How does a Speed Camera or Radar Gun work? to read a PDF Document.

Comparison Chart to read a PDF Document.

RADAR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What do Radar Safety Detectors pick up?

Radar safety detectors pick up X band, K band, Ka Band, Ku band and Laser signals.

What is the ideal location for my Radar Safety Detector be mounted?

Portable units are best mounted low and within reach of the driver. Generally, the ideal location is in a central area of your windscreen as low as possible, to avoid obstructing your vision. Also make sure your unit is not being obstructed by the windscreen wipers as this can reduce its effectiveness.

Concealed units are hardwired to your car so the installation is unique to each different vehicle. Your installer will be able to talk you through where the best area is for your car.

What is 360° Detection?

Beltronics radar safety detectors can pick up signals from 360˚ (front, side or behind). In their latest tests, www.radartest.com found that more than half of the models tested gave no warning of vehicles approaching from behind. In this test, BEL detectors were the standout performers.

How big are Radar Safety Detectors?

Portable units are slightly bigger than a deck of playing cards. Concealed units are hardwired into your car so most of the parts you will not see. The display on a concealed unit is generally very un-obtrusive.

Why does my Radar Safety Detector false alert sometimes?

What is the difference between a Radar signal and a Laser signal?

Radar and laser technologies are radically different. Radar uses radio waves while laser transmits a beam of invisible infrared light. A radar beam can be 30 meters wide at typical target range. At the same distance, the laser beam will be barely 45 centimetres wide. This pinpoint beam width is why laser is so difficult to detect. There are also significant differences in how the two types of speed-measuring equipment are used by police. Radar can be used from a moving patrol car. Laser must be used from a stationary position. For this reason, laser is more likely to be used by police in metropolitan areas rather than the open highway where moving radars remains the tool of choice.

I just passed a police car and my Radar Safety Detector didn’t alert me. Why?

Not all police cars are equipped with radars. Even passing a car equipped with radar would only alert you if the police radar was activated.

I just passed a laser gun and my Radar Safety Detector didn’t alert me. Why?

Laser is very difficult to detect because of the narrow beam of light it transmits. If your radar detector doesn’t have contact with this beam then it won’t be aware of any threats, and won’t alert you. It’s also possible that the police officer looked through the guns scope but didn’t activate the laser if they didn’t think you were speeding. It might look like they are firing at you, when in fact they are just targeting you.

I have heard of a new radar band that Radar Safety Detectors can’t detect. What is this band?

Radar frequencies used by law enforcement authorities, are controlled by the Federal Communications Commission or FCC, and not by any individual state or country. The Ka used in New Zealand the same Ka in Australia. The same is for Laser, where the United States Food and Drug Administration, or USFDA, certify the use of laser guns. There are no new radar band’s or laser wavelengths being used and if a new frequency is to be introduced, must first be authorised by either the FCC for radar or the USFDA for laser. When you hear someone mention this “new band” or “radar gun”, it is likely they have encountered a laser gun which is difficult to detect. Beltronics radar safety detectors are designed to detect all radar and laser currently used.

What is a Radar Detector Detector?

Until now all radar safety detectors leaked a small IF (intermediate frequency) signal that police could detect by using a device known as a radar-detector-detector" (RDD).

They scan for common IF emissions given off by the radar safety detector. Early RDD’s used VG2 Technology, which concentrated on IF emissions at 11.550 GHz, but Radar Safety Detector manufactures soon moved their emissions to different frequencies to eliminate its effectiveness. Along came VG3! VG3 technology works in the same manner but scans for multiple IF emissions. RDD’s are of no concern to drivers in states where radar detectors are legal.

The VG2 Interceptor comes from Canada, manufactured by a company named Techsonic Industries.

A newer device named the Stalcar III comes from a Queensland company – Stealth Micro Systems Pty Ltd. The Australian built Stalcar III RDD was designed to sweep a larger spectrum and a higher frequency than previously possible. Several radar safety detector manufacturers moved their oscillators outside of the range detected by the Stalcar III. The RDD manufacturers therefore redesigned them to sweep even larger bands and they were detected.  The Stalcar III can not detect a radar safety detector that is not powered up. They also cannot detect a radar safety detector with no traceable emissions. The new BEL XR is the first radar safety detector to have no traceable emissions and therefore be undetectable to the Stalcar III and any future RDD using the same technology.

Specifications of the Stalcar III
Operating Frequency ...... 10 GHz - 25 GHz
Temperature Range ........ 32° - 176° F
Power Requirement ........ 11.5 - 14.5 VDC
Current Requirement....... 300 - 500 ma
Weight ............................ 1 lb.
Sensitivity.. ………………… -110 dBm @ 25 GHz typical
Detects ........................… All FCC certified radar detectors as of Dec 2004
Dimensions ..................... 6.1” D x 3.5” W x 1.4” H

What distance should I be able to detect radars? Is this the same for all Radar Safety Detectors?

Depending on what type of radar is emitting the signal, will determine what distance you will be able to detect it from. The Kustom Falcon handheld radar gun at full power (50mW) can be detected as far away as 7km using the Beltronics PRO RX65. The Stalker Ka handheld radar gun at full power (50mW) can be detected as far away as 7km using the Beltronics PRO RX65. The Multanova/Traffipax/Gatso Camera radars only output a weak 2.5mW but can still be detected as far away as 500m. All radar detection is effected by environmental changes such as, humidity, elevation, particle matter in the air, rain, etc. Reflections from other objects such as cars and buildings can also increase or decrease the distance of detection. Not all radar safety detectors are equal in sensitivity. A high quality unit like a Beltronics detector will give the earliest warning

“Performance is stunning…Long range champion – speedzones.com”.

Consumer Warning

Ensure you get what you pay for. The Beltronics warranty only applies to those units sold through an authorized Beltronics Dealer. Auction sites, unauthorized dealers and parallel importers often carry dumped stock from North America. Beware of these inferior units which could be counterfeit, stolen or worse. If you have not bought your unit from a Beltronics Authorized Dealer you do not have a manufactures warranty regardless of what the seller tells you. Units bought from North America have a limited warranty that is only valid within North America. If you have a unit bought from someone sourcing units from North America, (traceable through serial numbers) this does not count as a dealer warranty as the warranty is not passed onto a second or third purchaser. Units that do not carry any warranty from Beltronics will not be replaced or repaired.