radar detectors

[magnum]

hi all,curious to know how many of you use a radar and what brand/spec do you prefer.i run a bel cordless.

[Motoracer]

Oh no... :thud:

[duckman]

I bought a Uniden (cheap as chips) model, but after one trip around the south island the mount has broken.

I also need to find a way to setup a remote signal to my helmut. That project has been put on hold as it's just seems a bit too hard right now.

If anyone out there is a technical wizz with electrical stuff please please PM me and I'll pay ya with beer!!! :doobey:

[k14]

I use a Bel 985, rated as top of the line along with Valentine 1 and Escort Passport 8500.

As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for, this is exactly the same case with radar detectors, the more you pay the better range and longer warning the radar will give you. If you have the money go for the Valentine 1 or Escort 8500 as they both have a plug for an external headphone. I wired one into mine with a little bit of a hassel, but it works fine now.

The main problem I have with it is mounting it somewhere that it doesn't cause massive vibrations, got someone working on a good mount at the moment for the CBR.

[Yarg]

I went for the Escort 8500. Works well.

[Wenier]

Check this out this is a system that will plug into the radars that use phone jack plugs for power and sends a signal to another part of the system thats in your helmet!

http://www.radardirect.co.nz/hard/hard.html

Compatiable with Valentine One (http://www.radardirect.co.nz/V1/v1.html), Escort models 8500 (http://www.radardirect.co.nz/escort/escort.html), 7500,
and 6800

hope that helps

They NZ company to in AK and ChCh :)

[Blackbird]

I have one fitted to the Blackbird. Pop round and have a look if you want to see one in the flesh and I'll show you how it's wired to my helmet too. When you say yours is cordless, do you mean that you have a speaker in your helmet without any wiring?

I'd like a jammer too, but Jennie has put her foot down! Incidentally, Bel make one of the few jammers that actually work, so you might be able to wire it to your detector!

Geoff

[magnum]

[QUOTE=Blackbird]I have one fitted to the Blackbird. Pop round and have a look if you want to see one in the flesh and I'll show you how it's wired to my helmet too. When you say yours is cordless, do you mean that you have a speaker in your helmet without any wiring?

hi geoff,the radar itself runs on battery and comes with an disconnectable ear peice which i have inside my helmet.i think its a bel946 model.its ok for $300 off ebay,not as good as an escort or v1 but has saved my arse a few times already.hope to see ya at taupo next weekend.

[Morepower]

I use a Bel980 , I tried a Uniden 5000 ? (I think )for a couple of weeks because my old Uniden LRD200 gave such good service and was effective against speed cameras , but hopeless agaist the new Ka band radar.
All I can say is dont waste your money on a Uniden radar detector , hopeless against speed cameras and barely adquate against the mobile Ka band units.You have to cough up the extra for a Bel/ Escort/ Valentine to be effective. even then its only a help.

My rules ( have worked to date)
Dont speed in town
Dont speed within 10kms of town
Slow down for any car that you are not sure of.
Keep the speed down on main highways.
If you see a patrol car ...brake hard its often enough to get you legal or save your licence.

Dave

[Lou Girardin]

Bels and Escorts now have the same internals and both are good. Valentine is best for several reasons but is bloody expensive. Phone 0800 radars for info, Graeme is very clued up on all these.
Even with a detector, remember 'first in the line, gets the fine'
Lou

[Blackbird]

Your experience with the Uniden mirrors mine. All the write-ups I've read say that each successive model lost its efficiency compared with the LRD 200 due to more frills and the need to hold manufacturing costs to a price. I bought an LRD 200 through Trademe.com for $100 about 2 years ago and it's got me out of more than a few scrapes. Particularly good against mufti camera vans.

I'd like to buy a Bel diffuser/jammer, but my wife has put her foot down on that one. She reckons that it would be an open license to speed!

Geoff

[sAsLEX]

just got a escort 8500x50 but the damn weather has meant I haven't been able to test it properly, seems to pick up the orange patrol cars Ka from bloody miles away in the cage though

[Wenier]

I'd like to buy a Bel diffuser/jammer


Check this site out for that to they sell the one that works in new Zealand


http://www.radardirect.co.nz/blinder/blinder.html

[Banditmad]

I run a Bel on my Bandit. I also fitted a speaker inside the helmet with a detachable plug. Works a treat and has defnitely saved me on a couple of occasions. Only hassle is when it's raining because it gets wet if you slow down.

:doh:

[Coldkiwi]

For all possible truth, lies and statistics on this topic, read the following threads!

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=93
or
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=1512

this reminds me.. I REALLY need to put in a claim with state about dropping mine on the road.
How soon after an accidient are you supposed to lodge a claim with the company?? (say for home contents)

[k14]

I think it is within 2 weeks or something like that, but just say you did it yesterday.

What happened? It fall off while you were riding?

[Coldkiwi]

What happened? It fall off while you were riding?

errr... yes... bloody suction cups let go (can't handle a not so smooth wheelstand landing!)

I'll probably claim my jacket and gloves that blew out of my bag on kopu-hikuai at the same time too. I'm really slack!

[dangerous]

I use the Escort 8500 with the H.A.R.D set up, mounted on a custom made stand that comes out from under the mirror mounts on the inside of the fairing blade and I wouldent be with out it :2thumbsup

[LB]

hi all,curious to know how many of you use a radar and what brand/spec do you prefer.i run a bel cordless.
If you give me your postal address (this isn't a chat up line, honestly!!) I'll post you a copy of an article my hubby and I did for BRM magazine. We both use Escort 8500's, and the article compares them to the Uniden.

[Drunken Monkey]

I use a Uniden LR8-something or other - it does an ok job, sometimes the warnings are a little late but I don't speed as much in my car these days. Certainly not around town, the laser thingy usually goes off and I'm only going 50 anyway. The pickup on the open road is really good, you get plenty of time to put the anchors on. The Uniden is supposed to be the lamest as well. Valentine-1's are more of a status symbol than a practically priced detector, but I'm sure they work well. The Escort, I hear from 'most people', is a bloody good unit without being too expensive...

Haven't rigged up the accessory port on the gsxr yet, but I figure I'd be going so fast I should just do a runner anyway :shake:

Was going to use the accessory port to run the Escort G-Timer instead of the detector anyway...It's much more fun recording your own 1/4mile runs down the back of ardmore...

*cue tired old saying*

In the end, the easiest way to not get caught: don't speed...

[Drunken Monkey]

'first in the line, gets the fine'
Lou

My past experiences have shown the unlucky guy, if a group of speeding hoolidans whiz past a cop, is the 'slowest speeder' - the dude at the back only doing 120 while the rest zip off at 150+. Didn't this happen on the last Coro loop run also??? Just my experience anyway, on both 2 and 4 wheels...

[Coldkiwi]

I use the Escort 8500 with the H.A.R.D set up, mounted on a custom made stand that comes out from under the mirror mounts on the inside of the fairing blade and I wouldent be with out it :2thumbsup

yeah, i've learnt my lesson not to rely on the suction cups. my next attempt will be with a carbon mount that cantilevers of the inside of tthe mirror mounts. Its hard to find a place on the gsxr where I can still see my instruments and the detector panel though so It may take some design work! (happen to have a mate who has access to carbon fibre off cuts from the boat work he does) :msn-wink:

[Marmoot]

Another idea would be to attach it to an elastic band and loop it on your shoulder or upper arm.
Shouldn't affect the detection range too much as my Escort85 still detects a Ka of a coppie 1.5kms away while it was in the central console box (in a cage).

But that's just an idea....haven't been around to try it yet.

Or, mount it to the side of your helmet. But that would make your head tilt a bit due to the weight.....unless you have a granite neck.

Or, simpler to use the radar stem sold in radardirect....but bloody hell that cost a lot....

[wkid_one]

yeah, i've learnt my lesson not to rely on the suction cups. my next attempt will be with a carbon mount that cantilevers of the inside of tthe mirror mounts. Its hard to find a place on the gsxr where I can still see my instruments and the detector panel though so It may take some design work! (happen to have a mate who has access to carbon fibre off cuts from the boat work he does) :msn-wink:
Head stem mount is the best and easiest way to go CK - should take you 10mins with CF or Alu to design - and not much longer to make

[geoffm]

hi all,curious to know how many of you use a radar and what brand/spec do you prefer.i run a bel cordless.

I have had a Valentine for years - mainly in the car. Finally got around to making a mount for the BMW - it is a bracket that fits on top of the master cylinder and the V1 velcros on, with a velco safety strap. Took a fair bit of mucking around to get it so it wouldnt foul the fairing on full lock.
The Escort 8500 would be easier as it is smaller with a built in earphone jack.
Geoff

[spudchucka]

Has anyone ever considered that the use of radar detectors might be a catalyst for cops keeping the discretion to themselves? A driver using a radar detector might indicate that the driver habitually speeds and issuing a warning would be totally inappropriate.

I still believe the things are worthless wastes of money.

[Lou Girardin]

So says a man with occupational immunity.
I'll rely on technology thanks. Not hope for discretion to be shown by some paperhanging IRD patrol.
Lou

[DEATH_INC.]

Has anyone ever considered that the use of radar detectors might be a catalyst for cops keeping the discretion to themselves? A driver using a radar detector might indicate that the driver habitually speeds and issuing a warning would be totally inappropriate.

I still believe the things are worthless wastes of money.

No,these things work well,mine's saved me on quite a few occasions(out of the city anyway....)but it is generally accepted that a cop will do you for everything he can if you're using one......
Btw, even the supposed undetectable detectors aren't,the coppers still know you've got 'em....

[wkid_one]

No,these things work well,mine's saved me on quite a few occasions(out of the city anyway....)but it is generally accepted that a cop will do you for everything he can if you're using one......
Btw, even the supposed undetectable detectors aren't,the coppers still know you've got 'em....Ummm how? Given a detector is only a reciever of impulses - how on gods earth do they know you have them?

Steve, here are some other threads on the same topic you may find useful

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=93&highlight=radar+detectors

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=1512&highlight=radar+detectors

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=495&highlight=radar+detectors

All about the pros and cons of radar detectors

[dangerous]

Ummm how? Given a detector is only a reciever of impulses - how on gods earth do they know you have them?


Well believe it or not but they do send a week signal out. My Escort often picks up other detecters, it comes through as a KA band @ full strenth from up to about 1-2 lamp posts. This happens rearly why, I duno but it does.

The cops cant pick up a detecter that has VG2 (invisibility) however there is a new radar that can but that is unlikly to come to NZ as detecters are legal here. In Oz (were detecters are not legal) you can get detected with having a detecter with out VG2 which tells me once again that they do send out a signal.


Spud: I dont speed over 115 much but as I lost my licence last year I am faked if those money grabing bastards are going to do that to me again for doing 102k with the boat on (to keep the traffic flowing) and 115, 117 (crusing with no other traffic around in the back blocks) and 122k passing a car @ 10pm on a streach of rd that leaves you no were safe to pass but one straight (remember it was dark & I'm in my 4x4) cos the wank in the car was doing 80-90 then hit the straight and went up to 110k :mad:

So :finger: em I'm with Lou on this one.

[Shawn]

hey does it work better in a car then a bike....does the performance vary?...

[pete376403]

Ummm how? Given a detector is only a reciever of impulses - how on gods earth do they know you have them?

Not sure of the exact details, but I understand that the detector has an oscillator in it and this generates a weak RF signal

This from a radar detector FAQ at http://pages.quicksilver.net.nz/geoffm/radar/Radarfaq.htm :
"Some countries or states have banned the use of radar detectors, and the usual weapon against detectors is the Canadian VG2 detector detector. Most radar detectors work on the superhetrodyne principle where the incoming signal is mixed with that from an oscillator inside the detector to help eliminate noise and improve sampling sensitivity. Unfortunately, the oscillator also "leaks" and this is what the VG2 (and other detectors on the road that false alarm) pick up. Most detector makers have come out with a "stealth' model that the VG2 cannot pick up, with the best in this area seem to be the top Bels and the Valentine One. To raise the stakes even further, Whistler have now included a VG2 detector - detector - detector in some of their models which shuts down the unit when it detects the VG2 nearby. Don't forget also that the police can rely on the Mark 1 eyeball. If you are going to use a detector in a VG2 infested area, I would buy one of the under bonnet models , so it cannot be seen, but make sure it is truely "stealthy".

