Some Newbie Questions

[jpoprock]

Hey all. I just purchased a Bel X65 for my wife and tested it out a bit this past weekend. Seems great. But I do have some questions. I've poured over review after review and post after post and it's a lot to digest. Perhaps I could continue to dig deep for answers, but I thought I'd just ask.

It seems there is just so much to keep track of. But then it dawned on me... do I really need to? For example, do I need to be concerned with what "band" is being detected? I mean, does it really matter to me? I'd say that the rule of thumb should be, if an alert is present, slow down. REGARDLESS of the signal strength?? If I get a low K or KA band detection, then odds are it will either go away, or get stronger right?? And if it gets stronger, is THAT my indication of a threat? or can one be sure? I know that experience will help in the long run, but I'm talking just in general.

And here is something else I wanted to address. In the past, with not having a RD, if I felt a cop had me clocked, I NEVER EVER hit my brakes. And I can't even tell you how many times a cop has threw his lights on, but never turned around to pull me over. It's almost like I didn't hit my brakes, therefore I wasn't conceding to the fact that was speeding. If I had hit my brakes, this would have been an "Ahhh you caught me" type admission. HA! I dunno. All I know is, this has happened to me time and time again. Who knows.

This leads me to my point. Say I get hit w/ POP or Laser. Do I instantly hit my brakes? Like RIGHT NOW? And will it even help?? This is also assuming that when one gets hit with POP, instant on, or Laser, that the RD will explode with signal strength. I think with Instant On (which I'm not quite sure that category that falls under? Ka, Pop, etc...), that if you get nailed w/ it, you're basically alerted to the fact that you're "busted" right?? No since in hitting the brakes.. cuz yer clocked. Now, if you're in traffic, it's probl much harder to get nailed with instant on because odds are the RD would have alerted you in advance hopefully. If it's just you and the open road, you're a sitting duck basically. The same would apply to probl all radar. it would seem like a giant waste of time for a cop to be in the middle of no where clocking sporadic rural traffic. Not much action to be had there. Unless he had a girlfriend in the car with him. HA! Did i just say that?

I'm sure i'll think of more questions, but this has been what's been on my mind the most lately.

Thanks!
jason

[kpatz]

It seems there is just so much to keep track of. But then it dawned on me... do I really need to? For example, do I need to be concerned with what "band" is being detected? I mean, does it really matter to me? I'd say that the rule of thumb should be, if an alert is present, slow down. REGARDLESS of the signal strength?? If I get a low K or KA band detection, then odds are it will either go away, or get stronger right?? And if it gets stronger, is THAT my indication of a threat? or can one be sure? I know that experience will help in the long run, but I'm talking just in general.

Knowing the band is helpful in determining if a threat is real or false. For example, if you're in an area where they don't use X band, and you get an X band alert, chances are it's a door opener sensor and it can be ignored. Also, in come cases the band can be used to assess what threat you're looking at. For example, where I am, the locals mainly use K, and the staties use Ka.

And here is something else I wanted to address. In the past, with not having a RD, if I felt a cop had me clocked, I NEVER EVER hit my brakes. And I can't even tell you how many times a cop has threw his lights on, but never turned around to pull me over. It's almost like I didn't hit my brakes, therefore I wasn't conceding to the fact that was speeding. If I had hit my brakes, this would have been an "Ahhh you caught me" type admission. HA! I dunno. All I know is, this has happened to me time and time again. Who knows.

With enough warning from a detector, you can hit the brakes (or at least let off the gas) and get slowed down before the cop can even see that you slowed down. If you blow by the cops and slam on the brakes, he might get ideas and pull you over, but they still have to have a speed locked in (or estimated) in order to give you a ticket.

This leads me to my point. Say I get hit w/ POP or Laser. Do I instantly hit my brakes? Like RIGHT NOW? And will it even help?? This is also assuming that when one gets hit with POP, instant on, or Laser, that the RD will explode with signal strength. I think with Instant On (which I'm not quite sure that category that falls under? Ka, Pop, etc...), that if you get nailed w/ it, you're basically alerted to the fact that you're "busted" right?? No since in hitting the brakes.. cuz yer clocked.

If you're clocked with instant-on, POP or laser, it's too late. They have your speed even before you took your foot off the gas. Where the detector can be helpful in these situations is when you have traffic in front of you. Hopefully when that traffic gets clocked, your RD will alert you before it's your "turn", and you can slow down in time. With laser, it's hard to get advance warning though. The best defense against laser is to keep your eyes open, especially when cresting hills or rounding corners. And countermeasures such as Veil or a jammer can help you get slowed down in a pinch.