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MG MGB GT V8 Factory Originals Technical - Laser/radar

Has anyone used laser detectors against the revenue earning police with laser guns & cash registers hiding in the bushes.Can you tell me if they work as well as the old Radar detectors against the old X&K band radars.STEVE
Stephen Foldhazy

Here in the UK we have an excellent GPS based device, which I know is also available in some overseas countries such as Germany and the Benelux countries. It is fairly new and may not yet be available in Oz or the States though.

If you haven't heard of Morpheous Geodesy have a look at:-

http://www.morpheous.co.uk/morpheous.asp

I believe that there are two similar offerings. I believe one is "software only", leaving you to buy a GPS and a palm top computer, the other is similar to Morpheous Geodesy being a bundle of hardware and software.

I have friends who use and swear by Morpheous Geodesy.

Usual disclaimers.

Safety Fast

Nigel
Nigel Steward

I have a Bell Euro 550 American made but is tuned toUK
picks up K band I havent anymore details to hand, I got mine through a Group buy on SIDC web site,saved me a few times when crusing in the Subaru
nevr

The key to any of it working is how the polise are usig thier units. The new lasers are harder to defeat, especially if the officer is just hitting cars that "look like they are going fast", in that way there is only sporadic quick spikes of energy, which is hard for any detector to pick-up...
Larry Embrey

Radar's can't be stopped, only detected, Lasers can't really be detected, only stopped. A company named Lidatek makes a laser scrambler that effectively renders a police radar gun useless for 5 seconds while you drive through the speed trap.

Good stuff....

Justin
Justin

Laser Jammers are a very grey area in legal terms. I think you could be done for obstructing the course of justice by preventing the police from obtaining a speed reading on your vehicle.

It is also illegal under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 to emit radar signals needed to jam police radar guns.

I am not saying detectors don’t help. I bought my first Radar and Laser Detector at Christmas time, a Northstar unit only £115 (www.gendan.co.uk). My wallet could not stretch to the Bel 550. My Northstar is a really useful reminder to adjust speed on approach to Gatso speed cameras (grey roadside boxes) and in areas where police are using radar guns. Let’s face it, you could spend £1,500 on a top-of-the range radar detector, laser jammer and Morpheous Geodesy system and still get done the following week if you are always driving above the speed limits. Nothing on the market yet makes your car invisible!

Bryan Helland

State side, the FCC has not passed a regulation prohibiting the emitting of lights from the bumper of a car that aren't visible by the human eye. That's all a laser jammer does -- emit beams of light that coincidentally scramble a laser device most typically held by a police officer at a distance of approximately 1500 feet. Radar jammers on the other hand are a different story, and in reality, not many of them are very effective, nor are they very legal, so we won't get into that.

FWIW
Justin
Justin

>>>Here in the UK we have an excellent GPS based device,Morpheous Geodesy.

One very importnat thing to note Nigel is that Morpheous only has the positions of FIXED camera sights. It beeps when your vehicle is getting close to one of the known sites.
Plod with his radar gun hiding behind the hedge will still get you.

Take care, Tim
Tim

Thanks Tim

I think part of the solution must be Morpheous Geodesy, which is I think the only way of being warned of DS2 (Truevelo), Autovision and SPECS.

DS2 (TruVelo) is a portable attended or unattended trap using a set of three rubber tubes.

Speedmaster is much the same as DS2, it is a portable attended or unattended trap using a set of three rubber tubes. Speedmaster is often sited in fixed locations, when they are buried in the road, and the only give-away can be a small Grey box by the side of the road or three stripes in the road surface.

Worse still is SPECS - the digital cameras with automatic number plate recognition built in, which calculate your average speed over long distances. SPECS is already installed:-


A43 Lumbertubs Way, Northampton
Linden and Podsmead, Gloucester
Gloucester A610
Ring Road, Nottingham
and (I think) M6 in Lancashire

for more information on alll of the above see:-

http://www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk/

BUT you also need a good radar trap detector such as the UK 200s version of the Valentine with Ku band :-

http://www.valentineone.co.uk/

together they detect almost everything, but you are always at risk with hand held lasers.

NJSS
Nigel Steward

Re: Laser units, short of a laser scrambler, the only effective method I know of is a detector in conjunction with a "rabbit". The rabbit is another fast moving vehicle ahead of you. The police laser will flash them, and you will get a very brief warning from your laser detector. If you are going to travel in fast company, try not to be first or last. If there are just two of you, take up the rear. If you speed anywhere but on a highway in light traffic, shame on you, slow down before someone gets killed.

A laser sensitive Bel has saved me from radar numerous times and laser once. When it sniffs laser it sounds like the hounds of hell have been unleashed. I've heard an old wives tale that if you are in the active crosshairs of police radar/laser, SLAM the brakes because the speed gun's computer needs a relatively steady rate of speed before it can do it's math and compute your speed. If you are rapidly decelerating, the rumour goes, it can't get a steady rate of speed during it's half second sampling interval. I suspect this is pure bullsh*t, but anyone know otherwise?

Brian C.
Brian Corrigan

For some insights into radar/lidar, check out www.caranddriver.com and click on the Great Detector Test.
Bob Cline

A Speeder's Guide to Avoiding Tickets, The Essential Manual for Life in the Fast Lane, written by an ex-New York State Patrolman, gives great tips for avoiding radar/laser traps, and is an entertaining and informative read. It also gives good advice on how to maintain a good relationship with an officer during a traffic stop, hopefully helping you to avoid getting written up. I got it at Barnes and Noble; it's published by Avon Books, www.avonbooks.com, 1-800-238-0658.

Good Luck,
Joe
Joe Ullman

thanks everyone for your help & info ,STEVE
Stephen Foldhazy

This thread was discussed between 25/01/2002 and 16/02/2002

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