Five Budget Radar Detectors

By Don Schroeder. Car & Driver, September 1995.

    Since 1977, Car and Driver has conducted ten radar (and lately, radar/lidar) tests, each with one simple goal: to determine the best detector on the market. Our last test, in April 1994, included only top-of-the-line detectors, with retail prices ranging from $229 to $399. Unlike our vehicle comparison tests, our detector evaluations never put much emphasis on price. We've always figured that if the best detector meant the difference between getting a ticket and not getting a ticket (and all the fines and insurance prizes that follow), a few hundred dollars was irrelevant.

Irrelevant to us, that is.

    Detector buyers, however, are different. According to one of the major manufacturers, about 75 percent of the 2.5 million detectors sold last year were in the $100 to $150 retail price range.

    What's more, detector makers offer a diversity of models that rivals Baskin-Robbins flavors for variety. After the April 1994 test, our mailbox was deluged with letters asking if the test results from a detector maker' s flagship model also apply to its less expensive models.

    To find out, we organized a test of detectors that cost less than $100 on the street (we paid for our test units). Most makers offer detectors with full protection-X-, K-, and Ka-band, and lidar--for $100 or thereabouts. (Pinch your pennies any further and you're looking at discontinued or outdated models.)

    Because the low-price detectors claim to sniff out all of the heavily used police signals, it's clear that other features--or the lack thereof--distinguish lower-priced models from costlier ones. Warning-alert muting, LED warning-light dimming, more sophisticated windshield and visor mounts, and, more recently, liquid-crystal displays are examples. Another high-dollar feature we like very much is the system of lighted arrows that indicate to the driver from which direction the radar source is coming, introduced in 1992 on the Valentine One. That detector also numerically displays how many radar sources are out there-a tremendous advantage in tricky radar traps.

    The most critical feature, though, is the manner in which various detectors distinguish between genuine police signals and inconsequential radio frequency noise. The problem is that the FCC allows devices such as door openers, burglar alarms, and traffic controls to operate on the X-band, and recently also on the K-band. Some unrelated infrared devices also turn up on the lidar infrared spectrum. And most radar detectors themselves radiate some microwave energy. These are the sources of almost all false alarms. Expensive detectors tend to have sophisticated methods of ignoring false-alarm sources, or at least they provide the alert driver with enough information to be able to identify them.

    The most expensive detector of them all, the Valentine One, costs $400. Units in this test cannot match its sophistication. The question is: In selecting a budget detector, thereby forgoing features like those of the Valentine One, do you also sacrifice performance?

    To find out, we not only compared the budget detectors directly with each other, but we also included the Valentine in the test as a benchmark. Here's why: We can accurately compare one detector with another within the same specific test, but we can't compare the results from one detector test with another in the way we can compare acceleration or skidpad performance of cars tested on different days. We even changed the tests somewhat (which we perform at Chrysler proving grounds) for greater accuracy. For this reason, the "benchmark" would have to be retested with the other detectors.

    We checked each detector' s sensitivity on the X-, K-, and Ka-bands. (We dropped photo-radar testing because of its decreasing use; see sidebar on page 90.) We stationed radar guns for each band off the end of an elevated 2.5-mile straightaway. We then drove toward the radar source from the other end, noting how far from the source the detector' s first warning was sounded. We ran this test with the detector in highway (unfiltered) and city (filtered to reduce false alarms) modes, and with the radar gun in instant-on and steady-state modes (see sidebar for definitions).

    We also measured each detector's ability to pickup lidar. A straight-out range test is neither practical nor relevant with lidar, so we use a different way of measuring lidar sensitivity. We set up a horizontal platform five feet off the ground. And 2000 feet away, we firmly anchored a laser gun aimed dead center at the platform. We then moved the detectors on the platform from the center of the beam outward, to determine the detector's sensitivity to the beam's fringe--the farther from the center, the better. A test like this is particularly relevant for the times in which an officer aims his gun at your license plate while your lidar detector is some distance away, anchored on the windshield.

    We also checked each detector's field of view for lidar while moving through a beam. A detector with a wide field of view has a greater chance of picking up a stray lidar beam reflecting off another car.