The term "stealth" and "undetectable" seem to have a fairly broad definition by many radar detector manufacturers, where their detectors are indeed able to be found by the VG2, or even an ordinary radar detector. Unidens and Escort are the worst for leakage and causing false alarms in other detectors IMO."

[Lou Girardin]

What does it matter? They're not illegal here, yet.

[DEATH_INC.]

It doesn't really,but a copper will hammer you more if you've got one....
My Bel picks up heaps of others,even my flatmates supposed undetectable one....

[dangerous]

It can be bloody anoying false alarms cos of other detecters, why just today I got held up behind a Sub B4 and I could see his detecter and mine was going nuts but not all the time.

Now as far as making detecters illegal I would think that the piggers would come down on laser jammers first as they interfair with there job as a cop by jamming there reading by stopping the return of the signal......... Hmmmm must get me one of them :yes:

[dangerous]

hey does it work better in a car then a bike....does the performance vary?...

Narp....... no diff, you could put it in ya jacket pocket and it will still work as well (in thorey <-sp)

[spudchucka]

So says a man with occupational immunity.
I'll rely on technology thanks. Not hope for discretion to be shown by some paperhanging IRD patrol.
Lou
Yawn!!!!!!!!

You are a clown :finger:

[Blackbird]

Now as far as making detecters illegal I would think that the piggers would come down on laser jammers first as they interfair with there job as a cop by jamming there reading by stopping the return of the signal......... Hmmmm must get me one of them :yes:


Jammers (not detectors) are technically illegal now. You can be fined under the Broadcasting Act, but the good news is that apparently, the maximum fine for the particular sub-section is $100. Whether you could be done for interfering with police duties is a bit more problematical.

Geoff

[wkid_one]

Jammers (not detectors) are technically elegal now. You can be fined under the Broadcasting Act, but the good news is that apparently, the makimum fine for the particularr sub-section is $100. Whether you could be done for interfering with police duties is a bit more problematical.

Geoff
Not just that BB - but you can be fined under the LTSA/Traffic Act for 'interferring with vehicle surveillance equipment'.

[marty]

when a car is coming towards a highway car at night, or any time the highway car cannot be seen or is not obvious, and the cop is operating on pulse, if the tracked car drops quickly from whatever speed he is doing, when the radar is pulsed, there are two possible explanations - a black dog on the road, or a radar detector. you will get little sympathy from a HP cop if you are using a radar detector - you are considered a 'sophistcated speeder', and as everyone here with a detector will attest, you've been saved more than you've been caught. none of the current NZ gear is able to 'detect' your detector. usually the two circles left on the windscreen, or the cord in the ciggy lighter, or the beeping coming from under the seat, or the frantic movement as you're stopping give it away.....

[marty]

Yawn!!!!!!!!

You are a clown :finger:


no - clowns are clever

[Drunken Monkey]

...cos the wank in the car was doing 80-90 then hit the straight and went up to 110k :mad:


I HATE that more than anything else on the road! At least when you've been cut off, it's usually through not being seen, momentary lapse of concentration - we all do it on occasion (albeit some more than others), but f!@$ckers that plod through the hills and speed up on the straights are just downright inconsiderate pricks...

oops, should've saved that for another thread :Offtopic:

[spudchucka]

no - clowns are clever
You are right and they are funny too.

Sorry Lou you are certainly not a clown.

My humble apologies.

[DEATH_INC.]

I'm pretty sure(from what those in the know have told me...spud??)the radar will emit a different tone (length?)when it has a detector reading it.....

[pete376403]

I recall reading about the Hawk radar (when they were new) that it would display "SNOOP" if it detected a detector. But as the general flavour of the story was "the Hawk is invincible, so don't even try" this may have been journalistic bullshit

[spudchucka]

I'm pretty sure(from what those in the know have told me...spud??)the radar will emit a different tone (length?)when it has a detector reading it.....
Not in my experience. The Hawk / Stalker emits a tone relevant to the speed of the vehicle it is reading. When the tone suddenly shoots upwards its just telling the operator that there is a fast oncoming vehicle. This is only relevant if the unit is transmitting constantly, which isn't the best way to use it.

The tone can be turned off thankfully because the squaking can drive you bonkers sometimes.

[marty]

I'm pretty sure(from what those in the know have told me...spud??)the radar will emit a different tone (length?)when it has a detector reading it.....

the radar tone changes pitch only with signal strength. detectors have no influence.

[Wenier]

the understanding i have of the radars in the police cars is that the tone emitted changes when locked onto a vehicle to wut the driver does. if they lock onto your speed and you brake it is meant to make a tone that gets deeper as u brake so they no u are braking. and opposite of course speed up higher pitch emitted.

Detectors are not illegal but a cop will give you more shit if ya use one. typical question wuts that for, smart answer it gets the chicks, or any or smart arse remark you can think of.

Jammers are not illegal unless being used. therefore you can buy one but are not meant to use it of course they come with a switch to turn it off once down to speed so the cop can get a lock on ya and think he wasnt aiming it at you properly!

[Blackbird]

This may make strange reading at first, but I didn't actually buy the detector to give me the edge on a continuous high speed ride. I'm completely paranoid about overtaking manoeuvres! You know the scenario... catching up to 2 or 3 cars doing about 90k's and no-one wants to overtake, so you knock it down a gear or two to get past as quickly as possible. Trouble is, modern bikes can be going very quickly indeed in a short space of time and I've had a couple of close calls when a cop has either appeared round a corner coming the other way, or has been discreetly buried in a line of traffic coming the other way just as I've been pulling back in. I doubt that a cop would buy the safety benefit angle of a rapid passing manoeuvre, so the detector just gives a bit more assurance. In addition, even a moderate performance detector will pick up a static camera van at a decent distance, and that's a real plus!

[marty]

[QUOTE=Wenier]the understanding i have of the radars in the police cars is that the tone emitted changes when locked onto a vehicle to wut the driver does. if they lock onto your speed and you brake it is meant to make a tone that gets deeper as u brake so they no u are braking. and opposite of course speed up higher pitch emitted.

QUOTE]

that's sort of right, although the pitch change is not to tell the cop whether you are braking or not, it's just what the machine does. as long as it's in transmit mode, it will track vehicle speeds, even with a locked speed on the display. the HAWK didn't have this feature, but the eagle and stalker do. on the eagle/stalker, when the tracked speed is locked, it moves to the locked speed window, and the unit continues tracking, showing the speed in the target speed window. if you didn't have a detector, and continued to speed up, the locked speed can be overriden without clearing it first. likewise, if you were coming up quick behind a car that was locked at say 120km/h, you were doing 140km/h, and the 120k car had gone past the patrol car, the cop could lock your speed on, and take you instead. the laser guns also have this feature.

[Sk8r_Boi_]

Im So :Offtopic: Here Man Dont Know Where Tha Hell I Am... :doh:
:stupid:

[spudchucka]

the understanding i have of the radars in the police cars is that the tone emitted changes when locked onto a vehicle to wut the driver does. if they lock onto your speed and you brake it is meant to make a tone that gets deeper as u brake so they no u are braking. and opposite of course speed up higher pitch emitted.
Its pretty simple stuff. The radar emits a beam. It bounces back off the road to get the patrol speed and it also bounces back off the oncoming vehicles. The radar works out the speed of the oncoming vehicle by the difference between the patrol speed and the target vehicle speed. The tone is whats called the "doppler" effect and goes back to the dude (Somebody Doppler) who invented radar in the first instance.

In a patrol car the tone simply signifies, by pitch, the speed of the target vehicle.

Pitch goes up = higher target vehicle speed.
Pitch goes down = lower target vehicle speed.
Pitch is way up and suddenly goes WAY down = target vehicle is probably equiped with a radar detector (or the driver has his eyes open and can actually see that there is a police car coming towards them because lets face it they stand out like dogs balls).

[Lou Girardin]

[QUOTE=wkid_one]Not just that BB - but you can be fined under the LTSA/Traffic Act for 'interferring with vehicle surveillance equipment'.
[QUOTE]

I've been trying to find a definition of vehicle surveilance equipment, I suspect it relates only to cameras. It's intended as a deterrent to people that might want to physically express their dislike of the IRD.
The rise and fall in tone is the dopler effect, exactly the same as the sound of a fast approaching vehicle seems to increase in pitch, then drop after it passes.
BTW. Anyone else noticed the new double act on this forum. Not as interesting as Posh and Becs or as polished as Newsboy and Havoc, but practice will make perfect. What about some stage names fellas, it worked for Starsky and Hutch.
Lou

[k14]

Pitch :argh: Wavelength please people, pitch is generally refered to for the audible frequencies of sound (radar not being audible), thus change in wavelength is the scientific term.

Yes, Christian Doppler first recognised the doppler effect in the 1800's sometime. Don't think he invented the radar though. The radar sends out a radio wave at a specific wavelength, when this hits the car, it is reflected back to the radar adn since the car has velocity, the wave's wavelength is changed. From the change from the original wavelength the speed of the car can be determined.

The best example of the doppler effect is when a F1 car is coming towards you the pitch of the sound emmited from it gets higher and higher, untill it passes you, then it drops to a low pitch. :scooter:

[Lou Girardin]

But isn't the sound of an F1 car audible?

[speedpro]

But isn't the sound of an F1 car audible?
and of course if they wanted to make the radars jam proof they could make them "frequency agile" as well. Or if they wanted to differentiate between two speeders close together they could "chirp" the transmitted pulse. Then they'd need a "SAWD" to compress and seperate the returns, eh? :whistle:

[k14]

But isn't the sound of an F1 car audible?

Yip, thats why I called it pitch, but wavelength is just a more universal way to talk about it. It is the same for all waves, weather they be electromagnetic (light) or radio (sound) in the audible/visible or inaudible/non-visual spectrums.

Sorry, i might have made me explanation somewhat confusing.

[marty]

[QUOTE=wkid_one]Not just that BB - but you can be fined under the LTSA/Traffic Act for 'interferring with vehicle surveillance equipment'.
[QUOTE]

I've been trying to find a definition of vehicle surveilance equipment, I suspect it relates only to cameras. It's intended as a deterrent to people that might want to physically express their dislike of the IRD.
The rise and fall in tone is the dopler effect, exactly the same as the sound of a fast approaching vehicle seems to increase in pitch, then drop after it passes.
BTW. Anyone else noticed the new double act on this forum. Not as interesting as Posh and Becs or as polished as Newsboy and Havoc, but practice will make perfect. What about some stage names fellas, it worked for Starsky and Hutch.
Lou

if you've only just noticed it lou then at best you've been asleep

[magnum]

hello all,the last tracktime i went to some cops were there to test the handheld radar and it was surprising how hard they found it to get a good lock on especially a group of bikes together,not sure if this is the same for all there radars or just the hand held ones.i frkin hate the revenue gathering ones who patrol nice open roads especially around passing lanes.for those who arent locals 9 times out of 10 there is at least one cop[3 and a van camera once]along the karapiro straights.the van is always a red mitsi/hiace type at the end/beginning of passing lanes.

[Lou Girardin]

hello all,the last tracktime i went to some cops were there to test the handheld radar and it was surprising how hard they found it to get a good lock on especially a group of bikes together,not sure if this is the same for all there radars or just the hand held ones.i frkin hate the revenue gathering ones who patrol nice open roads especially around passing lanes.for those who arent locals 9 times out of 10 there is at least one cop[3 and a van camera once]along the karapiro straights.the van is always a red mitsi/hiace type at the end/beginning of passing lanes.

