radar detectors?

[jmc813]

im about to buy one...are they worth it..do they really warn good..AND

What are the best ones available?

[LucifersChild]

I've been wondering about this too. I've seen ads for radar scanners that supposedly "scrambles" police radar. I don't know if I would trust this device too well...if its possible to screw up the police's reading, it might be possible to give the officer a reading saying that your going like 150 mph, when your really going like 55.

[mjshort18]

um...i am pretty sure those scramblers are really illegal

[i_a_n112784]

Anything that broadcasts a signal is illegal, scramblers broadcast a signal (at least old ones did, and I'm fairly sure new ones do as well). As for normal radar detectors, sometimes they work well, it depends on where you have it mounted, the unit itself, and most importantly, the cop. Knowing a couple officers well, if they see a car that looks like it is speeding down the road, they turn the radar on when its too late for you to slow down.
Your best bet as for a radar detector is to find a car that is going faster than you are, and that looks nicer, get it in front of you, and let them get a bit ahead (still want to be able to see them) and match their speed. That REALLY works going down an interstate or another highway.

[LucifersChild]

Originally Posted by i_a_n112784

Anything that broadcasts a signal is illegal, scramblers broadcast a signal (at least old ones did, and I'm fairly sure new ones do as well). As for normal radar detectors, sometimes they work well, it depends on where you have it mounted, the unit itself, and most importantly, the cop. Knowing a couple officers well, if they see a car that looks like it is speeding down the road, they turn the radar on when its too late for you to slow down.
Your best bet as for a radar detector is to find a car that is going faster than you are, and that looks nicer, get it in front of you, and let them get a bit ahead (still want to be able to see them) and match their speed. That REALLY works going down an interstate or another highway.

That is the method I use. Works everytime. As for the scramblers...who cares if they are illegal? Well, besides the obvious.

[i_a_n112784]

The only reason to care if scramblers are illegal or not is because the police can tell which general area it is coming from, so if you aren't in a large pack of traffic, you're screwed, because they will pull you over anyhow, and you'll get a nice fine, and the device will be taken.

[LucifersChild]

The way I've read that they work is that they jam the radar gun, so it wouldn't matter if you were in a pack of people or not. Just as long as you weren't going 80 when it is a 30 mph zone, it should work to fool the cops. I still don't trust them though.

[i_a_n112784]

They scramble it, meaning that the LED's in the gun that diaplay the speed don't show 80, they show a random display of lit LEDs, not even forming numbers, so they KNOW when one is on. I've read of some new ones that make the radar show the error message, but those are also illegal (broadcasting a signal), and the cops also know about those ones, and use simple, quick method to figure out who has it.

[LucifersChild]

So instead of just jamming the crap out of the radar gun, they should develope a programmable one, so you can actually send out the signals you would want to send out. ie: you program the radar jammer to send out signals that you are going 45 when you are really travelling 65.

[PaulD]

guys .. there seems to be a lot of "old wives tales" about radar jammers. A radar detector works on what is known as the doppler shift. The police radar gun fires a stream of microwaves at a car at a certain frequency, when they bounce off of a moving object - they return at a slightly different frequency. The difference in frequencies is converted to a relative speed. A jammer just detects the frequency and shoots back a much stronger signal of the same frequency - so the radar gun detects no net change and reports a 0 mph reading.

Theoretically, it is possible to make a device that could change the frequency enough to make it appear you are driving what ever speed you choose ... but you would have to know what gun it is, and it's genaerla operating characterisitcs. With all that said, I guess it could broadcast a large number of frequencies, that would drive their gun readings crazy. And yes, broadcasting in those frequencies IS against the law.

[dirty91crx]

well theres that new one from escor ti beleive that absorbs the laser of the the police gun thingy...dont know if it works...kinda pricey.