[SwankPeRFection]

Guess you didn’t read what I wrote. On 4 occasions it’s given me enough notice when the cop was down the road targeting others in traffic. So yeah, it is circumstantial, but it’s OK, you’re not the first to not believe it.

[kgelfen360]

I’ve been using Redline 360. I think it’s really good. So far keeping me safe. Not too many false alerts.

[Berzerker]

Originally Posted by SwankPeRFection

Guess you didn’t read what I wrote. On 4 occasions it’s given me enough notice when the cop was down the road targeting others in traffic. So yeah, it is circumstantial, but it’s OK, you’re not the first to not believe it.

There's no not believing anything. If you got hit with Laser and were not pulled over, they chose to not do it. It's physically impossible for your detector to know about a laser hit before the gun informs the cop.

[SwankPeRFection]

Originally Posted by Berzerker

There's no not believing anything. If you got hit with Laser and were not pulled over, they chose to not do it. It's physically impossible for your detector to know about a laser hit before the gun informs the cop.

I wasn’t the one hit. Car in front of me, two lane one way. I was going faster than they were, didn’t see cop, heard detector for laser, slammed on the brakes. (Nothing coming the other way, so no reason to have a possible false from Mazda or Volvo.) The car in front of me cleared my line of sight a bit more and down the road parked off a side street was the cop shooting TruSpeed S down the road. He didn’t have line of sight on me until that car cleared and guess what, he shot at me too because it went off a second time. So yeah, it does work in certain circumstances. It’s one of the #1 reasons why I didn’t get a V1G2 when they came out and kept pestering them to fix the TSS detection which was non-existent on the G2 until the latest firmware release this year. Valentine sure dragged their ass with that. Now they just need to fix the slow K band detection.

[cozye]

It is not physically impossible to detect indirect laser. Just not likely. The beam is about 3ft at working distance, and up to two lanes wide at 1.5 miles. Laser isn’t witchcraft, it’s just another frequency that can bounce and reflect. but given that it is still very narrow the likely hood of catching a reflected or refracted bit of laser is small, and the frequency will change. Do a search. There are independent resources that discuss this.

[Needsdecaf]

I purchased V1 companion today and am running it with my V1G2. So far I’m liking it; getting the settings all dialed in but it kept things very quiet and did alert me plenty of time to a HSCO Deputy.

[Berzerker]

Originally Posted by cozye

It is not physically impossible to detect indirect laser. Just not likely. The beam is about 3ft at working distance, and up to two lanes wide at 1.5 miles. Laser isn’t witchcraft, it’s just another frequency that can bounce and reflect. but given that it is still very narrow the likely hood of catching a reflected or refracted bit of laser is small, and the frequency will change. Do a search. There are independent resources that discuss this.

I think you're a bit confused. Laser is not radar. It's not just "another frequency". It's entirely different technology. It's *much* quicker since it uses light vs radio waves. It's literally impossible given how quick laser guns report speed for your detector to detect, process, and notify you before you're given a chance to react to it.

Do a search on what the differences are between Lidar and Radar.

[SwankPeRFection]

Laser is pulsed, so technically is can be considered a frequency, but yeah, not in the traditional sense of radar.

Also, detection of laser vs radar has nothing to do with time or the speed of light vs radio waves. Detection has to do with the fact that with radar, the radio waves tend to bounce around quite a bit and they’re not as concentrated. An Instant On hit from a radar gun is just as fast and just as dangerous as a Lidar shot. This is why it’s important for detectors to process K band signals quickly enough and alert vs not alert to them because they think it could be BSM or other junk. Instant On isn’t used a lot with radar, but when it is, the cop will lock your speed just as quick as Lidar and still get you because you didn’t pick him up shooting someone else. Instant On quick blips (someone of you haven’t seen them) on K or Ka are picked up at distance when the cop shot someone else to get their speed.

[cozye]

Originally Posted by Berzerker

I think you're not a bit confused. Laser is not radar. It's not just "another frequency". It's entirely different technology. It's *much* quicker since it uses light vs radio waves. It's literally impossible given how quick laser guns report speed for your detector to detect, process, and notify you before you're given a chance to react to it.