That would have been Laser.
Some models of Stalker are 'frequency hopping' within the Ka band, the best detectors still get them though. Our cops Stalkers do have a fastest target ability, that's why they are targeting overtaking lanes, easy money. It doesn't tell them which car is the fastest though, they have to rely on observation for that. But some don't bother, just ping whoever's in the outside lane. As I saw happen just north of Taupo.
Lou

[spudchucka]

BTW. Anyone else noticed the new double act on this forum. Not as interesting as Posh and Becs or as polished as Newsboy and Havoc, but practice will make perfect. What about some stage names fellas, it worked for Starsky and Hutch.
Lou
How about a special name for you too Lou, "Plonker".

[spudchucka]

Pitch :argh: Wavelength please people, pitch is generally refered to for the audible frequencies of sound (radar not being audible), thus change in wavelength is the scientific term.
I was talking about the sound a radar unit in a police car makes. It is an audible sound therefore it is "pitch" not wavelength. The pitch is representative of the "wavelength" being received by the radar.

Happy now???

[spudchucka]

[QUOTE=speedpro] Or if they wanted to differentiate between two speeders close together they could "chirp" the transmitted pulse. [QUOTE]
The Stalker does this.

[Coldkiwi]

Spud.. I'm hard pressed to understand why you think detectors aren't worth it. You clearly have never done much riding with one on the open road to hold such a position. Not all of your mates seem to bother with using the instant-on mode (lazy swine?-pun quite possibly intended) and a detector is a beautiful tool to help me keep enjoying my ride when they get near.

as for mounting them.. its gotta stay behind the screen to protect it from the weather so jacket and helmet mounting (besides being a recipe for injury if it grabs and snaps me around in a crash) isn't an option.

[dangerous]

Spud.. I'm hard pressed to understand why you think detectors aren't worth it. You clearly have never done much riding with one on the open road to hold such a position. Not all of your mates seem to bother with using the instant-on mode (lazy swine?-pun quite possibly intended) and a detector is a beautiful tool to help me keep enjoying my ride when they get near.


Maybe..... juuuuust mayby (cos I am realy reading between the lines here :sweatdrop ) Spud dosent like em cos they restrict him from getting his quota in before tea......... himmmm yes/no <_<

[merv]

OK Spud tell me the truth. You have a TL1000s, a really great bike for trickling along at 50km/hr in a residential area and 100km/hr on the open road. You have never ever ridden it over the speed limit, right?? You never would, because its against the law, right?? Your wrists never get sore riding that sucker slow slow, right?? Because it has such a satisfactory riding position to ride within the law.

The current laws of this land are totally appropriate aren't they, so we all know that at 100km/hr we are totally safe, go just over that, or even over the 109km/hr tolerance the great HP guys "allow" us and whoa it is way too dangerous no matter what the conditions. Do you believe this?

[Coldkiwi]

I don't think Spuds ever claimed to be saintly and not speed so you shouldn't try to pin that on him. If he thinks a decent detector is ineffective I can only think thats because he's read too many marketing brochures from the manufacturers of Stalker/Hawk who think they know and see all. The cheaper unidens etc are probably underpowered for use against modern technology but the anecdotal evidence off this site would surely be evidence enough to show that they do prevent users getting tickets (mine has saved my butt at least twice and my mates once). They're not failsafe ( I did get nicked well over the limit by a laser in january) but they help.

Merv, your point about appropriate speeds for bikes is a good one tho. Its blimmin hard riding any bike geared for well over 200kmhr under residential or open road limits if you're a half decent rider. I find the detector helped slow me down a bit by knowing that there were cops around and that sometimes they can just pop up without warning.

[Morepower]

OK Spud tell me the truth. You have a TL1000s, a really great bike for trickling along at 50km/hr in a residential area and 100km/hr on the open road. You have never ever ridden it over the speed limit, right?? You never would, because its against the law, right?? Your wrists never get sore riding that sucker slow slow, right?? Because it has such a satisfactory riding position to ride within the law.



:stupid:

:yeah:

[spudchucka]

Maybe..... juuuuust mayby (cos I am realy reading between the lines here :sweatdrop ) Spud dosent like em cos they restrict him from getting his quota in before tea......... himmmm yes/no <_<
I aint no quota cop so forget that idea.

[Morepower]

hello all,the last tracktime i went to some cops were there to test the handheld radar and it was surprising how hard they found it to get a good lock on especially a group of bikes together,not sure if this is the same for all there radars or just the hand held ones.i frkin hate the revenue gathering ones who patrol nice open roads especially around passing lanes.for those who arent locals 9 times out of 10 there is at least one cop[3 and a van camera once]along the karapiro straights.the van is always a red mitsi/hiace type at the end/beginning of passing lanes.
Steve good point , I have used a hand held stalker unit ( not laser ) and I am not a cop by the way . Some vehicles were very hard to get a lock on even at 400/ 500 meters where as others you could get 700meters out . I could not tell you why .This was about 9 months ago. The unit was probably a little less sophisticated than the units in the patrol cars are now but it was branded "stalker". I suspect that when they are crusing in standby mode and you appear around a corner its down to reaction time . I have had the odd head to head ( I do 50000kms plus in the car each year ) and Jumped on the brakes hard and as the detector has lit up the speedometer has been close to 100kms . All you get is the lights and finger wave as the cop knows exactly what you have done but all he has seen is 100 or thereabouts.
Also worth noting is that you can be done for what the cop has seen not what is locked in.

Dave

[spudchucka]

OK Spud tell me the truth. You have a TL1000s, a really great bike for trickling along at 50km/hr in a residential area and 100km/hr on the open road. You have never ever ridden it over the speed limit, right?? You never would, because its against the law, right?? Your wrists never get sore riding that sucker slow slow, right?? Because it has such a satisfactory riding position to ride within the law.

The current laws of this land are totally appropriate aren't they, so we all know that at 100km/hr we are totally safe, go just over that, or even over the 109km/hr tolerance the great HP guys "allow" us and whoa it is way too dangerous no matter what the conditions. Do you believe this?
Go back and read some of my earlier posts. What have I advocated? Ride with your eyes open, use common sense and be discrete.

I don't ride in urban areas unless I can't help it and I choose my moments for when I let the TL stretch its legs. I don't have a problem with anyone doing that. But if I get nicked speeding I will cop it sweet - no winging from me. Having said that I will never put myself in a position where I could have my licence snatched. I don't actually like going that fast. What I like is twisty roads and accelerating out of corners. The truth is I hardly ever go above 120.

Lets get one thing straight, I am no advocate of totally rigid enforcement. My idea of enforcement in relation to speed is, (look back and you will see I have said this before) if you are speeding near a school, hospital or old folks home, in a populated residential area or any where that there is heavy foot traffic then expect a ticket. If its 3.00 am and you are dong 70 you will probably get a finger wag or at worst a chest poke. Likewise if you are speeding on a section of highway that is not heavily laden with traffic.

The only exceptions to this is if the driver is a gang member, drug dealer, burglar, thief general low life scum of some sort or they HAVE A SHITTY ATTITUDE. Then they get tickets regardless.

I hope that clears things up.

[dangerous]

I aint no quota cop so forget that idea.

AHHH HA........... so your not a quota cop.... but you are a cop... BOUUURING, hehe :msn-wink: :rolleyes:

[merv]

Go back and read some of my earlier posts. What have I advocated? Ride with your eyes open, use common sense and be discrete.

I don't ride in urban areas unless I can't help it and I choose my moments for when I let the TL stretch its legs. I don't have a problem with anyone doing that. But if I get nicked speeding I will cop it sweet - no winging from me. Having said that I will never put myself in a position where I could have my licence snatched. I don't actually like going that fast. What I like is twisty roads and accelerating out of corners. The truth is I hardly ever go above 120.

Lets get one thing straight, I am no advocate of totally rigid enforcement. My idea of enforcement in relation to speed is, (look back and you will see I have said this before) if you are speeding near a school, hospital or old folks home, in a populated residential area or any where that there is heavy foot traffic then expect a ticket. If its 3.00 am and you are dong 70 you will probably get a finger wag or at worst a chest poke. Likewise if you are speeding on a section of highway that is not heavily laden with traffic.

The only exceptions to this is if the driver is a gang member, drug dealer, burglar, thief general low life scum of some sort or they HAVE A SHITTY ATTITUDE. Then they get tickets regardless.

I hope that clears things up.

Cheers I was basically winding you up because if you have seen my comments before you will have seen I find this whole rigid enforcement thing ludicrous as well, and I have said I wonder how cops can do their jobs when I already know a few that are bikers and ride exactly like the rest of us so how do you sleep at night knowing you are enforcing a rule you don't abide by yourselves.

That's where I am with some of the other guys on this and feel the few times I have been pulled up in the car lately (haven't had a bike ticket since 1973 remember) I think the guys doing it are just right pricks. I have been booked for going slightly over the limit on wide open roads that are basically empty late at night. Highway 50 out of Napier with the trailer on all lights ablaze and vision for miles and the next time on SH1 just South of Paremata roundabout on the four lane highway. I wouldn't care if they were stopping me for going slightly fast but basically then wanting to check me for piss and then saying OK on your way. That's what they used to do up until about 3 or 4 years ago.

Now I know its the Government driving the policy, but don't you cops speak up when you are given your orders or do you just say yes-sir. I would much prefer to see a reasonable approach taken where the cop uses his discretion to decide what is dangerous in the circumstances as you will always have a law to back up your decision. Then the public would more readily accept the approach taken.

You say you hardly ever go above 120, well the two bloody tickets I have had in the last few years were for 113 and 120, so given I have been driving and riding for 35 years and never been at fault for hitting anyone or anything, nor have I had an insurance claim except for a broken windscreen from an unseen flying object in the dark on the Wellington motorway I believe my judgement has been very good. Yet while I believed I was driving those easy roads at a reasonable speed, both at around 11.30 at night, some pricks (that must have been quota cops) thought I wasn't, just because the bureaucrats tell them too. Those events did nothing to tell me how to improve the safety of my driving.

I am pleased you have an attitude quite different than that of the cops I had to deal with and that to you going 120 is no real crime. The first one on Highway 50 I was so annoyed with his approach because he decided to pull me up (i.e. first flash of his lights) some 7 kilometres passed the point he claimed he clocked me on his radar. I asked him a few questions and to save boring you with the details it resulted in me writing in. He replied through his superiors to me and blatantly lied about what he said to me. I wished I had recorded the discussion because in the end it was his word against mine and the level of fine was not worth me arguing in court over wasting my valuable time

The second guy was hiding behind a toe toe bush with the laser gun, no lights on his vehicle etc and was basically just revenue collecting, to be booking people for speeding slightly, on what is near as damn it motorway.

Also I laugh every time I am in Wellington driving the city streets and end up near an HP car cruising along. Last weekend in the evening on Wakefield Street/Jervois Quay here's the car with two on board gunning off quite quickly from each set of lights from the ped crossing at New World on. So I drive along same as them and sure enough up to 70 we go between each set of lights. Hypocrites, because next thing you know you'll get a ticket for doing 63.

We need to overcome this somehow, but the problem is the politicians wave around death and injury figures and all are too scared for their vote to speak out against the policy, except Tony Ryall, but he's only in opposition. If he were in power he would squirm too and probably back off and agree with the policies.

In summary I am sorry for you cops, having to enforce a law and an approach to it, that you don't agree with, nor abide by at all times, yet its your stinking job and you get bad response from the public over it. Nobody would need radar detectors if the discretionary approach applied so that all reasonable drivers/riders would be OK.

[Lou Girardin]

If good attitudes get a chest poke, what kind of poke does a shitty attitude get?

[Marmoot]

If its 3.00 am and you are dong 70 you will probably get a finger wag or at worst a chest poke. Likewise if you are speeding on a section of highway that is not heavily laden with traffic.


That'll be the new TUI ads...... YEAH RIGHT :finger:
(as my 3 previous 'convictions' have attested)

[wkid_one]

That'll be the new TUI ads...... YEAH RIGHT :finger:
(as my 3 previous 'convictions' have attested)
I must agree - it seems many of the HWP guy seem to enjoy their new found power of no tolerance - or is it just me? My example of wankeryness.

