Radar Detectors? What do you think?

[Jeff_in_Atl]

"Anyone know of anywhere close to atlanta that you can drive pretty much as fast as you want? Like just a big oval race track or something... or a stretch of highway inbetween counties or something."

I-285 1 lap is 60 miles. People treat it like an oval race track. Ga400 is the same way. AMS or Road Atlanta. No where on the streets.

I can say where not to speed. 285 from Perimeter mall to Memorial drive. Anywhere in Chambodia, Doraville, Norcross, Lilburn, or any other small town with it's own police department. Chamblee has LT1 Impalla SSs, Mustang GTs, LE1 Z28s, to go with a handfull of crown Vics and they are all black. They also use laser. I20 between Villa Rica and I-285. US441/Ga365 through Tallulah Gorge. Ga 316 from I85 to Lawrencville.

[Zippo910]

i use the Express 920 by bel, and i have been very happy with it picking up radar, most of my driving is done on the interstate when i drive back and forward form college to home. i have never been pulled.

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

Originally posted by briantech
Anyone know of anywhere close to atlanta that you can drive pretty much as fast as you want? Like just a big oval race track or something... or a stretch of highway inbetween counties or something.

A buddy of mine from Atlanta told me about the Georgia 400, if that's what you are referring to...

[Christopherrr]

"I-285 1 lap is 60 miles. People treat it like an oval race track. Ga400 is the same way. AMS or Road Atlanta. No where on the streets.

I can say where not to speed. 285 from Perimeter mall to Memorial drive. Anywhere in Chambodia, Doraville, Norcross, Lilburn, or any other small town with it's own police department. Chamblee has LT1 Impalla SSs, Mustang GTs, LE1 Z28s, to go with a handfull of crown Vics and they are all black. They also use laser. I20 between Villa Rica and I-285. US441/Ga365 through Tallulah Gorge. Ga 316 from I85 to Lawrencville."

285 is 55 mph all the way around...but 65-70 is the citizen's speedlimit...I stay in under 70 on 285. GA400 is Georgia's version of the Autobahn...lots of hills but you can see miles down. Crazy rich people in fast cars. Cobb got GTP Grand Prixs...but DeKalb has the fastest cars though (jeff knows).

I'm saving up for a Valentine 1 myself...400 smackers, not easy to come by. Oh well, let hope it'll save me from tickets and it'll pay for itself eventually.

[N20LT4Bird]

Guys -Unfortunately, I am the ticket getting / fighting champion of the world. I have been driving for 8 years and have been pulled over more times than I can count (literally). I am not an idiot driver - street racing, weaving etc. But, the younger guys know how it is - a young guy in a fast car is an automatic pull over - loud exhaust, no front plate, air freshener on the rearview etc... basically harrassment.

I joined the national motorist association about a year or so ago and I am very well prepared to fight the tickets I get - I have 0 points on my liscense today.

These guys are good - they send you books and tapes on how to stand up for yourself in court and it is great info - and they use your membership money to lobby against speed traps and other illegal stuff that cops do all the time.

http://www.motorists.com/

go to "member benefits" and check it out.

By the way....theres some good advice about how to "use a radar detector" going on in this thread.

[2cub49]

My 80.00 Radio Shack has saved me many times. The cops around here all have their rollling radar on all the time. I also have a K40 Laser Jammer with an absorbing plate cover. Just got a Scorpion Active Radar Jammer that beats instant on radar. It's the newer version of the Phantom as listed on the site below. The guy changed the name because phantom waqs too close in name to the useless phazer passive radar jammer. I paid 500.00 for mine direct from Scorpion. I'll see if I can find that link.

http://www.1-radar-laser-jammers-detectors.com/

[Kevin M]

Cops point of view. Extra long.

Hey guys, some of you know me from previous advice in the same area. Having been on the trigger pulling side of the radar for over 13 years I have a couple cents I'll throw in. I'll tell you right up front that I don't have a detector. It's not that I don't want to speed, it's really that I'd be especially embarrassed to get pulled over considering I'm supposed to be setting the example.

As far as detectors go:

1. Don't buy crap. If you're going to do it, don't get a low end model. The high end is just barely going to give you an edge, so spend the money if you decide to do it.

2. Don't get comfortable with it. Sometimes people get so comfortable thinking they are going to get away with speeding that they let slip more and more. You're best bet is to stay alert and be reasonable.

