Anyone want to build me a standalone plugin for the V1? How hard would it be to build a box that would display that info.
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Anyone want to build me a standalone plugin for the V1? How hard would it be to build a box that would display that info.
Not possible. The V1 communication bus does not contain that information.
Jim
A little decimal point history, maybe tech display is a future capability on a V1?
My 1995 owners manual quotes below: (unit was not equipped with LED band ID at that time)
"blinking decimal point - indicates Ka radar at or above 34.4 GHZ"
"steady decimal point - indicates Ka radar below 34.4 GHZ"
If I remember correctly this said somewhere that the reason was to differentiate between photo and regular Ka.
My 1996 owners manual quotes below: (unit still not equipped with LED band ID but I think this is my manual for my 1997 complete radar gut swap upgrade which gained much further distance on Ka and a little more on X, far fewer false alarms on Ka, internal mode memory $249)
"decimal point dark - indicates X band"
"decimal point illuminated - indicates K band"
"decimal point blinks - indicates Ka band"
This is what my concealed display still shows as it is the smaller older version without LED band ID or a mute button. It cost $69 in 1995 and has an on/off switch on the side.
My 1998 owners manual does not indicate anything for a decimal point as they did away with it entirely with the 1999 LED band ID.
I think this is my manual for my LED band ID upgrade in 1999 for $75.
Reprograming instructions for 2001 V1.8 or higher quote:
"On V1s with serial numbers ending in 0600 or higher, a flashing red LED just to the right of the Bogey Counter during the sequence above indicates that Ku coverage has been activated"
When detecting a Ku band the decimal point is now steady or blinks I forget which.
I know you just cant hook it and hope it to work. I know theres hardware involved just to what extent.Quote:
Originally Posted by jimbonzzz
If a V1 can see multiple Ka hits. Something in their telling its recieving two different frequencys.
Im just wondering if you had the hardware could you do it?
In the V1, technically it could be implemented via software. The CPU knows (roughly) what freq the 1st LO is on, and what frequency path is receiving the signal.
But although such a feature could be added, there are some other fundamental problems with this that make it impractical with the V1's current design. Although the V1 can determine multiple sources, and of course the frequeny band, this is all relative.
It is very difficult to maintain a high degree of accuracy of swept microwave oscillators, especially over time and different temperatures. Traditionally, in order to compensate for slight LO drift, detectors have scanned slightly off the edge of both sides of a band to be swept. For example, if a ~15 Ghz oscillator (as used in the current V1 and Belscorts) drifts +/- 1%, that is 150 Mhz eother way. So, for the 200 MHz wide K band, it would need to sweep maybe a 400 Mhz wide band in order to ensure detection of all signals in the K band.
Since the Belscorts "self-calibrate" they can obtain an accuracy of maybe +/- .1%, or about 15 Mhz in a 15 Ghz LO. They do this in order to be able to concentrate on the actual band of interest, in an attempt to increase sensitivity.
The V1 does not "self-calibrate" like the Belscorts. I would assume that it manages drift in the example noted above, by sweeping off the edge of each band. Although I don't doubt the stability of the V1's LO one bit, for the sake of discussion assume that it only drifts +/- .5% since it doesn't "self-calibrate". That is 75 Mhz in a 15 GHz LO. So (if my example is close to correct) if a spec display was implemented in the current V1, on K Band it could be off by 75 Mhz, almost half the width of band. Since the first harmonic of the LO is used to mix down Ka, it could be off on Ka by double that amount (150 Mhz).
So, not much of a point implementing something like that, since the frequency displayed could be pretty far off of the actual frequency.
I would be pretty surprised to see something like this in any future V1s. They have traditionally stayed away from such "novelty" features. It might be kind of cool to be able to determine the manufacturer of the radar units used in your area via the tech display, just as it might also kind of cool using one of the Cobras that identify what laser gun is being used. But neither feature is likely to help save you from a ticket.
Jim