Is was driving down the Himatangi Straight at 7am on a Saturday Morning in summer, bloody warm, blue sky - maximum visability. I pass the only car on my side of the road for the last 10 mins at about 120kph and am throttling back to 110-115kph rather than braking. Lo and behold and HWP is coming the other way and I think nothing of it. Next min he is up my date and I pull over. I get ticketed for 114kph? Where does that fit in to 'tolerance' model? I would hardly call my speed a risk given the circumstances and environment. I still maintain I was pulled coz I was on a bike and it was loud.

In saying that - I have been lasered at over 110kph and not been pulled a number of times - down the Gorge to Porirua a couple of times, and by the guy that hides in the entrance to Belmont and lasers south bound traffic.

[RiderInBlack]

The only "detector" I use is the "Kiwi Flash The Lights" detector. Have found the heavy braking works well. Got done for 116KPH in a 100KPH zone on a RF900 when both the cop and I knew that I had been going a lot faster (the big nose dive is a dead give-away), but the radar had only been able to lock me at 116KPH. Because I took the ticket well and didn't give him any shit the ticket stayed at 116KPH. Had I been an arse-hole or had a radar detector he could have done me for a lot more.

I believe if you do the crime you do the time. For all the pathetic tickets I have got, I try to remember that there have been a lot of times that they should have stopped me as I have been going a lot faster (some of my home back roads have seen me at 240KPH+).

<O:pIf you use a detector don't insult the Officer"s intelligence by pretending innocents.

We are luck they don't try to apply special speed restrictions to corners! I've have been on a lot of rides where the speeds we are doing around the corners would not be considered "safe" even if we were doing less than 100KPH (and have seen a number of near, and not so near, misses because of that)!

Sure, brake the rules and cheat the system, but don't bitch when you get done. Consider yourself one of the lucky ones. So what your've got a fine or lost your licience, Big deal. Your alive and have not killed anyone (yet).

[Racey Rider]

.... Lo and behold and HWP is coming the other way and I think nothing of it. Next min he is up my date and I pull over. I get ticketed for 114kph? Where does that fit in to 'tolerance' model? I would hardly call my speed a risk given the circumstances and environment. I still maintain I was pulled coz I was on a bike and it was loud.

But do they see your Radar Detector when they pull you over, or do you quickly remove and hide it before the man walk's up?

[Marmoot]

I did not use detector,
I did not argue,
and the situation is what you (and even Spudchucka) consider as Safe.
Yet I have ticket.

Where is the warning you guys talked about then?
I guess not.

Not that I whine....but what p1$$ me off is that they can spend so many HWP and laser guns yet they still complain about understaffing and took 2 days for turning up at my house for burglary.
What is the understaffing about? Specific to only traffic?

Oh well, let's not get on to this matter again...it's endless isn't it?

Sorry for ranting.
:hug: Peace :hug:

[spudchucka]

In summary I am sorry for you cops, having to enforce a law and an approach to it, that you don't agree with, nor abide by at all times, yet its your stinking job and you get bad response from the public over it. Nobody would need radar detectors if the discretionary approach applied so that all reasonable drivers/riders would be OK.
Merv I understand everything you are saying. I don't really know what motivates guys to join the HP because to me it would be the most suckfull job imaginable but having said that I know heaps of guys on HP who are down right good buggers, (I know a few that are pricks as well though). When you join the police these days you have to accept that traffic duties are part of the job. However despite what the policies are each cop still has the ability to use discetion. I've explained what my personal opinions are towards speed enforcement and I try to encourage new cops to adopt a similar approach. At the end of the day it is up to the individual what approach they will take. Sadly there are some who join the job to "get off" on the power but these are the exception, not the rule.

As far as radar detectors go, I've never owned one because I've never seen a need for one. I've had two speeding tickets in 23 years and before my current occupation I was a rep who travelled 65 - 70,000 kms per year, not all at the speed limit. In the six years of doing that I had one speed camera fine when the cameras first came out. So I can't see the point of spending $$$$$ on something that won't solve a problem that I didn't have in the first place. If you understand my logic??

[spudchucka]

If good attitudes get a chest poke, what kind of poke does a shitty attitude get?
A good chest poke would only be used on someone with a developing attitude problem. And it is an expression, not a literal action taken as it would be an unnecessary use of force.

[White trash]

Merv I understand everything you are saying. I don't really know what motivates guys to join the HP because to me it would be the most suckfull job imaginable but having said that I know heaps of guys on HP who are down right good buggers, (I know a few that are pricks as well though). When you join the police these days you have to accept that traffic duties are part of the job. However despite what the policies are each cop still has the ability to use discetion. I've explained what my personal opinions are towards speed enforcement and I try to encourage new cops to adopt a similar approach. At the end of the day it is up to the individual what approach they will take. Sadly there are some who join the job to "get off" on the power but these are the exception, not the rule.

As far as radar detectors go, I've never owned one because I've never seen a need for one. I've had two speeding tickets in 23 years and before my current occupation I was a rep who travelled 65 - 70,000 kms per year, not all at the speed limit. In the six years of doing that I had one speed camera fine when the cameras first came out. So I can't see the point of spending $$$$$ on something that won't solve a problem that I didn't have in the first place. If you understand my logic??


I don't use a radar detector for a similar reason. If I am speeding, I'm breaking the law. If I'm silly enough to speed in an area and get caught, I deserved to get caught. I'm very philosophical about speeding tickets. I was doing wrong, so be it.

[spudchucka]

That'll be the new TUI ads...... YEAH RIGHT :finger:
(as my 3 previous 'convictions' have attested)
Did I have anything to do with your previous convictions? No. I've laid public my feelings on speed enforcement, if you think I'm talking shit thats fine.

[spudchucka]

Not that I whine....but what p1$$ me off is that they can spend so many HWP and laser guns yet they still complain about understaffing and took 2 days for turning up at my house for burglary.
What is the understaffing about? Specific to only traffic?
:hug: Peace :hug:
This pisses off general duties cops, (the ones that turn up when your house gets knocked over) as well. The traffic side of the police always get whatever resources and staff they need. They get shiney new S pack commodores when the GDB are driving clapped out hunks of junk with 250,000 on the clock, (I've seen some of these cars pink stickered because the cops driving them are so pissed off with the state of them). If they lose a staff member for any reason then someone from GDB is plucked to take their place, leaving the street cops even more short of staff.

The reason your house burglary took 2 days to be attended is because jobs get prioritised and the ones that are happening NOW get priority, an historic house burglary sadly gets shoved done the list. The only thing that will fix it is more staff on the front line.

[White trash]

The only thing that will fix it is more staff on the front line.

Right, that's it. I'm off to join the ol' Bill!

[Ghost Lemur]

Right, that's it. I'm off to join the ol' Bill!

You just want access to the evidence room. :killingme

[Marmoot]

if you think I'm talking shit thats fine.
Thank you for understanding.



The reason your house burglary took 2 days to be attended is because jobs get prioritised

Exactly my point. Why in the hell do government prioritise Laser-gunning more than burglary? Why the heck they not put 12 more patrol cars for the beat every year? Why the heck do the traffic got all the advertisement glits of those HP cars rolling out of the garage? How many millions spent in traffic enforcement and how many millions spent for crime prosecution? Oh....that's right.....traffic enforcement is a good-return investment while crime prosecution is a 'rather' lost-cause.

In the end, I know it's not the cops to blame. It's the friggin government policies. At the end of the day, I must say: damn politicians.

[merv]

Right, that's it. I'm off to join the ol' Bill!

You could be round there in a shot on ya stunt bike! To the burglary that is.

[merv]

p.s. never owned a radar detector or tried one myself.

[Two Smoker]

If good attitudes get a chest poke, what kind of poke does a shitty attitude get?
The good old smack in the face........ hehehehe, which they deserve if they have shitty attitude......

Ive always been told and carry out the saying "treat people they way you want to be treated".... if i was a cop, and a person started swearing at me, i would keep professional, but even the boundries can be pushed with that, i think that generally if a shitty attitude is given, then more tickets are the return (ie the chest poke is more tickets), thats from what ive heard..........

[spudchucka]

In the end, I know it's not the cops to blame. It's the friggin government policies. At the end of the day, I must say: damn politicians.
You'll get no arguement from me about the politic behind all of this. It all goes back to when John Banks promised us all more cops on the street, then merged the MOT & the police and said "right oh folks there's all the extra cops I promised ya". What you got was a whole bunch of former traffic cops who never had any desire to be police officers and a bunch of police officers who weren't interested in being traffic cops.

That pretty much stuffed the whole organisation up and 12 years on this what you get. Personally I think that long term there will be a change back to something similar to the pre-merger days. Probably not a complete separation but hopefully more distinct lines drawn between the two factions.

[marty]

what you get. Personally I think that long term there will be a change back to something similar to the pre-merger days. Probably not a complete separation but hopefully more distinct lines drawn between the two factions.


it's happening in the waikato right now. the hp base has moved away from the mothership station, and is being run completely by ex-mot staff. that was one reason i had to get away from there (TAG/HP)

[Skyryder]

Personally I think that long term there will be a change back to something similar to the pre-merger days. Probably not a complete separation but hopefully more distinct lines drawn between the two factions.

I have noticed this also. About two weeks ago I needed the police to come to and incedent I had on the bus I was driving. A Highway Patrol Officer arrived with much apology saying the the 'beat boys' were unavailable. To cut a long story short he said the HP do not usually attend incedents not related to traffic violations.

Skyryder

[spudchucka]

it's happening in the waikato right now. the hp base has moved away from the mothership station, and is being run completely by ex-mot staff. that was one reason i had to get away from there (TAG/HP)
Operation mongoose is alive and well, bring back the snake pit!!

[wkid_one]

But do they see your Radar Detector when they pull you over, or do you quickly remove and hide it before the man walk's up?
I always hide it - I am not stupid!

I actually had it hardwired behind the grill on the old car - got to get around to doing it on the new one!

[wkid_one]

The only "detector" I use is the "Kiwi Flash The Lights" detector.
Is it just me - or is this common courtesy on the decline?

[k14]

Is it just me - or is this common courtesy on the decline?

Yeah, I am with you on that one. I haven't had a flash for ages. I always flash people after passing a speed camera/cop for 1-2kms. But recently I don't think I have been paid the same courtesy. Bit of a pain really, least I have Mr Bel 985 to keep me company :niceone:

[dangerous]

Is it just me - or is this common courtesy on the decline?

Ohh yeh...... since it was made illegal a few years back flashing has been very much on the decline, hardly see it at all down here

[LB]

Ohh yeh...... since it was made illegal a few years back flashing has been very much on the decline, hardly see it at all down here
Huh? Is it illegal? When did that happen??? Holy shit.

[Lou Girardin]

Ohh yeh...... since it was made illegal a few years back flashing has been very much on the decline, hardly see it at all down here

Headlight flashing is not illegal. It's even encouraged by the LTSA. (Check their anywhere,anytime advert)
BTW When I got warned for speed, the Valentine was sitting proudly in the window. Didn't know the cop from Adam either.
There's the odd good one around. Getting fewer though.

[scumdog]

Is it just me - or is this common courtesy on the decline?
Well, I for one don't flash - keeps the other guy on his toes if he doesn't get a warning :shit:

never been in the situation where a flash saved me from a ticket, on the contrary I have had numerous flashes when the cop had already left or when i did see him it was about 5km later :angry2:

[RiderInBlack]

Is it just me - or is this common courtesy on the decline?
Na, live and well:Punk: But watch-out for bitches like my ex-wife who get a kick out of flashing for the hell of it:finger: (just to make you panic when there is nothing to warn you about).

They couldn't make it legal because drivers/riders would stop flashing to warn on-coming traffic of potential hazards (accidents, stock on the road, etc.):crazy:

[scumdog]

I did not use detector,
I did not argue,
and the situation is what you (and even Spudchucka) consider as Safe.
Yet I have ticket.

