Got Ticket, NO Warning from X50

[yyyiiikes]

It has been many years since I have gotten a ticket but while trying a new route home from work, I drove right into a speed trap. What is so unusual about this experience is that I received NO alert from my X50.

I am cresting a hill with a blind sharp curve, and then SURPRISE! An LEO is parked behind a bush on the shoulder in a perfect positon just a couple hundred feet directly ahead and he's pointing at me.

My instinctive reaction is to jab the brake pedal and slow car down.... due to the curve, the car wiggles a bit when I brake so the officer probably knew I saw him. Next I quickly glance down at my speed.... not too bad 57 MPH and dropping. Then I glance up at my X50 stealthly mounted above the rear view mirror..... NO Alerts. WHEW, maybe I am not an interesting target (I think to myself). I pass the LEO and he immediately pulls onto the road... real BAD sign.

I end up with a ticket for 55 in a 45 zone. So I thought that I had to be nailed with LIDAR because there was NO warning from the X50. Later that day I notice the ticket indicated radar was used. I am shocked because the X50 pickups radar miles in advance and there was no indication of radar in this close range encounter.

My X50 settings are X off, POP off. Then I think "Uh-oh" which one was it???

I am in Austin TX... hard to imagine they are using X and I have not heard of POP here. I have been driving with these settings for a year with no issues and enjoying being relatively free from false alarms.

Maybe it is time to reconfigure.... or did my X50 just miss?

[Road Warrior]

Sorry to hear that, but at least getting just one ticket in a long while ain't so bad at all... if that was LIDAR (laser), and you're the only one to confirm that, you should reconsider the location of your RD, for laser the best is to put it somewhere LOW, either on the windshield but right above the dash or right on the dash, with velcro, but be sure to have full/clear view of everything ahead... my S2 gave me so far 2 (out of 2) real laser alerts but I keep it right on the dash...

[jimbonzzz]

He probably either got you with X, or ticketed you based on a POP reading (which he isn't supposed to do). Supposably Texas does have both X-Band and POP:

http://www.radardetector.net/List-of...e-U.S-589t.php

Also be sure you are still getting K and Ka alerts, if not there might be something wrong with your X50.

Jim

[happya$$]

Another reason why X band is alive and kicking well

[amoney]

X band

Here in FLorida X band is off the books, however university of florida campus police use such equipment to ticket people on campus 25 mph 6 lane road. It is riduculus for many reason, one of which, with all that money that university generates you would think the PD would treat themselves with at least K band guns. There crusers are old, that X band gun looked like relics sold on eBay. If it is true that X band is alive and well in your area, then that is why your detector was quite. Thats going to suck more after paying the ticket, that now you have to turn X band back on and listen to more falses, I know I am grateful to have X band off.

[compu44]

There's six different possibilities here:

1) The officer didn't actually clock you.

2) The officer was using laser and doesn't know the difference.

3) The officer was using X band.

4) The officer was using POP.

5) The officer was using a radar that had fallen way out of calibration, and was missed.

6) The officer could have gotten lucky with a quick-triggered instant-on signal and it got kicked out by the filtering on the X50. I'll post a little info about that below.

The most likely scenarios are X band or POP, but any of the others are possible. On the chance that it was scenario 5, I would file for the calibration records of the radar. It would be easy to beat in court if it's been a long time since it was calibrated.

[compu44]

This info was posted by forum member "Michael B" who many of us believe to be an engineer for Whistler.

Michael B wrote:

Whistler POP models
K..............67ms
33.8.........67ms
34.7........150ms
35.5........150ms

Cobra POP models
K.............500ms
33.8.........worked well from 67 to 100ms but then no response from 100 to 500ms. 500+ the unit was 100% response.
34.7........750ms
35.5........500ms

Bel RX65 I do not know the rev # but it was one of the early units L006503
K............did not work below 500ms. 500-700ms was mixed results. 700+ was 100% response
33.8.......60-100 was 100%. 120 to 500 0%. 500-750 was mixed. 750+ was 100%
34.7.......800ms
35.5.......800ms

So assuming that Escort uses a similar filtering to the RX65, if the officer was using, say, a Stalker Ka radar (34.7 GHz) and he was able to trigger it and obtain a speed reading in less than 800ms (0.8 second) the detector would not alert.

[GTO_04]

When you get a ticket, always find out what brand and model of radar was used! That information can be helpful for avoiding future tickets or even fighting the ticket you just got. Since you don't know what kind of radar he was using, you don't know whether to turn your X band back on or not. To be on the safe side you will now have to turn the X band back on and endure the false alarms, and that may have not been necessary. If he was using a POP radar and you did not get an alert, he was probably using POP mode. If he brags in court how great POP mode is and how you got a ticket with it, your case will be dismissed. All you have to do is show the owners manual where POP mode readings are inadmissible. But since you don't know what radar was used you lost that defense.

GTO_04

[crazyVOLVOrob]

This info was posted by forum member "Michael B" who many of us believe to be an engineer for Whistler.

Michael B wrote:

Whistler POP models
K..............67ms
33.8.........67ms
34.7........150ms
35.5........150ms

Cobra POP models
K.............500ms
33.8.........worked well from 67 to 100ms but then no response from 100 to 500ms. 500+ the unit was 100% response.
34.7........750ms
35.5........500ms

Bel RX65 I do not know the rev # but it was one of the early units L006503
K............did not work below 500ms. 500-700ms was mixed results. 700+ was 100% response
33.8.......60-100 was 100%. 120 to 500 0%. 500-750 was mixed. 750+ was 100%
34.7.......800ms
35.5.......800ms

So assuming that Escort uses a similar filtering to the RX65, if the officer was using, say, a Stalker Ka radar (34.7 GHz) and he was able to trigger it and obtain a speed reading in less than 800ms (0.8 second) the detector would not alert.

stalker radar is active for 2-3seconds i heard in an instant on shot

[ES13Raven]

When you get a ticket, always find out what brand and model of radar was used!

I heard somewhere that if you ask to see the radar readout, that the LEO will put you in cuffs and take you back to his car to see it. Then you are free to go if you sign the ticket. Any truth to that?