3. Realize that if I see that you spent a few hundred dollars to buy an piece of equipment which only use is to get out of tickets, I'm probably figuring you got away with enough already. Seeing a detector is almost a certain ticket, even if I stopped you for something else. So get a covert one or hide the stupid thing before I get up to the car. But don't look like your hiding something or you're going to get searched. PS, suction cup marks and coiled powered cords are a big giveaway.

4. I use instant on 100 % of the time, both when I'm parked and when I'm moving. Ka band Stalker DSR 2X. I can either switch on the front antenna, the rear or both at the same time. Not only that, but it tracks not only the most reflective target, but also the FASTEST target. The old days you could hide behind a bigger car. Now I can see what the fastest car is doing and it's not a big feat to pick out the fastest car in the pack.

Some little things to clear up out of the rest of the responses. I'm not sure what Jeff 95 is talking about scanning. Police radar doesn't "scan" anything. It emits a microwave beam (speed of light) and measures the compression of the same reflected beam's wavelength. Goes right out the gun and right back into it. Laser is the same but instead of a cone of microwave it sends out a pinpoint of IR light. Most department's got away from x band because it was "low" tech. It's only advantage was range in weather. On the other hand there was a lot of interference so you couldn't use the radar is some locations cause you'd get weird readings out of nowhere. K band was next with shorter range but outside the radar detectors of the time ability to pick up. Ka band is the most prevelant. The range is shortest, but with a 2 mile range, who cares? You're going to get shot at under 1/2 mile anyway since I have to be able to see you speeding visually anyway. That's pretty hard to do with a speck that is a mile away. Ka band also is harder for detectors to pick up because it shifts frequencies within the Ka band. Ka band radars also give a reading a lot quicker which allows me to lock a lot quicker. I don't have to lock, but I prefer to when giving a citation.

Lastly, laser (lidar) is a whole 'nother story. It's cool, but it's harder to use. Instead of having your head up, you have to look through a target recticle. You can pick one car out of a pack, but if you use a radar with a wide beam and using fastest target radar, you can watch a whole pack of traffic and pick the fastest guy youself. Once you have him, you can lock onto him from there. With laser you'd have to shoot each car seperately. The newer lasers shoot through rain and windshields, so you don't have to do it from an open window on on a clear day anymore. Even better (worse) is they are mating digital cameras to the laser guns. Takes a picture of you and imprints the date, time, and speed.

Where the detector is going to help is when I'm shooting someone close to me and you're still a couple miles downrange. The reflection off the guy I'm shooting is going to scatter so you'll pick it up. But if you're not paying attention you might miss the detector's signal or pass it off as a false. Then when you get close, I'll hit you with it. I can get a reading in about 1/10th of a second. A full 2 seconds will get me a perfect track and lock. Since your perception time and then your reaction time is going to take at least 1 second, I've got plenty of time to lock you in before you even know what's hit you. I have to admit it's funny to watch guys with detectors. They'll be cruising along at 54 in a 35 when suddenly their detector lights up. I can actually see it on radar as they brake hard. They can't see me and nothing jumped in front of them, so you can tell they have a detector cause there would be no reason for them to slow so much just out of the blue.

Lastly, to get out of a ticket... If you're doing 15 over, 99% of the time you're going to get one. You're best bet is to be honest and most of all courteous. Someone with a bad attitude isn't going to get a warning because I don't think he's actually going to heed it. Making something up like I have to pee is soooo worn. Why didn't you stop at that fast food place one block away? If I let you go now, you have to pee even worse, does that mean you're going to have to go even faster? So let me get this straight, you have to pee so much that is what is on your mind? So you're speeding AND you're distracted.

Next, do everything right. Pull over to the RIGHT! Turn off your engine and turn on your interior lights. DO have ALL your paperwork. Someone that can't even give me the correct paperwork doesn't strike me as the best driver right off the bat. Taking responsibility for your actions, admitting you screwed up, making sure I feel comfortable, and having a previous good record are all good starts to getting out of a ticket. Making me laugh won't. Giving me a fake story you made up on the spur of the moment isn't going to work. "My pedal got stuck" Really? Well not your fault. Let's impound it as an unsafe vehicle though, can't have runaway vehicles of course.

Last but not least, and it happens all the time. Don't say, "If I get one more ticket, they're going to suspend my license." If you can in all honesty say, "I've got a perfect record. I don't usually do this. I'd like to keep me record clean. I'll even tell all my friends to watch their speed in (name your city)." That might work. Telling me that you're such a crappy driver you've already racked up a bunch is going to get you nowhere.

