We are asked constantly which is the best radar detector and best radar jammer. To answer the questions we conduct our annual radar detector test. Radar detector manufacturers, radar/laser gun representatives, state/local police officers, magazine reporters, and countermeasure companies once again gathered on a remote desert road outside of El Paso, TX June 11-13, 2004 to participate in Speed Measurement Laboratories, Inc’s. annual radar detector test. The 2005 radar test is scheduled for June 24 - 26, with results posted by mid July 2005. New this year was the attendance of three motorcycle brands, i.e. BMW, Harley Davidson, and Yahama all outfitted with Blinder laser counter measures. New radar guns introduced at the annual International Association of Chiefs of Police convention were pitted against the newest and best models of radar detectors.

The Texas State Police provided and operated four radar detector-detectors. MPH Industries kicked in their newest POP model radar gun advertised to be invisible to radar detectors. Kustom Signals, Inc, Stalker, Laser Atlanta, and Laser Technologies Inc. laser guns were fired all with their newest programming. SML’s Girls Of Radar made the activities more interesting. This year we report performance by retail price categories. We looked at the best radar detectors readily available at national electronic chains rather then test all radar detectors on the market with the belief that national chains only select detectors with proven performance histories and company integrity. Although K40’s performance is solidly proven we did not test it as it is excursively sold at 12 volt installation outlets and not mass market retail. Valentine One radar detector is included as it has long been considered the performance benchmark of the industry. We grouped radar detectors into those selling above the retail price of $300.00 plus and those below $200.00. Above the $300.00 price point group included Valentine One, Beltronics RX65, and Escort X50 radar detectors. Below the $200.00 level, usually way below, grouped Cobra XRS 9700, Whistler Pro 73, and Precision Navigation’s Silver Bullet radar detectors. Other pre-production prototypes were tested, but the results will not be reported as they are not in stores. Manufacturers were allowed to bring their own radar detectors. However, the identical models were bought from retail stores and internet sources to insure the manufacturer models performed at the same levels as the retail samples. These retail models were tested on Sunday, 13 June by certified police officers. Radar detector manufacturers were not invited to Sunday’s testing, only SML personnel and the police officers. A total of ten certified police officers operated the radar and laser guns with instructions to use them as they do each day in giving tickets. Officers also observed and reported the results. Although Speed Measurement Laboratories, Inc, (SML) holds master radar/laser certification and actually trains and certifies police officers, per federal requirements, no SML staff operated any of the radar and laser guns to insure impartiality and avoid charges of bias. RadarDetectors.com brought their new fifth wheel and served as a service center for the motorcycles and an air conditioned oasis.

Choosing a radar detector is confusing. When on the road we always visit retailers armed with simple questions: “What range do police use radar guns to give tickets?”, “Are radar detectors legal in all states?”, “Who determines the radar bands used by police?”, “Are radar jammers legal?”, “How many bands use POP mode?”, “Will the highway/city filter cut down on false alerts on all bands?”, “What is the difference between ‘pulse’ and ‘instant-on’ radar?”, “Do radar detectors give any advanced warning to police laser guns?” Unfortunately, the answers are usually the same even in the store that proudly touts; “You Have Questions...We Have Answers!” The fact is there are no answers from retail floor personnel. They don’t know and read from the radar detector’s packaging. On the retail floor, packaging sells radar detectors and many sales personnel and customers assume the higher the price the higher the protection from speeding tickets. This is not always the case.

SML field testing is designed around how police use radar and laser guns. No other testing company trains and certifies police agencies and police officers. SML does. Our field testing is unique as radar and laser gun manufacturers learn how their enforcement systems perform against radar detectors. They know this because they attend. No other company uses certified police officers to operate, observe, and record the results exclusively. The results are the results...period. The results are not swayed by consulting contracts or additional testing fees. All participating radar detector makers pay SML the same testing fee. SML does not sell radar detectors nor does it advocate them.

