Radar detectors – laser, lidar & jammers.
If you don’t like getting speeding tickets keep reading. The following is a crash course in Radar detectors – laser, lidar & jammers.
When I was in high school (quite some time ago), I drove an awesome Chevy Camaro. That car, with its cowl induction hood and gloss black paint looked fast just standing still. Of course, I needed to outfit it with a radar detector because that’s just what you did back in the day. That thing would beep at me every time I passed a supermarket, ostensibly due to the automatic door openers. Despite an ungodly amount of false alarms, it saved my bacon on more than one occasion.
I remember driving South on Sepulveda Blvd., through the pass and my “Whistler” started beeping. Now I don’t think I was speeding, not by much anyway. Still however, I Instinctively took my foot off the accelerator and looked to see what band the alarm was coming on. Back then you had X, K and Ka. Sure enough, there was highway patrol protecting what I already knew to be a dangerous curve. After that, a pale-yellow Nova blew passed me and within a half second the CHP was in hot pursuit, lights blazing and sirens blaring. That was my first successful experience with a radar detector, but it wouldn’t be my last.
Later research would determine a speeding ticket on that stretch of road with court costs and penalty assessment would be nearly $700 and that didn’t even take into account lost wages while going to court or the hit I would take on insurance premiums. That was 20 years ago. God only knows how much it would cost now.
Motor-speed countermeasures enter the technological age.
Fast forward twenty years and OMG has the game changed. Speed-detection countermeasures are now extremely sophisticated. They bear no resemblance to the dash-mounted, cigarette lighter powered, radar detectors we once knew. Today’s systems are completely integrated into the car’s electronics and don’t have any obviously-visible boxes. The sensors are as small as a couple millimeters across, and hide in your front and rear bumpers and the readout can be integrated into your dash. We recently even installed one in the rear-view mirror. As beams get more and more narrow, detectors get more and more sensitive and are even direction-ally aware. Advanced models even have hyper-intelligent processors, military grade patch array radar antennas, and even “Spotlist Alerting” which is an up-to-date and extensive database of fixed speed trap locations.
What if I don’t ever speed?
People sometimes ask if they need a detector if they don’t speed. I explain, radar guns shoot out out radio waves. They will often return a reading from another nearby vehicle that is going faster than you, especially if that vehicle is larger. You may be driving 50 MPH in your Porsche but the Yukon next to you is doing 66 MPH. Guess what? Now it looks like you’re doing 66. Even more frequently is you ARE speeding but don’t realize it because it’s a back road with no one else around. No one except for Johnny Law around the next bend that it.
What about laser detectors?
Some highway patrol officers get to use the latest in speed detection technology; Lidar Dragon Eyes. We know this because the California Highway Patrol station is right down the street from us and as law-abiding members of the community, we are friendly with them. They show us what they use and explain why “instant-on” technology is hard to beat. Now, of the approximately 125,000 speeding tickets that are issued daily, about 25,000 of them come from lidar, aka police laser. Radar detectors don’t protect against any instant-on technology. However, a high-quality laser detector can warn you if the car in front of you is “hit”, giving you a few precious seconds to slow down.
Beyond laser detection there’s “laser jamming” which is a function that deploys a countermeasure of “sympathetic laser-light” the moment your car is being shot at by a laser gun. As a result, a speed measurement is delayed for a few seconds, until your customized “LaserShield” automatically disengages. This technology is available where allowed by law
Radar detectors – laser, lidar & jammers.
So, what’s the bottom line? A responsible driver should always drive safely and follow the rules of the road. A responsible driver should also invest in a radar/lidar detector to protect themselves against speed traps and inadvertent speeding. Depending on the area you drive, a jammer is a great solution. If you are in the Los Angeles/Culver City area, do yourself a favor and swing by Haas Entertainment where custom integration is standard. We install state-of-the-art laser jammer, radar detector and interfaces that work together perfectly and harmoniously and blend seamlessly into high-performance cars. Ask for Jorge. He’ll give you a custom solution specific to your vehicle.
Top brands & models to consider listed below. To find the perfect model for your vehicle stop by the Haas Entertainment showroom in Culver City.
Beltronics GT-7
Escort Max 360
Cobra DSP 9200 BT
Escort Passport X70
Escort Redline/Escort Redline XR
Radenso XP
Escort iX
Escort Max 360
Stinger
Valentine 1
Whistler CR93/CR88
I am looking for a fully integrated radar/laser/hammer for my 2021 Audi RS6. What do you suggest? Do you have an estimated cost? How long do you need the car for? I live down in Manhattan Beach.