F-bodies, Vettes, Porsches, and Mustangs make up maybe 5% of my stops combined. They know they can go fast so they don't have to. Most unsafe speeders are Hondas, Toyotas, and other "common" cars. Plus there are just more of them. Where I do see the F-bodies get into trouble is they have a hard time giving up a challenge at a stoplight. Personally I just smile when a Type R Ford Focus pulls up to me in his 2 liter engine econobox and revs. 2 liter? That's how I buy my soda for God's sake.

Sorry this has been so long, but hope the info works for everyone. K

[Kevin M]

Sorry, more to add.

N20LT4Bird website he linked to has really good tips on AVOIDING a ticket. I mean really good, I almost couldn't say it better. But being long winded, I will.

The website's advice on FIGHTING a ticket however is pretty bad. I read some of the free advice ( you have to pay for more) and I could punch holes in those defenses for days. It might work if you're dealing with an unprofessional department with crappy equipment and worse training. But you bring that to court around here and not only are you going to pay full price, you're not going to get the option for traffic school that you might have before.

Also on the website it mentions don't give permission to search. I'm not going to ask to search unless I have a reason, I'm not just fishing. So if I ask, I probably already have probable cause to do it. I'm just seeing if you are going to be cooperative or not. The people that tell me right up front they have something is going to getaway with a lot more than the guy that makes me do all the work.

N20LT4Bird mentions "illegal things" cops do. That's just offensive. It may be the case where people don't agree with some current laws, I sure don't. But I won't do anything illegal. "Speed Traps" in most states are illegal, however using radar does not qualify as a speed trap. A speed trap is when an officer uses a time and distance formula using a set distance and a time instrument to calculate speed. Like a stopwatch from point A to point B. Radar's use a change in oscillation to measure speed. I also hear people complain I didn't have my lights on while using radar. What's that about? Urban legend I guess.

No flames please. I really am trying to help my F-body brothers at the same time as keeping own family and community safe from unsafe drivers.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

"Some little things to clear up out of the rest of the responses. I'm not sure what Jeff 95 is talking about scanning. Police radar doesn't "scan" anything. It emits a microwave beam (speed of light) and measures the compression of the same reflected beam's wavelength. Goes right out the gun and right back into it. Laser is the same but instead of a cone of microwave it sends out a pinpoint of IR light."

Here is what I am talking about. BTW I am a mechanical designer for a company that makes microwave communication "stuff". I deal with microwave engineers all day long. Not to mention I am a amateur radio operator. A transmitted signal has a wavelength. It moves up and down like a sine wave. I used the term scan because people can easier understand that term gives the signal a flat pattern sine wave. Now that flat pattern can be vertical, horizontal or anywhere in between. In a door mounted detector for opening and closing doors, the signal travels in a horizontal plane flat to the ground so it can see a wider pattern because people enter from other directions than straight ahead. This is called horizontal polarization. In a police radar, the transmitter is set up to transmit the signal in a vertical pattern. This is called vertical polarization. In communication devices that talk to a satellite, they use circular polarization to overcome the Doppler shift of the satellite moving. It can be CW or CCW polarization. It delays the phase of the signal to get it rotate. Phase can also be used to widen or narrow the scan range. The phase of the door opener is set up wide where a radar gun is set up kind of narrow. We use phase to actually move the beam pattern while the antenna remains stationary. This is referred to as a phased array antenna.

Sorry for the long post but I actually like my job :^). Here is a link to our website with some of the anteenas we have made. http://www.emsstg.com/mont/antennas.asp http://www.emsstg.com/defense/ferrit...sp#array_radar Here is a phased array antenna http://www.emsstg.com/defense/array_illuminator.asp Yes that is my design :^) The only problem was the stupid exhaust flapper valves.

Not to flame or anything but laser is not IR. That is two different technologies. IR is what a remote control to a TV uses. It's not a laser. Sorry to say this (we all wonder if we are shooting ourselves in the foot making something to catch ourselves speeding LOL) but the company I work for contracts to make the laser mechanical parts in our machine shop. The company used to be called Laser Atlanta but it was bought out by someone and I can't think of the name of the company.

[2cub49]

I drive with 2 feet and react more quickly than a 1 footed driver.The radar will not clock you as you decelerate so if you're quick and paying attention you can save yourself as I certainly have a few times.
I have my detector tucked up near the top of the dfriver's window pillar. It is completely unnoticeable by cops from outside or if peering into the car.
There's also a book called " Beat The Cops" by Alex Carroll. It can be found on Yahoo or Barne's and Nobles for 14.00.
He outlines some interesting strategies such as requesting various documentation liked if the road has been surveyed within the last 5 years to comply with the 85th percentile rule, certificates for the radar unit and testing, etc. If the man doesn't come up with the documents you can win on a technicality. He says he beat 6 out of 7 tickets.
Well worth reading.