Where is the warning you guys talked about then?
I guess not.

Not that I whine....but what p1$$ me off is that they can spend so many HWP and laser guns yet they still complain about understaffing and took 2 days for turning up at my house for burglary.
What is the understaffing about? Specific to only traffic?

Oh well, let's not get on to this matter again...it's endless isn't it?

Sorry for ranting.
:hug: Peace :hug:

Could have been the cop was desparate to get that last ticket keep his "contact" level up to scratch for the day ;)

[scumdog]

Im So :Offtopic: Here Man Dont Know Where Tha Hell I Am... :doh:
:stupid:
Sk8tr boi, we sometimes wonder where the hell your at ourselves :crazy:

[scumdog]

That'll be the new TUI ads...... YEAH RIGHT :finger:
(as my 3 previous 'convictions' have attested)

You've obviously never had a cop flash his lights to let you know that your speed is a bit much, maybe cops up your way ain't so tolerant?? ;)

[Coldkiwi]

You've obviously never had a cop flash his lights to let you know that your speed is a bit much, maybe cops up your way ain't so tolerant?? ;)

I must admit, i've had that a few times and its been MOST appreciated! Respect to the officers involved.

Why bother hiding a detector? you will have been pulled over because the cop has got your speed on his radar gun, not because he's about to ask you 20 questions to determine if you're likely to speed! When I got a heavy fine in January I had the detector sitting right there as he wrote the ticket but he didn't say a word about it. probably brightened his day knowing it didn't save me!

[scumdog]

I must admit, i've had that a few times and its been MOST appreciated! Respect to the officers involved.

Why bother hiding a detector? you will have been pulled over because the cop has got your speed on his radar gun, not because he's about to ask you 20 questions to determine if you're likely to speed! When I got a heavy fine in January I had the detector sitting right there as he wrote the ticket but he didn't say a word about it. probably brightened his day knowing it didn't save me!

GOOD ATTITUDE!! The detector won't save you if the cop has the stalker on hold and you are the only on on that bit of road giving the scoot a banzai windout! If he's checking other cars on front of you then you'll pick him up but the crafty ones pick their targets :shit:

[dangerous]

They couldn't make it legal because drivers/riders would stop flashing to warn on-coming traffic of potential hazards (accidents, stock on the road, etc.):crazy: [/font]

Well its the general consences down here that it is....... if there is no potential hazards (accidents, stock on the road) then you are obstructing the copper from doing its duty (or some sorta shit like that)......... but hay I could be wrong here and maybe I've just been had so as some dirt bag can get his quota in and go home :doh:

[Marmoot]

You've obviously never had a cop <a href="http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=flash&v=55">flash</a> his lights to let you know that your speed is a bit much, maybe cops up your way ain't so tolerant?? ;)

Yea....OBVIOUSLY
1 was between Auckland to Hamilton, 1 was around Huntly, and 1 was in Swanson (Palmerston North).

Looks like the cops up the whole North Island to me then? Hehehehe
:) :)

[Lou Girardin]

This does remind me of an incident with one of the One Tree Hill cops years ago. He was stopped with the TR6 antenna hanging out the window but turned off, while he wrote up notes on a few tickets. He noticed a car go past. stop and U turn. Then it came past again, stopped, U turned and drove past a third time. This time the driver stopped, walked back to the cop and said 'is that thing (the TR6) turned on? Cop said "yeah, been going all the time". At that the driver went back to the his car, grabbed the detector out of the window, threw on the ground and stomped it, saying f*%@ing useless thing, just paid $300 for rubbish that doesn't work.

[RiderInBlack]

You've obviously never had a cop flash his lights to let you know that your speed is a bit much, maybe cops up your way ain't so tolerant?? ;)
Yep, had that up here (my Father as well at 112KPH). Cool, hey:Punk:
But have also got done @ 111KPM on the Ruakaka/Waipu Straights on the GSXR250 with nobody else around for miles:finger: Obviously that Cop was not having a good day and was trying to fill his "quota":angry:

PS: Don't speed on the Ruakaka/Waipu Straights. I know they are fu*ken long, straight, and boring (hence the high accident rate on them, drivers dosing-off), but the cops up this way hammer it quite hard. Have counted 5 HP cars between the Brendowyns and Whangarei. This is not including Speed Cameras, of which there is at least one (usually a blue van). Oh and PLEASE DON'T DO RUNNERS here:bash: Killing yourself is OK by me, but we don't want any more teenage girls killed:ar15: , thanks:angry2:

[marty]

Steve good point , I have used a hand held stalker unit ( not laser ) and I am not a cop by the way . Some vehicles were very hard to get a lock on even at 400/ 500 meters where as others you could get 700meters out . I could not tell you why .This was about 9 months ago. The unit was probably a little less sophisticated than the units in the patrol cars are now but it was branded "stalker". I suspect that when they are crusing in standby mode and you appear around a corner its down to reaction time . I have had the odd head to head ( I do 50000kms plus in the car each year ) and Jumped on the brakes hard and as the detector has lit up the speedometer has been close to 100kms . All you get is the lights and finger wave as the cop knows exactly what you have done but all he has seen is 100 or thereabouts.
Also worth noting is that you can be done for what the cop has seen not what is locked in.

Davewas back browsing and came across this. the reason that the laser sometimes has a longer range, sometimes shorter, is that if there is no reflective surface then a strong return signal will not be recieved. if you have a laser pointer (you know the cheap $2 shop ones), stand 100 m back from a road sign at night. point the laser at the sign. see what the difference in reflection between the sign and the post is. now do that with the front of your car, look at the difference between the number plate and the grille (go the tilted number plates....). imagine how hard it is to get a lock on the front of a bike. if you have reflective strips on your jacket though........

that is why cops lean on cars (although they shake if idling) or sign posts, or have the laser on a tripod.

and yes stalker make the laser as well.

and hey look what i found when i was cleaning up.....

[What?]

Interesting - my Passport 8500 seems to be more sensitive to Ka since I turned X and K bands off. Does this make any sense?

[marty]

i guess like any microchip, if you take processes away then the remaining ones will have more room, and may be be faster. perhaps one of the IT guys would have an explanation

[Racey Rider]

the reason that the laser sometimes has a longer range, sometimes shorter, is that if there is no reflective surface then a strong return signal will not be recieved. .....

Are we allowed to have our headlights covered while riding during the day?
As this would further reduce the return signal.

Tilted plates.... Good tip, thanks.

[marty]

only if you ride a katana. or drive an MX5, and only girls drive MX5's :msn-wink:

[scumdog]

Are we allowed to have our headlights covered while riding during the day?
As this would further reduce the return signal.

Tilted plates.... Good tip, thanks.

Your'e assuming the cop is aiming the laser ONLYat you number plarE or headlight!!!
It is a bit like that urban myth that a series of C.D.s placed across your dash will stop the radar from working and save you a ticket. :blink:
I've heard a story that when a truckie got a speeding ticket and mentioned to the cop that the C.D.s didn't seem to work the cop told him pre-recorded ones were useless, told the truckie that only new blank C.D.s would work - truckie went out and bought 10 new ones and was silly enough to tell his workmate about his "secret" of using only new C.D.s to stuff the radar up :whistle:

[k14]

It is true that you can stop the laser guns from putting cd's up to reflect the laser back to the laser gun. Because the tracks on a cd are about 40 micrometers apart they diffract the light back at the gun. Thus the gun can't pickup a proper reading. Try shining a laser pointer at the bottom of a cd, you will see that 4 or 5 lights are reflected back. But it would only work if the laser hit the cd straight on which is probably not very likely, but it is still possible.

They definately wouldn't diffract radar though, isn't light it is a sound wave, so it goes straight through the cd as though it wasn't there, lol.

[marty]

i cannot see how this would work in practice. normally the grille of a car would have a very low refraction index - it's generally full of holes, is black, has the radiator behind it, and it tends to slope upwards too.

you then place a row of cd's behind the grille of the car (seen it done). these CD's are excellent reflectors, albeit in 50 directions.

now if 1/2 of those directions are back towards the source, then you might as well be listening to that 'bad boys' cd you so foolishly thought would get you off that laser ticket....

[k14]

Yeah, well in theory it should work because it won't have a spot of maximum brightness at the middle of the diffraction pattern, also the wavelength will be altered and thus the frequency, which is how the radar gets the speed the car is going. But I would think that the reading you get would be off the grille or something else, because the cd's are so small they would be fairly hard to hit and the laser would miss them.

[wkid_one]

Paint your bike in the paint used for the Stealth Aircraft - that will sort'm out.

[marty]

sorry k14, but i just can't see it. cops target the number plate regardless, so how do CD's help you at all?

i'm just doing an experiment to see how it works

[marty]

here's a little test i have just done. i placed a CD and an ABS plastic item next to each other.

i pointed a laser light at both, one at a time.

the laser was obvious on the black ABS, but it did not reflect back in my eyes.

when projected onto the CD though, when the light was relflected, it was as strong, if not stronger than looking into the original laser.

i tried to take photos of it, but without a tripod it was difficult. you can see the glare off the CD though, the red dot just looks bright on the black.

the red dot on the ceiling is the reflected light off the CD, on the wall behind me. There is a cresent shaped reflection on the ceiling at about the 2 o'clock position, which must be reflecting off the curve of the CD.

from what i see i reckon that CD's actually ENHANCE the laser reflection back to it's source, and also spreads it around, so that others with laser detectors can pick it up.

yes i'm bored....

[k14]

sorry k14, but i just can't see it. cops target the number plate regardless, so how do CD's help you at all?

i'm just doing an experiment to see how it works

I never said that they help me and I never said that they would help you, I just objected to someone saying that it never works. I have no idea how accurate the aiming mechanism on the laser guns are and how they work, I was just saying that if the laser beam hit the CD dead on then it would make the gun not get a speed reading. The chances of that happening are pretty slim.

Don't worry marty, I have done lots of experiments along those lines, in labs with proper equipment and know what happens. Actually today's physics lecture was about Fraunhofer diffraction, which is what this is a case of.

I don't want to step on your toes and I know absolutely nothing about how to use the laser guns etc, but I am just explaining some simple (to me) physics. :2thumbsup

[spudchucka]

sorry k14, but i just can't see it. cops target the number plate regardless, so how do CD's help you at all?

This one really cracks me up. I'll be looking for CD's on the grill from now on, if only to have a laugh to myself.

[wkid_one]

when projected onto the CD though, when the light was relflected, it was as strong, if not stronger than looking into the original laser.


Now there is a super intelligent thing to do.....

[scumdog]

sorry k14, but i just can't see it. cops target the number plate regardless, so how do CD's help you at all?

i'm just doing an experiment to see how it works

Dead right! at 200 metres or so there is no way you can "aim" the laser gun at just one piece of the car as it comes towards you, have a look at one, it only has a pretty crude sighting system and even if you had ten c.d.'s across the front of your car it would only equal a small fraction of the total frontal area. :disapint:

[Jackrat]

I never said that they help me and I never said that they would help you, I just objected to someone saying that it never works. I have no idea how accurate the aiming mechanism on the laser guns are and how they work, I was just saying that if the laser beam hit the CD dead on then it would make the gun not get a speed reading. The chances of that happening are pretty slim.

Don't worry marty, I have done lots of experiments along those lines, in labs with proper equipment and know what happens. Actually today's physics lecture was about Fraunhofer diffraction, which is what this is a case of.

I don't want to step on your toes and I know absolutely nothing about how to use the laser guns etc, but I am just explaining some simple (to me) physics. :2thumbsup

Here's some more simple physics for you.
NOTHING reflects light at a greater strengh than the original source.
If there was anything in it at all we would all be riding or driving vehicules painted flat white because it has the greatest reflectivity of all.

[k14]

Here's some more simple physics for you.
NOTHING reflects light at a greater strengh than the original source.
If there was anything in it at all we would all be riding or driving vehicules painted flat white because it has the greatest reflectivity of all.

