# radar detectors.. what are you running? thinking of possibly doing this...



## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

With false alarms and with instant on radar these systems are pretty useless. Save your money for any actual tickets you get.


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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

Just a thought ,,, ya might be presumed to be a professional speeder when ya rack up a few on yer record .... so me advise at this moment would be for ya to get a rearview and front camera so you can see them as you are getting pulled over again .. hey there are even DVR's for your cruzen . shoot I need 1 of them for the Gooferballs in front of Me these days and nights ...


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## Soopah_Troopah (May 18, 2014)

The only time a detector really comes in handy is if someone is sitting stationary on a long stretch of highway and checking everyone's speed, most guys i work with use lazer now anyway, and only check cars they visually estimate to be way over the limit,and a detector wont pick that up until you're already hit, the same goes for radar, when i sit anywhere i don't leave it on, and only check speeds of cars that appear to be going fast, if i'm not actively using the radar, you're detector isn't picking it up.


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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

Ya Know we have all of these technical gadgets to detect Vehichles , planes , flocks of birds , Ghost images , weatherballoons . satelites, Planets , Quazars, Blackholes . the Mathematics to get to the moon and back .. 

But we cannot hear a UFO ( Extraterrestrial ) or Even a Bigfoot !


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Soopah_Troopah said:


> The only time a detector really comes in handy is if someone is sitting stationary on a long stretch of highway and checking everyone's speed, most guys i work with use lazer now anyway, and only check cars they visually estimate to be way over the limit,and a detector wont pick that up until you're already hit, the same goes for radar, when i sit anywhere i don't leave it on, and only check speeds of cars that appear to be going fast, if i'm not actively using the radar, you're detector isn't picking it up.


Yeah you guys really don't take much effort to hide as much as the city cops. If they speed past you, they literally are oblivious to the entire roadway around them. 


Back in my pro III days, even with the butt stock attached you aren't gonna snipe cars the entire time you sit there. With radar I pretty much played around with hold feature just to see you tap the brakes each time then come investigate the illegal radar detector you appear to be using. We didn't use the fancy equipment Virgina state uses to find laser detectors.


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## boneheaddoctor (Dec 10, 2014)

I've always wanted a valentine One. But I have too many vehicles and being in Virgina....I'd have to keep it out of sight. Cops will impound them here if they see one hanging from the visor. Military plates let the cop to decide to let me keep mine one time that happened. He was driving behind me....noticed it and saw it light up like a christmas tree when he hit his radar gun. Thats all the reason they need to pull you over here.

Oh trust me....Lidar (laser) tickets can sometimes be beat if you know what you are doing. I've done it. More than once. But it helps immensely if you have an electronic Engineering degree and know intimately how these things work.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I don't use a radar detector. The simple way to avoid tickets is to stay close to the speed limit. I've driven across the US several times using this rule and haven't had a ticket since I was in college. I've even passed police who were running about 5 MPH under the posted speed limit - set the cruise to the speed limit and stayed in the left lane while laughing at all the idiots who don't know either the speed limit or their actual speed. Personally I think anyone who uses their brakes when they see a speed trap should be pulled over and ticketed for inattention to their driving - not aware of their speed. Now, if the officer has a customer or is otherwise out of their car pull over and/or slow down for safety. Way too many police are killed while out of their cars.

If you do get a radar detector, be aware that while Federal Law specifically allows individuals to own equipment to receive any radio frequency that isn't in a restricted band, there is no such law for laser detection. Police radar is also used for local area dispatch and communications. Unfortunately some states, notably Virginia and Maryland, refuse to honor Federal Law and will pull you over and confiscate a radar detector even if it's not plugged in.


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## Dvan5693 (Jul 8, 2014)

http://www.amazon.com/Escort-Passpo...qid=1422849693&sr=8-3&keywords=radar+detector 

Or

http://www.amazon.com/Escort-Passpo...8&qid=1422849704&sr=8-1&keywords=passport+max

I know numerous people who use the 9500ix, on their motorcycles and vehicles, they own multiple. They work phenomenally. I don't own one however I've personally seen them work great. They will starting going off as far as 1 mile+ at times. We used one on a trip from Michigan to North Carolina and there were multiple times we got warned and just simply slowed down. Sometimes never even saw the cop, or noticed them not actually on the highway. Or if we did see them, they were at LEAST 1/2 mile down the road and over a hill, waiting or had someone pulled over. 

I would not spend my time wasting these if they weren't amazing products who tons of people I know swear by. They both have GPS's in them so they record dummy signals, camera's, garage door sensors, etc. 

