Radar Detectors

[Squeak the Rat]

I believe the STi is same as the rx65 except it is harder to detect with a radar-detector-detector. As they are not illegal (currently) in NZ, I'd save $500 and go with the rx65. In fact I just did last week. And can reccomend cartertonryan (see Lous post).

[Swoop]

Even though this has been done before, so I'm happy to add my $2.35 As far as I understand...

Sounds like the features on the BEL RX 65Pro to me.

There are a couple of things that neither detectors nor jammers can save you from:
1) Instant on radar or laser - Cop sitting on side of road with laser/radar off. Waits till you're in range and wham! turns it on... Radar detector / laser jammer goes off at the same time your speed registers on cop's device

A laser jammer will jam instant-on laser. A cop does not sit there with the trigger mashed down. An individual "shot" will be taken to get the reading of a vehicle, so your laser jammer will be effective and provide a blank reading on their readout.
Laser jammers are legal in nz, radar jammers are not.

Obviously not all V1's are the same. Mine virtually NEVER falses. Mine was bought thru radar direct and is "tuned for NZ" whatever that means - it works!.

You have two bands turned off to avoid the false alerts.

I think the HARD system (at least presently) only works with the V1 and the Escort.

And the BEL...

[Jantar]

I use the Escort X50. As Quasi and What? have already mentioned, the Escort and the Bel are essentially the same unit, and both are currently slightly better than the Valentine. But any of these top end units are all pretty good.

No radar dectector will stop you getting a ticket if the cop is waiting with his radar on standby. When he targets you is when he gets a lock, and your radar detector will only tell you that you are already caught. However, its when he does that to a vehicle a km in front of you that you also get a warning that there is a revenue collector in the area. Then there are some cops who are lazy and just drive around with their radar on all the time. These ones are easy to detect.

Most bikes present a small reflective area to radar and laser, which means you need to be closer to them tbefore they get a lock, This often means you may have an extra second or two to wash off any excess speed.

I mount my detector above the instruments so its read out is immediately in my eye. And rather than use an earplug or a HARD system, I have a 95db screamer made from a smoke detector that I can hear over the wind and engine noise at 130 kmh.

[The_Dover]

I believe the STi is same as the rx65

dunno, I've never been to the doc for an rx65.

[The_Dover]

How do laser jammers work?

They jam lasers.

[Swoop]

They jam lasers.

[Jantar]

How do laser jammers work?

Here is a note on how the Blinder works:
The BLINDER X-TREME LASER JAMMER is the newest and most effective laser jamming equipment on the market and it employs the fastest digital signal processing technology available in the non-military arena. When you are hit with a police laser gun, the BLINDER X-TREME LASER JAMMER immediately identifies the type of laser equipment and established a series of infrared pulses in front of your vehicle that disrupts the return of the laser pulses to the laser gun. The return pulse, if any, is scrambled, and the speed cannot be calculated. This is the same laser jamming stealth technology employed in the Iraq theater. The BLINDER X-TREME LASER JAMMER sets the highest standard for laser defense systems in the automotive market.

Because Laser uses light waves, not radio waves, transmitting light is legal and hence the jammers are legal. Here is an evaluation report on the effectiveness of laser jammers. It worked on 117 out of 120 tests.

FIELD EVALUATION REPORT
BY SPEED MEASUREMENT LABORATORIES, INC.
Evaluated Product: Laser Blinder
Evaluation Date: 8 August 2003
Evaluation Location: Stan Roberts Senior Road, El Paso, TX
Personnel: Sgt. Victor Araiza, El Paso ISD Police, Officer Patrick Linam, El Paso ISD Police, Carl Fors, SML, Dave Adams E.E., SML, Cory Jensen, SML, Liz Hermida, SML, Torben Andersen, Blinder, Leon Gruner, Blinder,
F. John Turner,
1-Radar-Laser-Jammers-Detectors.com
Conditions: Clear, 92-100 F°
Report Number: SML0803:17
Report Date: 12 August 03
Certifications: Sgt. Araiza, Officer Linam, and Carl Fors Certified Laser Gun Operators, NHTSA, standard