    To measure the detectors' ability to reject false signals, we ran them through our familiar 14-mile Ann Arbor false-alarm test loop. And we measured each detector's inclination to set off other detectors, as well as its sensitivity to other detectors-another irritating source of false alarms. Finally, we checked how well each detector can "disappear" when one of the notorious VG-2 detector-detectors shows up. These are used by cops to locate detectors in areas where they're illegal (Virginia, the District of Columbia, most of Canada, and for commercial trucks).

    Our rating system is straightforward: out of 100 points, 50 points are assigned to radar sensitivity, 10 points are assigned to lidar detection ability (a small number due to the relative rarity of lidar), and 15 points are given to features and ergonomics (a detector whose warnings are impossible to discern, or one that keeps falling off the windshield, is little better than none at all). Another 15 points are assigned to selectivity, a calculated number that compares a detector's sensitivity to its rejection of false, non-police activity. (A detector that is so sensitive that it falses all the time is not worth much, nor is a detector that ignores both false-alarm sources and police radar and lidar.)

    We gave up to 5 points for how effective each detector's city mode was at reducing false alarms without unduly affecting sensitivity. And finally, we assigned 5 points to the detector with the loudest alarm sound, with the other detectors rated proportionately.

Uniden LRD 2200SW Overall Score: 89

    The Uniden LRD 2200SW puts on a good show for a detector at any price. Its overall radar sensitivity was the best of this budget field. It came close to the Whistler's X-band performance and was superior on K- and Ka-bands. So consistent was the Uniden's performance that it collected 49 out of 50 points in the sensitivity category. Its lidar capabilities are near the top as well, almost matching the class-leading Whistler in sensitivity, while maintaining a respectable 86-degree field of view.

    Sensitivity often means a high number of false signals, but the Uniden exhibited average selectivity. The Uniden falses most on Ka-band emissions from other detectors, perhaps a consequence of its excellent Ka-band range. Though it' s easy to interpret the occasional detector-induced false alarms on the Uniden, drivers who detest falsing of any kind may want to consider one of the other detectors.

    The Uniden's audible warnings average 83 decibels with the volume knob cranked up (keep an eye on that thumbwheel-volume levels are not marked). Warnings of radar are accompanied by a single light on the face of the unit that illuminates in different colors for each of the three radar bands. We noticed it is sometimes difficult to see in bright sunlight, but it is combined with loud, clearly distinguishable audible warnings. The lidar alarm is an alternating tone-and all four signal-strength LEDs light up in warning.

    Features include an audio-only button, which blacks out visual warnings. This is handy at night when Officer Bob comes peeking inside your car. The Uniden windshield mount is compact, yet it adjusts neatly and easily. A visor clip is also included.

    The Uniden's city mode reduces K- and Ka-band sensitivity, which we think should be left unfiltered because they're often the real thing. We'd recommend you leave this detector on highway mode at all times. Also, if you purchase a Uniden, you might need a different power cord. The spring on the plug supplied by Uniden that fits in the lighter socket is so strong that it popped the plug out of three different car sockets we tried. Use a shim to wedge it tightly if necessary.

    One more thing: the Uniden is completely invisible to the VG-2 detector-detector, even when we moved it to within a foot of the snitch device. That means if motorists in Canada and Virginia, or truckers, get spotted with a Uniden, they should just tell Smokey it's an electric air freshener.

Fox Vixen Pro Overall Score: 57

    After a five-year absence, Fox has reentered the full-feature detector market with two new models, the Vixen and the Vixen Pro, both priced under $100. We tested the Vixen Pro.

    Despite the Vixen Pro's finish 32 points behind the Uniden, it remains a versatile performer. While its radar sensitivity is mid-pack, it provides adequate warning on all three radar bands. Its laser performance, however, could be improved. The outer limit of its beam reach is 10 feet, while most of the others stretch as far as 17 feet. But given lidar's relative rarity, the Fox's lidar deficiencies would pose a problem only for drivers in states such as Ohio, where lidar is common.

