Car Radar Detector - article by Look Up The Info

New Technology Advances the Car Radar Detector

Looking at the car radar detector selection in any store, catalog or magazine can be a mind-boggling experience. But reviewing what you want in a car radar detector can make your decision easier. Sensitivity, filtering, alerts, and accuracy are probably the most important criteria to look at in a car radar detector.

The very first car radar detector was known as the “Fuzzbuster” and was the brainchild of Dale Smith, whose detector only searched for X-Band radar, the one type in use in the mid-1970s. It was a very basic concept with an on/off switch and light that came on if radar was detected.

Today, you can find a car radar detector that not only detects radar, but will tell you which of the three bands it is, the strength of the signal the radar is emitting, from which direction it’s coming from and if it’s laser radar, can offer effective jamming techniques -- although effective jamming is only available on a few high-end detectors.

Price Determines Available Features

You can spend as little as $50 on a car radar detector or upwards of $2,000, depending on the number of bells and whistles you’re willing to pay for. Extra sensitivity and range will add dollars to the cost and better filtering to reduce the number of false alerts will also add to the tally. Typical LED readouts come in red but if you really must have blue lights, plan to add about $40 to the cost.

Voice notification is also available on high end products as is rear protection. Not all police radar is aimed from the front, as radar, to be accurate and effective, must be in front of or behind the target. Being behind a vehicle, police have learned, lessens the argument that the radar was at too much of an angle to be accurate. Tests, however, have shown that inaccuracies in radar detection where the gun is more than 10 degrees to the side tend to benefit the target vehicle.

You must determine how much you’re willing to spend on a car radar detector then sift through the piles of information to determine the best value for your money.

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