Do a search on what the differences are between Lidar and Radar.

You are right, I’m not confused. I didn’t say it was radar. Light is omitted at frequency. It has a wavelength. Go point a laser at a mirror and see what happens. If you cant understand that light can be reflected, and that reflection is detectable, then I don’t know what to say. How do you think the cop is getting a reading back? You think that he just happens to take a narrow beam, hold it steady a half mile away and perfectly hit a flat surface at zero degrees that only reflects back to him and no where else? No one is denying that a direct hit with laser is too late. The point is that it is “possible” (as in not absolutely “impossible”) to pick up errant light reflections. No one is stating that it’s a reliable method to get advanced warning for laser, just that it’s not “impossible” to pick up reflections on rare occasions.

A skilled lidar user is going to visually identify a suspected speeder in sparse traffic, at closer distances, in order to minimize the potential for beam scatter, inadvertently picking up another car, or alerting other drivers. It’s not just a magic weapon. If you point a lidar beam a mile down the road (which will be several meters wide at that distance) in dense traffic, there is high likely hood that it can be detected by following cars.

I’m not really interested in a debate about it. There is plenty of info about how laser works, what the limitations are, and the viability of detection online. I’m simply made a statement to refute your statement of “physically impossible” and to support swankperfection in his post.

[cozye]

I’d also offer for your consideration that the concept of “reacting” to any speed detection device once directly hit, is not practical. If Ka band hits you direct (assuming the officer performed instant on), it’s too late for you too. It’s not the speed of the signal being used that matters, its the detection of it being reflected off cars ahead that give you advanced warning. This has been the case since the inception of pulse radar.

[Berzerker]

Originally Posted by cozye

You are right, I’m not confused. I didn’t say it was radar. Light is omitted at frequency. It has a wavelength. Go point a laser at a mirror and see what happens. If you cant understand that light can be reflected, and that reflection is detectable, then I don’t know what to say. How do you think the cop is getting a reading back? You think that he just happens to take a narrow beam, hold it steady a half mile away and perfectly hit a flat surface at zero degrees that only reflects back to him and no where else? No one is denying that a direct hit with laser is too late. The point is that it is “possible” (as in not absolutely “impossible”) to pick up errant light reflections. No one is stating that it’s a reliable method to get advanced warning for laser, just that it’s not “impossible” to pick up reflections on rare occasions.

A skilled lidar user is going to visually identify a suspected speeder in sparse traffic, at closer distances, in order to minimize the potential for beam scatter, inadvertently picking up another car, or alerting other drivers. It’s not just a magic weapon. If you point a lidar beam a mile down the road (which will be several meters wide at that distance) in dense traffic, there is high likely hood that it can be detected by following cars.

I’m not really interested in a debate about it. There is plenty of info about how laser works, what the limitations are, and the viability of detection online. I’m simply made a statement to refute your statement of “physically impossible” and to support swankperfection in his post.

Ignoring your obvious grasping at straws in an attempt to form a coherent argument at my obvious typo, the point I was making is it's not "JUST" another frequency, it's in an entirely different realm of magnitude different. I'm well aware that wavelengths of light have frequencies, but go compare that to radio waves and you'll see they're not even in the same realm of comparison given how they work.

The obvious added confusion on your part was not that I was saying it's impossible to not get hit, even errantly, I was saying it's impossible that if you *were* hit and the cop chose to go after you that you'd have enough time to react enough that you could have avoided a ticket, in the sense of what he was obviously implying.

But I appreciate the classic "not interested in a debate after writing a multi-paragraph answer not even understanding the point and having not even been involved in the conversation in the first place." Really ties the thread together, thanks.

[kiw1]

Originally Posted by cozye

I’d also offer for your consideration that the concept of “reacting” to any speed detection device once directly hit, is not practical. If Ka band hits you direct (assuming the officer performed instant on), it’s too late for you too. It’s not the speed of the signal being used that matters, its the detection of it being reflected off cars ahead that give you advanced warning. This has been the case since the inception of pulse radar.