Evaluation Methodology: Blinder produces a laser countermeasure designed to produce no speed readings when it encounters police laser guns. Court president established by New Jersey Superior Court ruling of 1998, Judge Reginald Stanton, dictates laser may not be used for speed assessment at distances greater than 1,000 feet. Current police training programs also recommend no targeting past this distance as the divergence of the laser gun's 904 nanometer, 3 milliradian, beam would be greater than 36 inches producing a likelihood of erroneous speed readings from adjacent vehicles. All laser guns were operated by either Sgt. Araiza or Officer Linam. No speed assessment equipment, i.e. police radar and/or laser guns are ever operated by SML personnel eliminating any suggestions of testing bias. Both Sgt. Araiza and Officer Linam are certified laser operators. They were instructed to operate the laser guns as they do each day in issuing speeding tickets. The following police laser guns were used during the field evaluation: Kustom Pro Laser III, Stalker LZ-1, Laser Technologies Inc. Ultralyte LR 200, and Laser Atlanta Speed Laser.

Officers are trained to aim laser guns at front license plates as the plates provide an excellent retro-reflective surface. Laser needs a flat reflective surface to be effective and can not be aimed at windshields. In the absence of a front license plate, as is the case in seventeen states, officers aim the laser at the headlights of the target vehicle. As is the case with all SML field evaluations, only white mid-sized cars are used as target vehicles. This is the most difficult scenario for laser countermeasures as white is the most reflective color and easily targetable by laser compared to non-reflective black vehicles. Optical physics dictates white reflects all colors, while black absorbs all colors including police laser gun emissions.

Cones were placed on the test course at distances of 1,000 and 500 feet. The test vehicle approached each cone at two different speeds, i.e. 30 mph and then 60 mph. This approximates laser being used in the city and then the highway J setting. Speed is important in defeating laser guns.

The longer the laser beam remains on the target vehicle the greater chance of a speed reading. The slower 30 mph should yield more speed readings.

All laser guns were operated in the constant tracking mode compared to the single shot mode. This is the typical operational methodology used by police agencies as the constant tracking mode shows fluctuations in target vehicle speeds and further substantiates the legality of "visual tracking history" which is necessary for thorough and legal speed assessment.

The vehicle containing the Blinder approached each cone and counted down via a two way commercial radio when it arrived at each cone. The officer then fired the laser. There were two tries at each speed and each aiming point, i.e. first the license plate and then the passenger headlight. Laser guns were operated outside the base vehicle on the shoulder of the same lane as the test/target vehicle.

The test vehicle was first targeted from the front and then from the rear going away from the laser guns. Rear targeting with police laser is rare. Combining front and rear aiming of all four laser guns, Blinder was exposed to 120 laser encounters. Blinder was also exposed to Laser Atlanta's Speed Laser set in the Stealth mode. This mode claims it can not be jammed. For field testing purposes Blinder's transponders were not concealed in the vehicle's front cowling or rear bumper assembly. This mounting neither enhanced nor diminished the normal placement performance. Blinder consists of two front and two rear mounted transponders. Under actual usage, Blinder's transponders would be concealed to avoid recognition. See picture at right for normal, concealed installation.

Results: One of the four laser guns inform the operator if the laser gun is being jammed. Stalker produce jamming codes of E-6 accordingly.

However, these codes can be produced by other outside influences such as direct sun light and road mirages and are often ignored by operators. E 1 code means insufficient data. Jamming efficiency is reported in three forms, i.e. JTG meaning Jam To Gun, J meaning Jam, and N meaning no jamming occurred. JTG further means the laser countermeasure jammed the laser gun from the point of first encounter, 500 and 1000 foot cone, to the laser gun's position. J means countermeasure jammed the laser gun but uncloaked at some distance as is reported as J (210).

The countermeasure jammed the laser gun but uncloaked at 210 feet. Note rear results reported as J or N as Blinder could not JTG going away from gun. Blinder notifies driver with in cabin speaker.

CLICK HERE for Hard Data from the Test Results

Summary: Laser Blinder during its 120 encounters with four laser guns with different aiming points, different speeds, from the front and the rear of the target vehicle failed to jam only four times out of the 120 encounters resulting in a jamming efficiency percentage of 97%. Noted speed reception distances were averaged between the two tries in each category.

Based on the field performance of Laser Blinder, it is awarded Speed Measurement Laboratories Inc. "Performance Certification" as it performed as advertised in jamming all police laser guns.

This "Performance Certification" is awarded for one year from the date of this report. It is confirmed all police laser guns were operated by certified police officers in accordance with standards established by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, IACP, and operational guidelines set forth by NHTSA. All laser guns used during the field evaluation are certified by the IACP as they appear on its web site of www.iacp.org.

