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  1. #1

    Default Concept for New Detector

    Here's an idea that I've been kicking around for a couple of months and don't have the time to do myself. It would effectively make radar of all types completely pointless.

    The concept is to take the GPS system to the next level. Here's how.

    Add bluetooth to the radar detector and have it pair with your phone. Then use SMS to send alerts when a new radar trap is found. It would then publish this information to a freely updatable service and if you're in that area it would immediately SMS message you and thus update your radar detector and notify you immediately to slow down in that area.

    By doing this, the cops would get one person, and everyone else would slow down immediately. This would be really easy to impliment with SMS and a GPS chip in a detector. The only hard part is telling it if it's a false positive or not.

    But think of it. It will map out all of the false positives by GPS location in all areas over time when you take it in and plug it into your computer at night, and then the only warnings you're ever going to get are those of real cops in very short order because of the communal experience.

    Better yet, instead of using radar/lidar readings, use the frequencies that the cops use for their radios. Almost all of them are continually connected now and have data feeds going/coming to the cars constantly. All you have to do is detect the upstream signal and warn. Yes, it's "there's a cop car around" instead of "there is a cop car using radar" but that's actually better because then you don't get busted when they follow you and do a speed match.

    Either way, combine detection with GPS and shared information using bluetooh and sms and you have one rocking system that is unstobable. It wouldn't take more than a year or two and the cops would just give up using radar/lidar entirely because it would become so uneconomical.

    Oh, and put the STi tech in it too for obvious reasons

  2. #2
    Lead Foot
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    Default Re: Concept for New Detector

    Quote Originally Posted by JohnGalt
    ...Better yet, instead of using radar/lidar readings, use the frequencies that the cops use for their radios. Almost all of them are continually connected now and have data feeds going/coming to the cars constantly. All you have to do is detect the upstream signal and warn. Yes, it's "there's a cop car around" instead of "there is a cop car using radar" but that's actually better because then you don't get busted when they follow you and do a speed match....
    I think Uniden or Bear had a police scanner that did just that a couple of decades ago and gave you a proximity alert to the police car.

    I don't know what happened, but they disappeared from the market pretty quick. It may have used just the radio freq. back then, but the data stream they use for their car's laptops may be better suited for scanning now, sort of like searching for free Hot Spots (WiFi).

  3. #3
    Good Citizen
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    Default

    They were the Uniden BCT8, BCT10 and BCT12 that did the radio part. What it did was alert to their repeater radio. It was the mobile radio that would/could set off the Uniden scanners of upto 3miles.

    I also think they are still marketing it and I think Radio Shack has one as well provided by uniden just rebadged.

    I do have the BCT10, it can come in handy especially if someone decides to report you for excess speeds (never did on me though ops: ). I have heard many dispatches of bikers and ricers racing on the highway. Saved me a few times too.

  4. #4
    Newcomer
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    Default

    So why not take it to even the next level? I was actually discussing this with a fellow enthusiast the other day, and frankly, I think it will only be a matter of time before we have something close.

    Why not take a high end existing detector (Either V1 or 9100/x50) and combine it with a Garmin GPS. You then have nav as well as detection in one unit taking up less real estate on your dash.

    Put bluetooth into the unit and have the detector pair with your cellphone to update the locations of LEO's in real time to a database that is sent to the unit via your cellphone every 10 minutes/30 minutes/5 minutes, whatever level you set. There would be some interface with the unit where you tell it is actually a LEO and send the info to the database. You then not only get warning from the detector, but you get a visual on the GPS unit showing where the LEO is/was within a very recent timeframe.

    There of course would be some sort of dropout or refresh rate of the database so you dont put in a LEO and it stays there indefinitely, but once you get enough people using the thing you could essentially have close to real-time location of LEO's on the road.

    Everything exists to make this happen. The technology is there and as soon as a company comes forward I will be first in-line with a fistfull of dollars to put it in my car.

    Great post!

    pops

  5. #5
    Lead Foot
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    Default

    If I were a burglar, this would come in handy - especially real-time updates.

    Dunno....

