Advice and thoughts on Radar Detectors-K40...>
10-20-2010, 11:00 PM
#46
And as long as your posting utube links 
Check out the punch through range.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQsa5HltHe0
Check out the punch through range.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQsa5HltHe0
That's an older model, not the "360" so they might be different.
Interesting to note that it's practically impossible to target a 30 mph vehicle in a straight line. I presume most police/patrol use some sort of brace to hold the gun?
Laser jammers are illegal and a misdemeanor crime in California -- the laser speed traps have proliferated in the last three or so years. It's gone from one or two, mostly motorcycle CHP to now teams of "special" units that book every damn car one after another in "blitz" operations. It's public knowledge that these "teams" are created (and commanded) by quotas and revenue goals. One day it's "legal" to drive at 72 in a 65 on a highway, but the next time there's a "blitz" it's illegal until they make their quota and move on. The law should be consistent in application and enforcement, otherwise it cannot be abided. If someone were to argue "then do 65 or 68 in a 65" well, that's fine except for the mile long line of people caught behind these "do good" drivers that cause rolling bottlenecks and everyone continues to do 75 with the knowledge they'll eventually get a ticket. And the real madness of it being that speed is not dangerous -- it's tail-gating and dangerous lane-changing that causes freeway accidents.
10-21-2010, 09:49 AM
#47
Rennlist Member
That's an older model, not the "360" so they might be different.
Interesting to note that it's practically impossible to target a 30 mph vehicle in a straight line. I presume most police/patrol use some sort of brace to hold the gun?
Laser jammers are illegal and a misdemeanor crime in California -- the laser speed traps have proliferated in the last three or so years. It's gone from one or two, mostly motorcycle CHP to now teams of "special" units that book every damn car one after another in "blitz" operations. It's public knowledge that these "teams" are created (and commanded) by quotas and revenue goals. One day it's "legal" to drive at 72 in a 65 on a highway, but the next time there's a "blitz" it's illegal until they make their quota and move on. The law should be consistent in application and enforcement, otherwise it cannot be abided. If someone were to argue "then do 65 or 68 in a 65" well, that's fine except for the mile long line of people caught behind these "do good" drivers that cause rolling bottlenecks and everyone continues to do 75 with the knowledge they'll eventually get a ticket. And the real madness of it being that speed is not dangerous -- it's tail-gating and dangerous lane-changing that causes freeway accidents.
Interesting to note that it's practically impossible to target a 30 mph vehicle in a straight line. I presume most police/patrol use some sort of brace to hold the gun?
Laser jammers are illegal and a misdemeanor crime in California -- the laser speed traps have proliferated in the last three or so years. It's gone from one or two, mostly motorcycle CHP to now teams of "special" units that book every damn car one after another in "blitz" operations. It's public knowledge that these "teams" are created (and commanded) by quotas and revenue goals. One day it's "legal" to drive at 72 in a 65 on a highway, but the next time there's a "blitz" it's illegal until they make their quota and move on. The law should be consistent in application and enforcement, otherwise it cannot be abided. If someone were to argue "then do 65 or 68 in a 65" well, that's fine except for the mile long line of people caught behind these "do good" drivers that cause rolling bottlenecks and everyone continues to do 75 with the knowledge they'll eventually get a ticket. And the real madness of it being that speed is not dangerous -- it's tail-gating and dangerous lane-changing that causes freeway accidents.
Q. Is the Laser Defuser® EX or EX2 legal?
A. The Laser Defuser is designed to boost a signal to 904 nanometers, the frequency used by police laser guns. Because it does not interfere with radio waves or any devices regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and no laser diodes are used, the Defuser is completely safe and legal to use. Some states also ban the "use" of laser jammers. These are often a secondary, or "possession of a banned device" infraction. Check with your states statutes for specific information.