To provide adequate advanced warning, a radar detector must notify the driver at least one mile in advance of the radar guns position. Police rarely use radar past 1/4 mile. There are legal reasons for this. Police rarely use laser past 1,000 feet. There are legal reasons for this. It is of little use to have a radar detector reporting a radar encounter from ten miles away. Radar detectors must correctly report the radar band being used. Radar bans are determined by the Federal Communications Commission. Radar detectors must correctly report instant on and constant on radar. Pulsed radar is another name for instant on radar. Using instant on radar, the officer triggers the radar gun for a short period of time, usually less than two seconds. This feature was introduced to defeat radar detectors. A POP mode radar transmission is shorter, 67 ms (67 thousandths of a second). POP mode was introduced by MPH Industries, makers of the Ka band Bee III radar gun. They did this to sell more radar guns to police. You will encounter POP mode on Ka band at 33.8 GHz. It had been offered previously on K band. There is no POP mode on X band. Bluntly put, there is no advanced warning to police laser guns as laser uses a 3 milliradian, pulsed wave, infrared, 904 nanometer light emission with a very narrow and tight beam. It diverges to a mere 18 inches at 500 feet compared to a X band radar gun’s beam divergence of some 150 feet! If a detector does alert to laser, it usually means you just got a ticket. Unless you drive an eighteen-wheeler there is little concern for radar detector detectors known at the VG-2 and Spectre. Radar detectors are legal in cars in all states except Virginia, Washington, DC, and US Military Reservations. In Canada radar detector use in cars is legal in only three provinces, i.e. British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Customer buy a radar detector for one reason. They don’t want a deserved or undeserved speeding ticket!

We structure our testing around these facts. We want to measure performance against police radar and laser guns. We do not report the many features now offered by detectors including compass, altimeter, laser gun identification by model called “laser ID”, actual frequency emitted by the radar gun, bilingualism, auto shut off, on and on and on. We only report the performance! That is why customers are buying a radar detector!

For the instant on / constant on test cones were placed at 1, 1 /2, 2, and 2 1/2 miles from the radar guns. The cone at 2 1/2 miles was slightly over a hill and the test vehicle was out of sight of the radar van. Test vehicles were stationary. Officers triggered the radar guns for less than two seconds in the instant on configuration and for approximately five seconds in the constant transmit position. A MPH K-55 X band gun was used along with a Decatur GHD K band and a MPH Bee III (33.8 GHz). Police officers were in the test vehicles and reported the radar detector results. Radar detector makers accompanied the police officers in the test vehicles. All test vehicles began at the 2 1/2 mile cone and after all radar detectors encountered all radar guns, two tries each detector, the test vehicles move to next closer cone. Y means the detector correctly reported radar. N means the radar detector did not detect radar. Beginning at the 1 1/2 mile cone signal strength was recorded. Y 5/9 means that out of a possible 9 leds being illuminated, 5 were illuminated indicating signal strength. F means Full Alert.

Each radar detector had two tries. In the “Over $300.00 Category” Escort’s X50 gave the best radar detector warning to instant on and constant on radar alerting at the 2 1/2 mile cone over the hill while others in this category were silent. In the “Under $200.00 Category” it was a virtual dead heat with the nod going to Whistler’s 73. Cobra 9700, PNI 7500, and Whistler 73 all gave plentiful advanced warning to radar at eight times the normal radar gun targeting and capture range of 1/4 mile. The hill before the 2 1/2 mile cone thwarted all detectors except Escort’s X50. A note here. Cobra, Whistler, and PNI all offer many different models you will see in retail stores. The difference in the models is the features of each model. The electronics are the same. Knowing this, we are reporting each manufacture’s “top of the line” model.

