I recently traveled to and from Tampa from Atlanta. I noticed a very heavy police presence on the road but I noticed that my Bel Pro RX 65 detector would give me a lot of POP alerts but I never saw a cop related to these alerts. The Ka band alerts did correlate with the visible presence of cops in some occassions but not all.

Also, I've noticed a number of laser alerts that appear to be false. So far I'd say that the laser alerts and the POP alerts have nearly all been false alerts. Another thing is that both of these alerts are pretty damned loud and annoying. I wonder if anybody has had similar experiences or can suggest a cure....

Oh yeah, I'm thinking that maybe the V1 might be a better option because the arrows can help to ignore the signals that come from the sides and only concentrate on the more viable threats.

Another thing, please lets not make this into a V1 vs the world threads... I don't want to just read "V1 rules" and "me too", "+1", etc. or the opposite. I just like to know the truth about your experience with these problems or issues I've described.

Thanks

 

i have a V1, youll get the same false alarms, but there has got to be a reason...sometimes i think i pick up other vehicles radar detectors or something....i sit at stop lights and it says im getting beamed with laser the whole time im there.

Actually ive also noticed that not many cops radar when they drive ( i thought it was an automatic thing) but i pass one and not one beep from the detector.

anyone else with these same exp?

 

well, i have the V1 and it too sometimes gives off alot of false alerts, but when there is an actuall boogey present, the alert sounds different and you'll notice it and start looking around .. so you can kinda tell from false alerts and real boogeys on the road.

one bad thing i dont like about my v1 is that it wil throw an alert when passing a tractor trailer ..

 

that has happened to me too, but if you take a closer look, they're not using their laser or radar gun .. they are usually sleeping or reading their newspaper .. i drive up and down from NYC to vermount during snow season .. and i have come across a few of the cops on the road and nothing beeps on my V1 .. but i have looked, i have seem them sleeping or eating or reading ... so hope this helps

 

Well, I'm glad to know it's not a unique experience... I get those laser alarms all the time too. I've had the Passport 8500 and the Bel RX 65 and they both do it too. Sometimes the cops leave the radar on when they are driving and sometimes not. Also, they sometimes have the radar on when they wait in ambush but more likely they use the instant-on type of radar. I guess the detector would detect the instant-on radar when used on drivers ahead an so it will warn you of their presence.... The POP alerts appear to be just a big PITA and I don't think I've ever seen a cop after one of those alerts....

 

I have the X50 and I turned off the POP alert as it's annoying. But I too have had false laser signals out in BFE with no cops around and while in town. Oh well....common sense and keen eyesight are still the best Fuzz-Busters in my mind.

 

Radar detectors can be set off by other detectors, truck's CV radios, store alarms (mine always goes nuts when I pass a Wallgreens or CVS or something). Sometimes it won't go off een if I drive by a cop on the freeway or something, and I just think that cop ain't hitting people.

 

look to see if there is an advanced mode on your radar. the passport has an "expert" mode to prevent picking up everybody elses radar & the red light camera radar...

 

i had one for 2 years, got 2 tickets, some broke into my car and jacked it, i've been ticket free for 4 years! lol

 

I found that after I had my radar dector (8500) I found that I was scanning much more for police presence. Think about it, I just spent $XXX and I want to know if this thing works or not lol.

I have also do get some false positives in all bands including laser but more often than not they are real. I can't possibly see this as being an issue at all, but perhaps try a different mounting location. I mount my real low just off the right side of the cluster so I don't need to change my line of sight at all, seems to work well for me.

 

I have the V1. I get false lazers from some tail lights. I can't say that I have false pop alerts. I do get false X bogies all the time in CT. I can't turn off X because in NJ state troopers use X almost exclusively. I've also noticed that 75% of cops don't have their radar on when they are cruising, so you can get paced if you're going slow enough to be caught from behind. Yesterday I was a few cars lengths behind a guy that got instant on'd and pulled over. I thought i was going to get pulled over, because I had an evo with a wing to his SUV.... but the cop nailed him.

 

Most people dont realize this but most of the cop cars in this country DONT have radar or laser devices. So your detector wont go off because you just pass a cop. Cop cars that use k and ka band usually have a round cylidrical device mounted outside one of the rear windows. kinda looks like a dark REDBULL can attached to a pole. Those are the guys who will most likely be radaring. Some also have them integrated with the lights on top of the car in the middle. I dont have any problems with X band because its not used here anymore. Good detectors will false alot but inmy experience the 8500 and 8500x50 false less than the Bells and V1. Oh and anybody driving thru CT, lookout cause the troopers use laser almost exclusively.

 

In NJ almost every car has a front and rear detector. in CT I've noticed troopers with only K and Ka. Do CT cops ever run lazer at night? I've seen a tropper running lazer in the afternoon, same goes south western mass near springfield.

I was thinking of setting up a website that tracked what kind or radar bogies/cops in each zip code used... would anyone be interested?

 

I live in North Atlanta, and drive all around North Georgia and Atlanta proper. I run a Bel RX65, which has saved my *** countless times. If you see a Ka alert in Georgia, slow down immediately. I've never had a Ka alert and not had a cop show up a bit down the road or come out from hiding or flying up an entrance ramp after someone nearby me. K alerts can be cop cars, but it seems the photo-enforced traffic lights use the K band as well to detect when cars are in their target zone. I've never been near a cop using X band in Georgia. I've only had one laser alert, which was real, since I bought the RX65, and it was on the 75/85 connector at night. Jerk was up on a bridge and the chase cars were a good ways up ahead hiding beneath another bridge with no lights on. Never had any POP alerts that were actually cops, I'm guessing that Georgia cops don't actually have guns that use POP yet.

Someone should start a website with a database to store this kind of information for what kind of radar which county/city cops are using all over the US.

 

The only guys I've seen using X-band are Walgreens and CVS! I ignore the detector completely when X-band goes off. FWIW, I get the false lasers as well and apparently it's also a voltage issue (Passport 8500). Every time I accelerated in my RX7 (pedal to the metal sort of acceleration), the laser detector would go off! First time it did that I was in the process of destroying some old fart who thought he was hot **** in his SL65 twin turbo. Scared the bejesus out of me!