Why buy a radar detector?
Speeding tickets can take a serious bite out of your fun fund. Not only do they ding you for a hefty chunk of change, they stick you with traffic school or even worse hassles, like court dates and fighting the law. If you can't drive 55, AutoAnything has the right radar detector that won't subtract points from your wallet or add them to your driving record.
How does a radar detector keep you out of trouble? With many features that pickup speed traps and traffic cops on the prowl, including:
- Multi-band radar detection for accurate alerts, no matter what the local police use
- Outstanding range that gives you time to slow down
- Sensing of the latest police detection methods including laser
- Alerts to modern police "pop" speed detection
- Smart radar programming that eliminates false alarms
- Immunity to some police detector detector devices
- The portability to use in any vehicle
Let's get down to the real "how it works" of a radar detector. When police use radar to detect speed, they cast a beam across the section of road they want to monitor. These beams are essentially a police broadcast across a band — either X, K, or super wide Ka bands. These bands, like AM or FM radio bands, vary in wave shape and frequency.
As the radar transmission hits a moving object, it returns to the source gun with a different frequency. Based on the difference in frequency, the radar gun can determine your overall speed. If it's 5mph or more past the speed limit — depending on the officer — you're toast.
Radar detectors perform a simple function: listening for broadcasts on these bands that are likely police speed-reading signals. They don't in any way jam or alter radar signals — that's a different, much more expensive and highly illegal device. Radar detectors simply let the driver know which band they're receiving and the signal strength, which directly relates to the distance of the police at the other end. In most cases, a radar detector allows you plenty of time to hit the brakes and cruise by the police at the speed limit.
Detecting police radar early is key to avoiding a ticket. If radar gets your speed before you slow down, your detector becomes nothing more than an embarrassing dash ornament for when the officer is at your window.
That's why radar detectors boast incredible range. In wide-open road areas, a cool 7-8 mile advanced warning of police radar is possible. Urban areas can provide less warning, though a 2.5 mile heads-up is common. With that much time to hit the brakes and look innocent, avoiding hefty traffic fines gets easier.
It's a classic game of cat and mouse. Each time new speed-detecting technology is developed for law enforcement, radar detector companies are right behind with the latest way to avoid getting caught.
When detecting speed with radar, police were once limited to X band. Now rarely used in the U.S., X band has been replaced in popularity by the more-effective K and Ka bands. Every detector we offer provides alerts for police radar across all known radar detection bands.
When effective radar detection hit the market, police upped the ante with laser speed detection, also known as "lidar". Each of the radar detectors AutoAnything offers provide alerts for laser, including the latest police gun models. As technology evolves on both the detection and prevention sides, law enforcement agencies are acquiring and using more laser detection gun models.
The fastest-growing speed-detecting technology is laser (lidar). Why? A few reasons. Laser is much harder to detect than radar. While radar sweeps across traffic, hitting multiple vehicles and causing sometimes inaccurate readings, laser guns feature a narrow beam that can target specific parts of your vehicle.
Police frequently target the front or rear license plate with a laser beam. With a dash-mounted radar detector at a short distance from the officer, your speed can be detected by laser without sounding any alarms.
To detect and slow down in time against police laser, you need distance and other vehicles around. Your best chance at advanced warning against laser are other cars being targeted ahead of you, because the beam gets wider and easier to sense from longer distances.
Or, you can prevent the police from seeing your speed by using a Laser Shifter unit. This device sends an error message to the police gun, giving you time to slow down. See the AutoAnything quick guide on laser shifting for more about these "shifty" devices.
pop detection is a tricky trap to avoid. Also known as "instant on" radar, pop detection method leaves the police radar gun on hold until a specific car is targeted. This differs from standard always-on radar, which is easier to detect.
Because pop detection cannot be sensed by your unit until the police gun is taken off hold, you get significantly reduced advanced warning to its presence. And, if you're the first car targeted by a pop detection speed trap, it's time to put your blinker on, dig for your registration and practice your best innocent face.
Fortunately, pop radar is easier to detect than police laser guns. These beams have the same wide properties as standard radar units, which can be detected from greater distances. Beating pop radar requires paying attention to your visual/audio alerts, a few more speedy drivers ahead of you, and a touch of luck. Manufacturers arm your detector to combat pop detection by increasing range and sensitivity on the K and Ka bands.
In the earlier days of radar detectors, false alarms were abundant. Every tall radio antenna or garage door opener could sound your detector alarm. Even a microwave could have you slamming on the brakes! Not only would such alerts shorten your pad life and cause stress, but eventually drivers began ignoring real police radar alerts.
Fortunately, today's detectors come equipped with smart software for stopping frequent false alarms. No longer does it seem as though every lawnmower or metal tooth filling is setting off your detector. In fact, all of the radar detector units AutoAnything offers feature modes for city and highway driving. City mode dampens weaker signals consistent with frequent false alarms. Highway mode, best for open-road driving where fewer false alerts occur, is set for increased sensitivity and maximum advanced warning for higher-speed driving.
