Radar detection confusion

[kaotik78]

I was driving home from work heading north and my detector alerted me to KA band. This was just about from coming around a slight corner.

There was a trooper parked behind a DOT truck on the south bound side of the highway.

When I passed the trooper the signal got weak and trailed off. For kicks, I turned the detector around, and passed through a toll booth, and continued north. The detector picked up the KA band for a distance further than when heading toward it, even up and over a hill.

Not sure if I did this right but this is a google map with a start and end point. The toll booth is visible on satalite view.

Directions to Frederick E Everett Turnpike - Google Maps

My question now is, should I get a better detector, I currently have a Bel 940 mounted in the center of my windshield up on the very top of the windshield behind the dotted black glass.

Would I gain detection distance, increased warning, enough to warrant a significant investment, more than the 120 I spent on this detector.

I've been eyeing the V1 for a while now but wondering if it's me talking myself into a new toy, or if I should look at other options but what I don't know.

I live in NH and 90% of my driving is all highway, rarely ever go into the city. Just looking for an insight to the above.

[dpatel01]

Not all encounters will be the same. Some will be 1/4 mile while others will be 4 miles. I too, used a Bel Vector as my daily RD for 2 1/2 years and absolutely loved it. (no tickets with it) Recently, I added the V1 to the collection and while it is a little bit more sensitive than my Bel, where it truly shines are it abilities to pick out the extremely short bursts of radar, its arrows and plethora of programming options. If you're looking to upgrade and see the V1 somewhere in your future, by all means skip the mid-pack performers along the way and go for the V1, its an excellent performer and at $400, its a bargain.

[supercowpowers]

It sounds like your detector is performing normally. I have a V1 and would have expected it to act the same way.

Remember that radar is emitted from the device in a conical pattern, somewhat like the light from your headlights, and not evenly in all directions. If the radar was pointing away from you when you approached it, all you could pick up were reflections off of cars, metal signs, etc; which were of course much weaker and more scattered than what you were picking up when you had the detector pointed directly at the source.

The Vectors are a pretty good value. They should all have the same detection ability (within manufacturer variances), with the only real differences being the features they were programmed with. My Bel 955 (the S7 version, search if you're unfamiliar) served me very well until the day I got screwed by a real radar trap being run in the presence of a speed sign that I was ignoring. I got a V1 for the arrows and bogey counter, with the little extra sensitivity being a nice bonus. Honestly, most of the time my range seems to be limited for all my detectors by obstructions like hills and heavy traffic rather than their raw sensitivity, so unless you're a serious speeder I don't see a reason to spend $400 to improve what you have.

[supercowpowers]

If you're looking to upgrade and see the V1 somewhere in your future, by all means skip the mid-pack performers along the way and go for the V1, its an excellent performer and at $400, its a bargain.

I agree 100% with this, as someone who for dubious reasons (CC closeout sale) bought an RX-65 after my 955 and before my V1.

[Batman]

I agree too. I find whenever I buy something that's halfway good, I end up replacing it soon after and I would have been better off buying the best in the first place.

[OldGoat]

eye, have no opinion
alentineOne

[kaotik78]

Thanks for the insight and advice. I appreciate it. Reading up on how I/O, pop, short bursts etc are being utilized in the field, I was begining to think my RD wasn't working. I pass quite a few state troopers who most likely either use short bursts that my RD can't detect, or they just have the radar turned off.

In either case, the advice given has been a great help!

[Spill]

Careful I hear theres alot of laser guns in use in New Hampshire.