Much has been said about MPH’s POP mode found in their Bee III 33.8 GHz radar. Most of the negatives come from manufacturers who can’t detect it. The fact is thousands of these guns have been sold and are in use. MPH is using this anti-radar detector feature to sell radar guns. POP transmits a very fast emission at 67 milliseconds. The manual states clearly POP may not be used to issue speeding tickets as it cannot be locked and can only be used in the stationary mode. The manual says if a violation is observed, the operator should immediately put the remote in the instant on or constant on mode. The State of Nevada recently issued a state contract for the Bee III and the POP mode was called for in the specifications. POP mode is a reality and radar detector makers must deal with it. Radar gun manufacturers are constantly announcing new products and technologies. SML is close to the manufacturers. This is the main reason radar detector makers participate in SML’s testing. They know SML has the most current radar and laser gun technologies available. Radar guns are getting smaller, faster, and smarter as pictorially depicted in old and new radar guns.

To test POP mode we placed cones at 1/4 mile, 1,000 feet and 500 feet. The test vehicles were told to drive toward the radar van at a speed they determined. They announced their arrival at the 1,000 foot and 500 foot cones. The POP mode was then fired and the operating officer announced the test vehicle’s speed as shown by the Bee III. These two distances were chosen as the amount of POP signal strength is greater at the 500-foot cone consistent with the rule of least squares for radar reflectivity. A means the detector alerted to POP mode. N means no alert to POP. All detectors were in PO

Radar Detector Detectors (RDDs) and the ability of radar detectors to be invisible to them is part of the continuing “cat and mouse” game of the highways. Radar detectors were made illegal in all states in commercial vehicles in February of 1995. Radar detector use in cars is legal in all states except Virginia, Washington, D.C. and U.S. Military reservations. Radar detectors are legal in only three Canadian provinces. The first RDD was the VG-2 initially made in Canada. It looked for local oscillator leakage, common to all radar detectors, at 11.55 GHz. Once this became an issue, detector makers changed their IF to avoid the VG-2. Contrary to the ads of some jammer makers, there is no such product at the VG-3. They made it up! The VG-2 is no longer made. It’s been replaced by the Australian Spectre from Micro Stealth Technologies. Radar detectors are illegal in Australia along with many other countries. It seemed the “cat” was winning, but the “smart mouse” detector manufacturers found out how to fool the first Spectre. Spectre I, Spectre II and Spectre III have been announced with new programming. Last year Texas bought over 150 Spectres. Other states have followed.

To see who was “invisible,” all detectors drove toward the RDDs at 30 mph from a cone placed at 1/2 mile. To avoid any hint of bias, the Texas Department of Public Safety (state police) provided and operated the RDDs. Once detected, the test vehicle was told to stop and its distance measured by a Kustom Signals Pro Laser III. All other radar detectors were in the off position and if there was any doubt, radar detectors were given many tries. To be accurate, once stopped the test vehicle backed up slowly to get a correct distance reading. Some radar detectors have a feature called VG-2 Alert. This feature is a true detector-detector-detector alerting the driver to the use of a RDD before the RDD can detect the detector. ND means Not Detected by the RDD, NDVG means Not Detected by the VG-2 with the distance the detector detected the RDD shown in feet. If the detector was detected, the detection distance by the RDD is shown in feet.

Some of the radar detector makers have secured models of the Spectre for their testing. However, the programming is constantly changing from the manufacturer with current police agencies using older Spectres. It is a promised service of the company. Consequently, in their testing with their Spectre, the detector maker’s detectors might have been invisible to the Spectres they secured, but in testing against the three Spectres operated by TXDPS other results were observed and recorded. We must report what the police found and not what the engineering departments of the detector makers observed. Being invisible to RDDs is a marketing commandment. If one claims it, all must claim it. Unless you drive an eighteen-wheeler or live in Canada, there is little possibility of being stopped by police for operating a radar detector in your car. All detectors were invisible to the VG-2. The Escort X50 and PNI’s 7500 were the only detectors invisible to the new Spectre III. The Valentine One showed the best shielding of its emitted signal against the Spectre II and Spectre I.