It's the technology that K40 uses. You can only get so much performance out of a LED jammer. Let alone a single center mounted jammer. The best jammers on the market (and there's only a couple that actually work well) have two Laser Diode heads mounted on either side of the vehicle. There's nothing magical about how they work. Simple science really. LED jammers have some serious limitations. They can only do so much. Let alone one... At least Blinder uses 2 LED heads standard and they get mediocre performance out of their setup. Laser is obviously more powerful than a LED. However, LED's are much less expensive so many manufacturers go that direction. I will give the nod to K40 installs looking pretty. That's why the dealers are such fans. That and the markup
Targeting isn't that hard. And you don't have to be super specific. Depending on the shape and color of the car, you can get readings off the bumper, windshield, etc.. The headlight is the money shot though. Every car will reflect that. The laser beam is actually quite wide at distance so you just need to put the reticule on the headlight. That's close enough. Especially if you under 750 feet. Go way out beyond a thousand and it's gets a little more challenging keeping it steady. Some use tripods. Some units actually come with a shoulder stock like a rifle. If you've got a reasonably steady hand it's not difficult. I've hit motorcycles at 1000+ feet with no problem (unsupported), and the target doesn't get much smaller than that.
I agree on the selective enforcement details. Its getting old. That and speed/red light cameras. Instead of traffic enforcement being a safety related mission, it's turning into a major revenue generator for cities and counties. Discretion is out the window and major pressure is being put on these units to write tickets. Lots of tickets... I hate the fact they are automating traffic enforcement. The govt is literally trying to stick their hands in our pockets every chance they get. Its no accident that the camera fines are generally lower and no points issued on the license. They want people to just pay it and move on. Why we put up with this nonsense is beyond me...
10-21-2010, 11:25 AM
#48
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Here are some technical points about LED's and lasers for those of you who are not experts on the subject. I have worked in the field for over 20 years.
Lasers emit light at essentially a single wavelength, like a radio station. LED's are not as spectrally "pure" and emit light over a range of wavelengths. Think of LED's as fairly noisy light sources, although not as noisy as say, an incandescent light bulb. This matters if the receiving equipment has filters that pass only one wavelength, e.g. 904 nanometers, in which case only a small portion of the LED light may actually be detected at the receiver.
Lasers also maintain a "tight" beam that doesn't spread out nearly as much spatially as an LED beam. This allows the laser to direct higher power densities toward a target. However, it also makes pointing of a laser beam more difficult. Try taking a laser pointer at night and holding it steady on an object that's several hundred feet away, and you'll know what I mean.
When traveling over long distances through the air, both lasers and LED's begin to suffer from what is called "scintillation". On a hot day, you see this as the shimmering of objects down the road. The signal power fluctuates up and down a lot, making it less effective for carrying information to a receiver. LED's are less prone to this effect than lasers.
Both LED's and lasers are available in high power (multiple watts). In fact, high power LED's are generally a lot less expensive than lasers of comparable power. However, most of the high power LED's that I am aware of operate in the visible wavelengths and not at the 904 nm LIDAR wavelength, which is infrared and outside the visible range.
One serious operational drawback to lasers is eye safety. You cannot operate high power lasers outdoors without safety risks and for this reason the FDA regulates sale of certain laser devices, like laser pointers. ANSI sets standards on eye safety in the U.S. Only lasers that are classified as "Class 1" are unconditionally eye safe. This is something to be taken seriously because you can be permanently blinded by lasers if the power is high enough. Just because the light is not at a visible wavelength, it doesn't mean it's safe. In fact just the opposite may be true. You get no visual indication of a problem until suddenly you can't see. Currently in the U.S., there are no official standards on LED eye safety, although Europe has adopted its own standards.
When it comes to laser jammers, I would be concerned first and foremost with eye safety. If it's not Class 1 or it's not specified, then my advice is to stay away. After that it comes down to how well the device is engineered as a system, rather than whether it's LED or laser. I think as a pragmatic solution, most jammer manufacturers have opted for LED's, at least partly because of eye safety.
Lasers emit light at essentially a single wavelength, like a radio station. LED's are not as spectrally "pure" and emit light over a range of wavelengths. Think of LED's as fairly noisy light sources, although not as noisy as say, an incandescent light bulb. This matters if the receiving equipment has filters that pass only one wavelength, e.g. 904 nanometers, in which case only a small portion of the LED light may actually be detected at the receiver.