Yep, which is why you generally want to have a rabbit down the road so you can detect the instant on. As you said if that's not the case and you are driving alone it's hard to combat

[dimab0]

I’m brand new to detectors and have never had one before. It sounds like many people are happy with Uniden R8. Is that an ok one to get as a first time buyer? Don’t want to be lost in configuration hell for months.

I’ve read this thread, it sounds like it is reasonable to install it myself, does that sound right? Do I just pull the trigger and buy it, and find a couple hours to install some weekend? Anything else a total beginner should know?

I’ve never had one before, but also tend not to drive slow….cost isn’t a big concern but seems like a good buy?

[Tobster3]

Originally Posted by dimab0

I’m brand new to detectors and have never had one before. It sounds like many people are happy with Uniden R8. Is that an ok one to get as a first time buyer? Don’t want to be lost in configuration hell for months.

I’ve read this thread, it sounds like it is reasonable to install it myself, does that sound right? Do I just pull the trigger and buy it, and find a couple hours to install some weekend? Anything else a total beginner should know?

I’ve never had one before, but also tend not to drive slow….cost isn’t a big concern but seems like a good buy?

Go for it.

With regards to setup, copy Vortex Radars settings to begin with which will be a good foundation to work from then tweak there.

https://www.vortexradar.com/2022/04/...ure-uniden-r8/

[Berzerker]

Originally Posted by dimab0

I’m brand new to detectors and have never had one before. It sounds like many people are happy with Uniden R8. Is that an ok one to get as a first time buyer? Don’t want to be lost in configuration hell for months.

I’ve read this thread, it sounds like it is reasonable to install it myself, does that sound right? Do I just pull the trigger and buy it, and find a couple hours to install some weekend? Anything else a total beginner should know?

I’ve never had one before, but also tend not to drive slow….cost isn’t a big concern but seems like a good buy?

The R8 is one of the best on the market right now. Pair it with an app like V1Driver or V1Companion on your phone and it'll manage the GPS lockouts for you and give you some extra QoL features.

As for install, you can just plug it into a cigarette lighter and it'll be good to go, but if you want to mirror tap it for a cleaner look, it's also not super difficult. Lots of good information here: https://g80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...1811276&page=7

[dimab0]

Originally Posted by Berzerker

The R8 is one of the best on the market right now. Pair it with an app like V1Driver or V1Companion on your phone and it'll manage the GPS lockouts for you and give you some extra QoL features.

As for install, you can just plug it into a cigarette lighter and it'll be good to go, but if you want to mirror tap it for a cleaner look, it's also not super difficult. Lots of good information here: https://g80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...1811276&page=7

I've had an R8 installed now for ~2 weeks. This thing is wonderful. I like it a ton. It was especially great last night. Apparently cops in my area were trying hard to meet EOM quotas? I've never seen one on the highway near me in the last 3 years, and last night the detector identified 3 different ones. I def would have been speeding and was tempted to assume it was a false alert from something nearby, but it was accurate. Highly recommend already.

[Needsdecaf]

Originally Posted by Berzerker

The R8 is one of the best on the market right now. Pair it with an app like V1Driver or V1Companion on your phone and it'll manage the GPS lockouts for you and give you some extra QoL features.

As for install, you can just plug it into a cigarette lighter and it'll be good to go, but if you want to mirror tap it for a cleaner look, it's also not super difficult. Lots of good information here: https://g80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...1811276&page=7

Wanted to respond to this post now that I've been running a V1 Gen 2 for a few months.

I got the V1G2 primarily because 1. I've been a V1 user for decades so it's familiar 2. it's slimmer than the Uniden and 3. Because I got a nice discount trading in my old unit.

The new unit is chatty. I have installed V1 companion which has SIGNIFICANTLY cut down on the falses and chattiness. I mean, it's great. I love it. Except....

V1 companion also does voice alerts. So it'll read you the band of the radar, tell you where it's coming from, etc. This is configurable. You can turn it on and off. When you're running apple car play this is unfortunate because 1. It shuts off the stereo and 2. if you were listening to XM radio, it goes back to stock XM and not presets. Which is IRRITATING. Also, if you get into a situation where you're behind a constant alert, it's got your tunes muted. I was driving behind a LEO for 3-4 minutes. I could see him, V1 was alerting (muted) but it had silenced my tunes. So I was just riding in silence with a very quiet beeping. No bueno.