*Good Luck.*


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## CHEVYCRUZE RS (Mar 29, 2011)

What the h ell do you need a radar detector in a chevy cruze for man? haha im playing but for real save your money buy a subie  ...... or a tune lol


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## rcclockman (Jan 16, 2012)

I have the old $300 escort, with the x band,K Band and POP turned off, I Really only need the KA Band for California Hwy Patrol, And Laser for City of La Motorcycle cops... I only turn the K Band on when traveling into Simi Valley.....


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## rcclockman (Jan 16, 2012)

wired directly into the map lights...


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## CHEVYCRUZE RS (Mar 29, 2011)

just do the speed limits man lol, my cruze struggles over here on the highways im maxing out at 160 people beside me on Toronto roads are just getting started


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## MilTownSHO (Oct 9, 2013)

I think your wasting your money.

As someone stated above, when I was on patrol I rarely left it on unless I was parked and just listening to the tones (higher tone = faster speed)

Normally I would just point and shoot at cars that appeared to be going way to fast.

Most of the time I would use moving radar anyhow and turn it on and off.

In other words the only use for the radar detector is letting you know your about to get pulled over.


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## Patman (May 7, 2011)

I know most all police in Ohio area use laser instead of radar anymore so as a few people already said, don't waste your money and just stay close to the speed limit. Most police I have encountered usually state within 15 MPH over is OK. I had an ESCORT radar detector back in the 80s was good for picking up door openers and radar back then. I still have an radar detector I don't think I used it for years. I just try to stay with traffic and all is good.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

15 over they hang you around these parts. 7-8 is the wiggle space unless it's East Cleveland and the faux active school zone 20 mph speed cameras on a 35 mph street. Those cameras are commonly found in school zones of closed schools and in large municipality uncut grass lots w/o any markings. No laser detector will protect you from this type of warfare.


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## Classy56 (Jul 16, 2014)

Laser jammers are the way to go in areas that use LIDAR. Detectors just give you a few more seconds to clean up your car before talking to The Man and signing the ticket. Waze is an awesome app too! "Police reported ahead"


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## boneheaddoctor (Dec 10, 2014)

Classy56 said:


> Laser jammers are the way to go in areas that use LIDAR. Detectors just give you a few more seconds to clean up your car before talking to The Man and signing the ticket. Waze is an awesome app too! "Police reported ahead"


I've seen somewhere that the effectiveness of those Laser Jammers were mythbusted, Meaning the don't work as claimed. And actual Radar Jammers are unsafe (beside being illegal radio transmitters under FCC regulations). Though they are not actually that difficult to build.


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## Classy56 (Jul 16, 2014)

Think we're thinking of two different things here. The laser jammer I have uses two receivers/transmitter in the front bumper and one in the rear bumper. It's not he cheap Rockie Mountain BS unit that hangs from suction cup from the windshield.
They work well, and there are numerous You-Tube vids with them in action. Being a LASER receive and transmitter, they are regulated by the FDA.


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## boneheaddoctor (Dec 10, 2014)

Nope...those are exactly what I was talking about. Also you can't believe everything you see on You-tube or anyplace else. Just like all the "products" sold th defeat red light cameras. Short of a james bond revolving liscense plate, you run it its going to ake it and it will be able to be read.

Lidar is Infrared lazer...WHats the speed of light? There is nothing thats going to react to a detected beam in that short of a time. How big of a beam is a laser beam...not big, right. Imagine how much power you will have to disperse in literally every direction to overpower and literally wash out the reflected beam. Quite intense actually. 

A lot of things sound good in theory but fall apart when you really start to dig into the nitty gritty of the design and implementation. It is however fairly safe....(within reason).

Now the radar jammers...not all that tough to make....problem there is the jammer ends up being very much like a microwave oven with the door removed and the safety lock defeated. THat ananlogy is a lot more accurate than you might think. Microwave oven magnitrons can be modified to operate on the right frequencies and we all know how effective those are in heating up your lunch.

I personally knew a few people that made working ones.....and they proved intelligence doesn't always go hand in hand with common sense. I'm curious if any of them ever managed to have kids later.

Yes I worked in the industry where we had all the test gear needed to measure the frequencies to do the modifications back then. We also completely built cable boxes desinged to get everything for free.....as side projects if you were part of the inncer circle of the engineers and techs that designed them.

Safest tactic to use is don't be one of the faster drivers out there. You don't have to be the slowest either, but let some people drive significantly faster than you and keep your eyes on their brake lights as they disappear in the distance. THey will hit their brakes if they see a cop....even if they don't get pulled over. Not foolproof. But it is reasonably effective.

As far as the regulation claims.... do some research....you will find they are debunked. ANd unless its a real health hazzard..the FTC tends to chase after the bigger fish to fry....unless enough people complain.

THey still sell those X-Rayglasses don't they......didn't work too well either (more like not at all) and they have been hawking those since at LEAST the 1950's. Same with the numerous snake oil products that claim to significantly increase fuel economy that come and go all the time. Usually when fuel prices spike.


