 device apparently has a laser emitter in the number plate holder that messes with the cop's head. Pricey, though.

regards

LeRoux

[Adam]

John,

Interesting insight! I don't expect the Laser-bit to save me, but the radar detection has so far, been very, very good. It has exceeded my expectations. Speed Cameras are easy prey for it, which are my primary targets. I am not the sort to go out and give the speedo needle a good shake on Suburban roads. Infact, I don't really wind my car up much at all. I am pretty gun-shy of the Police.

I don't drive to speed and I only have 3 demerit points (out of a possible 12), but I find it ridiculous to pay a fine for 4 or 6 kmh over the posted limit. It's a petty fine, so I'll play petty little games too.

Thanks for the heads-up! Funnily enough, I'm probably more alert driving the 911 around with the little detector beeping occasionally than I normally am! They should issue them to all drivers! LOL

[Jgordon]

LeRoux -- I have an older K40 Laser Jammer; was recently told that it is fairly up to date. My one experience with it going off was on the LIE. I was probably only doing 75-80 mph, and both the K40 Jammer and my Valentine went nuts. I saw the cop hiding in the trees as I went past. There was an exit maybe 50 yards further up, so I took that and made for the first large parking lot. Stayed maybe 5 minutes. No chase was given, at least as far as I can tell. Either they didn't find me, they didn't care about 75 or 80, or the jammer worked. I never found out which. That's the only time it's gone off, but if my V1 is correct (which I have no reason to doubt) it's the only time I've taken a direct laser hit.

Jared

[Fishcop]

Sorry I did forget to mention the speed cameras didn't I?

They use "slant radar" they are perhaps the only ones that will set off a radar detector as they do create some scatter. Enjoy it whilst it lasts as the new units (in use in Qld) use a laser beam eye, kinda like when you walk in to a shop and a buzzer is set off. I don't know what kind of unit will detect it.

I have not seen any successful laser jammers. They way I've had it explained (albeit by the manufacturers who want us to buy their product) is that the jammer would have to precisely mimmic the exact light frequency of the detection device and be nearly directly in front.

Oh and here in Australia, the speed detection device is only an "aid". This means the policeman has the final say. He can get up in court, qualify himself as an expert in estimating traffic speed (due to xyz number of years experience) and say you were speeding. Do the job for long enough and you really can estimate speed with the naked eye quite accurately. I have seen people convicted on the evidence of two highway patrol officers estimating the offender's speed. He spewed in court, but when asked outside "on the level" he smiled and said they were spot on!

Adam you are like me, I attract so much attention in Townsville with the 'old poorsh' that I'm really careful to only use it outside of town. Every one flashes you up here to warn of the camera so you rarely miss it.

[Weapon Of Choice]

Originally posted by Fishcop
Every one flashes you up here to warn of the camera so you rarely miss it.

Got to be careful with that here in victoria, u can get in trouble for 'flashing' your lights, heck i got in trouble for it last night on the way home for my parents house.

i was behind an e30 320 bmw in the right lane doing 60 in a 70 zone. there was a red commodore with the plates "FDNY" (no idea why here). the 320 started to drift across into the left lane (right were this red car was in the blind spot), when this 320 was about 1/3 way into the left lane i flashed my lights to attract their attention, suddenly the driver of the bmw realised they were about to hit this red car and moved back into their lane.
the red car happened to be a cop who told me off for flashing my lights at the next set of lights.
i guess the cop in the red car was to busy watching the camera mouned viewscreen on his dash to realised he and a bmw almost shared paint, maybe he was pissed that i stopped it hitting him, or maybe i interupted his viewing pleasure and he was pissed at me.