I never said that it did, that was marty. You can't get something from nothing, so next time you quote get the right quote :finger:

[Jackrat]

I never said that it did, that was marty. You can't get something from nothing, so next time you quote get the right quote :finger:
Does it matter.
I found your statment interesting.
NOTHING ELSE.

[marty]

Now there is a super intelligent thing to do.....
it's amzing how slow one moves after a couple of jack danielssssss

[wkid_one]

i tried to take photos of it, but without a tripod it was difficult.
Yes - Photographing stationary objects can be quite tricky at times!

Right. Now come on Marty - we are all dying to know.......how fast WAS the CD travelling in your living room? And will you ticket it?

[Lou Girardin]

Cops target the number plate or headlight as they are the best reflectors. US tests showed that black TransAms and Camaros were the hardest cars to get a reading on. Retracted headlights, sloping fronts and no reg plates. red cars are easiest, they're called ticket red. Bikes are also difficult at times, especially at long range with high beam on. There is enough IR transmitted to slow the laser processor. Bikes are also difficult to target, a cop at Paeroa races was struggling to stay on target as they came around the kink at around 220 km/h at about 400m range.
CD's on your dash are about as effective as tinfoil in your hubcaps was against radar.

[Racey Rider]

Are we allowed to have our headlights covered while riding during the day?
As this would further reduce the return signal.


only if you ride a katana. or drive an MX5, and only girls drive MX5's :msn-wink:

Can you tell me the relevant law that says no?

[marty]

Yes - Photographing stationary objects can be quite tricky at times!

Right. Now come on Marty - we are all dying to know.......how fast WAS the CD travelling in your living room? And will you ticket it?
the CD was stationary - it was me having trouble standing still...

and it was a CD of Moto Rider........

[marty]

Can you tell me the relevant law that says no?
no to what?

[merv]

no to what?


I think he's talking about covered lights. From what I am aware there is no law against covering your headlights during the hours of daylight, so long as you aren't covering indicator, tail or reverse lights at all.

[Racey Rider]

no to what?

You implied that we can,t cover our headlights during the day.

What's the law that says we can't do that? Or have I misunderstood you?

As long as the light is there, and the cover is easy to remove for use of the light. It would sometimes be of benefit to have them covered. Plus a good fitting light cover that matches in with the bike can look coo,,,,,,,, :o
appealing to the eye. :yeah:

Yes I know it's safer to have the light on!!

[marty]

You implied that we can,t cover our headlights during the day.

What's the law that says we can't do that? Or have I misunderstood you?


i didn't imply anything. i was simply taking the piss.

[wkid_one]

Just a question - if you take a hand held laser - and point it at a car - and then rapidly move the unit forward as you are doing it - will it show a higher reading on the car?

[Racey Rider]

i didn't imply anything. i was simply taking the piss.

Oh! :confused:

You need to work on that! :o
When "taking the piss", the "pisser" really should word it well enough that thee "pissee" has no option but to realize the've been "pissed" on! :yeah:





Now THATS "taking the piss" :p

[marty]

oh is THAT how it works.

[merv]

Depends who's watching eh!

[Lou Girardin]

Just a question - if you take a hand held laser - and point it at a car - and then rapidly move the unit forward as you are doing it - will it show a higher reading on the car?

I doubt it, the pulse rate is too short. Handheld radar was good at that though.

[marty]

I doubt it, the pulse rate is too short. Handheld radar was good at that though.
actually, you can get an error, by washing the laser up and over the bonnet. it is not hard to do.

also, if you aim the laser onto the road about 30 feet in front of you, and wash it away, you can get it to show an accellerating speed, hence the ability to have stationary objects (eg the side of a building) doing 50km/h. if you have a digital camera attached to the back of the laser, taking photos of this, then you can see how uneducated people believe that they are inaccurate.

if used correctly, and the principles of use applied, then they are extremely accurate.

[Lou Girardin]

[QUOTE=marty]actually, you can get an error, by washing the laser up and over the bonnet. it is not hard to do.
QUOTE]

An error reading or an inaccurate speed?

[spudchucka]

An error reading or an inaccurate speed?

Read the rest of Marty's post.


if used correctly, and the principles of use applied, then they are extremely accurate.

You should know better, I guess you are just being a shit stirrer huh.

[Lou Girardin]

actually, you can get an error, by washing the laser up and over the bonnet. it is not hard to do.
also, if you aim the laser onto the road about 30 feet in front of you, and wash it away, you can get it to show an accellerating speed, hence the ability to have stationary objects (eg the side of a building) doing 50km/h. if you have a digital camera attached to the back of the laser, taking photos of this, then you can see how uneducated people believe that they are inaccurate.
if used correctly, and the principles of use applied, then they are extremely accurate.

Yeah, read it. Now tell me if the car, a moving object, gives an error reading or inaccurate speed like the stationary object.

[marty]

i guess it depends what side of the fence you're on. a building will give an inaccurate speed, if it's speed is supposed to be zero, but if it's on the back of a truck it could be 70km/h........

[Lou Girardin]

It starting to sound like you guys don't use Stalker Laser much.

[spudchucka]

Yeah, read it. Now tell me if the car, a moving object, gives an error reading or inaccurate speed like the stationary object.
Here's the Stalker Laser spec sheet from their web site. Make your own mind up about error readings.

http://www.stalkerradar.com/pdf/lidar_specifications.pdf

Applied Concepts, Inc. 2609 Technology Drive Plano, TX. 75074 Toll Free: 1-800-STALKER
Tel: 972-398-3780 Fax: 972-398-3781 sales@a-concepts.com http://www.a-concepts.com
006-0230-00 Rev L
S LIDAR SPECIFICATIONS

Operational:
Type: Handheld Lidar offering Tracking mode, Single Shot
mode, and Time/Distance mode.
Acquisition Time: Less than .4 second
Nominal Range : Minimum < 5 feet (1.5 meters)
Maximum > 4000 feet (1200 meters)
Range Accuracy: less than or equal to 1 foot (1/3 meter)
Speed Measure: ±1 mph to ±299 mph (±1.6 kph to ±481 kph)
Speed Accuracy: +1 mph, –2 mph (+1.6 kph, –3.2 kph)
Test/Alignment mode: Enter using the TEST key and the Trigger. Used to
test Hud alignment using audio tone.
Metric Operation: Setup menu selectable
Lidar trigger modes: Setup menu selectable:
1. Constant trigger depression for constant XMIT
2. Separate trigger depressions to start/stop XMIT
Time/Dist. trigger mode: Separate trigger depressions when target enters and
exits speed zone
Inclement Weather mode:Suppresses target returns from targets closer than
approximately 250 ft to reduce interference from rain,
fog, and snow
Remote Trigger: Remote trigger signal available through I/O Port
Target Speed Tone: Variable audio tone corresponding to target speed. A
fast target generates a higher tone and a slow target
generates a lower tone
Target Return Tone: No tone when beam is off target; tone repetition
increases as beam moves into target and return signal
quality increases
Switching Output: I/O Port signal for operation of external devices (i.e.: a
camera) Toggles when speed exceeds speed signal
setting
I/O Signals: Ext. Trigger, Switch Out, Tx, Rx, Gnd, and +5Vdc
Physical
Dimensions: 9.9” Height, 6.0” Length, and 4.2” Width
21.8 cm Height, 15.3 cm Length, 10.7 cm Width
Weight: Wt with Battery Handle - 3.8 lbs (1.72 kg)
Wt with Cigarette Handle - 3.0 pounds (1.36 kg)
Housing: Metal case with rubber end caps
Shoulder Stock: Accessory shoulder stock is available
Input Voltage Range: Battery Handle: 5.7V to 9.0V @ 400 ma. nominal
Low voltage inhibit activates between 5.7V and 6.2V
Cigarette Handle: 6.5V to 16.0V @270 ma. nominal
Low voltage inhibit activates between 6.5V and 7.2V
Low Voltage Inhibit: Inhibits all readings while input voltage is below the
low voltage inhibit level
Low Voltage Standby: After 10 seconds of inactivity (unit not transmitting),
power consumption is reduced to 63% of nominal
Input Power Protection: Solid state automatically resettable fuse
Environmental: -30 to +60 C, operating
-40 to +85 C, non-operating
Humidity Protection: +37 C, 90% Relative Humidity, 8 hours minimum,
operating
Additional Resistance: Dust, water, and impact
EMI: RFI icon indicates that the unit is in a high EMI field.
No false readings when the unit is subjected to
Electromagnetic Interference from vehicle alternator,
ignition, air conditioner/heater motor, windshield
wiper motor, Police FM transceiver, and Citizen Band
AM transceiver
Tripod Mount: Female ¼ - 20 closed end nut on right side of case
I/O Connector: Standard 6-pin I.O. connector on right side of case
Transmitter & Receiver:
Operating Wavelength: 905 ± 10 nm Peak @ 25° C
Spectral Bandwidth: 5 ± 3 nm FWHM
Laser Type: MOCVD InGaAs Stacked Array Pulsed Laser Diode
Eye Safety: FDA/CDRH CLASS 1 Laser Device (Rated Eyesafe)
Pwr. Output & Density: TBD (meets FDA/CDRH regulations)
Pulse Width: < 30 nsec.
Pulse Repetition Rate: Fixed, 130 Hz (±0.1 % at 11.04 VDC)
Beam Divergence: < 3 ± 0.5 mrad FWHM
Optical Design Type: Bistatic (dual aperture)
HUD
Targeting: Illuminated Pinpoint, keyboard adjustable intensity.
Range and Speed Data: 7-Digit (7-segment) with ± LED display with keyboard
adjustable intensity
PANEL
Display: 8-Character (7-segment) with ± LCD display with
keyboard controlled backlight
Display Clear: Activates prior to new measurement (with depression
of trigger)
Power-On Self Test: Circuit elements tested, timing accuracy verified, and
all display elements illuminated. Errors indicated by
beep code.
Speed Display Lock: Manual control (auto lock of speed and range with
release of trigger)
Controls: Polycarbonate overlay covering backlit (with LEDs)
push button switches
SWITCH DEFINITION
TRIGGER: Setup Menu Selectable:
(Lidar mode) 1. Constant trigger depression for constant Xmit
2. Separate trigger depressions start/stop Xmit
TRIGGER: Separate trigger depressions when target enters and
(time/dist mode) exits speed zone
PWR: Rear Panel switch toggles main power ON/OFF
TEST: Performs a complete self-test
HUD Light: Toggles the HUD intensity from low to high through
six levels when pressed
SPEED/RANGE: Used to select Tracking mode, Single Shot mode,
Inclement Weather mode, and to toggle between
SPEED only, RANGE only, and simultaneous SPEED
and RANGE display. Used to exit from MIN, MAX,
and TIME/DIST modes.
PANEL LIGHT: Toggles both the LCD backlight and the keyboard
backlight ON and OFF
AUDIO: Used to adjust the volume of the speaker in 4 steps
TIME/DIST: Selects TIME/DIST mode
MAX: Used in TIME/DIST mode to display/update maximum
range
MIN: Used in TIME/DIST mode to display/update minimum
range
DISPLAY MESSAGES
Enn: This message indicates that a measurement error has
occurred
PASS: This message (with “happy tone”) indicates that a self-
test has successfully completed

[madandy]

Dropped down the Tauranga side of the Kaimais tonight in my car at 150+km/h in the dark and light rain. Hp car sitting on opposite side of the road without any illumination must have got me on radar cause I did'nt see him untill about 200m away.I did'nt even brake, there was no point. :D He/She did not chase me but I did see the brake light flash once in my mirror like it was being put into gear(Automatic)...I figured there'd be a mate up ahead waiting to pounce and sure enough I passed him/her above the limit too!
No car chase, no ticket...wassup?The rain fuck the radars?or my headlights...physics lesson please!

