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Originally posted by mbSVT:
Originally posted by rkneeshaw:
To get a detector because it has "less false alarms" is screwing yourself.
I've always wondered why people never figured this out...
Because it's WRONG. The 8500 has been rated by many places as having less false alarms than any other detectors BUT still having the best range out of almost all of them (comparable with V1).
I (like you) am no expert on radar, so I can't give a good explanation why, but I do realize that police radar and the things that give false alarms (other detectors,etc.) use different frequencies usually. Also, the 8500 is still going to alert on automatic door openers BUT probably alert less on them then some other detectors AND alert A LOT less on cheap detectors that are emitting radar.
98.5 SVT
91 Escort GT (almost sold)
96 ATX Zetec (i brake to watch you swerve)
FS: SVT rear sway bar
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Originally posted by Kremithefrog:
It's VASCAR not NASCAR that they use from airplanes.  Also, there is a cb radio that can detect state patrol cars (within 6 miles or so supposedly) because the cars are equipped with radio signal repeaters because they have to travel so far from land antennas sometimes.
Anyways, I'm getting the 8500. Check the GB section, only $245 shipped.
It's a scanner, not CB radio. Uniden BearTracker BCT-7 (replaced by BCT-8) to be exact. 
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Originally posted by Kremithefrog:
Originally posted by mbSVT:
Originally posted by rkneeshaw:
To get a detector because it has "less false alarms" is screwing yourself.
I've always wondered why people never figured this out...
Because it's WRONG. The 8500 has been rated by many places as having less false alarms than any other detectors BUT still having the best range out of almost all of them (comparable with V1).
I (like you) am no expert on radar, so I can't give a good explanation why, but I do realize that police radar and the things that give false alarms (other detectors,etc.) use different frequencies usually. Also, the 8500 is still going to alert on automatic door openers BUT probably alert less on them then some other detectors AND alert A LOT less on cheap detectors that are emitting radar.
Here's the thing... the V1 does have less false alarms than others. I'm sure that the 8500 does too. No denying that... it has to do with the signal processing.
However, noone's debating whether or not your detector has less falses than another... read the quote again... what I said was I've never understood why people base their decision on which brand has the least false alarms!!! That's the LAST thing that you should be worrying about... i can't tell you how many times i've heard people say, "well i dont want the thing going off all the time"... THATS THE POINT!!
I'm hardly an expert on radar, but given that my dad was a cop and I've grown up on BOTH ends of the radar gun, I'd like to think I know a bit... 
Diesel owns you
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Originally posted by mbSVT:
Originally posted by Kremithefrog:
Originally posted by mbSVT:
Originally posted by rkneeshaw:
To get a detector because it has "less false alarms" is screwing yourself.
I've always wondered why people never figured this out...
Because it's WRONG. The 8500 has been rated by many places as having less false alarms than any other detectors BUT still having the best range out of almost all of them (comparable with V1).
I (like you) am no expert on radar, so I can't give a good explanation why, but I do realize that police radar and the things that give false alarms (other detectors,etc.) use different frequencies usually. Also, the 8500 is still going to alert on automatic door openers BUT probably alert less on them then some other detectors AND alert A LOT less on cheap detectors that are emitting radar.
Here's the thing... the V1 does have less false alarms than others. I'm sure that the 8500 does too. No denying that... it has to do with the signal processing.
However, noone's debating whether or not your detector has less falses than another... read the quote again... what I said was I've never understood why people base their decision on which brand has the least false alarms!!! That's the LAST thing that you should be worrying about... i can't tell you how many times i've heard people say, "well i dont want the thing going off all the time"... THATS THE POINT!!
I'm hardly an expert on radar, but given that my dad was a cop and I've grown up on BOTH ends of the radar gun, I'd like to think I know a bit...
The V1 actually has a good bit of false alarms from what I hear. Probably less than some of the lower end models but more than some of the higher end models like the bel 995 and the 8500.
I didn't see anyone in this thread basing their decision on false alarms. I agree it would be stupid to base the decision soley on that. BUT you really don't want it going off all the time. Why? Because if it is going on 24/7 you'll either just stop using it or just ignore it. You want something that filters out the false signals so that the detector is actually useful. If it was going off all the time, why even use it??? Of course you want a detector that does go off when it should, so you don't want to buy a cheap detector because it gets less false alarms, because it probably does not have a good range BUT a high end model that gets less false alarms but still has good range is worth it.
So really, false alarms is a main concern you should be worried about, other wise your detector is useless. You might as well put just some toy in your car that beeps all the time if you don't care about false alarms and actually think a detector that gives tons of false alarms is worth a crap. Of course you have to combine amount of false alarms with range,etc. to choose a good detector.
And cops are not experts on radar either, they just know how to use the radar gun. So you know a little bit about how to use a radar gun. 
