Building a Radar Detector - Any starting info?

[jdcx95]

I am determined to build a radar detector, not necessarily because I don't want to buy one, but more or less as a fun science project. I have tried to do some research on the internet about how radar detectors are made, but my search has yielded few results. From what I understand, a superheterodyne receiver is used to pick up frequencies being broadcasted on the X and K bands, but that is about all I can find. I can't seem to find how the detectors are put together and what parts I need. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Just a simple schematic or something to help me get started. Thanks guys!

[hardwareguy]

I'm not a microwave guy, but you will need to build or obtain the antenna for the band you wish to receive.

The ARRL has books geared for ham radio operators that cover microwave systems. Hams have considerable privileges in the microwave bands and microwave is useful for high speed data links so its getting popular as a hobby in the more advanced users. I'm not too familiar with much beyond 5GHz, and X band radar is twice that. I'm a VHF/UHF and WiFi tinkerer primarily, though I just got my HF set. (about time, I've been General for a good while now!)

Picking up Ka is going to be the hardest...its 1.3GHz wide! A *seriously robust* scanner is required, and not even the detector makers get that right a lot of times. There's a reason the good Ka units cost so much...you're looking at needing a fast DSP.

Plain K band would be a lot easier and there are still a lot of K band radars around. Speaking of that, you'll need one to test your gizmo. The Bushnell sports radar gun used to get ball speeds is probably a good bet.