Does the weather hinder the performance?

[tenbit]

On my way to work this morning, (in Western NC it was foggy) a HP was waiting in a ditch with his radar on, but I only caught the signal about 30 feet away from him (I saw him before my Whistler picked him off).

Probably a silly question, but can the weather make detection that bad, really? I mean, I have been VERY happy with the performance so far, but what just happened was pretty terrible.

[Michael B]

Weather can affect radar performance but not to the degree you mentioned.

Firstly, what band did the unit alert when it alerted?
Was he facing the same direction as you or was he perpendicular to the road?
Did you see a radar head outside the car or inside the car?

In Massachusetts the locals sit perpendicular to the road and shoot across the road.

Don't know why because they cannot read your speed as you are not coming or going from the radar.

Under these cases I also get very short range because there is nothing to reflect the signal up the road.

Sometimes I can recognize the ORANGE words Dunkin Donuts on their coffee cup before the radar will alert.

This has happened while testing a Whistler, Bel, Escort, and V1 as they sit down the road about 1 mile from my workplace so it is easy to go out and test.

[tenbit]

Thanks for the quick reply.


It was X band and he was facing the same direction as the rest of the traffic. The radar head must have been inside as I dont recall seeing it.


I forgot to mention that the only other vehicle around was a truck that was about 1/4 mile in front (if that makes a difference),

[Michael B]

Well it sounds like he either did not have it on until you approached and his plan was to shoot you in the rear, or he had it CO and because he was shooting away from you there was little to nothing for the radar to bounce off.

In either case, it would sound like he was not pointing toward your radar detector and that all by itself will cause a serious shortage of warning.


The truck that was 1/4 mile away may not have been sufficient for reflections in especially in poor weather conditions.

[tenbit]

Thanks for clearing this up.


I wondered as I have had nothing but praise for this unit in the week I've had it.


Thanks again!

[Stealthcb]

It's also possible he didn't have a dash-mounted gun, but a handheld, and had it stowed when you passed him. I've passed LEOs and seen no radar antennas at all when I passed, but received a signal. Probably had the gun on the seat or something.

[phantoms]

Is NCHP using X-band? It's entirely possible he wasn't using Radar at all and you just picked up some stray X-band.

X-band falses are so bad in my area that I have X-band turned off.

[dmo1028]

Yes NCSHP does use X-band- They are pretty good with Instant On too, so he could have been quick with the trigger on traffic coming the opposite direction leaving very little for your Whistler to pick up on.

Lots of times a Trooper will sit there and just try to slow you down by their mere presence...being selective with who they radar. Maybe at the moment you approached him, he saw a potential victim and turned his unit on to verify the victims speed??? Could be a lot of reasons why- :?