Lasers also maintain a "tight" beam that doesn't spread out nearly as much spatially as an LED beam. This allows the laser to direct higher power densities toward a target. However, it also makes pointing of a laser beam more difficult. Try taking a laser pointer at night and holding it steady on an object that's several hundred feet away, and you'll know what I mean.
When traveling over long distances through the air, both lasers and LED's begin to suffer from what is called "scintillation". On a hot day, you see this as the shimmering of objects down the road. The signal power fluctuates up and down a lot, making it less effective for carrying information to a receiver. LED's are less prone to this effect than lasers.
Both LED's and lasers are available in high power (multiple watts). In fact, high power LED's are generally a lot less expensive than lasers of comparable power. However, most of the high power LED's that I am aware of operate in the visible wavelengths and not at the 904 nm LIDAR wavelength, which is infrared and outside the visible range.
One serious operational drawback to lasers is eye safety. You cannot operate high power lasers outdoors without safety risks and for this reason the FDA regulates sale of certain laser devices, like laser pointers. ANSI sets standards on eye safety in the U.S. Only lasers that are classified as "Class 1" are unconditionally eye safe. This is something to be taken seriously because you can be permanently blinded by lasers if the power is high enough. Just because the light is not at a visible wavelength, it doesn't mean it's safe. In fact just the opposite may be true. You get no visual indication of a problem until suddenly you can't see. Currently in the U.S., there are no official standards on LED eye safety, although Europe has adopted its own standards.
When it comes to laser jammers, I would be concerned first and foremost with eye safety. If it's not Class 1 or it's not specified, then my advice is to stay away. After that it comes down to how well the device is engineered as a system, rather than whether it's LED or laser. I think as a pragmatic solution, most jammer manufacturers have opted for LED's, at least partly because of eye safety.
10-21-2010, 04:43 PM
#49
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Potentially, yes. But it doesn't mean a specific unit is necessarily better or worse than another one because of the type of light source it uses. It all depends on the design and I don't have any inside information on the technical details of specific laser jammers or of the police LIDAR units that you are trying to jam. There isn't a simple answer, so beware of advertising hype.
10-21-2010, 05:25 PM
#50
Here are some technical points about LED's and lasers for those of you who are not experts on the subject. I have worked in the field for over 20 years.
Lasers emit light at essentially a single wavelength, like a radio station. LED's are not as spectrally "pure" and emit light over a range of wavelengths. Think of LED's as fairly noisy light sources, although not as noisy as say, an incandescent light bulb. This matters if the receiving equipment has filters that pass only one wavelength, e.g. 904 nanometers, in which case only a small portion of the LED light may actually be detected at the receiver.
Lasers also maintain a "tight" beam that doesn't spread out nearly as much spatially as an LED beam. This allows the laser to direct higher power densities toward a target. However, it also makes pointing of a laser beam more difficult. Try taking a laser pointer at night and holding it steady on an object that's several hundred feet away, and you'll know what I mean.
When traveling over long distances through the air, both lasers and LED's begin to suffer from what is called "scintillation". On a hot day, you see this as the shimmering of objects down the road. The signal power fluctuates up and down a lot, making it less effective for carrying information to a receiver. LED's are less prone to this effect than lasers.
Both LED's and lasers are available in high power (multiple watts). In fact, high power LED's are generally a lot less expensive than lasers of comparable power. However, most of the high power LED's that I am aware of operate in the visible wavelengths and not at the 904 nm LIDAR wavelength, which is infrared and outside the visible range.
One serious operational drawback to lasers is eye safety. You cannot operate high power lasers outdoors without safety risks and for this reason the FDA regulates sale of certain laser devices, like laser pointers. ANSI sets standards on eye safety in the U.S. Only lasers that are classified as "Class 1" are unconditionally eye safe. This is something to be taken seriously because you can be permanently blinded by lasers if the power is high enough. Just because the light is not at a visible wavelength, it doesn't mean it's safe. In fact just the opposite may be true. You get no visual indication of a problem until suddenly you can't see. Currently in the U.S., there are no official standards on LED eye safety, although Europe has adopted its own standards.