    The Fox receives full marks for its city mode performance, which drastically reduces the detector's already few false alarms, while leaving K- and Ka-bands at full sensitivity-this strategy we think works best. This detector uses separate LEDs to identify the alarm's source--lidar or the three radars. The Fox offers the loudest warnings, controlled by a thumbwheel properly marked with numbers. This detector is the only one in this group that comes standard with a handy coiled cord.

    Unlike the other detectors, the Fox has no indicator light for the city mode. Only two other gripes mar the Fox-the power cord often detached itself from the detector on one of our test units, and the only way to the adjust the angle of the Fox on the windshield is to bend the metal mounting bracket, a solution that promises problems down the road. Although the Fox claims to have "ECM System" circuitry to reduce VG-2 detectability, in our test it announced itself nearly a quarter-mile away from the detector bloodhound.

    The Fox's balanced performance, excellent features, and solid rejection of false alarms make this the choice for those who want a "set it and forget it," no-interpretation detector. Fox has concentrated its sales efforts at mobile-electronics stores, so you're more likely to find one there than through mail-order.

Whistler 1140 Overall Score: 56

    The Whistler's score of 56 secures it a mid-field position. This detector's radar sensitivity is a zero-sum game. It whipped the entire field in sniffing out X-band, triggering an alarm from nearly two miles away. Its K- and Ka-band sensitivity is less impressive, with the Whistler placing last or nearly last on both those bands. In spite of this, the Whistler maintains respectable selectivity with its good anti-falsing performance.

    This detector's city mode takes a moment to figure out: it unfortunately mutes the K- and Ka-band warnings (along with the X-band warnings), but only after a brief, initial alert is sounded. Whistler engineers designed the city mode to alert drivers at the first hint of any signal--be it police or garage openers--with a short bleep. Then, like the other detectors, it subsequently mutes the warnings until the closeness of the radar reaches an intense threshold, when it sounds the alarm again.

    On our falsing test loop, we count every signal, which is why the Whistler's city mode barely reduced the Whistler's number of false alarms. In the city sensitivity tests, we gave credit to the Whistler only when it sounded a serious alarm, not a short bleep, to be consistent with the other detectors. That explains this detector's low city-mode score of 1. If you like the logic of this detector' s city mode, then the Whistler would rate a few points higher. Be forewarned that when facing K- and Ka-band on the city setting, though, the Whistler would reserve sounding an urgent alarm until it was within a few hundred feet of the radar source. That's too close for us.

    The Whistler sees lidar even better than the Uniden, leading the pack with its 17.6 foot beam-width detection, while maintaining an adequate 55-degree field of view. We like its lidar warning as well, which is 88 decibels strong and blinks the four red signal-strength LEDs sequentially.

    The Whistler's radar warnings are easily discerned both visually and audibly, although its radar audible warnings, at 73 dBA on average, could use a louder voice. The 1140 also has a mute mode, which quiets the alarm or mutes an upcoming one. Travelers in detector-illegal states and provinces should stay clear of the 1140, because it broadcasts its presence to the VG-2 from more than a mile away.

    If lidar and X-band performance are important to you, this one's a winner in those areas. Train yourself to watch for its initial alerts while in city mode, especially if they're K- or Ka-band.

Bel 535i Overall Score: 54

    The Bel's performance is like the Whistler's--adept at X-band, but mid-pack on K- and Ka-bands. Our gripe with this unit is the lack of information it gives the driver.

    The Bel's X-band sensitivity is better than the Fox's--it picks up instant--on guns from two miles away. On K- and Ka-bands, it provides a sufficient warning at about 1500 and 2900 feet, respectively. As with the Fox, the Bel's city mode barely affects K- and Ka-band sensitivity. Its selectivity remains respectable, though, scoring 8 out of a possible 15 points. The Bel's laser sensitivity is also sufficient, finding 16.5 feet of beam width, a thin slice less than the 17-to-18-foot range of the Whistler and the Uniden.

    Ergonomically, the Bel suffers. Its alarms are loud, but it's difficult to discern the importance of the threat from the chirping warning tones, and the problem is compounded by the lack of warning LEDs. The Bel has only one radar warning light, marked "R," and it doesn't distinguish between the different bands of radar.