So in the end, I disabled all the voice / audio alerts from the app. It still controls the auto muting and auto lockouts of the detector fine, but I no longer get announced the frequency, which is kind of a bummer because I do like that. And I'm not going to mount my phone in order to see it. But that's just me, it IS an option.

So in the end, if I didn't have the V1 to trade what would I do? Honestly, I'd probably switch to the Uniden. I'd love to run one and see how it compares feature wise. Performance wise, Vortex Radar shows that these are really equivalent. Both have a few pluses and minuses but in the end both have fantastic range. It's all down to the feature set and what you want to prioritize, and how you set it up. I don't think you can go wrong either way. Running the app, my detector is super quiet and any alerts that break through are almost always legitimate. So very happy.

[SwankPeRFection]

Biggest problem still remaining for the V1G2 is the subpar and slow response to K band. For as chatty as it is on K, you’d think it wouldn’t be slower than the G1. Shame on Mike Valentine for not fixing this issue yet. Between that and the multi-Ka falsing that sometimes happens, I’m amazed people with the V1G1 still buy them. To a degree it’s a step down. I get it that Ka had much higher range now, but the hit to valid K threats and the loss of easy volume control is kind of bs. I’m running my G1 for as long as I can. Hasn’t let me down yet.

[Needsdecaf]

Originally Posted by SwankPeRFection

Biggest problem still remaining for the V1G2 is the subpar and slow response to K band. For as chatty as it is on K, you’d think it wouldn’t be slower than the G1. Shame on Mike Valentine for not fixing this issue yet. Between that and the multi-Ka falsing that sometimes happens, I’m amazed people with the V1G1 still buy them. To a degree it’s a step down. I get it that Ka had much higher range now, but the hit to valid K threats and the loss of easy volume control is kind of bs. I’m running my G1 for as long as I can. Hasn’t let me down yet.

You keep noting this...where is it documented?

[SwankPeRFection]

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

You keep noting this...where is it documented?

The slow K response? It’s well documented on rdforum. That along with the wacky Ka falsing that still happens. Originally everyone thought the Ka blips were possibly very distant legit cop hits, but the more testing that was done and then more miles people put on the detector, they came to realize there’s an issue with harmonic frequencies from other sources that will sometimes cause the Ka falsing to happen. For some, it’s gotten worse with the past two firmware updates too. For some the workaround has been extremely tight and limiting custom frequencies, but it shouldn’t be like that… not for Ka anyway, since that’s always a known good threat. Now it’s put some doubt in people’s minds as to could it be a distant faint instant-on or just another wacky false on a band that always been a legit threat in the past. I dunno, I feel like something has changed in the hardware design of the new one to improve distance and off-axis detection, which is great, but it’s inadvertently introduced a byproduct issue that can’t easily be fixed by software alone. Since a lot of the end development on the G2 was done during COVID and the amount of initial hardware quality and issues they had for it, I feel like they really dropped the ball on it and just shipped it and thought they could address those problems later with software development and they are now realizing they can’t, so they’re getting by with whatever. I dunno man… 🤷*♂️ it’s weird and even Vortex has dropped his trust for the V1 from what it used to be in the past. At least they addressed the TSS laser being detectable again with the last update, so that’s good. Maybe they’ll fix the K shit with the next one, but they’ve had like 2 years to do something about it and they haven’t, so who knows…

[Lupeskew]

My wife bought me the Uniden R7 for Christmas. I couldn't be happier with it and save a couple hundred vs the R8. (Used the difference for some more goodies for the car hehe)

[Ibiza]

Gesture control IR emitter is triggering lasar for my V1G1. Is the Uniden R8 having the same issue? I assume the V1G2 is having the same issue. I have read through the rdforums, suggestion is to turn on the V1G2 rear lasar. For V1G1 is to apply electric tape to the rear lasar sensor on the front. What are all of you running to limit the false alarms? I figure that BMW NA paid for my two V1G1’s which I have had for over 10 years from my BMW CCA rebate checks, as considering the R8, but the size is a concern.