OLD SCHOOL vs. NEW SCHOOL
I think it is high time to clear the air of all the hype and false info on radar detectors.
Having made my living in electronics for more than 25 years, I have seen alot of changes.
Some for the better some not.
Anyone who has had a cell phone for very long can remember the days when only a handfull of towers were needed to cover the entire coverage area.
This is because these were ANALOG tranceivers.
Analog is far superior to digital when it comes to range.
This is because a moving receiver has to deal with flutter and multipath.
This shows up as noise on a analog receiver but you can still hear the signal over the noise.
Digital phones can't do this.
If the signal has noise on it, the digital signal is corrupted and you get no reception at all!
Cell companies have had to install 3 times as many towers to get the same coverage with digital phone.
The same is true with radar detectors.
The old analog XK receivers were simply a radio receiver waiting to here a signal break the squelch.
This gave them INSTANT response and greater range.
Then along came digital.
ALL the new detectors use a microprocessor and have to analyze the signal after they receive it then decide what band it is, how to make the display light up or what to say.
This all takes valuable time. [ as much as 2 seconds on some units!]
The new detectors have the advantage of some of the best filtering we have seen.
But this filtering is a double-edge sword.
New detectors will ignore a short pulse that older detectors will respond to.
My friend has a V1 and paid quite a bit for it.
It is by todays standards a good detector.
However, I recently demonstrated to him the distinct advantage of older xk superhet units.
We were talking about radar traps around the area and he was bragging about how good his Valentine 1 is.
I had an old 80's model Maxon xk in the car at the time.
I took out my K band radar gun and the testing began.
He was completely shocked when my 20+ year old Maxon responded MUCH faster than his V1.
Not only that but when I hit the trigger fast, the V1 didn't even alarm!
The 20+ year old xk alarmed EVERY time regardless how short the pulse I created!
He was so impressed he immediately got on ebay and purchased a 25 year old XK detector to suplement his V1!
TRY THIS YOURSELF
YOU WILL BE AMAZED!!
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