98.5 SVT
91 Escort GT (almost sold)
96 ATX Zetec (i brake to watch you swerve)
FS: SVT rear sway bar
WTB: Very cheap beater
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You're missing the point. There is no way a detector can tell if a radar signal is a cop or not, it just can't. Radar is just an electromagnetic wave on a certain frequency, it doesnt have a protocol encoded in it for communication that a radar detector can use to tell if its a cop or a door. All it can do is scan a range of frequencies that the FCC has said radar can work on, and if it detects a signal within that frequency range, it will warn you, and show you the strength of that signal, because that's radar.
A radar gun sends out a signal, and listens for the return of that signal bouncing off an object, then repeats this a fraction of a second later, compares the time it took for each signal to "echo" back and determines the speed of that object. There is nothing in that signal that is different than what automatic doors and security systems use.
Its like a wave in a pool. If you make a wave with your hand, or a boat makes a wave, there's no way to tell the difference, its just a wave (granted the wave would be larger with a boat, as a radar signal is stronger from cops due to the range they require, and is hte reason we can pick up police radar with greater range than doors and security systems).
If you have a radar detector that doesnt give you false alarms, then it is not as sensitive as the higher end detectors, and therefore is inferior. If I'm on the freeway, I want as much notice and sensitivity as possible.
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Unless you live in an area that uses X band radar frequently(Iowa, for example), you can pretty much dismiss X band alerts.
The local PD in my town uses K and Ka and occasionally lidar. The same goes for the Sheriffs department and State Police, which are also using aircraft on certain stretches of roadway, which is where the scanner comes in handy. In addition, I have encountered a NM Commercial Vehicle enforcement officer using lidar as well.
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Originally posted by rkneeshaw:
If you have a radar detector that doesnt give you false alarms, then it is not as sensitive as the higher end detectors, and therefore is inferior. If I'm on the freeway, I want as much notice and sensitivity as possible.
Higher end units false less because they have better technology. When they sense a signal, some of them will desensitize and see if it's still a true signal. Then if it senses the radar signal, the detector will then alert you. And lower end units are so poorly designed that they actually emit radar waves and set off other radar detectors. That, is not a good thing.
Bank and supermarket doors aim their signal at a 45* angle to the ground to detect people's presence. A true cop radar will be aimed on the roadway to clock cars. I want a radar dectector that can filter out the errant junk and give me what it believes is a real threat.
In high school, my friend bought the cheapest BEL around. That think falsed so much that he started ignoring it. It's like crying wolf.
1998 T-Red SVT #957
Born 5/14/1997
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Originally posted by TommySVT:
In high school, my friend bought the cheapest BEL around. That think falsed so much that he started ignoring it. It's like crying wolf.
Finally, someone isn't a complete retard on these forums.
Though if ya'll think false alarms=good detector. Then go ahead and buy a detector that constantly goes off. That will really help you. You'll never know what is real and what isn't. My 8500 falses plenty, but still less than other detectors. And still better than other detectors. Or I guess it really isn't better because it isn't falsing all the time.
98.5 SVT
91 Escort GT (almost sold)
96 ATX Zetec (i brake to watch you swerve)
FS: SVT rear sway bar
WTB: Very cheap beater
CEG Dragon Run - October 13-15
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You're still not getting it.
Basicly you're saying that unless your detector detects a signal that is pointed directly at it, you want it to not tell you anything. That's silly because if a cop is sitting around a corner, and hitting traffic in front of you, you're basicly asking the detector to ignore it. And trust me, if the cop is pointing his radar at your car, your done anyway, making the detector useless.
My wave in a pool analogy is the best I can give you. If you make a wave with your hand, its still a wave. If you're around the corner from that wave, you still see the wave, although it is weaker. If a ball fell in the pool and made that wave, you couldn't tell, its still just a wave. Anything could have created it, you can never tell because all waves are simply waves of water, with no identifying marks or signs.
Same thing with radar and detectors. If it senses a signal, it should bark, because that signal may be faint, but it could be from a cop that is sitting around a corner, and its had to reflect off of other cars and objects before it gets to you, but nonetheless, its a cop's radar signal. To ask a detector to differentiate between that signal and a doors signal that is pointed at the ground and reflecting towards you, is the same as asking you to tell what caused a wave in a pool by looking at just the wave; thats impossible, its just a wave! There's no identifying mark on that wave. The only way you could possibly tell anything is by the strength of that wave, and it would still be a guess!
Radar isn't all that complicated. Its just a wave. It doesnt carry any data, doesnt have any protocol, its simply a wave. Since doors create the same "waves" as cops radar guns (in the same band, either X, K, or Ka) there is not a way that circuitry can be used to filter out false alarms.
Thinking less false alarms makes it a better detector is a false understanding.
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Originally posted by TommySVT:
Bank and supermarket doors aim their signal at a 45* angle to the ground to detect people's presence. A true cop radar will be aimed on the roadway to clock cars. I want a radar dectector that can filter out the errant junk and give me what it believes is a real threat.
And I want a radar detector which detects all kinds of reflected signals which bounced off other people's cars and terrain objects. I want no radar detector which detects only the strong, straight signal aimed at my car. Guess why.
If you're 2 mi away from the partol car, all you can catch is a weak, probably several times reflected and distorted signal.
That is exactly what I want to pick up.
Tiv
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