Hardwire radar detector

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jhg120
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Location: Raleigh, NC

Postby jhg120 » Sat May 03, 2014 8:34 pm

I'd like to chime in on why radar detectors honestly do not work. I am saying this as a Police Officer in NC.

First off, when I am running radar, I do not leave the radar open, which means the signal is always being sent out, which is what the detector would pick up on. When I see a vehicle I want to clock, I open the radar and obtain your speed...which happens INSTANTLY.

So, as you are driving down the road with your cruise control at 80 in a 65 MPH zone, and I'm sitting under a bridge and see you approach, I open the radar and obtain your speed...80 MPH. At the same time I open the radar, your detector goes off, beep beep beep. You have an "oh shit" moment and slam on the brakes, dropping your speed to about 66 MPH or so.

I then proceed to pull you over and write you a ticket for 80 MPH, even though you say "I was only going 66 MPH!!!!!!!"

I have also acquired a Lidar, handheld unit, which is laser. This shoots a very, very narrow beam and is pointed at your license plate area on your vehicle. Once again, when I open the Lidar to obtain your speed, your detector will not alert you and go off until it is too late, as your speed is displayed to me way before you can react and slow down.

So, just a word of advise. They may be cool, and you may think you can "detect" a cop running radar, but I promise you one thing, we have your speed way before your unit sounds off and you are able to react.

I have tested this with friends using their detectors, Valentines, Cobra, Signal 8's, and once again, not one of them were able to detect the radar or Lidar until it was too late.

Just food for though....................


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TheUnscented
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Detectors don't work?

Postby TheUnscented » Sun May 04, 2014 5:44 am

@jhg120

Yep, the last ticket I received was coming down a curved hill road approaching a mercantile district in a town where the speed limit transitions from 45 to 30. The police officer actually apologized for the ticket and for setting up a speed trap there. What are you going to do?

It's true that there isn't much defense against the "instant on" radar other than if the user is less disciplined or judicious in it's use and you can detect when he's selectively tracking vehicles in front of you. So it pays off to use your head and not be the fastest vehicle on the road, to not park yourself in the left lane and to approach hill crests and curves with caution as officer jhg120 may be around the next bend.

When the Lidar detector feature goes off, the game is almost certainly up! The upside is that it appears that the Lidar requires a direct line of sight and the officer is typically out of his vehicle. Is that why we don't see much Lidar use when the weather is poor or at night? Or are there other factors? ie rain will scatter the laser? Night use makes it difficult to find a reflective surface on the target vehicle?

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jhg120
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Location: Raleigh, NC

Postby jhg120 » Sun May 04, 2014 6:22 pm

@TheUnscented

All good points. One thing I will say, I have NEVER and will NEVER run radar right where a speed limit changes. To me that is just plain unfair, and I have voiced my opinion on that fact. Because as well all know, Cops speed even worse than other's because we know we can flash our badge and get out of a ticket.

With that being said, Lidar can be used in all weather climate. The range of Radar will alter with weather, but Lidar will not. Usually you won't see Cops doing enforcement in the rain because we hate to get wet in uniform. Once you're wet, you stay wet. Not fun for 10 hours.

You nailed it on the head with don't be the first in the group. For me, the first car I paint is the lead car. If an Officer leaves the radar open, then your detector will alert you at a greater range and the Officer may not have had time to visually track your vehicle. I would not count on that always being the case thou.

So again, slow down guys. I know we speed, but speed does lead to accidents. I have seen way too many fatality accidents due to speed. Had a 14 and 15 year old killed just two weeks ago with 17 year old sister driving. Crash reconstruction puts here 18 miles over the speed limit.

Nothing is worth dying over.

DanJetta
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Postby DanJetta » Sun May 04, 2014 8:27 pm

Yeah, I don't get why people still use radar detectors. In Maryland I got clocked by a State Trooper using laser from what seemed like a half mile down the road. By the time I reached him, he had gotten back in his car, ate lunch, called his mother, turned on his lights and was ready for me. On top of that, our State Troopers are disguised in work vans, mini vans and pickup trucks now –riding along in traffic. It's much easier to just set the cruise at 10 over and be done with it.

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jhg120
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Postby jhg120 » Sun May 04, 2014 9:03 pm

10 over and you "should not" get pulled over. I personally give 15 over.

State Troopers....they'll get ya for 5 over.

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yeziam
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Postby yeziam » Wed May 07, 2014 2:19 am

I have hardwired 9500ix's in all my cars. Is it the end all be all? Absolutely not. Laser and radar jammers are the only sure-fire way to give you time to slow down, but they're illegal everywhere I know. However, my detectors have saved me countless times and they also keep me alert regardless of my speed.

Unlike you, in my state, most law enforcement keep their radars on, especially rural law enforcement. I'm not big on running fast in the metro due to the volume of traffic, but out in the country, 55 and 65 mph limits are an absolute joke and based old car technology and head in the sand mentality. Cars today can safely run at much higher speeds than 20-30 years ago and stop a lot quicker at those higher speeds than older cars do from posted limits.

There have been numerous studies showing that many speed limits are arbitrary, and not based on any science of safe traffic flow or volume. In fact, these studies have been utilized by local governments to lower incidents of accidents by increasing speed limits to the natural flow of traffic. It is the contrast between the slower vehicles and the majority of traffic that has been shown to be a greater hazard to the safe flow of traffic than faster drivers. By bringing the limits up to what the vehicle technology, roadway, and most drivers are safely capable of carrying has been shown to get those slower drivers moving more in line with the natural flow of traffic. This in turn reduces the variances in speed and accidents.