    We wish Bel would improve its windshield mount, too. It doubles the size of the compact Bel, and its angle can only be changed with a screwdriver. The Bel's standard visor mount is less cumbersome.

    This detector has the best plug-in device of the bunch, with an end-lip that fits snugly into any lighter socket. It also has three dark modes that we found helpful for night driving (including an audio-only mode like the Uniden's). A dual-mode mute feature like the Whistler and memory retention for all settings if the power is turned off round out a wide selection of features.

    This detector picks up laser and radar adequately. If you can decipher its chirping noises, then the Bel deserves consideration. Overall, though, we would prefer clearer, more comprehensive signals.

Cobra RDL-212SW Overall Score: 27

    As the 5.8-ounce lightweight of our group, the Cobra has difficulty performing as well as the others.

    The RDL-212SW finished near the bottom in every sensitivity test. On the Ka-band test, it provided a warning, on average, at only 250 feet away. Its lidar performance was also poor, detecting only 5.9 feet of beam width--just the strongest part. This lack of sensitivity means that the Cobra could altogether miss a laser beam aimed at your license plate. If you're worried about lidar, we recommend you keep this detector as low as possible in your car, possibly resting it on the dashboard.

    The Cobra shares the Bel's problem of having the same single LED for all radar warnings. And it also speaks softly. At least, its audio alarms distinguish threats better than do the Bel's. When the Cobra does wake up to lidar beams, it responds lazily at first, with slow braps and hesitating, uncertain-looking light warnings. After a pause, it sounds an urgent warning. During that time gap, the cop may already have his ticket book out.

    The Cobra comes with a mute button that silences an alert in progress, as well as a button that dims the warning LEDs, or blacks them out entirely, like the Uniden. The volume thumbwheel is clearly numbered. The Cobra has a bendable windshield mount, like the Fox's.

    The RDL-212SW may have scored a low 27 out of 100, but it does have some utility. Left in highway mode, it provides enough of a warning on the popular X- and K-bands. Ka-band and lidar warnings act more like ticket indicators, though. For the same money, the other detectors provide better information.

    The bottom line: How do budget detectors stack up to the high-dollar Valentine benchmark? As can be seen from the charts, the Valentine beats all competitors in sensitivity to both lidar and radar, except for the Uniden as regards Ka-band. (The last Valentine we tested was similarly weaker on Ka, too.) The Valentine also outscores the best of the budget detectors on selectivity and lidar sensitivity

    Obviously, there's extra performance for your money in the Valentine, and in other high-dollar units. The pricier models also come with better displays, more practical power cords, and, in the case of the Valentine, those helpful directional arrows.

    For hard-core drivers like us, these benefits are well worth the extra expense. Those with tighter detector budgets, though, aren't out in the cold: there are useful units to be had for under $100.

    Just a few years ago, the dreaded "lidar" laser speed-clocking guns were introduced, and their increased levels of stealth and accuracy provoked fear in fast-moving motorists. This year, even the makers of lesser radar speed-measuring guns have escalated the level of anti-motorist weaponry with more technical tricks. Lidar speed guns, too, are getting even more sophisticated. If you're in the market for a detector, you need to know a bit about what you want to detect.

    Microwave radar is the most popular medium used by authorities to calculate speed: some 200,000 such units are estimated to be in use on U.S. roads. Radar guns transmit microwaves at a car and receive a reflected signal. Much as a train whistle is at a higher pitch as it approaches, the target car produces a Doppler-effect shift in the microwave signal it reflects back to the gun. The gun computes the speed of the car from the magnitude of the Doppler shift. That speed is displayed on a readout for the cop to see.

    Radar units either come in a gun-shaped case, not much bigger than a cordless drill, or are mounted in modules inside the police car. The conical or cylindrical tubes about four inches in diameter that you see on the dashboards of many cop cars are key parts of these systems. Some units can clock cars either ahead of-or behind the police cars they are mounted in, and they can clock cars while the police car is parked or moving. Once upon a time, these radar units in squad cars were left on all the time, making the task of locating the police with a radar detector very simple. Today, most radars have an instant-on mode-the device is left off until the moment the officer flips on a switch. Detectors can warn of this type of radar if an officer is clocking cars in the vicinity of yours. If you're alone on the road, though, you won't get any warning at all.