When it comes to laser jammers, I would be concerned first and foremost with eye safety. If it's not Class 1 or it's not specified, then my advice is to stay away. After that it comes down to how well the device is engineered as a system, rather than whether it's LED or laser. I think as a pragmatic solution, most jammer manufacturers have opted for LED's, at least partly because of eye safety.
Lasers emit light at essentially a single wavelength, like a radio station. LED's are not as spectrally "pure" and emit light over a range of wavelengths. Think of LED's as fairly noisy light sources, although not as noisy as say, an incandescent light bulb. This matters if the receiving equipment has filters that pass only one wavelength, e.g. 904 nanometers, in which case only a small portion of the LED light may actually be detected at the receiver.
Lasers also maintain a "tight" beam that doesn't spread out nearly as much spatially as an LED beam. This allows the laser to direct higher power densities toward a target. However, it also makes pointing of a laser beam more difficult. Try taking a laser pointer at night and holding it steady on an object that's several hundred feet away, and you'll know what I mean.
When traveling over long distances through the air, both lasers and LED's begin to suffer from what is called "scintillation". On a hot day, you see this as the shimmering of objects down the road. The signal power fluctuates up and down a lot, making it less effective for carrying information to a receiver. LED's are less prone to this effect than lasers.
Both LED's and lasers are available in high power (multiple watts). In fact, high power LED's are generally a lot less expensive than lasers of comparable power. However, most of the high power LED's that I am aware of operate in the visible wavelengths and not at the 904 nm LIDAR wavelength, which is infrared and outside the visible range.
One serious operational drawback to lasers is eye safety. You cannot operate high power lasers outdoors without safety risks and for this reason the FDA regulates sale of certain laser devices, like laser pointers. ANSI sets standards on eye safety in the U.S. Only lasers that are classified as "Class 1" are unconditionally eye safe. This is something to be taken seriously because you can be permanently blinded by lasers if the power is high enough. Just because the light is not at a visible wavelength, it doesn't mean it's safe. In fact just the opposite may be true. You get no visual indication of a problem until suddenly you can't see. Currently in the U.S., there are no official standards on LED eye safety, although Europe has adopted its own standards.
When it comes to laser jammers, I would be concerned first and foremost with eye safety. If it's not Class 1 or it's not specified, then my advice is to stay away. After that it comes down to how well the device is engineered as a system, rather than whether it's LED or laser. I think as a pragmatic solution, most jammer manufacturers have opted for LED's, at least partly because of eye safety.
10-21-2010, 09:36 PM
#51
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Well, yes. At least some laser light reaches our eyes when our vehicles are illuminated, even if they are not aiming right at our faces. However, I can't say it's unsafe without knowing the laser power levels, which I don't. If I had to guess, I would say it is eye safe because the person most at risk is the officer himself, who is right next to the laser gun. There would be a huge product liability issue if anybody--police officer or vehicle operator--suffered eye damage from the laser. I know there were some argument in the past about microwave radar guns causing a high incidence of cancer in the officers who were operating the guns.
10-21-2010, 11:20 PM
#52
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Jake951 thank you for your feedback. It sounds to me that LED can be as good in performance as Laser Diods, is that right?
" Deputy "
I have run ito guys like you before....... Your job is to sit in your basement following any forums that talk about radar and your job is to talk deragatory about anything but the units you sell........
You continue to say you are experienced in the industry but you also continue to post derogatory and false statements about product you have claimed to test. When little do you know what you say about K40 and how they do not work is exactly how it is designed to work. Those videos you posted also do not show the driver being alerted that he or she is being targeted they were also made by a group of people that have one intent which is to make videos that do not hold it's wieght in gold but mearly to try and hurt a company who has been in business for 30 years and I am not professional but if there stuff did not work as your opinion states then as all other they too would be out of business. Also K40's Laser Defuser " Hense the word Defuser NOT JAMMER " come ali-cart you can put as many as you want on the car. Here is a little more eductaion as well there RL360 is a radar and laser detector system and has nothing to do with Laser defusing or jamming that is a seperate component. This conversation is done, you have your opinion and others have theres that is why the country is great freedom of speech. So please continue to patrol the radar forums and provide false information. I mean serious what exactly are you doing on this website? You are a true professional using terms like " K40 Blows "
" Deputy "
I have run ito guys like you before....... Your job is to sit in your basement following any forums that talk about radar and your job is to talk deragatory about anything but the units you sell........
