Hello from Illinois

[cergun]

I have Beltronics RX65 pro which I bought 4 yeara ago
Now I saw that it is possible to upgrade its firmware to make the detector much more senssitve for radar signal. Is it true. if yes someone can tell me How I will do this update I mean What type of connector do I need to make this update with PC?

[airdog]

Welcome a Jammers are a must if you are running into this much lidar What part of IL do you normally drive? I drive from the north to near chicago and all the LEO's I have seen sit in the middle and you can see the brake lights for a mile Also I had a 955 and a great detector!

I travel West on I-64 to the St. Louis area several times a week as well as East on I-64 once or twice a month. I also travel North and South on I-57 several times a month into Kentucky and as far North as Champaign, IL.

As the others have said - laser jammers. Also, I've found the CB to be quite effective in the southern Illinois area as well. If you don't mind my asking, what part of Illinois are you from?

I live in the Mt. Vernon area where I-57 and I-64 cross each other. I am encountering IL State Troopers at The Woodlawn, Burnt Prairie, and Whittington overpasses several times a month. They are placing an officer in a car on the overpass and then lining up several (as many as 6 or 7) officers on the ramp on the otherside of the overpass. I'm pretty sure they are using Laser most of the time if not all the time. A buddy of mine told me his laser detector goes crazy when he passes one.

Any recommendations for a laser jammer that would work on a 2009 Dodge Ram?

[compu44]

Welcome a Jammers are a must if you are running into this much lidar What part of IL do you normally drive? I drive from the north to near chicago and all the LEO's I have seen sit in the middle and you can see the brake lights for a mile Also I had a 955 and a great detector!

I travel West on I-64 to the St. Louis area several times a week as well as East on I-64 once or twice a month. I also travel North and South on I-57 several times a month into Kentucky and as far North as Champaign, IL.

As the others have said - laser jammers. Also, I've found the CB to be quite effective in the southern Illinois area as well. If you don't mind my asking, what part of Illinois are you from?

I live in the Mt. Vernon area where I-57 and I-64 cross each other. I am encountering IL State Troopers at The Woodlawn, Burnt Prairie, and Whittington overpasses several times a month. They are placing an officer in a car on the overpass and then lining up several (as many as 6 or 7) officers on the ramp on the otherside of the overpass. I'm pretty sure they are using Laser most of the time if not all the time. A buddy of mine told me his laser detector goes crazy when he passes one.

Any recommendations for a laser jammer that would work on a 2009 Dodge Ram?

Well howdy neighbor! I too am from Mt. Vernon! Born and raised here! I was actually ticketed in Woodlawn just a few months ago by an ISP's instant-on Ka. Woodlawn RD right were it goes over 64, only car on the road. Oh well, could have been worse, I could have still been on Richview Rd. To quote C.W. McCall, they're getting "thick as bugs on a bumper" around here.

We probably travel many of the same roads. I often go over towards St. Louis, and I run I-57 very frequently down to I-24. Laser is getting to be a big nuisance around here. To cover that truck, you're probably going to need a 4-head jammer, be that a Blinder or LI-Quad. There are plenty of people here that follow the jammers much more closely than myself. There should be a lot of good options for a CB radio installation in that truck too, and it REALLY helps in this area. I've had more interstate saves from the CB than from my STI since I installed it. There's also a lot of locals that shoot the bull on channel 15 too. They call me "techman" on there.

Give me a shout if you ever need a hand installing any countermeasures, I've got any tools you could need to get the job done.

[airdog]

Well howdy neighbor! I too am from Mt. Vernon! Born and raised here! I was actually ticketed in Woodlawn just a few months ago by an ISP's instant-on Ka. Woodlawn RD right were it goes over 64, only car on the road. Oh well, could have been worse, I could have still been on Richview Rd. To quote C.W. McCall, they're getting "thick as bugs on a bumper" around here.

