Radar Ranges

Dinan55

Dinan55

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I'm just wondering how good the ranges are on radar detectors. A friend of mine bought a radar detector and installed it under his dashboard - radars are illegal here. It's probably the smartest thing he's ever done. You can't see it, you can only hear it. The problem is that his is some $30 peice of sh*t and he says if he's driving about 60mph and it starts beeping, he has to slam on the brakes right away in order to save his ass. My question is, if you buy a decent radar, say a Valentine 1 ($400) from how far away can it detect a cop?
 
Tweet227

Tweet227

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On a straight, somewhat flat road I can usually pick up a signal from 1 -1.5 miles away with my valentine. Of course unless its an area I am familiar with and know where the false signals are, I dont know until I get closer if it really is a cop but I always have enough time to take my foot off of the gas and let the car slow itself down without braking.

I used to have a cheap cobra detector (i think i paid $ 75) for it. Just for kicks when I got my V1 hardwired I drove around for a week with both of them. They both ALWAYS picked up the same radar signals. The cobra picked up more false alarms (and the mute volume is a nice feature on the V1). The V1 did give me more notice, but not much (about 1/2 mile). I probably got anywhere from 3/4 - 1 mile notice on my cobra. However it didn't tell you where the signal is coming from, which once you have it, is a hard feature to go without. Now for the whopping price difference ($400 (V1) + $40 (hidden Display) + $115 (installation cause i am not handy = $555 vs $75 I dont know if it is really worth it. I guess if that extra 1/2 mile notice saves you from one ticket, it basically pays for itself.
 
MrElussive

MrElussive

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Assuming you're using a Passport 8500 or Valentine One and it is the perfect conditions (clear day, flat and open road, perfect radar placement, etc.), they should have a range of several miles, from what I've read. Personally, I have a Whistler 3400 (bottom of the line remote install) and I get an average detection range of about 1-2 miles.
 
M_Six

M_Six

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Here in central Illinois in the foothills of Mount Level, I get over a mile on a clear day (Passport). But with the instant-on radar or laser, you don't know a thing until you're nailed. Unless you're lucky enough to catch a bounce off some other poor sap.

More here. Good site with tons of info.[thumb]
 
mikev

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M_Six said:
Here in central Illinois in the foothills of Mount Level, I get over a mile on a clear day (Passport). But with the instant-on radar or laser, you don't know a thing until you're nailed. Unless you're lucky enough to catch a bounce off some other poor sap.
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very true but over here they have to take an average of 3 readings unless your obviously going too fast. (then they get video footage of the speed and chase) without the chase or an average speed taken then they can't nail you!!!
 
Kirby

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In the clear (line of sight to radar gun) any decent radar detector should be sensitive enough to trigger a mile away. The goal is to pick up stray RF when the cop is shooting someone in front of you. If you only pick up the RF hitting your car when he is shooting YOU, it's too late - you're booked.

Mounting it under the dash? Unless it is a Vette (fiberglas) that will SERIOUSLY reduce the the sensitivity - it's equivalent to shielding the radar detector, just like the metal shields on your computer or TV that filter RF noise from getting out. In his case he is filtering RF energy that he wants to receive! It's the same principle as to why an FM radio doesn't receive crap inside a concrete & steel building unless you are by a window. If the detector is a POS then it's really bad.

It will still work, at greatly reduced sensitivity, because the RF energy will come thru the windshield, bounce off the inside roof and seats, and some of it will be reflected under the dash.

He would actually be MUCH better off if the vehicle has an overhead console and he could hide it in there.

This reminds me of a Porsche 911 I saw years ago at a car show. They wired all of the side and rear lights to the radar detector. When the radar detector went off, the lights went out for the "Stealth" approach!!! [:D]
 
Z

zman

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Watch out for Radar-Detector detector. I heard those cops have them and they can tell if you have a radar detector. My friend said that the low-end radar detector emits/bounce back signal that will be detect by radar-detector detector.
 
MrElussive

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zman said:
Watch out for Radar-Detector detector. I heard those cops have them and they can tell if you have a radar detector. My friend said that the low-end radar detector emits/bounce back signal that will be detect by radar-detector detector.
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Very true. Cops do have radar detector detectors in their "cruisers", but radar detector owners need not be afraid unless they live in a state in which radar detectors are illegal. In any case, all good radar detectors have the "VG2" feature which cloaks itself from those radar detector detectors posessed by cops.
 
Kirby

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It's true that the radar detector will generate a detectable low level RF signal, and it follows that a cheaper design could be noisier. Law enforcement could have a receiver to detect it. But if that's all they have to do then they need to seriously look at their priorities!!!
 
Dinan55

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Wow, thanks for all the info guys. I'm considering getting a V1, but the problem is radars are illegal in Virginia. The law is that "you can't have one on, or in reach." I can easily get a few friends together and install it in the dash itself and put a hidden on/off switch somewhere, but that doesn't take care of all the problems. A friend of mine drives a 3-Series, he owned a radar detector that was worth about $300. One day on the way home from work he wasn't even speeding, a cop pulls him over, walks up to his car and says, "Give me the goddamn radar." Of course my friend automatically responds with the usual, "what radar?" then the cop just repeated himself and my friend gave it up. Just like that, $300 down the drain, I'd rather get a ticket. My concern is how can they detect me? I’ve heard of radar jammers and all that good stuff but how reliable are all of these things? I don’t want to spend $500 on a radar and then give it away to some cop the next day who will happily give it to his wife as a birthday gift.
 
M_Six

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From Cincinnatti Microwave's Escort site:
Should I be concerned about radar detector detectors?
U.S. non-commercial drivers should not be concerned at all unless you drive in Virginia or Washington DC. If you do drive in either of those places, are a commercial driver, or drive in Canada, please note that while all of our current detectors are immune to the VG-2 radar detector detector (RDD), there is a newer RDD named Spectre II that was able to detect all brands of detectors in a recent speedzones.com test.
Click to expand...
 
MrElussive

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Yup, as I mentioned above, I am using a remote install radar detector. I posted pictures of it when I first got it installed. The unit itself was like $160 and the installation was $170. I will take some new pictures and post them up again. It is really great...the radar doesn't take up my cigarette lighter outlet, it's not sitting in the middle of the windshield (thus getting in my way), it is completely out of sight from cops, and it offers really great performance for the money. I highly recommend any remote install radar detector (except the K40 Undetectable...avoid that completely) to all spirited drivers.
 
MrElussive

MrElussive

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Actually, you can get the Escort Passport SR7 (same as the SRX, but without the laser jammers) for like $550 brand-spankin-new off of eBay, and figure a couple hundred (at most) for installation. That will give you the best remote install setup that money can buy (without laser jammers), and it is exactly what I am going to do next time around.
 
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