If you believe there will be money in your Social Security Account when you retire, then you will believe radar detectors give consistent protection against laser guns. They don’t! Every radar detector must have a laser detection section. This is another marketing commandment! Every retail box states 360° laser protection. Unless the law of physics have changed since I was in college, bending light is impossible. Their statements are true if the laser guns are aimed directly at the detectors by police officers. Officers don’t aim laser gun at windshields, they aim them at license plates or front headlights. Laser is different from microwave radar. Radar’s beam is very wide and bounces off buildings, road signs, other vehicles and can be detected at great distances. Laser’s precise 904 nanometer, 3 milliradian beam is very narrow and does not “scatter” like radar. Unless laser is used at great targeting distances, which it is not, their is no advanced warning to police laser gun use. The popularity of laser counter measures from Laser Blinder, K-40, Escort, and Beltronics speaks volumes about a detector’s ability to give any advanced warning to laser use. There are no federal laws prohibiting jamming a police laser gun. It is a federal felony punishable by up to one year in jail and a $75,000.00 fine to “jam or attempt to jam” a police radar gun. During our laser test we wanted to test the pulse rate of laser guns to verify specifications before testing. SML E.E. Engineer Dave Adams provided the service.

For the laser test we placed cones at 1000 feet and 500 feet. At each cone police lasers, Kustom Signals Pro Laser III and a Stalker LZ-1, were fired first at the wind shield where the detector was mounted and then at the normal aiming point of the front license plate and/or the headlight. The distances are important as at 500 feet the laser’s beam divergence is a mere 18 inches and at 1000 feet 36 inches. Officers are limited by judicial precedent from operating laser past 1000 feet. The targeting distance reported by the laser guns was verified by police officers. The officers then asked the officers in the test vehicle if the radar detector had alerted to laser use. A second Trailing Vehicle Test was conducted. We wanted to see if a vehicle trailing located at 1/4 mile gave any advanced warning when the laser was aimed at the target vehicle at 1000 feet. N means the radar detector did not alert to laser. A means the radar detector alerted to laser.

The Valentine One was the only radar detector to report laser when the laser was fired at a vehicle in front of it in the Trailing Vehicle Test. However, it did not see the laser when it was fired at the normal aiming point at 500 feet or 1000 feet. No detector reported laser when it was aimed at the front license plate or the headlight at both 500 feet or 1000 feet.

We have previously stated clearly that radar guns are normally used at distances of 1/4 mile or less due to the legal requirements of a valid “visual tracking history.” Our test course outside of El Paso is ideal for what we call “microwave propagation” meaning it is the ideal elevation devoid of humidity for testing radar devices. Radar’s microwave signal goes for ever! The performance of radar detectors in your town will not be as good as what we see in El Paso as we call it “pure air.” We have long wanted to find a completely flat section of highway for long range radar detector testing and we found it north of El Paso on U.S. 54 in New Mexico outside of Alamogordo, NM. It measures over eleven miles only disturbed by the curvature of the earth and an occasional “dust devil” or miniature sand swirling “cyclone.” Test vehicle observers were told to report their reception distance when they received a repetitive, consistent alert from their detector beginning at a cone place eleven mile from the radar van. At this great distance, radar signals will fade in and out and driving toward the radar van a radar signal would be lost and then picked up again, but we were interested in the first alert. Losing signal is not uncommon in the desert as temperature reflections/inversions and sporadic “dust devils” kick up radar adsorbing small sand storms. We placed the cone at eleven miles as the curvature of the earth produced an artificial hill that could have hampered radar reception. We wanted to test those detectors that claim the Long Ranger title, namely Escort X50, Bel RX 65, and Valentine One. The Under $200.00 radar detectors make no such claims! The results were astounding. Twice during the testing our test vehicles had to go into town for gas and a spicy taco. They were thirteen miles from the radar van and periodically all three reported our radar transmissions. This great range challenged our commercial 50 Watt radios. Don’t try this with CB radios. We made it difficult for the threesome as we used a low powered K band Stalker Basic transmitting less than 10 mW, a MPH K-55 X band radar, and Kustom Signals Talon Ka at 35.5 GHz. There is some subjectiveness to the results as all three periodically, not predictably, reported radar at thirteen miles. We double checked our results on Sunday with no radar manufacturers present. The table below shows the detection distance in miles and 10ths. and we can not honestly declare the Long Ranger Title but must give it to all three.

