Radar detector hardwire installation **PICTURE**

nickmv · **Posted:** Tue Jun 13, 2006 2:30 pm

Alright, so the other day I posted about how to hardwire my Escort X50. Well, it's now all done, and I figured I'd post a pic of the mounting. I ran the wire along the passenger side headliner, down the A-pillar, across behind the glovebox, and into the stereo wiring area. I spliced off of the ACC wire and ground wire of the stereo. It was a pretty straight-forward install. Criticism/Suggestions are welcome.

Jinxman · **Posted:** Tue Jun 13, 2006 8:36 pm

Take it from a former cop....

Radar Detectors are junk.....They only let you know when you've been busted.

Radar and LIDAR will beat them EVERY TIME!!!

I absolutely loved catching speeders who had radar detectors....I would ask them if its working....they would just say that it went off and then they were getting pulled over a short time later.

here's your citation!

Plus depending on your state....it's a window obstruction no matter where you have it.

If you want to avoid a speeding ticket....slow down. Speeding saves you very little time anyway...Espeically if you get pulled over because we would always take our sweet time writing out the citation for speeders.

nickmv · **Posted:** Tue Jun 13, 2006 8:48 pm

I'm in no way trying to be rude here, but try doing some research. Most people that have radar detectors have the cheap ones. This one cost 370 dollars. It is the top notch detector. Refer to radardetector.net forums and there's all kinds of videos posted of people detecting speed traps WELL in advance, up to 5 miles away.

You **DO** however, have a good point about LIDAR. In most cases when the detector picks up LIDAR, it's just alerting you to slow down to get your ticket. However, at far distances, cops cant have a perfectly steady hand, and the beam cant go astray, be reflected, etc, and provide a warning also. I don't speed all over the place. I use it mainly for highway driving between home and college.

Jinxman · **Posted:** Tue Jun 13, 2006 9:06 pm

True you may dectect radar from a considerable distance away....but not likely....unless you live in a very flat area.....

The reason you would is because you detector is picking up the squad radar "lighting up" other cars.

If the officer is dumb enough to leave his radar on and transmitting constantly, then sure you will get an early warning.

Police radar today is equipped with what is called the "hold" feature.
It allows the radar unit to be "on" but not "transmitting" the microwave energy that your unit picks up.....

A clever officer will position his squad in a good spot to take advantage of this....

As you fly down the highway and come around the curve or just start to crest a hill (especially if you are all by yourself) Your unit will not go off because the microwave beam is not being transmitted....as soon as the officer sees your vehicle, he will release the "hold" button and begin transmitting...within less than a second usually, you will have a target speed, locked and displayed. Much less than the time it will take you to do all of this:

Crest the hill, see a vehicle, hear your radar detector go off, look at the detector unit and realize the signal is at full strength or reading PULSE, look at your speedometer, determine that you are speeding, release the gas, move over to the brake, press the brake, and slow the vehicle to a speed under the limit,

Can you really react that fast? and how many times does the detector go off and theres nothing there? i.e....false alarm?

Then theres always the telltale sign of a speeder.....the front end nose dive as you hit the brakes......

Im just saying, Be careful.....no matter how much you spend on a detector, they can't beat a smart cop and a radar when used correctly.

NetJunkie · **Joined:** Tue May 09, 2006 1:45 pm **Posts:** 78

Jinxman wrote:

Im just saying, Be careful.....no matter how much you spend on a detector, they can't beat a smart cop and a radar when used correctly.

Radar detectors are a tool, not a pass to speed anytime. I'm about to move my Valentine 1 to my CRD. If I'm speeding down the road by myself I'm sure I'll get busted. But do it on a normal highway with traffic and I'll pick up the radar when the cop pops someone two miles up the road. A good detector, like the V1, almost never goes off on a false alarm. The sorting algorithms are worlds better than they used to be. It's a tool. I go with the flow of traffic, but I don't want to be pulled over as the example while commuting every day.

crash87 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 13, 2006 11:14 pm

If you travel busy interstates, a cb radio can come in handy too, the truckers usually tell each other locations of police officers as they see them, helped me out a time or two.

Myke · **Posted:** Wed Jun 14, 2006 12:11 am

Valentine 1 is amazing if not the best radar detector. If my memory serves me correctly laser jammers are still legal.

nickmv · **Posted:** Wed Jun 14, 2006 12:47 pm

netjunkie nailed it perfectly. A radar detector isnt just a speed-pass. I didn't get one so I could go flying down the road everywhere. The idea is to find someone else who is speeding, and give yourself a bit of distance between you and them. Then, when the cop clocks that person, the detector alerts you, and you slow down, while the other guy grabs the ticket.

shak · **Posted:** Wed Jun 14, 2006 1:04 pm

I dont care about all the criticism of radar detectors because I can't even count the number of times that my butt is been saved by them. In my area, around every corner there is a cop sitting in a dark ditch with the radar on and I can not thank anyone else but the radar detector for alerting me about the officers being there.
I guess what it comes down to is, to find out if they really help you in your situation. In my case they do and I am gratefull for their invention. In other cases, I dont know and I can't judge

Radar detector hardwire installation PICTURE

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