school me on radar detectors

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semlin

semlin

curmudgeon
Joined
Mar 27, 2003
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ok after years of cruiser driving I have an unfamiliar problem.

It is becoming clear I can't easily keep the Ls400 at or near the speed limit on the highway. It prefers to go considerably faster and is very persuasive in getting its way. the route i have to drive is an old undivided highway through mountains with lots of turns and rocky outcrops creating places for radar traps and lots of patrol cars making bank on folks like me.

how do i protect themselves from this car? what is the best device to thwart the horsemen who may wait around every corner? do radar detectors work? do the cops know you are using them? which ones are best?
 
C'mon Semlin. Live on the edge. Learn to read the signs to watch out for speed traps. If other cars brake for no reason, then slow down. If you are being flashed by motorists traveling the opposite direction, be wary- they may be helping you out. Think like a cop: what's a good hiding place to clock speeders?

Lastly, you're driving an LS400, not an IROC. Unless you're going real fast, you probably won't draw much attention.
 
have you no regard for the law?

































:flipoff2:
 
all good advice on the open highway with lots of traffic, but not so much on a highway through mountains where traffic is sporadic and there are lots of blind curves and other spots for radar traps offering full concealment. last time I drove it in the cruiser on a long weekend, at the speed limit, they had a traffic sweep on. I counted 5 encounters where I was a dead man before i could react if I was speeding and saw many more cops. and they are eager! i got pulled over for not having a front licence plate!
 
NorCalDoug said:
have you no regard for the law?
:flipoff2:
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like i said, it's not me, it's the car ;) those older lexus engineers put too many gadgets in there and I can't seem to disable the don't be a wimp throttle override control.
 
My neighbor has this device that jams laser radar. He says you MUST turn it off after you slow down so you don't get caught using it. I guess it not all that legal. He told me to check out Radar Roy to get educated on the various detectors and jammers.

http://www.radarroy.com/
 
john_eckels said:
My neighbor has this device that jams laser radar. He says you MUST turn it off after you slow down so you don't get caught using it. I guess it not all that legal. He told me to check out Radar Roy to get educated on the various detectors and jammers.

http://www.radarroy.com/
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thanks for the link. your friend is obstructing justice by interfering with a legal law enforcement investigation tool. that could potentially be our equivalent of a felony here so i think i'll pass.
 
In that case, lots of people also swear by the top-of-line Passport radar, either wired or battery-powered are good. That's my suggestion as far as brand is concerned.

The whole radar industry (and legality thereof) is a big fat grey area. Some states in the US ban it outright... you get a ticket if something resembling a radar is on your dashboard... other places say they are illegal but don't really bother enforcing it.

I've never owned a radar detector, but from my readings a year or two back (when I owned a faster car), there are radar detectors, radar/laser detectors, radar detector detectors (for police), and radar detector detector detectors. It's a downward spiral. Then there are jammers. These are usually black market because they don't just tell you when you're being clocked, they actually disrupt by transmitting noise back at the clocker. (what john_eckels was referring to)

Last thing about this: many motorists will claim (correctly? not sure) that a clear line of sight needs to be established for a police officer to "justify" the citation he/she issues you. On the flip side, the range for this line of sight increases steadily as technology gets better. By the time you see him/her, you've already been clocked.
Plus, the human factor... in front of a judge it will be your persuasive skills against the word of a law enforcement officer.
 
semlin said:
thanks for the link. your friend is obstructing justice by interfering with a legal law enforcement investigation tool. that could potentially be our equivalent of a felony here so i think i'll pass.
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Make sure. In the states, this issue tends to be codified state-by-state. Your province or central government may allow you to use these.

Just FYI.
 
There is the Valentine 1, and then there is everything else. Mike Valentine and a partner started Escort radar (makers of the Passport). Then Valentine (who was the engineering side) left about 15 years ago. About 5-7 years ago Escort sold to one of the other radar companies.

The passport wireless models have a horrible range. The wired models are ok, but they don't give the information of the Valentine.
 
BHMCruiser said:
Make sure. In the states, this issue tends to be codified state-by-state. Your province or central government may allow you to use these.

Just FYI.
Click to expand...

Radar jammers (real ones not the fake passive ones) send out a radio wave and are hence transmitting and subject to FCC regulations. Something about Federal Preemption springs to mind. :D
 
calbo said:
In that case, lots of people also swear by the top-of-line Passport radar, either wired or battery-powered are good. That's my suggestion as far as brand is concerned.
Click to expand...

Friend of mine has the Passport hardwired into his Evo. He drives like a bat out of hell all the damn time, he says it's saved his butt numerous times, no tickets so far. He has it on the dash. Another friend with an M5 has the same one and has it mounted up by the rearview mirror. He commented that he kept it there so if he were pulled over it wouldn't be in plain view of the officer. Oh, he's a cop too. The joys of flashing your badge and getting out of tickets.
 
had a jammer when I was younger and a bit more reckless and the fawkin thing rocked.

on a different note, Semlin the fawking thing has cruise right?

USE IT...........................

ya dumb monkey.
 
cary said:
Radar jammers (real ones not the fake passive ones) send out a radio wave and are hence transmitting and subject to FCC regulations. Something about Federal Preemption springs to mind. :D
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Is there actual legislation on that? Or, are you speaking hypothetically?

Actually, I just looked this up, and there appears to be an FCC ban on "active" radar jammers. There appears to be no such problem with "passive" jammers, but they have to be very close to function properly.

Edit: In short, you were right, and I was stupid.
 
I researched this too. Radar jammers are illegal due to an FCC thing. From when I looked into it, LIDAR(laser) jammers were legal in some places. They have to be mounted properly in front and rear on car. Once they go off, you should slow down and turn the unit off.

On mountain passes and curvy roads, detectors dont do that well. If the cops dont have their radar on active, you wont detect them until its usually too late. The only time they pickup lidar is when they have shot it near you. ( I think this is true to for POP radar.)

So ideally you would need a lidar jammer, depending on legality now, and a detector. Valentine 1 is good, but over priced and big. The high end passport/escort (can remember now) is just as good if not better. The V1 is nice though because it shows where the blast came from. So you are looking at around $1000 for both items and install. I would recommend a pro install to hide everything.

I didn't buy one because it wasnt worth it too me. People in Denver cruiser highways at 80 so that's good enough here. I also pay close attention to the traffic ahead and behind.

Maybe some of the nice police officers will chime in here with some stories of people stopped for speeding with detectors. :)
 
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Valentine1 has my vote. My gf has the passport and she even commented that the valentine is a better choice because of forward and rear receivers, and most important the bogey counter!
 
reffug said:
on a different note, Semlin the fawking thing has cruise right?

USE IT...........................

ya dumb monkey.
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cruise on a windy single lane undivided forst heaved mountain highway maintained by a private sector contractor? :eek:
 
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