Unfortunately, at these astounding reporting distances you might get annoyed by the striking signal processing power of the three detectors and their constant, insistent long range warnings while you are trying to enjoy the scenery instead of listening to your radar detector screaming its warning. The temptation is to turn the detector off. Don’t do that! Cobra’s 9700 surprised us rivaling the three Over $300.00 radar detectors as it reported X band at 10.7 miles and Ka band at 8.8 miles. Whistler’s 73 started chirping at a mind boggling 9.2 miles on K band. The retail purchased samples exhibited similar performance when tested on Sunday.

Knowing the futility of a radar detector’s ability to provide any advanced warning to police laser guns, many laser counter measures have become popular. Last year we tested a product designed to reduce the laser targeting profile of a vehicle. The product was Laser Veil, www.laserveil.com, and it showed promise. We have tested bogus products in the past including laser license plate covers, license plate sprays designed to defeat photo radar, radar jammers, and even car wax designed to make you invisible to radar. The were just that....bogus! Not so with Laser Veil. This product works on the assumption of reducing the laser reflectivity areas of the vehicle targeted by laser guns, i.e. the license plate and the headlights. It is applied to the license plate and the headlights with provided brushes. To test its effectiveness we used two target vehicles and a Harley Davidson. Officers first established a targeting baseline for each vehicle. A laser gun’s ability to target is greatly based on the color of the vehicle. The lighter the vehicle, the easier the targeting. A white colored vehicle is the easiest target for a laser gun as the color white reflects all colors including laser’s infrared light. The darker the vehicle the more difficult it is to target. A black car with no chrome, no front plate, and pop down headlights is virtually impossible to target with laser. Motorcycles, contrary to popular opinions, are easy targets especially if they have a large headlight like a Harley. A light colored, taupe, Buick was an easy target for the laser gun. The Kustom Pro III laser got a target reading on the Buick on average at 1,640 feet. The dark blue Dodge was a more difficult target averaging a target reading at 1,256 feet, a target reduction distance of 24%. The Harley’s large headlight made it easily seen by the laser on average at 1,580 feet. Each target vehicle was run at the laser gun three times to establish a targeting distance. All testing parameters being equal, Laser Veil was then applied to the targeting point on each vehicle, the driver’s side headlight. The test vehicles were then run again at the same speed and from the same distances toward the police laser gun three times. On average Laser Veil reduced the targeting distance of the Buick by 65% to 577 feet, It reduced the targeting distance of the Dodge by 64% to 456 feet and it reduced the Harley’s targeting distance by 49% to 812 feet. Based on the replicated testing procedures, Laser Veil performs as advertised as is awarded SML Performance Certification seal.