We probably travel many of the same roads. I often go over towards St. Louis, and I run I-57 very frequently down to I-24. Laser is getting to be a big nuisance around here. To cover that truck, you're probably going to need a 4-head jammer, be that a Blinder or LI-Quad. There are plenty of people here that follow the jammers much more closely than myself. There should be a lot of good options for a CB radio installation in that truck too, and it REALLY helps in this area. I've had more interstate saves from the CB than from my STI since I installed it. There's also a lot of locals that shoot the bull on channel 15 too. They call me "techman" on there.

Give me a shout if you ever need a hand installing any countermeasures, I've got any tools you could need to get the job done.

Thanks for the heads up compu44. I may take your advice on getting a CB setup. Never owned a CB so is there anything you would recommend?

As far as the Laser Jammer... $750 for a Blinder setup is a bit more than I want to spend. I have an electronics background so I've been investigating a few options on building one myself. Found a few youtube videos where a guy is testing a homebuilt system that looks pretty effective. Best thing is he's got less than $50 tied up in it.

[compu44]

Well howdy neighbor! I too am from Mt. Vernon! Born and raised here! I was actually ticketed in Woodlawn just a few months ago by an ISP's instant-on Ka. Woodlawn RD right were it goes over 64, only car on the road. Oh well, could have been worse, I could have still been on Richview Rd. To quote C.W. McCall, they're getting "thick as bugs on a bumper" around here.

We probably travel many of the same roads. I often go over towards St. Louis, and I run I-57 very frequently down to I-24. Laser is getting to be a big nuisance around here. To cover that truck, you're probably going to need a 4-head jammer, be that a Blinder or LI-Quad. There are plenty of people here that follow the jammers much more closely than myself. There should be a lot of good options for a CB radio installation in that truck too, and it REALLY helps in this area. I've had more interstate saves from the CB than from my STI since I installed it. There's also a lot of locals that shoot the bull on channel 15 too. They call me "techman" on there.

Give me a shout if you ever need a hand installing any countermeasures, I've got any tools you could need to get the job done.

Thanks for the heads up compu44. I may take your advice on getting a CB setup. Never owned a CB so is there anything you would recommend?

As far as the Laser Jammer... $750 for a Blinder setup is a bit more than I want to spend. I have an electronics background so I've been investigating a few options on building one myself. Found a few youtube videos where a guy is testing a homebuilt system that looks pretty effective. Best thing is he's got less than $50 tied up in it.

The homebuilt systems are probably going to be completely ineffective against modern laser guns. The electronics part is easy, it's the programming in the controller that makes or breaks the system though. The pulse rate returned needs to be different for different guns. Some of the older guns could be jammed by just flooding them with IR, but all that's going to get you now is pulled over for the gun showing jam codes, and that's if it even does anything. Laser jammers are illegal in Illinois, so it really pays to get something like a newer Blinder or LI which shouldn't produce any jam codes.

On the CB front, I looked up a photo of the interior of your truck, and man, there's not a lot of mounting options in there for a CB. Unless there is something that I'm missing, you'd have to go with a compact unit like a Uniden 510 or worst case, a Cobra 75wxst. Dollar-for-dollar though, a CB is the most useful countermeasure you can use on the interstate. With a little tuning though, the 510 can be a GREAT sounding radio though. That's what I use in my car. They'll tune up to 12-15 watts with no part swaps. Also, if you could come up with some mounting solution for a little larger radio, I've got a very nice Uniden PC68LTW that has been tuned up to about 25 watts and has great audio. Has an Astatic 636L mic with it, i'd be willing to make you a deal on it. Antennas are often cheaper to buy locally than online. The Pilot out by the interstate has some decent deals usually. They carry the one I use (unfortunately we can't discuss that model on the forum as per the forum rules).

Does this photo look like the one you've got?



If so, I see what appears to be a storage pocket that might be a good mounting location on the driver side of the center console. That would all depend on mounting depth.

Another great option is in the other half of the stereo opening if you've installed a half-height aftermarket stereo. That's what I've done. Easily my favorite install location.



It all just varies by vehicle really. That pocket on the side of your console looks like it might be your best option. If you do decide to go with a CB, I've got an SWR meter, and I'd be happy to tune it up for you.

[protias]

Welcome from another Illinois resident!