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## Slammed2014Eco (Feb 13, 2014)

Merc6 said:


> 15 over they hang you around these parts. 7-8 is the wiggle space unless it's East Cleveland and the faux active school zone 20 mph speed cameras on a 35 mph street. Those cameras are commonly found in school zones of closed schools and in large municipality uncut grass lots w/o any markings. No laser detector will protect you from this type of warfare.


15 over here in CO is reckless driving if I remember right... Was 20 over in Virginia when I used to live there. Don't ask me how I know  That's why I don't have my STi anymore :'(


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## boneheaddoctor (Dec 10, 2014)

Slammed2014Eco said:


> 15 over here in CO is reckless driving if I remember right... Was 20 over in Virginia when I used to live there. Don't ask me how I know  That's why I don't have my STi anymore :'(


OH yeah.... Got pulled over doing more than that on a 4 lane divided highway with a 30 mph limit at night going downhill...at least the cop claimed I was. (and I might have been). SMooth talking, being someone NOT in my 20's, and lucky enough to have a cop that wasn't a PITA with a chip on his or her shoulder....and I drove away with a disobeying a traffic sign ticket. Something WAY, WAY less than it could have been.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

boneheaddoctor said:


> Safest tactic to use is don't be one of the faster drivers out there. You don't have to be the slowest either, but let some people drive significantly faster than you and keep your eyes on their brake lights as they disappear in the distance. THey will hit their brakes if they see a cop....even if they don't get pulled over. Not foolproof. But it is reasonably effective.


Ah, the art of stealth speeding. Don't speed alone. Let someone else be faster. Don't blow by other cars (unless they are well under the limit.) Don't drive something with stripes or flames.


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## Damean (Feb 14, 2014)

Classy56 said:


> Laser jammers are the way to go in areas that use LIDAR. Detectors just give you a few more seconds to clean up your car before talking to The Man and signing the ticket. Waze is an awesome app too! "Police reported ahead"


Big big fan of Waze. Great app.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

ChevyGuy said:


> Ah, the art of stealth speeding. Don't speed alone. Let someone else be faster. Don't blow by other cars (unless they are well under the limit.) Don't drive something with stripes or flames.


Don't be car #2 either. I had a guy in front of me doing well over the limit down hill in PA where the speed went from 65 to 55 I don't know where. He saw the cop, switched lanes, and locked his brakes up. By the time i figured out why it was too late.


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## Classy56 (Jul 16, 2014)

Laser jammer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Well, anyways this works for me.


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## sweatervestswag (Jan 14, 2015)

I use a Cobra SPX-5300 which you can find for under $100 easily. It works pretty well for both radar and laser, normally picking up both moving and stationary radar with room to spare.


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## boneheaddoctor (Dec 10, 2014)

Well....bad idea to rely on Wikipedia. Sometimes they are right....but I've found enough instances they are completely wrong. Also know a few people that at least claimed to be editors on it. They were all very biased people....who were wrong about things more often than they were right. But that's neither here nor there. I've also found Snopes to be wrong on several occasions too in several situations I had direct first hand experience and knowledge.

I've learned to be very pessimistic about what I hear, read or see from any other individual. Everyone puts their spin on things no matter how objective they claim to be. Its human nature.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Have an older nine band Cobra detector that works very well, operates off of 12V so could make a short cord of the sun visor and hide it under the shaded part of the windshield.

But would drive you nuts if operated in the city with all these radar automatic doors. And also with Doppler shift, that shift is non-detectable, so if you slam on the brakes, your speed will show much greater.

Haven't used it in years, your Cruze has a spy box hidden on the inside, even OnStar knows how fast you are driving and a lot of talk of providing this information to the government if they haven't done it already.

So just threw in the towel and follow the speed limits. One thing about the Cruze, is if I see a 45 mph sign way far ahead, kill the cruise, takes that long for this darn thing to slow down and hate using the brakes but will downshift. And sure enough will be a cop hidden behind a tree.

Became so paranoid, would even put on my safety belt when moving my Cruze in a parking lot from one spot to another, if some guy pulls out and hits me, the law will know I am not wearing my safety belt. Besides that ding ding ding drives me nuts.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Merc6 said:


> Don't be car #2 either. I had a guy in front of me doing well over the limit down hill in PA where the speed went from 65 to 55 I don't know where. He saw the cop, switched lanes, and locked his brakes up. By the time i figured out why it was too late.


Years ago before Pennsylvania raised their speed limit from 55 to 65 I came up the I-70 hill in West Virginia at 70 MPH. The PA trooper saw me but couldn't do anything until I had passed the welcome sign with the new speed limit posted. I went by that sign at 54 MPH. That trooper tailgated me for 20 miles hoping I would speed up just so he could pull me over for speeding. All I had to say to him was :signs065:


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