So I'm reading the February issue of 'European Car' and there is an article about radar detector performance. Ho-hum, seen that before ad nauseum. But what tweaks me is a side bar that talks about laser jammers. Read the threads on this topic before, but here's a magazine claiming their independent testing outfit says that this one brand jams the police laser guns 100% of the time. Now that's a pretty big claim and they supposedly back it up. They went to great lengths to talk about the veracity of their tests.

Not that I'm always above the limit by a lot, but Tx police laser is like armadillos, they're everywhere and my V1 will kindly alert me when I've been hit (all too late) by laser. V1's -K40's -Passports all provide great radar warning but i think we can all admit that laser will get us everytime with just about any of the name brand radar/laser detectors.

So why aren't we all lining up for 100% Laser protection. These devices should be as common as the V1 for rennlisters?

blinderextreme.com
Absolutely no affiliation to these folks/product, etc, etc.

 

Looks interesting.

BTW, the correct link is: http://www.blinderxtreme.com/

 

I had the blinder m40 installed shortly after I got my C4S. It has jammed laser twice since I've had it. The lidatek is also supposed to be a great unit, and the head units are much smaller.

 

i was reading the same article on a flight yesterday. thanks for the reminder! i was going to look it up when i got home. they dont use laser too much here in SC but it never hurts to be prepared.

 

To me, the only reason for not having laser protection is that it's a bit harder to install than just mounting the radar unit on the windshield. If it was that simple, i think we'd all be doing it. My take on it anyway.

Armadillos everywhere...

 

i forgot to add...
the laser folks offer a unit for the back of the car. Now who has ever seen radar from behind. To me, it's always beamed at me from the front. never have i seen a unit beamed at me from behind and it's always stationary... always

 

How much does it cost? Can it easily be removed if I sell the car?

 

K40 is typically around $2g's installed. It can be removed, but it might leave holes. depends on the cars. I've seen it in action; simply awesome!

 

My K40 has the front laser jammer.....

 

I have LaserBlinder M20s in my daily driver. Been lasered many times and they saved me every time. i have never been lasered from behind, so I am not sure the value of the M40s. The most common front/rear setup for One Lap of America runners is M20's in front and a K40 plate in back. I haven't put them in either of the 911's yet. I probably won't put them in the 996 due to fact they will mess with the airflow to the radiators and brakes; but with the new front end on my S/C, I have plenty of room for them.

 

Personally, I've been nabbed twice by CHP moving in the same direction; once ahead of me, and once behind.

CHP appears to have front and rear radar built into all cars and bikes now; they can clock speed for cars ahead, behind, going with the flow, or against it.

 

Every _laser_ trap I've ever seen is front-on, with the officer on the side of the road, shooting at oncoming cars. The beam needs to be near parallel to the vehicle's direction of travel. There is no reason why the officer could not shoot at cars moving _away_ from him, as long as his included angle to the line of travel is very small. Laser cannot compensate for cosine error.

There is no "moving laser" that I've heard of... but radar, yes - of course. All radar-equipped Illinois State Police cars shoot front and rear; they can determine the relative speed between the radar car and _any_ vehicle in their detection range. Of course, cosine error can still be a factor, but most important is the fact that they can shoot up behind you and nail you without most (cheap) detectors making a peep... unless, of course, you have a rear antenna on your detector. That's why I think that the V1 is the most cost effective _detector_ - you know where the bogeys are, and how many.

This morning on the way to work, I turned onto eastbound Devon Ave, past a strip mall that sits on the corner. I always see 4 sources on the V1, X and K band. Today, there were 5 sources, X, K and Ka. The limit is 35 mph. I went 34.

I looked to my left as I passed the strip mall. A local cop was sitting in the parking lot, behind a hedge, facing traffic. Hehehehe... thank you, V1!

Regardless, most cops that I spoken with can estimate vehicle speed within +,-5% visually in a known area - Hell, it's what they do. Radar is simply a verification step.

I hate POP mode the most; it's not accurate (nor admissable in a court of law) - but most people don't know that, so they take the ticket. Without a proper detector, you wouldn't see the initial POP, so you couldn't possibly hit the brakes in time to slow before the reading stabilizes.

I may be incorrect in some aspects of this dissertation, stop me if that's the case...

-don

 

So here is my next question:

How do the police react to a vehicle that has obvious laser jamming.
Lets say you come down a road carrying excesive speed. They laser you and get no or a bad reading. Am I to assume the officer is just going to let you go?

Or do they stop you, give you a ticket anyway and find other reasons to make your day miserable because you are jamming them?

Just asking.
B

 

The fact that there are so many cars on the road is a plus. Just having the radar on and being aware is probably your best defense in CA.

 

I'm pretty sure that laser error is not uncommon, as it is very finicky with regards to angles and such as dstrimbu said. I could be wrong, though.