Be cautious of the V1 zombies here. I don't know about your region, but in Southern Illinois, 99% of the Ka-Band radar i've seen on the interstate is 35.5GHz, which is the one frequency where the V1 is a total dud. Been there, done that.

If you're tight on funds, check out either a refurbished Escort 8500 for $150, or a Bel Vector 955 for slightly more from Radarbusters.

No matter what, enjoy your stay here!

My 3.826 was pretty hot to 35.5 (I see it at ~.75 mile).

[compu44]

Welcome from another Illinois resident!

Be cautious of the V1 zombies here. I don't know about your region, but in Southern Illinois, 99% of the Ka-Band radar i've seen on the interstate is 35.5GHz, which is the one frequency where the V1 is a total dud. Been there, done that.

If you're tight on funds, check out either a refurbished Escort 8500 for $150, or a Bel Vector 955 for slightly more from Radarbusters.

No matter what, enjoy your stay here!

My 3.826 was pretty hot to 35.5 (I see it at ~.75 mile).

My experience may not have been typical, but I almost never saw over .25 mile, and that was on flat, straight roads. The general consensus is that the V1 is OK with 35.5 in a straight line but lacking for off-axis. My experience was that it sucked all around for 35.5. I believed that mine was a dud, but I sent it in to VR for service and their technician insisted that it was within spec. If VR says that was how the V1 was supposed to perform, and with AirDog driving in the exact same area I do, I have to assume that he would see the same pathetic performance.

[airdog]

Thanks for the heads up compu44. I may take your advice on getting a CB setup. Never owned a CB so is there anything you would recommend?

As far as the Laser Jammer... $750 for a Blinder setup is a bit more than I want to spend. I have an electronics background so I've been investigating a few options on building one myself. Found a few youtube videos where a guy is testing a homebuilt system that looks pretty effective. Best thing is he's got less than $50 tied up in it.

The homebuilt systems are probably going to be completely ineffective against modern laser guns. The electronics part is easy, it's the programming in the controller that makes or breaks the system though. The pulse rate returned needs to be different for different guns. Some of the older guns could be jammed by just flooding them with IR, but all that's going to get you now is pulled over for the gun showing jam codes, and that's if it even does anything. Laser jammers are illegal in Illinois, so it really pays to get something like a newer Blinder or LI which shouldn't produce any jam codes. Yeah, I kinda figured that would be the case with a homebuilt jammer. Still may play around with it when I get a little time.


On the CB front, I looked up a photo of the interior of your truck, and man, there's not a lot of mounting options in there for a CB. Unless there is something that I'm missing, you'd have to go with a compact unit like a Uniden 510 or worst case, a Cobra 75wxst. Dollar-for-dollar though, a CB is the most useful countermeasure you can use on the interstate. With a little tuning though, the 510 can be a GREAT sounding radio though. That's what I use in my car. They'll tune up to 12-15 watts with no part swaps. Also, if you could come up with some mounting solution for a little larger radio, I've got a very nice Uniden PC68LTW that has been tuned up to about 25 watts and has great audio. Has an Astatic 636L mic with it, i'd be willing to make you a deal on it. Antennas are often cheaper to buy locally than online. The Pilot out by the interstate has some decent deals usually. They carry the one I use (unfortunately we can't discuss that model on the forum as per the forum rules).

Does this photo look like the one you've got?
That is the exact interior of my truck. The pockets on the sides of the console are pretty tight. Probably not much more than an inch to an inch and a half wide. I have a folder with some papers stuffed in it and thats about all it will hold.



If so, I see what appears to be a storage pocket that might be a good mounting location on the driver side of the center console. That would all depend on mounting depth.

Another great option is in the other half of the stereo opening if you've installed a half-height aftermarket stereo. That's what I've done. Easily my favorite install location.
Your setup looks pretty good, unfortunately I still have the factory stereo so that option is a no-go for now.



It all just varies by vehicle really. That pocket on the side of your console looks like it might be your best option. If you do decide to go with a CB, I've got an SWR meter, and I'd be happy to tune it up for you.

Thanks for the info I'll let you know what I decide to do.