driving in P.A

**pgb2** · 11-07-2005, 07:21 PM

I found this on the Pa state police web site...

Yes, that is where PSP paid University of Pittsburgh to prove that the Genesis handhelds were accurate. Note I didn't say "prove whether or not" the handhelds were accurate! :wink:

Actually the report wasn't too bad, but near the very end (page 64) they invalidate their testing methodology by mentioning that Decatur changed DSP chip suppliers at some point and apparently PSP has both units in inventory. To change the DSP (TI to Analog Devices) Decatur built a daughter card (subassembly) that plugs into where the original TI DSP was soldered, a significant change! This card did NOT employ noise suppression circuitry specified by Analog Devices. Further, the technicians who conducted the testing did not determine which DSP was used in the SINGLE Genesis they tested.

Decatur is aware that some units used by PSP are vulnerable to interference from the charging system in '03 or later Crown Vics and even went so far as to offer discounted battery packs to PSP but the offer was declined. Can you say, "sweep it under the rug??"

All I know is that if I ever get a Genesis based citation, a GOOD lawyer and that report will make news again!!

**ebdreyer** · 11-10-2005, 05:40 PM

Got nailed this morning for the first time in some 15 years by a local Bethel Park cop (just south of Pittsburgh) using something he called "electroinc speed tracker," which I presume is a variant of Vascar. The ticket had the gall to indicate that he had clocked me for 4.73 (not 4.74) seconds and 0.0568 miles (kind of hard to buy those reaction times). It is particualrly galling because I live nearby in a 15 MPH school zone, which no one, not the cops, not the bus drivers, no one (except the people who live on the block) honor.

Around here, local police do not use any radar or laser (the staties use K band), so I guess a scanner might be the only way to go.

Any suggestions?

**beefcake** · 01-29-2006, 03:12 PM

Originally Posted by Ryanistheroad

These signs are drones. I know a guy that sells them to DOT of the states including PA. As stated in previous posted they are intended to slow drivers down with detectors. Cops know this as well. My one buddy in Michigan got a ticket with a cop behind the sign. He thought it was the typical K or X and got cocky and ignored it. Well needless to say he was nabbed.

I cover PA/OH for my job and the drones do X & K band. PA mostly is K which by no coincidence is what PA leos use for radar...... lol

Ryan

I know that PennDOT has just added new drones X-band and Ka Band.

**mikered30** · 01-29-2006, 08:47 PM

I know that PennDOT has just added new drones X-band and Ka Band.

That sucks :x . I will have to turn my X band off all togother.

**computersoc** · 01-30-2006, 01:45 AM

Did the FCC approve Ka band drones? I thought they were only approved for K band?

**licamell** · 01-31-2006, 09:31 PM

I drive from DC to Pittsburgh a lot (270 to 70 to 76 to 376), and am getting my RD soon, what bands should I be looking out for on these roads? The news about all these drones is depressing now that I finally got a RD.

**beefcake** · 02-02-2006, 01:15 PM

Originally Posted by licamell

I drive from DC to Pittsburgh a lot (270 to 70 to 76 to 376), and am getting my RD soon, what bands should I be looking out for on these roads? The news about all these drones is depressing now that I finally got a RD.

PSP uses K-band and some are using Ka. They are testing Ka right now in the phila area

**BigJohnStudd2** · 02-08-2006, 09:46 PM

They are also using Ka in the western part of the state. Last spring, I was travelling on I-76 just north of Pittsburgh (near the Gibsonia barracks), when I saw a red car pulled off to the side of my lane with its hood up and a guy sitting in the driver's seat out of the corner of my eye.
My detector went off on K band as I began approaching him, then suddenly went nuts in Ka band as I passed him. Apparently, the PA Staties thought they could pull a fast one in an undercover car with its hood up as if to look like a stranded motorist to the untrained eye, but thankfully my radar detector knew better!
Judging from what I got out of reading the above posts and my own personal experiences, I think its a given that Ka band is now in use state-wide, state cops do use K band and Ka band simultaneously, and have Ka-band instant-on radar.
*Sigh*...looks like we're becoming more and more like our infamous neighbors just to the west every year! Let's just hope that the state legislature has the good sense to keep radar out of the local-yokels' hands for the forseeable future!

**computersoc** · 02-09-2006, 06:57 PM

Wouldn't you rather have locals use radar that you can pickup, vs. them using stealthy VASCAR?

**BigJohnStudd2** · 02-09-2006, 08:32 PM

All things considered, the answer would be a difinitive NO! At least with VASCAR (or the old-fashioned stopwatch version that is common around here), you can easily see the lines on the road for early warning and it's hard for police to operate it at night. Also, many magistrates in PA will reduce and or even throw out tickets if you call into question the officer's reaction time.
By comparison, radar can be operated virtually anywhere at any time of day with little or no warning with POP and instant-on, and its mechanical accuracy is usually upheld by the courts in most cases.
God forbid the local yokels be allowed to use radar in this state. I have seen first hand all the little chicken(you-know-what) towns in Ohio that rely on this as their only source of income. I can forsee a whole crop of "New Romes" springing up around this state if that would ever become law!