  6. #6
    Speed Demon
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    Default

    The reason why the BearTracker in Uniden radios didn't work so well was that Uniden never provided a way to update the frequencies online so some of them got outdated. Also, the radio only detects mobile extenders which are only used when the cop turns on his handheld radio and transmits back to the car. I have only seen my BCT8 work once: it went off then a few miles later there was when someone was already pulled over and I saw the cop walking on foot. Some claim that all mobile extenders are activated when dispatch transmits, I'm not too sure about this as I would suspect that I would pick up more cops.

    The radio detection is the best detection in theory because cops always have their radios on where as you rarely (less than 50% chance or so) find a cop that leaves his radar on constantly.

    FYI: The BCT15 actually has the beartracker as well. It is the newest unit with the technology.

    John I like your idea but a couple things:

    1) there really is no need for a cell phone, it would be better to make it so that the GPS communicate with each other. either by sending back to the satellite for relay or unit to unit communication.

    2) the basis of it depends on having accurate user feedback. if someone mislabels a speedtrap falsely, people will start to get annoyed.

    3) also, the likelyhood of enough people having such a product to have a sustainable impact is low. everyone would need the new technology. the only way I see this happening is if all the major RD companies sign a contract and do the project together.

    you need more and more people for this idea to be effective, but the more and more people you have the higher chance of having some idiot mislabeling speed traps as well.

    cops could get their hands on it and mislabel/delete traps as well.

    I REALLY like the idea of having a GPS and RD in one however. I bet Escort will make this first. They already came a long way with the 9500i and they have the c550. All they need to do is combine them in one unit.

  7. #7

    Default

    The good ideas keep flowing! I love it!

    Setting up a server to do the handling of information would be straight forward. Using satillites to do this would be highly expensive, whereas having a small data plan, or better yet, using SMS at 10c or less a transmit and 0c for receive works best. Very affordable for everyone on the system, especially for receive.

    As for the cops misinforming, look at the spam clients that use social networking. They're excellent with very few false positives. And as for density, it won't take long before this is something that everyone wants in their car. Think about it, the reason why people don't use Radar detectors is FUD and accuracy. This system takes all of that away. It's also like IM/Skype, or any of the other social networking sites out there. People love this stuff. You'll have a HUGE audience very quickly.

    I do software for a living, this is trivial to setup and nasty on the cops.

    Yes, especially if you start using their broadcast frequency you do have a problem with this being used for crime because you'll know where every cop is, hence why it's probably better to stick to Radar otherwise you'll get busted for impeding police etc....

    But it is doable and is a way to affect change that will get rid of this government/insurance scam.

  8. #8
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    Not so sure that would work. Take the situation where a cop sat at location A for 20 minutes, you would log it, he then moved to location B for 20 minutes, you log that then location C etc etc all of a sudden you have lots of false warnings of where he was.

    That means you would have to have an expiry time for a location where no radar was logged for a certain amount of time and then remove that location. So then the Cop just moves A,B,C,A,B,C continueously. And how would it handle a cop driving around with radar continueously on ?

    I think the only thing that would work is real time updates of cop locations and I'm pretty sure that would get stamped on.

  9. #9

    Default

    Yes, a timeout makes sense, unless it's marked as a false positive, in which case it would stick unless there were say 2 overrides... And then do statistics to show liklihood of cops in areas so that you even get warned of likely cop holes to slow down for anyhow. This would deal with fixed radar as well because it would be like purple on your gps map or whatever showing that there is always a radar post there.

  10. #10
    Speed Demon
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    Default

    I don't think it would work. Way too many variable for it to be accurate.

    Here is a fictitious drive with afforementioned technology:
    Driving down a major highway. Beep beep beep (there was a speed trap here earlier today). Nothing now. A few minutes later, LEO parked on side of road, no warning. Wonder what he's doing, laser, IO??? Some more minutes pass. Unmarked LEO just enters on to highway 250 yards ahead you. He is using IO. No warning from technology, just IO warning from RD. You get off on your exit. Beep beep beep. LEO was here earlier today running constant on, nothing now. Your mind starts wandering, thinking to yourself. "I paid how much for this new technology??? It is a neat concept but, I do" Just then your RD screams instant on Ka band. You just got nailed for 12 over PSL because you were daydreaming. As the LEO is writing your ticket, you mark this location as a speed trap, so someone else doesn't get a ticket. :cry:

    See what I mean?

 

 

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