Radio Shack (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2760953) has the Beltronics Vector 995 detector on sale for $79.97 in store. You can search store inventory on the website. We think this is a pretty good deal.
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Valentine Research has finally released the Savvy device: see here. It plugs into your OBDII sensor of your car (sorry everyone who’s car was made before 1996, you are probably out of luck and cannot use Savvy) and allows you to set a speed threshold. If your V1 receives a radar or laser alert and you are under the preset speed, the V1 will alert at the muted volume setting. The Savvy can also provide power to your V1, which I think is pretty cool. Is it worth $70? I don’t know, I’ll wait to hear some reports of how well it works. Escort has revealed most of the details around their new Escort Live! service. It seems to be a service that provides the following:
It comes packaged as a new “smart cord” and works with the following radar detectors: You’ll also need a smartphone (either iPhone or Android – no support for other platforms has been announced yet). Once you have the detector, the smartcord, and your phone, and they are all paired up together, you get a really slick display on your phone. The system is very similar to Trapster except that it seems like the smartcord can automatically report threats (such as laser and Ka), while the it looks like the user will have to have some interaction to report K and X band threats. In theory, this is a pretty slick solution, but it has a lot of factors working against it.
I admit, I think this is pretty cool, but we also think the factors listed above will severely limit the amount of benefit you’ll get from purchasing one of these units. It just doesn’t seem like there will be enough data to provide any extra protection. What do you think? UPDATE: We’ve heard that this device may also add functionality to your radar detector to manually lock out false signals. If this is true, it may be a good reason for those of us who don’t have a Beltronics GX65 or Escort Passport 9500ix to buy the Escort Live! Well, we don’t really know yet. We think it is going to be a product similar to the Cobra iRadar, Trapster and RadarActive. We have several reservations: It looks like it will be subscription based, it looks like it needs to be connected to a smartphone, and it looks like it will only work with Escort radar detectors. We are unsure if the number of subscribers will be large enough to make a difference. Escort will be revealing all the information soon, and we’ll keep you posted.
Well look at this:
Look’s like Valentine Research has got something up their sleeve. We have no idea what it’ll be, but we are hoping for something good. On 9/1/2011,a new law went into place in Texas that makes laser jammers illegal. See how the law reads below. It’s important to note the bolded part about this offense being a misdemeanor! Sec. 547.616. RADAR INTERFERENCE DEVICES; OFFENSE. (a) In this section, “radar interference device” means a device, a mechanism, an instrument, or equipment that is designed, manufactured, used, or intended to be used to interfere with, scramble, disrupt, or otherwise cause to malfunction a radar or laser device used to measure the speed of a motor vehicle by a law enforcement agency of this state or a political subdivision of this state, including a “radar jamming device,” “jammer,” “scrambler,” or “diffuser.” The term does not include a ham radio, band radio, or similar electronic device. (b) A person, other than a law enforcement officer in the discharge of the officer’s official duties, may not use, attempt to use, install, operate, or attempt to operate a radar interference device in a motor vehicle operated by the person. (c) A person may not purchase, sell, or offer for sale a radar interference device to be used in a manner described by Subsection (b). (d) A person who violates this section commits an offense. An offense under this subsection is a Class C misdemeanor. Since the invention of radar detectors, the industry has evolved as law enforcement has found other methods of speed detection. The basic radar detectors of years ago are not able to detect LIDAR (laser) beams, ENRADD beams, or photo enforcement cameras. As each one of these technologies were put back into use and improved upon by law enforcement, speed enforcement detection has kept up. But previously, a motorist had to have several different units in order to detect signals, cluttering their dash or windshields. And some of the units were not very effective in preventing those costly speeding citations, since law enforcement countered with more advancement in technology in order to stay one step ahead of speeding motorists. Recently newer models of speed enforcement detectors were introduced on the market that are all-in-one units that include radar and laser detection as well as photo enforcement detection and GPS technology. There are different reviews with opinions that are both pro and con in their effectiveness and features as well as the price of the units. However, the general consensus is that the convenience of an all-in-one unit is well worth the price. But is it really? The newest models that are currently on the market have some good features as well as having a lack of other features. For example, some consumers are frustrated by the fact that map updates for their GPS functions are not free on some models, and real-time traffic information is not available. On other models, the updates are free but laser detection is not always reliable, or the units give false alarm readings due to other devices in close proximity. On the other hand, some units have excellent radar and laser detection, allowing the motorist to slow down before a speed overage is detected. However, law enforcement has developed radar and laser detector detectors. Since