    There are three channels available for microwave radar speed detection. About 50 percent of all radars in use transmit on the X-band. This channel in 1995 is celebrating its 30th anniversary since being approved by the Federal Communications Commission for speed enforcement. The X-band frequencies range from 10.500 to 10.550 gigahertz (GHz), which is about 10,500 on your FM dial.

    The second channel is the K-band, at 24.050 to 24.250 GHz. This frequency is the second-most popular, and units operating on it are coveted by police because they are more compact, can clock cars at greater distances, and have a more focused beam for a more accurate aim than is available with X-band.

    The third channel is Ka-band, It's huge, spanning a width 130 times as broad as your FM radio's band. Ka started in 1982 about 40 percent of its present size, from 34.200 GHz to 35.200 GHz, and was then called wideband, In 1992, it was extended to from 33.400 to 36.000 GHz and now is called superwide band,

    The Ka-band threat to speeders is relatively small-just a few thousand guns exist. Photo radar was the first on this band in 1989. Photo radar is an unmanned camera/radar combo that sits by the side of the road and snaps pictures of speeding motorists' license plates. Most police departments rejected photo radar after successful legal challenges were mounted against it on constitutional as well as evidential grounds.

    The Stalker was the first radar gun to use this band, at 34.700 GHz. A so-called "wideband detector" would have found photo radars and Stalkers a few years ago. But superwide-band coverage is critical now, because radar manufacturers have introduced guns on the portion of the band beyond the original wideband, such as the Kustom Signals Bee-36.

    Regardless of what band they're on, some newer guns will present quite a threat to speeders. In the late 1980s, Kustom introduced the Hawk, the first gun that could clock cars ahead of and behind the patrol car while the patrol car itself was moving. The Hawk wasn't very popular because it was expensive. But digital signal processing (DSP) is lowering the price of such radar dexterity. DSP is the basis for new guns like the Stalker Dual, the MPH Python, and the Kustom Eagle (motorists now have even more reason to consider themselves "prey").

    The electronic blitzkrieg charges on. Before DSP, speeding drivers could relax when passing slower-moving trucks, which would reflect back a stronger radar signal. But these hyperbolic new guns can select the fastest-moving vehicle, not just the one which best reflects microwaves. The Hawk, for instance, can even clock slower-moving motorists traveling in the same direction as the police car. So if Officer Friendly is closing in on you at 90 mph, he can still write you a ticket for driving 75 mph.

    Your chances of encountering one of these sophisticated guns is still rare, but there are forces at work to change that. Police departments are being forced to replace their old squad car-mounted radar units because dual airbags in new police cars demand more compact systems that don't interfere with airbag deployment.

    Many of the increased capabilities of new radar units have come as a result of pressure from lidar, Lidar guns measure speed by firing pulses of infrared laser light at a reflective target--your car-and timing their return to the gun.

    Lidar guns, introduced about three years ago, must be precisely aimed at a target car. This is because, unlike radar, the lidar beam remains tightly focused at 1000 feet away it's only about six feet wide, a fifth the size of a radar beam. Such beam narrowness allows a cop to select a car out of a group of cars to clock--an impossibility with radar, which has much wider beams.

    Radar beams can provide the detector-equipped motorist with good warnings of speed traps, because they bounce around and are reflected into the atmosphere, where they are "visible" to detectors. This is not the case with lidar. A good lidar detector can alert the driver to even a weak lidar beam. But the tight focus of the beam means that if your detector has sounded an alert, probably you've just been clocked. Advance warnings are very rare.

    Lidar guns are getting better, too. State-of-the-art are the Kustom Signals ProLaser II and LTI Marksman, both with even better range. On the bright side: the detectable beam width with these stronger guns may be slightly greater.

    If this technology onslaught has you cowering behind the steering wheel, remember that microwave and lidar jamming technology (C/D, November 1993) hasn't been stagnant, either. We'll be looking at these countermeasures once again in an upcoming issue.