Xref: utzoo rec.autos:15419 sci.electronics:5153 misc.consumers:8679
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ncar!noao!asuvax!anasaz!john
From: john@anasaz.UUCP (John Moore)
Newsgroups: rec.autos,sci.electronics,misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Radar Detectors (Ka band) ...
Keywords: radar, cops, Ka, X, K
Message-ID: <1569@anasaz.UUCP>
Date: 14 Feb 89 14:04:51 GMT
References: <603@icus.islp.ny.us> <7944@netnews.upenn.edu>
Reply-To: john@anasaz.UUCP (John Moore)
Organization: Anasazi Inc, Phoenix AZ
Lines: 64

In article <7944@netnews.upenn.edu> depolo@eniac.seas.upenn.edu.UUCP (Jeff DePolo) writes:
]In article <603@icus.islp.ny.us> lenny@icus.UUCP writes:
]>Well .. I've been checking around for a radar detector, and one saleswoman
]>mentioned to me something they are supposibly testing in NY State and Texas.
]>It's the Ka-band.  I've heard they've installed robot type radar units that
]>will clock your car using the Ka Band radar, and then photograph the
]>license plate.  There is no need to pull you over, they just send you a 
]>picture and ticket in the mail.  Is this just another marketing ploy? Or is
]>it a reality?   I've been reading about the Laser stuff, and also heard
]>a while ago about those robot-units.  What gives?
]
]>-- 
]>Lenny Tropiano             ICUS Software Systems         [w] +1 (516) 582-5525
]>lenny@icus.islp.ny.us      Telex; 154232428 ICUS         [h] +1 (516) 968-8576
]>{talcott,decuac,boulder,hombre,pacbell,sbcs}!icus!lenny  attmail!icus!lenny
]>        ICUS Software Systems -- PO Box 1; Islip Terrace, NY  11752
]
]Ka band has been authorized by the FCC for speed measurement use.  However,
]the photo radar units that you are talking about haven't actually been
]imployed anywhere in the US yet.  They are being tested in two states

WRONG! Paradise Valley, AZ (where I live) has used one for over a year
and have issued thousands of tickets. They plan to increase the usage
now that it has been successful. PS - the accident rate in PV has
dropped sharply, as have the average speeds. Unfortunately, PV
has speed limits lower than surrounding communities (Phoenix, Scottsdale)
on the same roads.

](California, and I believe New Mexico), but they aren't been used in
]actual speed traps.  The Ka detectors (currently only made by Bel) are
]somewhat worthless for a number of reasons.  First of all, the design
]of the photo radar unit makes it very difficult to detect.  The beam
]that the radar uses is very narrow, and is angled in such a way that it
]does not transmit down a lane of traffic, rather, at an angle across it.

True. Also it transmits very low power (.5 milliwatts)

]Multinova.  The units themselves are VERY expensive.  The company not only
]sells the units outright, but they have a system where they will lease
]the unit to a department and receive a "royalty" on the revenue that the
]units earn the department.  Kinda sleezy in my opinion.
This how PV does it - the company gets $20.00 for each fine paid.
]
]One last note - the problem with the Ka units is once the public figures out
]where it is located on the highway, it isn't going to take long for somebody
]to come back and seek revenge on the incriminating unit with a baseball
]bat or a sledgehammer  :-).  No department wants to spend the money for
]such a unit if it is going to be destroyed soon after it is installed.

Wrong again! In paradise valley, the unit is installed in a chevy
S-10 blazer which is manned (to prevent revenge) by a police officer
and is moved around every few hours. The officer is still much more
cost effective than just doing traffic duty with traditional techniques -
it averages 50 tickets PER HOUR! By the way, the best defense in daytime
is to keep your eyes open - you can see the unit before you cross the
beam. However, they now use infrared film and run at night. I know of
no defense other than sticking to the speed limit.

This subject has been discussed extensively in rec.autos.
-- 
John Moore (NJ7E)           mcdphx!anasaz!john asuvax!anasaz!john
(602) 861-7607 (day or eve) 
The opinions expressed here are obviously not mine, so they must be
someone else's. :-)