Question about a KA speed sign (V1 related)

[mikered30]

Basically I want to know if anyone knows if the speed signs are low powered, and here is why I ask. I was driving east through a construction zone, I get a K alert about 1 mile in advance, the drone was facing me when I passed it. About 2 miles down the road in the same construction zone, the traffic traveling west had a KA drone on their side of the road. I got about 100 feet or so past the KA drone and my V1 goes off, but it never got to full strength, even though there was plenty of cars for the signal to bounce off of. I was a little concerned.

I then got back on in the opposite direction, to drive towards the KA speed sign. I got 1 dot .9 miles away , (on a flat surface) that only lasted about 2 seconds doing 55 mph (construction zone) then .5 miles before the sign, I got 3 dots that again lasted for about 2 seconds. About .25 miles in front of it, my V1 held the signal but never got to full strength even when I passed it. I noticed that the speed sign was not displaying any speeds. I got to thinking it was one of the FM-CW signs.

So I got my POS old Bel 925 express out, and this time did some testing on a side road about 50 feet from the interstate that has the KA sign. I drove by a couple of times with just the Bel on, and it never got higher that 3 on the ramp up. As an experiment, I turn on my V1 with the Bel on (I know it is not recommended). About 2 seconds after the V1 alerted to the KA sign, the Bel goes off and holds the KA signal longer than the V1. The V1 junked the Bel (or was it the sign?) out after about 5 seconds and did not report to the KA sign. I appears that the V1 only junks the Bel out when the Bel gets a KA alert, not K. Anyway, after experimenting, I was wondering if the KA speed signs are low power. I also wonder about the K signs too, only 1 mile of range for constant on and is there a better way to test my V1 with KA?

BTW, I got a K alert from a PSP trooper using instant on about 20 min before that. I have V 3.863 and always in A mode. Construction will last a while, so I will have plenty of time to mess around with it.

[kuba]

I have one of these by my house (it is also Ka). As you can see, under features, it says that it has adjustable sensitivity.
http://www.stalkerradar.com/law_speedboard.shtml

[mikered30]

Thanks, that puts my mind at ease.

[djrams80]

I think also that how straight they are positioned has a lot to do with detection range. My locals have 2 of these Ka signs and when I get good detection on them, the sign seems to be pointing a little towards the street and when my range is <0.5 miles, they seem to be pointing a little towards the side of the road.

[mikered30]

I think also that how straight they are positioned has a lot to do with detection range. My locals have 2 of these Ka signs and when I get good detection on them, the sign seems to be pointing a little towards the street and when my range is <0.5 miles, they seem to be pointing a little towards the side of the road.

What frequency do they use?

[djrams80]

I think also that how straight they are positioned has a lot to do with detection range. My locals have 2 of these Ka signs and when I get good detection on them, the sign seems to be pointing a little towards the street and when my range is <0.5 miles, they seem to be pointing a little towards the side of the road.

What frequency do they use?

Stalker 34.7Ka. Bad video here:http://www.radardetector.net/viewtopic.php?t=34029

[Beatlesfan]

I have one of these by my house (it is also Ka). As you can see, under features, it says that it has adjustable sensitivity.
http://www.stalkerradar.com/law_speedboard.shtml

I took this quote directly from the stalker speed board site: "The optional strobe light will flash at violators, drawing even greater attention to the SpeedBoard, to achieve even greater speed compliance."

If it's night time the strobe lights will also temporarily blind the driver and make him/her swerve off of the road causing them to hit a tree. This further achieves speed compliance by rendering the naughty naughty speeder's car inoperable. :shock: :shock:

[jdong]

Actually IMO the strobe lights are to stimulate your photo radar reflexes.... the first time I saw one it definitely made me panic.

As far as the power, I don't think the power is adjustable (adjusting sensitivity just causes the radar receiving logic to reject weaker signals so that only cars of a certain proximity show a speed reading). It's much more likely that the positioning of the radar antenna or any possible obstructions changed your detection range.

[amoney]

No the Ka is not low powered.

Ka band is a shorter wave length. Google wave length and the difference between short and long wave length to get an understanding.

Unless your directly within the radar target you will not get full strength.

To make matters worst the speed sign can be badly calibrated, and naturally you were using a Bel at teh same time when testing, as you now there are so many variable that can have an effect.

[Cips]

I have one of these by my house (it is also Ka). As you can see, under features, it says that it has adjustable sensitivity.
http://www.stalkerradar.com/law_speedboard.shtml

I took this quote directly from the stalker speed board site: "The optional strobe light will flash at violators, drawing even greater attention to the SpeedBoard, to achieve even greater speed compliance."

If it's night time the strobe lights will also temporarily blind the driver and make him/her swerve off of the road causing them to hit a tree. This further achieves speed compliance by rendering the naughty naughty speeder's car inoperable. :shock: :shock: