The introduction of radar guns by law enforcement birthed radar detectors, while LIDAR devices caused the creation of jammers. Although different, both devices help to avoid the detection of your vehicle’s speed by law enforcement. Advanced radar detectors are equipped with both radar and laser jammers, but are restricted by individual state laws. Radar detector vs Jammer: which one is best for you?
A radar detector is a device that detects the presence of radar guns while a jammer distorts the readings of a radar and laser gun. While both devices help to alert you of radar guns that are monitoring vehicle speed, they achieve this differently. However, both radar detectors and jammers enable car owners to drive above the speed limit without worrying about incurring a speed ticket.
Car owners are choosing between radar detectors and jammers based on their needs and legality. You want to make sure your state allows your preferred counter technology to avoid huge fines and penalties.
What is Radar Detector
A radar detector is a device used for detecting devices that may be monitoring the speed of a moving vehicle. Radar detectors are mounted or installed in cars by motorists to help them evade ticketing from law enforcement due to overspeeding. Radar detectors are becoming a most-have car device for most car owners today.
Advanced radar detectors are equipped with GPS, long-range detection, and auto-city sensitivity mode that helps to reduce the frequency of false alarms. The inbuilt GPS enables drivers to lockout some areas and also tag police hotspots and redlight cameras. I
They also have smartphone compatibility that enables drivers to connect their radar detectors to smartphones. Most of these Radar detector brands also operate on a community-based platform, thereby allowing drivers to benefit from thousands of inputs.
Radar detectors search for radio signals on the different radar bands: X, K, Ka. These bands have different frequencies and most advanced radar detectors are equipped with all bands. The Ka-band is the most recent and advanced. Used mainly by law enforcement and governmental departments, the band offers more accurate detections with fewer false alarms.
The X-band, almost obsolete, is only functional in Ohio and a handful of other places. The K-band is the most popular and common amongst law enforcement and civilians. This causes high levels of false alarms. Advanced radar detectors are equipped to filter out most false alarm signals.
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How Do Radar Detectors Work?
Radars send scattered radiation when searching for overspeeding vehicles. Radar detectors work by detecting this scattered radiation and alerting drivers to adjust their speed accordingly. Radar detectors are equipped with several inbuilt accessories that help you find radars and red-light cameras quicker.
Jammers
Jammers are devices that impede or alter the results of a radar or laser gun, enabling drivers to either slow down or beat the speed limit by a small margin without being noticed. There are two types of Jammers:
● Laser Jammers
● Radar Jammers
● Radar Jammers
Radar jammers work by overshadowing the signals emitted by radar guns, using noise, or by sending out false data. Radar jammers, as they are called, jam receivers by sending extra signals, making it difficult for a police radar gun to target a particular frequency.
While illegal, they are very effective at jamming old radar bands. Although, you can still find aftermath jammers that help to reflect signals with white noise. Another technique is called the repeater technique.
Here, the jammer sends back an identical signal to confuse the radar. Other types of jammers include pulse jamming, cover pulse jamming, deceptive jamming, blip enhancement, and DRFM jamming.
Do Radar Jammers Work?
Radar jammers are effective against old radar devices, especially devices operating on the X and K radars. But how well do they do against advanced radar detectors? Radar jammers are not effective at jamming modern radars as the police officer can see when his/her radar is being jammed.
Radar jammers are also not error-free, therefore can display a higher speed to the police officer ahead of you. Asides from that, radar jammers are illegal according to federal laws in the United States, and also in other countries.
● Laser Jammer
Laser jammers are devices that disrupt the reading of LIDAR guns used by law enforcement to target the speed of your vehicle. Unlike radars which spread radiation in the air, Laser devices are more direct, faster, and accurate.
The shortcomings of radar detectors lead to the invention of lasers, however, radar detectors are still more efficient. A radar detector requires the police to manually beam the radar towards the headlight of an incoming vehicle for an accurate reading. This process is more cumbersome than radar guns.
How Do Laser Jammers Work?
Laser jammers use receivers, LEDs, and sensors to detect and distort laser frequencies. Unlike radar jammers, laser jammers can stay off until a laser signal is sensed within proximity and then duplicate the pulse length of the LIDAR signal to unbalance the laser. LIDAR devices are unable to track the signal or successfully send a return wave to measure the speed of a moving vehicle. Laser jammers are known to send incorrect data to laser guns.
Radar Detector Detectors
The police departments and the public are in constant electronic warfare. The creation of one device leads to a reaction by the other party. For example, the adoption of radar guns based on the doppler principle led to the creation of radar detectors.
When the police noticed this, they adopted various radar frequencies which are the X, K, and Ka-band. However, advanced radar detectors can now detect frequencies across all the available radar bands.
This electronic warfare led to the creation of devices called radar detector detectors. These devices intercept emissions from radar detectors. Most law enforcement now employs radar detector detectors, especially in jurisdictions where radar detectors are considered to be illegal. The main devices are the VG-2 and Spectre Elite.
However, the same way the public responded with radar and laser jammers, they also responded with devices that hide radar detectors from radar detector detectors.
Most advanced radar detectors are now immune to the VG-2 and Spectre Elite. They are equipped to sense these devices beforehand and shut down. This is quite necessary for car owners using stealth radar detectors
Should You Worry About Radar Detector Detectors?
Using a radar detector in a prohibited region could lead to huge fines and jail time. We recommend that you desist from using radar detectors if the law doesn’t allow it. However, if it is legal in your area, then you may want to purchase advanced radar detectors for detecting advanced detection devices.
For example, the Spectre Elite III and IV, upgrades to the Spectre Elite, are equipped to detect all radar detectors. The only way to hide from these devices is by investing in advanced radar detectors that are efficiently immune.
Legality according to states
While laser jammers are allowed by the federal government, radar jammers are outrightly illegal due to safety reasons. Only in Washington D.C. and Virginia are detector devices illegal. However, other states are divided on the legality of being used in private vehicles, and commercial vehicles above 10,000 pounds.
For example, radar detectors are completely illegal in New York, Illinois, and New Jersey. In other states, you are allowed by law to install radar detectors in vehicles under 10,000 pounds according to federal law.
Radar detectors are legal in countries such as the United Kingdom, Taiwan, South Korea, Slovenia, Slovakia, New Zealand, but illegal in France, Portugal, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, and Egypt among others. It is then imperative to orient yourself to the laws surrounding radar devices before leaving your jurisdiction.
Laser jammers are more effective and allowed by federal law, unlike radar detectors which are illegal according to federal law. Stay on top of your speed by investing in the most advanced radar detector to protect against radar devices.
