Range comparison of Bel 955, Bel 995 & V1

**LittleOverPSL** · 08-18-2007, 02:36 PM

Here's a comparison test of 995, 955 & V1 (tested after tune up from VR). The signs were K-band along a stretch of road along the bank of a lake (plenty of curves, trees). It's comparable to a real world trap out here in the northwest on smaller roads, a LEO speed trap would be with a more powerful gun.

Testing Notes:
1. Some signs faced away when going one way on road, the same stretch of road was traversed back. The detection is marked accordingly based on how the sign was approached - Away or Toward.
2. Medium traffic was afternoon on a week day, light traffic was a week day at 11PM.
3. Range measured in seconds from the sign, stop watch started at first alert.
4. Bold text is when radar antenna is pointing towards the detector.
5. All detector settings at factory defaults.
6. 'Front' indicates approaching the sign, 'Rear' indicates going away from it.
7. Each sign was a different situation, they can't be compared to each other at all.
8. All detectors were mounted as high as possible in an SUV and tested one at a time.
9. Time constraints did not permit more than one run of a detector (each detector run was about 30 mins).
10. Speed was consistent 35MPH; if traffic prevented more than ~5 seconds at lower speed, or had to stop for someone turning, etc, then the run was restarted (or discarded if I ran out of time - one of the blanks in the table).

Preliminary Conclusions:
- While the rear antenna of the V1 did provide extra range, the Bel rd's did a pretty good job at rear detection
- Autoscan may introduce a small alert delay with real police radar, but makes for a much quieter detector - likely to increase one's trust in it
- The V1 pretty much rules, the 955 does a pretty good job for its price

I had this for a few weeks but didn't post because something seemed to be amiss. I've been very busy with work, so I didn't give it much thought. Then it came to me while I was just posting this - the distance/time where LEO at trap can get a visual on the vehicle (or vehicle of trap). Subtracting that time/distance from the total detection time will be more indicative of 'available reaction time'. I'll do that soon and report back.

Until then, feedback/comments welcome.

EDIT: table updated to include visual sighting time and the subsequent reaction times.

**ELVATO** · 08-18-2007, 09:13 PM

What was your speed?

**LittleOverPSL** · 08-19-2007, 10:33 AM

Approx. 35MPH. Added note #10 with this information.

Graphs updated. While other testing results typically displays raw numbers (and their graphs), the information detector buyers/users are looking for is: Will I get adequate alert to make required corrections?

A LEO needs a visual sighting to identify the vehicle to pull over. So, for every test scenario, one needs to know the distance at which the LEO can spot the vehicle (no other obstructing traffic scenario). With this in mind, the visual sighting distance was measured and subtracted from the alert time to get the Reaction Time.

The following are the resulting graphs:

Sign A: this one was around a curve and facing away towards a gradual rise.

Sign B: this one was almost in the middle of a straight stretch with curves on either end of the stretch.

Sign C: this one was around a tight 'S' curve and pointed towards a long straight stretch sloping up very slightly.

The red zone indicates the time one needs to react - some will argue they correct in a second or two, some will take 3-4, some even more (but thats because they are most likely ignoring the alert or are retarded).

It's easy to interpret the reaction time graphs: a detector having alert time above the red zone is good - higher is better as it allows for more 'threat evaluation time'.

Toward: this is the common trap scenario, and all detectors did their job well in both modes. The V1 shows an anomaly, which I think would have been sorted out if there were more runs to average it out.

Away: this is a less common trap scenario, but deadly effective (instant on makes it an even bigger challenge). Ideally, the bar should be above the red zone. Sign A location/orientation/geography seems to lend itself to more reflections back, so one gets good alert. For the other trap scenarios, one has to still keep an eye out - even with the best detectors.

Nothing new for old timers, of course. But this is one attempt to quantify it. And, possibly, encourage others to make the shift from presenting data to presenting information.