Is 9500ix alert red light cameras when you on freeway?

[theblackv]

Will you get redlight camera alert even you on freeway?
Thank you.

[MEM-TEK]

Yes, you could, but only if you pass through the alert radius for the GPS location of the red light camera. Obviously the red light camera would have to be located very close to path of the freeway.

Why, you may wonder? Because Escort's GPS enabled radar detectors are, first and foremost, radar detectors rather than being full GPS units like a Garmin or TomTom GPS navigation system. GPS navigation systems like the Garmin or TomTom units include huge databases of roadways, and include much more powerful microprocessors in order to not only interpret the information within the databases in real time, but also to display the roadways and other stuff in real time. These roadway databases take up a lot of memory, memory which just isn't available within a GPS enabled radar detector. Sure, all of this stuff could be incorporated into a GPS enabled radar detector, but the radar detector's size would dramatically increase along with its price.

Thus, the simple approach is used by Escort since it doesn't require much processing time. Their idea is to simply and quickly compute if you are within a given range of a GPS camera location and if so, then to display an alert. There is a lot to be said for Escort's "keep it simple" method since it is very fast and allows the microprocessor to very quickly get back to its main task -- processing any detected radar signal which is passed onto the microprocessor from the LO board electronics within the radar horn.

[category4]

Get it all the time here in Atlanta. They have a lot of red light cameras at the intersections before you get on the on ramps in the downtown area.

[ID10DT]

Originally Posted by MEM-TEK

Yes, you could, but only if you pass through the alert radius for the GPS location of the red light camera. Obviously the red light camera would have to be located very close to path of the freeway.

Why, you may wonder? Because Escort's GPS enabled radar detectors are, first and foremost, radar detectors rather than being full GPS units like a Garmin or TomTom GPS navigation system. GPS navigation systems like the Garmin or TomTom units include huge databases of roadways, and include much more powerful microprocessors in order to not only interpret the information within the databases in real time, but also to display the roadways and other stuff in real time. These roadway databases take up a lot of memory, memory which just isn't available within a GPS enabled radar detector. Sure, all of this stuff could be incorporated into a GPS enabled radar detector, but the radar detector's size would dramatically increase along with its price.

Thus, the simple approach is used by Escort since it doesn't require much processing time. Their idea is to simply and quickly compute if you are within a given range of a GPS camera location and if so, then to display an alert. There is a lot to be said for Escort's "keep it simple" method since it is very fast and allows the microprocessor to very quickly get back to its main task -- processing any detected radar signal which is passed onto the microprocessor from the LO board electronics within the radar horn.

Escort should next make a GPS System with a Radar Detector built in. That would be incredible & I would have only 1 thing above the dash then

[mswlogo]

They could easily put a simple work around option for this that would be 80% as good as having map data.

Which is disable red light alerts when over XX MPH.

[thestaton]

My 9500CI did this while traveling through Columbus.

[ActiveKAjam]

Anyone know how common it might be that you don't get an alert from the cameras?

[djrams80]

Originally Posted by ActiveKAjam

Anyone know how common it might be that you don't get an alert from the cameras?

In almost four months using the 9500ci and 9500ix, I have only found one intersection with a RLC that was not in the Trinity database and four intersections that were incorrectly marked as having RLCs, but didn't.

[TSi+WRX]

Originally Posted by ActiveKAjam

Anyone know how common it might be that you don't get an alert from the cameras?

Like dj said, the Trinity database is pretty darned good. In most metro areas, they're pretty darned tight, but yes, a "miss" is still possible:

http://www.radardetector.net/forums/439983-post1.html


----

To get back to the OP -

Yes, I also saw a lot of this "GPS confusion" while in Chicago.

On the freeway, my Cheetah GPS-Mirror did get confused with the streets "below" the overpass highway, on which I was traveling.

Indeed, msw's solution would be a good one - use the GPS's speed-function to integrate a shut-off of the camera. I would further stipulate that they should set a resonable speed above-PSL, so as to be enough of a buffer for those who do speed on surface streets, so that they won't miss an upcoming camera'ed intersection.

The only situation where this would not work well would be, ironically, in my Chicago experience - where the overpass highway was so gridlocked that I was literally just crawling along.......

[niran916]

I have been getting some RLC falses. There are times were I approach an intersection and it alerts me of a RLC. I know for a fact that there was not a RLC at that intersection. The only reason is that I can think of is that these intersections are future RLC intersections. I wish there was a way were we could make the 9500IX give us an farther warning to RLC.