The results were witnessed by the attending police officers, SML staff, and representatives of Laser Blinder.

Speed Measurement Laboratories Inc. neither condones nor condemns the use of the products it field evaluates. The results of this field evaluation should not be construed as an endorsement of the product, but as a factual representation of the product's performance. Products were evaluated under ideal testing conditions and individual performance may vary. SML's "Performance Certification" logo is a trademark of Speed Measurement Laboratories, Inc. and may not be used, duplicated, nor reproduced without the expressed, written permission of the company as covered by the copyright law of the United States.



Results Attested To:


Carl Fors. B.S.
President
Speed Measurement Laboratories, Inc.
FCC Licensee RS Radiolocation KNNN392
Certified Radar/Laser Instructor/LES

CF/rd
file
SML Report #0308:17

[Lou Girardin]

They jam lasers.

Simply put, they emit a very wide beam of laser light at the same freq as the Stalker. This disrupts the return signal.
Visualise your laser as a torch and the jammer as thick smoke. Some jammers aren't as smokey as others and the laser beam punches through at short range.

[The_Dover]

I would actually use the analogy of shining at torch in the dark to try and illuminate and object. You see the object by the light that is reflected off it. Now if some smart arse hiding on or around that object, let's call him Mr Jammer, shines a fucking big torch right back at you then you are "blinded" and your eyes see the light he is shining, rather than the light waves reflected off the object you are looking at.

Simple enough for you Piggy? Or would you like me to get my crayons out and draw you an ickle picture?

[Pixie]

I think he is ironing his blouse?

I think they are a waste of time in the sense that by the time they have detected a laser locking onto you the officer has locked it and into the process of pulling you over or noting your plate.

They radar detection doesn't work well when cops adopt the passive scanning technique.

You can't get a wholeproof system that will protect you, it comes down to luck and chance more than anything....and if you decide to speed.

Ha Ha Ha .....funny cops

[Pixie]

I was on ACC funded taxis for about a year, and my regular driver had a V1. It used to chirp / alarm the whole bloody way to work, and the whole way back, and there was never ever any bloody police car or speed van. It was picking up petrol stations, garage doors, other detectors (according to the excuses my embarrased driver used to make up), etc... If you want your own mind made up, go to a shop and ask to look at the two, it's quickly quite obvious which detector is the one to go for, even if you go on looks alone. The V1 looks very tired.

The idiot had it programmed wrong

You still can't beat the V1's front and rear antennas

[Ixion]

Simply put, they emit a very wide beam of laser light at the same freq as the Stalker. This disrupts the return signal.
Visualise your laser as a torch and the jammer as thick smoke. Some jammers aren't as smokey as others and the laser beam punches through at short range.

Does not this imply, though, that the jammer's emitter must be mounted at pretty nearly the point the laser cop is aiming at? So if he aims at something different the jammer won't "see" the laser beam? E.G. aim at the rider's helmet? (I have considered mounting a radar detector on my helmet. There are problems)

[The_Dover]

E.G. aim at the rider's helmet?

Would be hidden by the tank surely?

(I have considered mounting a radar detector on my helmet. There are problems)

Won't the velcro stick? Or will it not detect thru your pants?

[Pixie]

Does not this imply, though, that the jammer's emitter must be mounted at pretty nearly the point the laser cop is aiming at? So if he aims at something different the jammer won't "see" the laser beam? E.G. aim at the rider's helmet? (I have considered mounting a radar detector on my helmet. There are problems)

The jammer's main efficiency is that it transmits a signal many orders of magnitude greater than the cop's lidar unit's echo.So the echo is lost in noise.
The jammers use IR LEDs not lasers,with a beam divergence of 20 or 30 degrees.

Although the claims for other detectors being better than V1 are technically true, this is a narrow measurement of staight line of sight detection distance.
I've had a > 6km contact on the V1 on a straight road beside a canal,This is largely irrelevant on our winding,hilly roads.

[Lou Girardin]

Does not this imply, though, that the jammer's emitter must be mounted at pretty nearly the point the laser cop is aiming at? So if he aims at something different the jammer won't "see" the laser beam? E.G. aim at the rider's helmet? (I have considered mounting a radar detector on my helmet. There are problems)

Yes. One transmitter unit suffices for bikes, but cars need two and trucks, big 4WD's etc need 4.

The cops aim at the best reflector, reg plate, headlights etc.