[spudchucka]

Dropped down the Tauranga side of the Kaimais tonight in my car at 150+km/h in the dark and light rain. Hp car sitting on opposite side of the road without any illumination must have got me on radar cause I did'nt see him untill about 200m away.I did'nt even brake, there was no point. :D He/She did not chase me but I did see the brake light flash once in my mirror like it was being put into gear(Automatic)...I figured there'd be a mate up ahead waiting to pounce and sure enough I passed him/her above the limit too!
No car chase, no ticket...wassup?The rain fuck the radars?or my headlights...physics lesson please!
In heavy rain with puddles on the road the radar will sometimes have trouble picking up the patrol ground speed, if it can't get a ground speed then it won't get the target speed either. This isn't a problem if the radar is set in stationary mode. Guess you were just lucky. I have to say though, WTF were you doing traveling at 150kph+ on a dark and rainy night?

[wkid_one]

Spud - you stole your quote on your sig from Law & Order

[spudchucka]

Spud - you stole your quote on your sig from Law & Order
Actually its been floating around for ages, I just find it a bit of a giggle in this environment.

Here's some other favourites.

"The handcuffs are tight because they're new. They'll stretch out after you wear them awhile."

"Take your hands off the car, and I'll make your birth certificate a worthless document."

"Remember, when you gotta cuff 'em.... nobody is your friend."

"If you run, you'll only go to jail tired."

"That says POLICE, not taxi."

"Can you run faster than 1,200 feet per second?" (if you aren't a shooter, that is the average speed of a 9mm projectile (slug)).

"So, you don't know how fast you were going. I guess that means I can write anything I want on the ticket, huh?"

"You can't outrun a radio."

"Yes sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don't think it will help. Oh, did I mention that I am the shift supervisor?"

"Warning! You want a warning? O.K., I'm warning you not to do that again or I'll give you another ticket."

"The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or dog?"

"Some people are meant to be cops, and some people are meant to call the cops."

"God made tomorrow for the crooks we don't catch today."

"Life's tough, it's tougher if you're stupid."

"Law abiding citizens sleep peacefully in their beds, solely because dedicated men and women stand ready to do violence in their behalf."

"In God we trust, all others are suspects."

"No sir, we don't have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas, but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we want."

"I'm glad to hear the chief of police is a good, personal friend of yours. At least you know someone who can post your bail."

"We don't hire cops in this department, we hire common sense and make cops from it."

Things Not to Say to a Cop When You're Pulled Over...
I only had one officer Mr. Keg..
Back off Barney, I've got a piece.
Want to race to the station, Sparky?
I know I was weaving, but I can't find the Honeycomb Hideout!
On the way to the station let's get a twelve pack.
You'll never get those cuffs on me..!
Come on write the damn ticket, the bars close in 20 minutes!
Hey, wasn't your daughter a pork queen?
I'm surprised you stopped me, Dunkin Donuts has a 3 for 1 special!
Yeah you can see my license and registration, officer, but could you hold my beer for a minute?
Hey, you must've been doing' about 125mph (200km/h) to keep up with me! Good job!
Sorry, Officer, I didn't realize my radar detector wasn't plugged in.
I thought you had to be in relatively good physical condition to be a Police Officer.
Excuse me. Is "stick up" hyphenated?
You know, I was going to be cop, but I decided to finish high school instead.
"Bad Cop! No Donut!"
I was trying to keep up with traffic.
You're NOT gonna check the trunk, are you?
Didn't I see you get your butt kicked on "COPS" last week on TV?
I bet I could grab that gun before you finish writing my ticket
So, uh, you "on the take", or what?
Gee, officer! That's terrific. The police officer yesterday only gave me a warning too!
Do you know why you pulled me over? Good, at least one of us does.
Hey is that a 9 mm? That's nothing compared to this .44 magnum.
Aren't you one of the Village People?

[scumdog]

Dropped down the Tauranga side of the Kaimais tonight in my car at 150+km/h in the dark and light rain. Hp car sitting on opposite side of the road without any illumination must have got me on radar cause I did'nt see him untill about 200m away.I did'nt even brake, there was no point. :D He/She did not chase me but I did see the brake light flash once in my mirror like it was being put into gear(Automatic)...I figured there'd be a mate up ahead waiting to pounce and sure enough I passed him/her above the limit too!
No car chase, no ticket...wassup?The rain fuck the radars?or my headlights...physics lesson please!

Must have been your lucky day - but then again what about speed/conditions as someone mentioned? I'm not surprised you didn't brake, the cop would have had a good view of your spin-out!! :o
I know of Stalkers getting clear readings at 1.8km (just to add to Spudchuckas Stalker info)

[What?]

No car chase, no ticket...wassup?
They may well have been lying in wait for someone. Not unusual in this neck of the woods.

[marty]

sometimes, in light rain, the stalker can give an erroneous patrol speed, and it can add it to the target speed, but it becomes obvious pretty quickly if the cop knows he's patrolling at 90, and the patrol speed on the unit says 50. sometimes in the rain the stalker won't even pick up a speed, as the mist/water droplests dissapates the beam too much.
one of the reasons why you should ask to see the locked speed, and especially the patrol speed. it is often 'hidden', but it a simple button push to show it.

[marty]

and i have heard/used many of those quotes above. my favorites:

"That says POLICE, not taxi." (although i couldn't resist a skatie kid who said 'no sir it says poleeeze give me a ride home....)
"So, you don't know how fast you were going. I guess that means I can write anything I want on the ticket, huh?" - [I]could also be 'you didn't know you were going 90 in a 50? maybe i should give you one for dangerous[I]
"Yes sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don't think it will help. Oh, did I mention that I am the shift supervisor?"
"Warning! You want a warning? O.K., I'm warning you not to do that again or I'll give you another ticket."

and stuff that has been said to me:

You're NOT gonna check the trunk, are you? (300 cannabis plants were in there)
Sorry, Officer, I didn't realize my radar detector wasn't plugged in.
Hey, you must've been doing' about 125mph (200km/h) to keep up with me! Good job! (2 boy racers racing at 200k on tamahere straight with my marked patrol car behind them)
Gee, officer! That's terrific. The police officer yesterday only gave me a warning too! (commonly used by learner/restricted breaches)

[spudchucka]

"That says POLICE, not taxi." (although i couldn't resist a skatie kid who said 'no sir it says poleeeze give me a ride home....)

A while ago on night shift I was blue lighting to a dommy and this drunk shmuck jumped out onto the road and waved us down like there was a big emergency only to ask for a ride home. The dommy was a serious one and we were the only I car available so we had to ignore the pratt and just drive on.

[Coldkiwi]

good on ya spud, make the stupid bugger walk.

hey, you didn't mention 'good afterble consternoon!'. I understand that irritates cops on the booze patrol because they hear it so often from young smartalecs!

[spudchucka]

good on ya spud, make the stupid bugger walk.

hey, you didn't mention 'good afterble consternoon!'. I understand that irritates cops on the booze patrol because they hear it so often from young smartalecs!
That one is a bit like being called a pig. You've generally heard it so many times it doesn't even register. I normally ask them if they thought that up all by themselves and compliment them on how witty they are, they usually shut up then.

[scumdog]

That one is a bit like being called a pig. You've generally heard it so many times it doesn't even register. I normally ask them if they thought that up all by themselves and compliment them on how witty they are, they usually shut up then.

Not only that, if they have been drinking they normally stuff it up!!!!

Good reply when drunk thinks patrol car is taxi? "sorry guy, we're on the way back to the station to clean the car out - the last drunk we gave a lift to spewed all over the back seat"
The normal reply when the cops won't give a drunk a lift is "ya miserable bastards, fuck you if you got into a fight, I'm not helping you" (at that stage most cops probably think "thank god for that!!)
however that reply normally has them saying "stuff that, I'm not getting in there" :puke:

[dangerous]

2 boy racers racing at 200k on tamahere straight with my marked patrol car behind them

Tell me with the old rules, were you had a instsnt ticket up till 50km over then it was of to court and the 50kmph was the limit for a cop car aswell (technicly, and I'm probely thinking back to MOT days) well what is the limit for cop cars now as above you tell it like you are doing 200k's with the boy's? and at what speed does a instsnt fine stop at?

[Lou Girardin]

Thanks for all the extraneous technical guff spud, but I already had it. Still doesn't answer the question though.
I'll just do some tests with a privately owned Stalker laser I know of.
The accuracy figure is interesting, John Kelly swears blind that our Stalkers are accurate to within .6 km/h. Due to 'special' software in our versions.
BTW scumdog, that must be some skilled cop that's able to hold the sight on a moving car at 1.8 km. They should send him to Iraq on a sniper team.

[marty]

Tell me with the old rules, were you had a instsnt ticket up till 50km over then it was of to court and the 50kmph was the limit for a cop car aswell (technicly, and I'm probely thinking back to MOT days) well what is the limit for cop cars now as above you tell it like you are doing 200k's with the boy's? and at what speed does a instsnt fine stop at?
51 k over is a traffic offence notice, roadside loss of licence, and a court appearance. $630 is the max instant fine, up to 50k over.

the pursuit guidelines have been well covered in previous threads - i had lights and siren going - they just didn't see me - too busy racing. there is no max speed policy.

[spudchucka]

Thanks for all the extraneous technical guff spud, but I already had it. Still doesn't answer the question though.
I'll just do some tests with a privately owned Stalker laser I know of.
The accuracy figure is interesting, John Kelly swears blind that our Stalkers are accurate to within .6 km/h. Due to 'special' software in our versions.
BTW scumdog, that must be some skilled cop that's able to hold the sight on a moving car at 1.8 km. They should send him to Iraq on a sniper team.
You know what? I can't even remember what the question was now and a can't be fecked reading back through. Let us know how your tests go.

[scumdog]

Thanks for all the extraneous technical guff spud, but I already had it. Still doesn't answer the question though.
I'll just do some tests with a privately owned Stalker laser I know of.
The accuracy figure is interesting, John Kelly swears blind that our Stalkers are accurate to within .6 km/h. Due to 'special' software in our versions.
BTW scumdog, that must be some skilled cop that's able to hold the sight on a moving car at 1.8 km. They should send him to Iraq on a sniper team.

Nah, Stalker was in a car, target car was coming over a rise at one end of a straight and cop car at the other end.
One oe the other of us has got our radar names screwed up but to my memeory I have never seen a stalker with sights om - rest assure if they did I could still use it at that range :cool: :bleh:

[spudchucka]

Nah, Stalker was in a car, target car was coming over a rise at one end of a straight and cop car at the other end.
One oe the other of us has got our radar names screwed up but to my memeory I have never seen a stalker with sights om - rest assure if they did I could still use it at that range :cool: :bleh:
Stalker is like a brand name. There are stalker radar units fitted to patrol cars and there are hand held stalker laser units. The laser units I've used weren't stalkers though they were "pro laser" as I recall.

[Racey Rider]

I passed a cop car last night which was parallel parked between two other car on the side of the road. He was sitting there in the dark, no tail lights on, but I could see the lights of the radar unit working on his dash. Is that allowed?
I thought they had to have their park lights on while "open for business" at night?

[marty]

when lou was a revenue collector they had to. not any more though

[dangerous]

when lou was a revenue collector they had to. not any more though

Owwwwww......... dats gona hurt.....hehehe ;)

[scumdog]

I passed a cop car last night which was parallel parked between two other car on the side of the road. He was sitting there in the dark, no tail lights on, but I could see the lights of the radar unit working on his dash. Is that allowed?
I thought they had to have their park lights on while "open for business" at night?

I guess some people think it is "not fair" if they don't have their park-lights on? <_<

[Racey Rider]

Just like to know they're playing by the rules,
even if I'm not.

[Lou Girardin]

Owwwwww......... dats gona hert.....hehehe ;)

OOhhh, that did hurt. I'm cut to the quick.

[phil_elvey]

Hey my mate got pinged by an under cover the other day for doing 126 in his car, and he has a Valentine One (which was switched on). Why would that be, they don't have a new radar or anything do they? Or would it have just been an extremely unlikely case of some sort of interference stopping the radar from doing its job? He was mighty brassed anyway...

