My radar detector (Escort 8500) goes off about 5 or 6 times from what I think is some type of radar device mounted on tops of those signs or poles with the DOT cameras between burlington and raleigh mainly in Chapel Hill area and other places around NC but primarily in this area. Does anyone know of a way to block these outs or a brand (Valentine, Escort) that will block those alarms out? I know some have GPS but then a cop could just sit underneath this spot and you would never pick him up.

5/15/2008 2:17:19 PM

No, the ones with GPS only lock out the frequency that the known location is within a few hundred feet. So the cop using the radar gun on a different frequency would be detected.

But yes, to answer your question within the last 18 months the DOT and City of Raleigh/Cary have installed monitoring devices throughout. DOT has them all down I95 and I40.

I know where all them are on my route home, and use the expert meter on the 8500x50 to help out.

I am not shelling out another $450 for a GPS.

[Edited on May 15, 2008 at 2:42 PM. Reason : .]

5/15/2008 2:42:34 PM

^I wasn't aware of the freq. issue. But I know where they all are as well but hate when it goes off all at once. Dosn't the FCC have some thing about accepting interference which I understand but seems like they are sending signals out to mess with the Radar detectors which dosn't seem legal since they are not actually tracking your speed like a police officer. I guess what I am saying is what do they do besides try and prevent individuals from using there radar detectors in this area by making it extremely annoying?

5/15/2008 3:00:33 PM

I'm going out on a limb here...but I dont think they put those cameras in place that give off false alarms for the sole purpose of thwarting radar detector usage

5/15/2008 3:15:03 PM

pretty sure they use it to see the average speed on the highways as well

5/15/2008 3:18:35 PM

^

5/15/2008 3:29:53 PM

i haven't read the thread

but the same thing happens to me around the bridges on I40, same ones..every single time

5/15/2008 3:31:49 PM

http://www.ncdot.org/traffictravel/

the system is stupid for speed, cause the reported speeds are always capped at the speed limit, the average on I95 is not 65, lol

[Edited on May 15, 2008 at 3:52 PM. Reason : .]

5/15/2008 3:42:49 PM

^ Integrate over space and time and you'll most likely see that the average speeds are quite low.

5/15/2008 4:03:53 PM

yes, but the sensors are like every mile

5/15/2008 4:12:36 PM

Seems like they provide pretty good cover for cops as well. People will get lazy and start ignoring their radar detectors screaming at X and K band

5/15/2008 5:43:05 PM

pretty sure a lot of those ncdot traffic speed sensors are in the ground

5/15/2008 5:57:28 PM

^The things I see when mine goes off are on top of the signs pointing in the opposite direction of traffic and look like white cylinders and I have seen the same device on the poles with the DOT cameras. I was under the impression this was the device setting the radar detector off. Whether or not that is what is recording the speed as discussed above I am not sure.

5/15/2008 6:36:13 PM

Quote :

"Seems like they provide pretty good cover for cops as well. People will get lazy and start ignoring their radar detectors screaming at X and K band"

V1 ftw! I can "ignore" those "false alarms" and still go about knowing that if there's a Cop ahead with his radar on, my V1 will just pick it up and register it as 2 signals. I don't know if any other radar detector tells you how many signals you are getting, but that on top of the arrows make v1 superior imo (especially in situation like these).

[Edited on May 16, 2008 at 9:27 AM. Reason : ]

5/16/2008 9:24:35 AM

the passport does the multiple signals and their strengths as well

5/16/2008 11:34:30 AM

V1's problem is that it wont ever change the way it works in regards to the threat counter. It seems as if Valentine is hell bent to keep the same form factor. Yes the escort has a expert meter that shows up to 2 Ka's, 2 K's, 4 X's all at the same time on the display. So you can watch 8 sources at once.

Escort is far superior in the long run, just look at the patents that Escort has. Valentine was started when he left escort and couldn't use any of the technology that was under the passport name.

Yes, the V1 is a good unit, in my opinion its a little too sensitive., particularly on I40, I440.

I will eventually upgrade to the 9500i, but at $450 my x50 is doing just fine.

5/16/2008 11:59:23 AM

^ damn. Good info.

5/16/2008 12:57:25 PM

not really

the directional arrows on the V1 far outweigh any of the negatives listed

5/16/2008 12:59:03 PM

The directional arrows are only a marketing ploy. Anyone who drives with a good detector knows what I mean by this...

When you are driving faster than the flow of traffic you are moving away from traffic right? So why are you concerned about radar from the rear? Unless you have just flown by a SHP why care? Your only concern is with frontal radar sources. When was the last time you saw a SHP or local copy doing 20 MPH over the limit, just cruising? I say 20MPH cause on my way to work I typically run 20-25 over, puts me averaging somewhere around 85-90mph on I540.

The side arrows have NO MEANING! They are useless!, no radar source for speed monitoring works from the side. Most radar guns require the target to be within 45 degrees of the pointing direction.

Please dont tell me that the "special" metal case the V1's in enhances it further! LOL

5/16/2008 1:21:14 PM

^ actually I've seen cops on the hwy onramps hiding where you can't see them until they are behind you. Normally I'll pick up a weak signal from the cars ahead getting clocked and then a strong signal from behind. Just a piece of mind and I feel that it helps me identify if there's really a bogy around or if its just a false alarm...

Tru the side arrows don't really help much other than show when/where you may have passed a radar source..

There are a couple other situations where the arrows helped out alot and probably saved me from a ticket if they weren't there. You are right in that most of the time, they are of no benefit. You won't need to always worry about the arrows, however, it doesn't hurt that they are there.

5/16/2008 2:14:23 PM

Nah, I understand and agree if the man is sitting back on the on-ramp, then your pretty much screwed. Cause he will have the radar gun in Same Direction / Fastest Target mode. This is a premium feature on these guns. Its beauty is that it can pick out the fastest car and report its speed. So if he sees you blowing by people, POP and hes got your speed. This situation there is really no protection from, by the time you hear it, your done.

Just like POP Ka's from the SHP, your only protection is that someone close ahead gets hit before you do. There has been many times that the three wire guard rails in the median have allowed me to get away. :-)

5/16/2008 2:32:35 PM