they are aware that a motorist is using a detector, they are better able to make use of “instant on” technology in catching speeding motorists. The all-in-one units that have just come out on the market may have their short-comings, but a lot of consumers are willing to pay the extra price for the convenience of having all of the features at their finger tips. Others are waiting for upgrades to the units that help to work out the “bugs” and add to the features available. In the meantime, law enforcement is scrambling to come up with upgrades of their own. And so the speed detection war continues. The Electronic Non Radar Device (ENRADD) is not new technology. It has been in use in Pennsylvania since the 1970’s, with all law enforcement officers legally able to use it. But motorists are not too sure they should trust the technology, especially when they are the ones that are receiving costly speeding citations with the use of it. It is not so much the way it is used, but rather the possibility of false readings that have motorists up in arms. However, the results from ENRADD stand as evidence in a court of law if speeding tickets are disputed. The technology works by having two sensors on side of a roadway that placed three feet apart, and two more sensors placed the same way on the other side of the roadway. An invisible beam of light flashes between the sensors that are placed opposite of each, and when a vehicle passes through the first beam it is timed for when it passes through the second beam. The equipment then calculates the vehicle’s speed and sends a signal to a waiting police car to alert the officer if the vehicle is above a set alarm speed. The officer then does a traffic stop on the offending vehicle, or calls ahead to another officer that is waiting farther down the roadway. The accuracy of ENRADD in calculating the speed of vehicles is not what is in question. It is when vehicles that are passing each other (no matter which direction they are traveling) and both pass through the beams at the same time. The argument is that one may be speeding while the other is not. Since the traffic stop is done solely on the police officer being able to identify the speeding vehicle, motorists argue that their vehicle was not the one that was speeding. Being only one vehicle in a line of traffic that appears to be moving at the same speed is another point of contention. Since the ENRADD monitoring equipment “locks in” the speed that is above the limit, the next motorist, who may be speeding, is not caught. That just means that they got lucky. Due to the infrared beam technology, motorists are unable to detect when ENRADD is in use with their radar detectors. By the time they see the officer that receives the ENRADD signals, it is already too late. Their speed is locked into the monitoring device, and the officer is ready to issue a speeding citation. Since you never know where this technology will be used, the best idea is stay within the speed limit and drive safely. Looks like the Beltronics STi Magnum is now available and for the same price as the STi Driver. Beltronics is claiming a 60% increase in performance over the STi Driver. I can’t tell for sure yet, but based on what we are seeing on the page (https://www.beltronics.com/store/sti-magnum.html), it doesn’t seem to have any of the STiR Plus’ sweet features (RDR and Ka band segmentation). Based on that we are thinking this will end up being similar in performance to the Escort Redline. Visual Average Speed Computer And Recorder (VASCAR) was developed as early as 1966 by Arthur Marshall. Although it started out as a rather basic method of speed monitoring for law enforcement officials, the technology has evolved. For many years, VASCAR was set aside in favor of the radar gun, but has made a return in the speed limit enforcement arena. Although it seems rather simple, newer technology has made VASCAR one of the instantaneous and accurate ways of monitoring vehicle speeds, especially in towns and cities where the speed limit has to be strictly enforced due to pedestrian activity. In previous times, the system worked with a stopwatch and a measurement of the time it takes to get from point A to point B. With the advent of computers on the scene, more accurate readings could be obtained, since the distance between two points, for instance a power pole and a road sign, could be entered into the computer. In figuring the speed that a driver should be going, the time it takes to get between those two landmarks is measures and entered into the computer. In pressing a button on the computer when the driver reaches landmark A, and then pressing it again when they reach landmark B, the computer figures out the speed at which the driver is traveling between the two points. With the nearly instantaneous results, the police officer is able to determine whether a driver is over the posted speed limit, and is able to enforce speed limit laws. In using this technology, law enforcement officials have the advantage that VASCAR is not detected by radar detectors. Currently, some municipalities use VASCAR to show drivers their speed as they enter a limited speed zone. In addition, speeding citations are legally given to drivers that show that they are exceeding the posted speed limit where VASCAR is used, since the results are available on the computers that are now carried in most police vehicles. Another advantage for law enforcement is that they do not have to be close to roadway in order to record speeding vehicles. Most drivers consider this a “speed trap,” but to law enforcement it can mean a gold mine in fines and court costs. Since radar detectors cannot see these zones, some companies have added GPS to their radar detector systems so that people can enter those locations into their systems in order to slow down before they reach them. |
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