Sorry to hear about the loss of life you describe, but I'd be willing to bet inexperience and inattention likely played a much larger role than the 18 mph over the limit. You indicate that 15 mph over is a permissible buffer, but imply that traveling at just 3 mph over that is somehow a recipe for disaster. Sure, higher speed accidents result in greater damage and injury, but the speed itself doesn't necessarily cause the accident. I don't need to point all the fools texting, talking, playing with the radio, or just plain lacking in the confidence and experience to navigate a 2-ton piece of steel down the roadway.

DanJetta
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Postby DanJetta » Wed May 07, 2014 6:40 pm

yeziam wrote:...55 and 65 mph limits are an absolute joke and based old car technology and head in the sand mentality. Cars today can safely run at much higher speeds than 20-30 years ago and stop a lot quicker at those higher speeds than older cars do from posted limits.
The primary factor keeping speed limits low is actually poor road conditions. Most of our roads and bridges are about 30 years beyond their intended life cycles and are literally crumbling away. Higher speeds cause patches to wear out sooner. Additionally, pavement faults can cause a vehicle to become unstable at high speeds. Ever slam on your brakes and hit a pothole at the same time? It's like being in a pinball machine – especially in the Pathfinder.

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yeziam
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Postby yeziam » Wed May 07, 2014 11:03 pm

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Last edited by yeziam on Thu May 08, 2014 6:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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yeziam
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Postby yeziam » Wed May 07, 2014 11:05 pm

DanJetta wrote:The primary factor keeping speed limits low is actually poor road conditions. Most of our roads and bridges are about 30 years beyond their intended life cycles and are literally crumbling away. Higher speeds cause patches to wear out sooner.
I've never heard such a preposterous justification for speed limits. Speed limits were implemented years ago, long before many of us were alive and long before any the construction of any present day surfaces. Maybe it's different in different parts of the country, but there is not a road surface in the State of MN that is 30 years old and still navigable without a Unimog. Our roads are routinely resurfaced due to freezing and thawing; not as much as they should be, but much more frequently than every 30 years. Bridges are also resurfaced, but the underlying infrastructure is admittedly aged (e.g. see the 35W bridge collapse a few years ago, but unrelated to the speed of traffic).

I've never heard of speed limits being indicative of the age of the surface and wear and tear. If that was the case we would have the speed limits continually changing based upon the age of the roadway, rather than the purported safe speed. It's simply not so. Heavy traffic, heavy vehicles, and the freeze-thaw cycle, are infinitely more related to wear and tear on roads than a 2-ton passenger vehicle traveling at more than the posted limit. It's simple physics.

Here's one of the studies I mentioned: http://www.ibiblio.org/rdu/sl-irrel.html. The entire study and conclusion makes no mention of your assertion."Lowering speed limits below the 50th percentile does not reduce accidents, but does significantly increase driver violations of the speed limit. Conversely, raising the posted speed limits did not increase speeds or accidents. " It's simple. The only reason speed limits have remained virtually unchanged over the past 60 years isn't due to any safety concern or wear and tear on roadway, it's based on the continued funding of law enforcement and local government agencies through the proceeds of traffic violation fines.

DanJetta
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Postby DanJetta » Thu May 08, 2014 6:54 pm

I can't speak for your state but on the east coast it's been a hot topic for a while now. It was a huge debate when Virginia raised their interstate speed limits to 70 mph. 20/20 did a story on it, too. We even have lawyers that specialize in "accidents caused by poor road conditions."

How about you take your truck for a spin around the DC beltway and then let's talk about raising the speed limit. You don't know what bad road conditions are until you've been hit by a chunk of concrete falling from the bottom of an interstate overpass.

dman928
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Postby dman928 » Mon Sep 08, 2014 12:23 pm

jhg120 wrote:10 over and you "should not" get pulled over. I personally give 15 over.

State Troopers....they'll get ya for 5 over.
I've always gone with "Over 9, you're mine"

I do run radar, but it is just another tool, along with vigilance. It does work well in NJ, as many officers do leave their radar units on. It's great for when you just don't realize that you're going 55 in a 45. I keep my speed safe for the road and traffic conditions. I'm a firefighter, so I've cut my fair share of bodies out of cars.

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08PathPounder
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Postby 08PathPounder » Sat Feb 07, 2015 9:36 am

dman928 wrote:I do run radar, but it is just another tool, along with vigilance. It does work well in NJ, as many officers do leave their radar units on. It's great for when you just don't realize that you're going 55 in a 45. I keep my speed safe for the road and traffic conditions. I'm a firefighter, so I've cut my fair share of bodies out of cars.
Exit 83 to brick both North & South bound on GSP = Hairball in the rain with traffic

nismopath
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Joined: Tue May 24, 2016 5:19 pm

Postby nismopath » Sat May 28, 2016 12:55 pm

so if I am hardwiring the radar to a fuse, what fuse should I tap in to ? I want it to turn on when I turn the car on, and turn off when I turn it off.

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HydroPonix
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Postby HydroPonix » Mon Jun 06, 2016 7:34 pm

Hey nismopath,

I used a marine fuse block to add a detector. It does not turn off with the car, so you have to remember to shut it off, but it is double fused (one fuse off the battery on the hub, the second fuse from the hub to the detector) to better protect my valentine. It was not a hard install and the hub is not all that expensive. You can also use it to add aditonal devices another day. Here is a link,

https://www.bluesea.com/products/5028/S ... with_Cover

Mine has 10 circuits but thats because I have many things plugged into it. Its a good place to start especially considering most detectors are over 100$.

Just remember to look at what the fuse requirements are, my valentine only required a 2 amp fuse. Anything higher i ran the risk of frying the detector. I have installed this method in two vehicles and have been running it over a year with no problems.

Somewhere in the threads i might have something that shows my electrical set up. I dont suggest tapping into any existing fuses, you run the risk of starting a fire in your car.

Good luck!


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