You continue to say you are experienced in the industry but you also continue to post derogatory and false statements about product you have claimed to test. When little do you know what you say about K40 and how they do not work is exactly how it is designed to work. Those videos you posted also do not show the driver being alerted that he or she is being targeted they were also made by a group of people that have one intent which is to make videos that do not hold it's wieght in gold but mearly to try and hurt a company who has been in business for 30 years and I am not professional but if there stuff did not work as your opinion states then as all other they too would be out of business. Also K40's Laser Defuser " Hense the word Defuser NOT JAMMER " come ali-cart you can put as many as you want on the car. Here is a little more eductaion as well there RL360 is a radar and laser detector system and has nothing to do with Laser defusing or jamming that is a seperate component. This conversation is done, you have your opinion and others have theres that is why the country is great freedom of speech. So please continue to patrol the radar forums and provide false information. I mean serious what exactly are you doing on this website? You are a true professional using terms like " K40 Blows "
B) I have nothing to gain no matter which unit you buy. I don't get a penny no matter which unit you go with. Duct tape two flashlights to the front of your car for all I care.
C) I am a law enforcement officer. I am not currently assigned to traffic enforcement, but I was at one time and have expertise with traffic enforcement to include both laser and radar. I've been on the other side of the gun. That counts for something. Every website can speculate as to how officers work. I've done it. Nuff said.
D) I have personally tested most of the counter measure units (including the K40) on the market against the various police lidar units available. The only units that worked really well are the ones equipped with laser diodes. I hope we're not burning anyone's retina's out, but then again they pointed their lasers at us first
E) the K40 blows. There I go. I said it again
I find it entertaining that you refer to me "as guys you have run into" etc...
How long have you been on this forum? Oh wait, you joined 5 minutes ago
How long have I been here? No need to answer, just look to the left.
If its guys we've run into on forums that are trolling to market products, clearly you fit the bill. Join a forum and and 10 minutes later you're pushing a product. You certainly have a right to your opinion. However, don't be offended if you get called out. You've never tested the K40. News flash, the emperor has no clothes
10-21-2010, 11:22 PM
#53
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10-22-2010, 02:07 AM
#55
"Welcome to California, the State where we cook your eyeballs just to be sure you're not a threat to society by driving at 72 mph in a 65 mph zone on the four lane freeway we built decades ago when cars didn't even have disk brakes."
10-22-2010, 06:01 AM
#56
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I just did MN to Tampa (twice in that last 30 days) and the V1 saved my butt countless times. I was shocked at how many states are using laser on the interstates. I encountered many KA traps with instant on and rolling hits but some states literally had multi agency ambushes with one patrol firing laser from an overpass and 4-6 cruisers on the on-ramp waiting for the radio call. It every case (Iowa, Illinois, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida) the obvious goal was revenue collection not safety. Although, I did enjoy seeing the kid who was weaving at 90+ between Nashville and ATL get yanked just outside of Marietta. In hind sight, I was very lucky with the laser traps because the V1 picked up bounced signals from the car(s) in front of me and I was able to slow down without "locking em up". One thing to remember about laser is that they are line of sight and you can usually spot the LEO before or as they are firing at you. With radar, they can hide and be somewhat more stealthy. Long story short, get the V1 - nothing beats the directional coverage and you can adjust the sensitivity for pesky K band signals that cause false alarms in urban driving.
10-22-2010, 10:45 AM
#57
had k40 installed 3+ yrs back ($1600) about a yr ago I "upgraded" to a V1 ($440?) I never turn the k40 on now days. It would warn me about speed traps AFTER I already spotted them visually which is not the point.
my K40 is for sale
my K40 is for sale
10-25-2010, 02:41 PM
#60
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Interesting, the Odometer on the Turbo S (not GT3) shows 318 miles. Not a lot of time to aquire experience I would think. Doesn't matter, I had a K40 on my C2S, I didn't even bother to remove it when I turned it in at lease return.
Passport 950ci is going in the new monster next week.
Passport 950ci is going in the new monster next week.