[N20LT4Bird]

Re: Sorry, more to add.

Originally posted by Kevin M
N20LT4Bird website ........The website's advice on FIGHTING a ticket however is pretty bad. I read some of the free advice ( you have to pay for more) and I could punch holes in those defenses for days........

N20LT4Bird mentions "illegal things" cops do. That's just offensive. It may be the case where people don't agree with some current laws, I sure don't.

I dont want to flame either, and maybe your not like SOME of the traffic cops i've run into, but everyone here knows they are out there.

I havent looked at the free stuff, but I can tell you that I have fought and won, using the NMA's advice. They guarantee it - if you fight your ticket and dont win, they refund your membership dues.

Maybe illegal things that "cops do" is a bad choice of words, because it is usually the local government that do the illegal things - cops just follow instructions.

For ex. - My father got a ticket in Pulaski, NY. He was going from a 55 into a 30 with the cop sitting about 50 yards beyond the new speed sign. You guys know the deal - they drop the speed limit about 2 miles outside of a town - its still completely rural and the cop sits behind the sign beaming you.

Well, using the info that I got from national motorist, we checked into whether or not the speed sign had been legally placed. They have to do a speed survey of the area and a few other things before a town can post a speed limit sign. My father spent a long time doing the research - contacting the D.O.T., researching vehicle and traffic law etc. Needless to say - the sign was illegal (radar trap). My whole family went to court to watch "the show". The district attorney offerd him a reduction, but my father declined it and pushed it to trial. (That really pi$$ed the D.A. off.)

The trial lasted 3 hours - and the judge had no idea what he was even talking about regarding the speed survey. The details of the trial are pretty awesome, but I dont have the time or space to write in detail. Anyways, the trial ended with the judge saying that we would be notified by mail of her decision. That was a year ago. We still havent heard another word about it - do you think we will? No - because they found they were in the wrong and they still want to keep their revenue generating speed trap.

We just used one avenue that the NMA offered as a defense. They show you how to handle yourself in court, they tell you your rights, what to say, what laws to use as your defense, etc.

You see, americans dont like to be policed to death. I dont like being pulled over for loud exhaust or an airfreshener "obstructing my view". So I think its great what the NMA is doing - standing up for us.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Speaking of speed traps, I just saw something on TV about I think North Carolina having a law that if a municipality makes more than I think 50% of it's revenue from speeding tickets that it is running a speeding trap and will loose it's radar/laser license. They mentioned some town violating this law and is being punished. They showed a picture on TV where you can see a see a 55 mph speed limit sign with a 45 then a 35 in the background. Definite speed trap. They also said that you can't put up a traffic light in a town that doesn't have one just to give running red light tickets to raise money for the town.

[Mirroredshades]

Thanks Kevin. It's good to here a LEO's perspective on it. Lots of good stuff I didn't know. Is it safe to say that X is extinct?

Also, for what its worth, I've never tried the pee story. He He.

[Performin Norman]

I haven't had a radar detector in many years. I used to have a Whistler that I carried but it got to be annoying. I can't stand the constant beeping. hahaa I would rather risk it than listen to the constant beeping.

[M3EATER - GG '00 WS6 T/A]

Kevin, thanks for the candid remarks!

I know that you have the task of determining who is "OK" to be going a bit fast and who is not ....

How do you know that (for example) I attend many driver schools per year, have intimate knowledge of vehicle dynamics and the utmost in traffic courtesy, watching all of the traffic dynamics arrond me, etc., etc..... As opposed to the guy (or girl) that just barely knows the difference between the two (or, God forbid... three pedals)?

Oh .. and... there's no excuse for outward speeding in conjested areas. We're talking open road here.

I can typically tell the difference between a tax collector and a genuinely concerned officer. It's in the attitude, what's said and how it's said ... and what the stop is all about. Sometimes the tax collector is at the mercy of his/her employer, sometimes they just don't care.

I'm sure most officers really want to be on the side of being a peace keeper and a safety promoter ... and some are at the mercy of their employers.

An officer that stops me when I have accidently allowed my speed to go up (yes, it happens ... and it does not mean I'm unattentive... I'm just comfortable with the speed and am paying attention to everything else) and actually talks to me about the issues and what's just happened...... ya know, he is really doing his job and will have MUCH more positive effect on me that just ..... "you were doing XX in a XX zone ... here's your citation". Which is, sorry to say ... the far majority.

Anyway, Kevin .... thanks!

Gordon