[spudchucka]

Hey my mate got pinged by an under cover the other day for doing 126 in his car, and he has a Valentine One (which was switched on). Why would that be,
The cop knew how to operate the radar correctly.

[Ghost Lemur]

Hey my mate got pinged by an under cover the other day for doing 126 in his car, and he has a Valentine One (which was switched on). Why would that be, they don't have a new radar or anything do they? Or would it have just been an extremely unlikely case of some sort of interference stopping the radar from doing its job? He was mighty brassed anyway...

Could it be, that the cop didn't have a lazer turned on? And did he's speed via following him. I'm pretty sure they can do that. Spudchucka will probably have a better idea.

[denill]

Hey my mate got pinged by an under cover the other day for doing 126 in his car, and he has a Valentine One (which was switched on). Why would that be,

Your mate wasn't pinged by radar detection..........

The cop was having him on......... Or just a calculated? guess, like they used to do in the old days.

Maybe he was just making up (literally) his quota :Oi: :Oi:

[wkid_one]

The cop knew how to operate the radar correctly.
That is rubbish Spud - even if the police person uses it correctly - the detector will still show a hit - it will just be too late to do anything about it. Only one of two things could account for this: 1. the detector is faulty, 2. He wasn't pinged by radar/laser

[dangerous]

That is rubbish Spud - even if the police person uses it correctly - the detector will still show a hit - it will just be too late to do anything about it. Only one of two things could account for this: 1. the detector is faulty, 2. He wasn't pinged by radar/laser

I agree, but he very well may of been done by laser as it is highly unlikely that a wind screen detecter will pick up a laser strike. I know this first hand the 1m radius (i think) from the number plate misses the wind screen more so on 4x4's a low bonited sports car may be ok.

Phill: how was your mate nicked??

[wkid_one]

I agree, but he very well may of been done by laser as it is highly unlikely that a wind screen detecter will pick up a laser strike. I know this first hand the 1m radius (i think) from the number plate misses the wind screen more so on 4x4's a low bonited sports car may be ok.

Phill: how was your mate nicked??
Disagree again - haven't yet had a cop laser me without the detector going mental.

[dangerous]

Disagree again - haven't yet had a cop laser me without the detector going mental.

What are you driving??? I was done by laser (I was showen it) in my 4x4 Navara and my Escort 8500 never sounded...... however it has more than once on the bike.

[Lou Girardin]

Likewise, if the range is short, the beam will be too narrow to hit the sensor. It depends on the distance that the sensor is from the point of aim. (Usually the number plate)
Having said that, I once had laser alerts for the entire length of the 4 lane section approaching Meremere. The cop was under the overbridge at the end, zapping everything coming down the road. I can only put it down to something on the laser lens diffusing the beam slightly.

[sAsLEX]

Is the max speed ie 50k over still being reduced to 40??

[phil_elvey]

Yeah the cop was coming towards him the other way. He says he sighted the speed on the radar, but hypothesises that the cop got the reading on another car

[spudchucka]

Your mate wasn't pinged by radar detection..........

The cop was having him on......... Or just a calculated? guess, like they used to do in the old days.

Maybe he was just making up (literally) his quota :Oi: :Oi:
Were you there or are you just another master of assumption?

[spudchucka]

That is rubbish Spud - even if the police person uses it correctly - the detector will still show a hit - it will just be too late to do anything about it. Only one of two things could account for this: 1. the detector is faulty, 2. He wasn't pinged by radar/laser
A radar detector wont pick up laser if that is what was used. It takes a split second to get a reading and lock a speed with a stalker, radar detectors are useless if the radar is used correctly. Alternatively the cop has followed the guy for some distance and taken the speed from his own speedo. There wouldn't be many, if any, highway cars that don't have certified speedos. Don't forget also that cops are considered experts by the Court in certain matters, estimation of speed is one of those areas. Following a driver for a couple of kms to get the drivers speed is quite sufficient.

Anyway the original post did not offer enough information to suggest anything other than the guy was outfoxed by a cop who knows what he is doing.

[spudchucka]

Disagree again - haven't yet had a cop laser me without the detector going mental.
How does a radar detector pick up a laser beam? I'll admit to not knowing the apparent capabilities of the things.

[denill]

Yeah the cop was coming towards him the other way. He says he sighted the speed on the radar, but hypothesises that the cop got the reading on another car

Or, that was the reading from a guy he had pinged earlier...........

The HP men on this thread could possibly enlighten, but I have been given to understand that their radar does not diplay the time of day of the zap.

So 'they' can just leave it there and lay it on the next guy and ticket him for that speed also.

Is that:
1 - possible ? :confused:
2 - perpetrated ? :confused:

[wkid_one]

How does a radar detector pick up a laser beam? I'll admit to not knowing the apparent capabilities of the things.
Go to www.radardirect.co.nz (http://www.radardirect.co.nz) - they explain it pretty well. Makes a distinctive noise that scares the shit out of you coz you don't tend to hear it very often.

Typically, given the concentrated nature of the beam - you only get an alert when they are targetting your car. I have had the infrequent reflection - and I mean infrequent.

[wkid_one]

A radar detector wont pick up laser if that is what was used. It takes a split second to get a reading and lock a speed with a stalker, radar detectors are useless if the radar is used correctly. Alternatively the cop has followed the guy for some distance and taken the speed from his own speedo. There wouldn't be many, if any, highway cars that don't have certified speedos. Don't forget also that cops are considered experts by the Court in certain matters, estimation of speed is one of those areas. Following a driver for a couple of kms to get the drivers speed is quite sufficient.

Anyway the original post did not offer enough information to suggest anything other than the guy was outfoxed by a cop who knows what he is doing.
A detector WILL pick up a laser - has with me everytime. The only problem is - once you are hit - it is too late to adjust your speed anyway. The detector WILL tell you you have been lasered tho. Any worth the money you pay should that is.

[denill]

Were you there or are you just another master of assumption?

That reply to my query - (I wrote: Maybe he was just making up (literally) his quota) is an over reaction and appears to be borne from being over defensive. :calm: Am I right in presuming you are an HP??

If so, perhaps you could actually answer the question from your own perspective.

How do you fill YOUR quota on a quiet day ???

[dangerous]

How does a radar detector pick up a laser beam? I'll admit to not knowing the apparent capabilities of the things.

there are only 2 respected radar (radio wave) detecters that can also detect laser light the 8500 and the V1 these detecters have the ability to do both but as W1 says above, the laser warning just tells you you've been done.... unless you wernt speeding.

[scumdog]

Disagree again - haven't yet had a cop laser me without the detector going mental.

Hmmm, if you detector DIDN'T go mental how would you know if you were being laserd??? :confused:

[spudchucka]

Am I right in presuming you are an HP??

No!


How do you fill YOUR quota on a quiet day ???

Dont have one!

[spudchucka]

there are only 2 respected radar (radio wave) detecters that can also detect laser light the 8500 and the V1 these detecters have the ability to do both but as W1 says above, the laser warning just tells you you've been done.... unless you wernt speeding.
Didn't know that any could do that. Wouldn't the beam have to be aimed right at the detector? Its a much more concentrated beam than with radar.

[dangerous]

Wouldn't the beam have to be aimed right at the detector?

Correct, it does and this is why the do not always pick it up. On the bike it will detect, as the detecter is mounted 200mm from your head light but in a car were the copper is aiming at the plate or head lights the a detecter on the wind screen is often out of the lasers reach cos as far as I no the laser has a 1m radis aprox.
This is why the better laser jamers are mounted in the grill and there are usualy 2 of em, one on each side.

[Coldkiwi]

perhaps someone needs to point out that detectors now come in two groups 'laser and radar' and 'radar only'. As dangerours said , the escort and Val1 (I thought Bel 985 too?) will detect laser but you've got to be just about already locking the front wheel to outsmart it and avoid it locking on. I've been hit by a laser when my escort was running and all i knew about it was the Red commodore S turning around as I went past (I wasn't about to argue with the speed reading though because I knew I had been going quicker just before!). The range on the unit said 89 metres so the beam was probably still fairly narrow, hence no hit.

So for the original question about Pete's mate... lasers no good in a moving car so it must've been an 'instant on' type hit from the HP. Which is odd because all detectors should pick that up in a head on situation even if its as the unit locks on. did your mate have the volume turned down pete!?

[phil_elvey]

So for the original question about Pete's mate...

No Harry, my mate had his volume turned up, that's why he is so confused. He also said that the reading was from the unit mounted on the dash. This is definately only a radar isn't it (spud?)? This makes the possibility of the reading being taken on another car quite likely doesn't it (there is incentive for discrimination too as he drives a turbo hot hatch)? And if that was the case, would the behaviour of a respectable radar detector like the Valentine 1 have any standing in a court?

[k14]

If the cop used a radar unit and pinged it anywhere in a 500m or so area of your mate then the detector would have gone off. He can't have used a laser from a moving car cause then it would have detected the combined speed of the cop car and your mates car, ie 220kph or so. I am pretty sure the cop must have just "estimated" his speed, which is a bit of a joke if he was going in the opposite direction. I doubt any human could estimate the speed of on coming cars to any level of accuracy, especially at a combined speed of over 200kph.

[spudchucka]

No Harry, my mate had his volume turned up, that's why he is so confused. He also said that the reading was from the unit mounted on the dash. This is definately only a radar isn't it (spud?)? This makes the possibility of the reading being taken on another car quite likely doesn't it (there is incentive for discrimination too as he drives a turbo hot hatch)? And if that was the case, would the behaviour of a respectable radar detector like the Valentine 1 have any standing in a court?
Dash mounted unit would definately be a radar. The quality / reputation of a radar detector would not have any standing in Court as far as I am aware.

[phil_elvey]

Hey, here's the update, my mate has had yet more luck:
He got the ticket today, for doing 121kph. Now he only has 25 points on his license but being done at 121 puts him in the 35 point category, so he will lose his license unless he can convice the authorities to ticket him in 120 or under range.

Any ideas on how to go about this??? He would be very appreciative.

[wkid_one]

Ask Zed - he may have a direct line to the big guy - other than that - he is fucked...

You could try pleading - but given the present state of mind about speeding - I think it will fall on deaf ears.

My suggestion - get as much riding in as possible between now and when the balliff arrives to take the license away

[wkid_one]

The quality / reputation of a radar detector would not have any standing in Court as far as I am aware.
Actually to the contrary more than likely - they highlight the fact you are a habitual speeder. The LAST thing you would want to do in court is go 'but he didn't register on my radar detector!' - the judge will just go 'and if you abibe by the law, there is no need to HAVE one'...

[FROSTY]

go directly to jail--do not pass go -do not collect $200
only way to get it under 120 is at the time of ticketing -if the cop feels like being a semi nice guy

[marty]

i had a guy defend his ticket on the basis that his radar detector didn't go off. the justices laughed at him. literally. instant on on the stalker, in stationary mode, takes less than 1/2 a second to pick the speed - it doesn't have to calculate the patrol car speed first. the total burst time could have been less than 1 second. there are plenty of occasions that detectors haven't picked up radar. if he has it mounted low on the screen, and the beam had bounced off the road, then it may not have been sufficient for the valentine to register before the beam was turned off. i'd say he's fucked. i'll give him $200 for his detector......he'll have $30 change to go and get pissed with :)

[marty]

Or, that was the reading from a guy he had pinged earlier...........

The HP men on this thread could possibly enlighten, but I have been given to understand that their radar does not diplay the time of day of the zap.

So 'they' can just leave it there and lay it on the next guy and ticket him for that speed also.

Is that:
1 - possible ? :confused:
2 - perpetrated ? :confused:
1. of course it's possible. it's just unlikely. why would a cop risk his job for a piddly 122k?

2. i have never known for it to happen.

hell, if you leave the radar in stationary mode, then go driving, it adds your own speed to that of cars coming towards you - why not write everyone up for 200km/h?

he should at least ask to see the police copy of the ticket, the radar log book, and some proof that the officer is certified to operate the radar equipment before he pays it.