BELTRONICS > RADAR BUYERS GUIDE

Please note that driving with a Driver Warning System or Radar Detector will not allow you to speed. Speed and you will get caught by a Highway Patrol, unmarked Police car, Police Laser or speed camera. Using a Radar Detector will make you more aware of the posted speed limit and keep you more alert while driving. It is a reminder that Police are monitoring your speed.

Types of Radar Detectors
Ensure when you purchase a radar safety detector that is Safety Warning System (SWS) enabled. Only these detectors allow you to receive warning messages from Emergency Vehicles, accidents ahead, road crews and designated blackspots.

There are basically three different types of radar safety detectors, the traditional corded units, cordless (battery operated) units, and the concealed units.

1.Cordless Units
Do not buy one unless it is absolutely necessary and consider the ongoing costs of replacement batteries. Obviously having no wires is desirable but the performance of battery-operated units is quite low, generally about 30% lower performance than corded units. To conserve battery power they switch on and off in milliseconds which drastically effects the range and sensitivity. Even if plugged into a direct power source, the circuit board has been designed to switch the power on and off, and therefore will have low sensitivity.

2. Corded Units
These are by far the most popular and more traditional type of radar safety detector. They offer very good performance and usually offer the best value for money. Full of features and options, they can be simply installed with a cigarette lighter plug or hardwired to a power source. They can also be mounted by way of the normal windscreen bracket, clipped to the sun visor or even attached to the dashboard. No batteries means no on going costs.

3. Concealed Units
They are also commonly referred as “remote” or “multi-piece” units as they are spit into separate components. Concealed units are installed into your vehicle for a discreet look and high performance, but cannot be quickly transferred between vehicles like the corded or cordless units. The benefit of having a discreet install is that being concealed in your car there is very little chance of theft or detection.

Positioning of radar detectors

Corded units are best mounted low and within reach of the driver. Laser is hard to detect so if your radar detector is mounted in a central area, you have a higher chance of obtaining a warning. Make sure it is within reach and is not being obstructed by the windscreen wipers.
Concealed units are hardwired to your car so the installation is unique to each different vehicle. Radar antennas and Laser sensors are generally mounted within the vehicles front grille and front and rear numberplate area. The display can be attached (or flush mounted) to the dashboard depending on the look the user is after.

Legalities

Radar detectors are legal in New Zealand and Western Australia, all other states of Australia have laws banning the use of a “speed measuring evasion device”. Neltronics does not recommend use of a radar detector in states or countries where they are illegal.

What your radar detector should have
There are a few key features that your radar detector should have which are listed below.

1. Sensitivity
All bands should be as sensitive as possible to give the best range and subsequently the earliest warning. With around 65% of police radars using Ka band, this is the band that should have the highest sensitivity. It is also the hardest band to detect due to the large bandwidth, so only radar detector’s with exceptional Ka performance are the way to go. The higher end Beltronics, Escort and Valentine 1 detectors are the only detectors to have the sensitivity to effectively alert Ka band radar.

2. Filtering
The more effective the filtering, the less false alerts you will get and the more effective your radar detector will perform. It is no good having high sensitivity if it is false alerting all the time due to poor filtering. You will eventually get so annoyed that your detector is continually false alerting, that you might just ignore a genuine alert. Do not over look filtering.  The Valentine 1 has been critised as having a less than adequate filtering technology, causing too many false alarms.

3. Easy to Understand Alerts
Easy to understand audible alerts are very important. A new detector can be a lot to take in and some alerts can be confusing. Clearly separate tones are needed to effectively separate the differences. Clearly, Voice alerts are a major advantage as the driver can clearly understand what warning is being given. With clear voice alerts to reassure you of the threat, no mistakes can be made.

4. Mounting
Many radar detectors use cheap mountings, which can cause the unit to fall off and be damaged. A strong, high quality mount should be included with the unit. Many radar detectors are also only designed for the US market with their displays angled towards the left side of the vehicle ie Escort 8500. Make sure that your radar detector will be securely mounted and the display is easy to read from your normal driving position.

5. Selectable Bands
Many radar detectors do not allow the user to select the bands to be on or off. In Australia and New Zealand X band is no longer in use by Police. A detector without X  band defeat is useless in these regions as it will constantly false alert. In many regions K band radar is only used in non-metropolitan areas.  K band is also a cause of false alerts from radar opening doors and intruder alarms.  K band on/off is a great feature when one is mainly doing metropolitan driving.

6. Safety Warning System
A radar detector equipped with Safety Warning System technology “SWS” will alert the driver to such road hazards as Road Crew Ahead, Emergency Vehicle in Transit, Rest Area Ahead, and Train Approaching. With the widespread use of SWS transmitters it is important to ensure your detector is equipped with SWS technology. A detector with SWS technology is usually referred to as a Driver Warning System. The Safety Warning System could save your life.

7. Undetectability
Until recently, radar safety detectors were either completely detectable or only undetectable to 1 or 2 radar-detector-detector’s (RDD’s). Beltronics new model, the BEL XR, is the first radar safety detector to be undetectable to all RDD’s. It has been tested independently in a microwave lab for traceable emissions and it has also been tested against the latest version of the Stalcar III, the best RDD available. These tests proved the BEL XR to be untraceable to police RDD’s.