As we have seen motorcycles are easy targets for laser guns and new digital radar guns know they are there about the same time as cars. A unique protection system for bikes has been assembled by Roy Reyer at www.stealthhog.com, www.radardetectors.com and Legal Speeding Enterprises at www.legalspeeding.com. Roy has combined an Escort X50 with a Laser Blinder, www.usblinder.com all tied to Legal Speeding Enterprises (LES) wireless helmet warning system. The system features a small helmet mounted red led easily seen by the driver when a radar or laser encounter occurs. There are no wires between the LES system and the Escort X 50 or the Blinder. Warnings are transmitted wirelessly to the helmet. Roy arranged for three bikes to be out fitted with the system including a Yahama, a Harley, and a BMW. The installations began the night before the test in Roy’s fifth wheel insuring all bikes had maximum protection as the next morning the faced dangerous and lethal laser guns from Stalker, Kustom, LTI, and Laser Atlanta. Laser Blinder’s transponders were located fore and aft on the bikes hidden beneath the seat and under the headlights with a clear, level view of the road. Cones were placed at 1000 feet and 500 feet and the bikes began at the 1/2 mile cone. SML staff were at each cone and raised a flag as the bike reached their position as a signal for the officer to fire the laser gun. The bikes then went away from the laser gun’s position and laser was fired at the rear of the bikes at the 500 feet and 1000 feet cone. Here again, SML staff raised their flags as the bikes reached the cones. John Turner of Tiger Lily, www.1-radar-laser-jammers-detectors.com also participated in his Blinder equipped Pontiac Firebird with Blinder’s transponders located in the hood scoops. The Blinder is part of a total self defense system Turner offers called the Prowler which includes a Bel RX 65, a Bel Pro Remote, and a Laser Blinder. Each bike and Turner’s Firebird were given three runs at the laser guns coming and going. Roy Reyer’s Ford Heavy Duty, Harley Davidson edition equipped with Laser Blinder also ran at the lasers. The combination of bikes, a small silhouette car, and the big Ford pickup gave us various reflective targets both big and small to observe Laser Blinder’s effectiveness. After initial problems with the Harley’s rear mounted Blinder transponder not being level to the road and BMW’s Blinder coming lose fromits mount, all Blinders blanked all speed readings of all laser guns each time in the ninety runs attempted at the various laser guns. The performance of the Laser Blinder should be titled....Blinding Speed! We do not advocate jamming police laser guns nor condone such products, but we do admire its flawless effectiveness. Roy was so happy he turned up the air conditioning in his fifth wheel to keep The Girls of Radar from melting in the hot desert sun.

The “Top Dog” of radar detectors in the Over $300.00 price category goes to Escort’s X50 for the following reasons. It was the only radar detector to report constant on and instant on radar over the hill at the 2 1/2 mile cone. It consistently alerted to MPH’s Bee III POP mode. It was one of only two of the six detectors tested to be invisible to the new Spectre III RDD and it tied in the Long Ranger test alerting at an astounding eleven miles from the radar guns. The X50 also lends itself easily to interfacing with motorcycle defense systems with external audio. In the Under $200.00 club each competitor won something and there wasn’t a clear-cut winner as in the Over $300.00 crowd. Cobra’s 9700 was the Long Ranger champ seeing X band at 10.7 miles and K band at 8.8 miles. PNI’s Silver Bullet was the only radar detector in this category to be invisible to the Spectre III RDD. Whistler’s 73 displayed superior range from the 2-mile cone during the instant on and constant on radar testing. Will all of the radar detectors tested give you substancial protection from police radar guns? The answer is a resounding yes! Will the same detectors protect you against laser? The answer is a resounding no! Your decision to buy one of the evaluated radar detectors may involve researching their non-performance features. Go to their web sites for pricing and features. The question here is how much protection can you afford?

Any time we conduct our annual radar detector test we leave ourselves wide open to criticism. Sometimes we report performance the manufacturers don’t like and they pound on us to change what we have said. We don’t! Much of the concern comes from owners of a particular tested radar detector when they find their results differ from ours. Let us state this again. We test under ideal environmental conditions. Your results will probably vary. All radar and laser guns are operated by certified police officers told to operate the guns as they do each day when writing tickets. All performance figures are reported and recorded by police officers. This is a very expensive way to conduct field testing, but it is essential for fairness and accuracy. No one else does this. SML staff does not operate radar or laser guns during field testing to avoid any hint of bias. All RDDs are provided by and operated by state police personnel. We buy identical models of those provided by the radar detector makers and test them separately to insure the models brought by the radar detector makers were not “juiced” for the test. If there is a better way to test impartially, we do not know of it. You may contact us at speed3@speedlabs.com with comments. Please see our other web sites of www.speedlabs.com and www.girlsofradar.com for further background on our company. Ninety five percent of what we do involves developing public safety products and only 5% of our time is spent testing radar detectors.

All graphics and contents © Speed Measurement Laboratories Inc. All rights reserved.

Reprinted with Permission from Speed Measurement Laboratories Inc.

!!! SML will not field questions regarding results from 2004 test. !!!

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