In states and areas where radar detector use is illegal, law enforcement is looking to see if you're operating a detector unit. That's why they're using technology known as a detector detector, identified by brand name as VG-2 or spectre I/II/III.
These units scan for the small frequencies emitted by your radar detector's tuning oscillator. VG-2 Detector detectors, the first ones introduced, looked for a specific tuning frequency. Most all radar detectors have since moved their tuners outside the VG-2 detection range, making them immune to these units.
Continuing the cat & mouse game, spectre I was born, scanning a wider range and picking-up many radar detectors. As detector makers have upgraded their technology, Spectres II and III have been developed for police. As of yet, there's no fool-proof radar detector for beating these methods. The only true way to beat spectre detection is to turn your detector unit off.
Detector detecting is an inexact science at best. GPS units and satellite radios can trigger false alerts. Detector detectors also only detect the presence of a unit in the general area, and cannot pinpoint their use to a specific vehicle. If you receive a spectre alert, your best bet is to slow down to the speed limit and avoid being pulled over and/or searched (in radar-illegal areas).
Many of the radar detectors AutoAnything sells are powered by a 12v cigarette lighter/power outlet adapter that's included with the unit. And, they usually mount to your windshield with suction cups, or to your sun visor with a clip. Thus, you can move your radar detector from vehicle to vehicle in just a couple of seconds.
Also available are cordless radar detectors with the option of AA battery power or 12v adapter electricity. These wireless units keep your dash clear, eliminating clumsy cords that can get in your way.
Another option for powering your radar detector, though slightly less portable, is to hard-wire the unit to your vehicle's power system. While eliminating cord mess, you'll still need a 12v or battery power to use the detector in another vehicle.
A radar detector doesn't provide full immunity from police speed detection – they only let you know when radar or laser are in use and roughly how far away a speed trap or officer is. There's a few ways to still get a ticket while using a detector, including:
- Not slowing down when a strong signal alarm sounds
- A radar detector does not jam police radar guns. If you want to avoid a ticket, you must slow down!
- Getting hit with pop radar too close to the trap or patrol unit
- Pop radar is instant-on technology. If you're the only one around, or are the first one hit, you're probably in for a ticket.
- Ignoring alerts or muting your system
- In order for your radar detector to truly work to prevent a ticket, you have to hear the radar alarms and react accordingly. Muting your system to hear a song or make a call can be quite costly.
- Police traffic enforcement planes
- The eye in the sky is out of your radar detector unit's range. It's usually not an issue, though – most police planes use mile markers to track your speed and radio waiting officers on the highway ahead.
- Driving recklessly and/or breaking other traffic laws
- Radar detectors only help you against speeding tickets. When it comes to weaving, crossing double yellows, rolling stops and many other "creative" driving styles, you're on your own. The best advice is not to get bolder with your driving style at all with the detector in your vehicle.
- Getting caught with a detector or other system in an illegal area
- If you're using a radar detector in a state or municipality where they're illegal, be prepared for a search, hefty ticket and possible confiscation of your detector. Always know the local laws around your travel plans. This rule also applies to laser shifter units.
There's always one solution to avoiding costly speeding tickets — don't speed! Yes, speeding is the reason why you want to buy a radar detector, but always remember the rules of safe driving. Accidents are always more costly than a speeding ticket.
A laser shifter is one of the most effective means of avoiding police laser speed detection. The actual function of the device is quite complicated, though, and installation is the most difficult of any ticket-avoiding device we carry.
Police laser speed detection employs an incredibly tight beam that's tough to pick up from long distances. In fact, many cops have specific aiming spots for their laser gun that can get your speed without sounding your detector alarm. That's where a shifter comes into play: the police laser beam is detected and mixed with a laser pulse signal from the shifter, returning a confusing error message to the gun display. The shifter then sounds a siren in your vehicle, giving you time to hit the brakes.
After getting an error message on their display, an officer likely will attempt to target your vehicle again. And, if an error message returns a second time, you can be sure they've figured out the presence of your laser shifter and may pursue. When the system siren sounds once, it's vital to get down to the speed limit, then mute and disengage the shifter.
With the shifting mode shut down, you can still sense police laser but will not shift their incoming beam. Cops can now read your speed and won't get suspicious of your laser shifter use.
The laser shifter can be linked with most portable dash-mounted or hidden stealth systems of the same manufacturer brand. The combination of an effective radar detector with a laser shifter forms one of the most complete ticket-avoiding systems available. Legality of the shifter is constantly changing, though. It's illegal in 3 states: California, Utah and Minnesota. Radar jamming or shifting is illegal nationwide. Be sure to check your local laws before getting any shifter or jammer.