I should hate the Bel 980 Radar Detector! (by a motorcycle cop)
Written: Mar 16 '01 (Updated Mar 16 '01)
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Pros: Sensitivity, Sensitivity, and more Sensitivity. Nothing else matters in the radar game.
Cons: Pricey (not that I care!), and false alarms caused by other radar detectors.
The Bottom Line: I'm not in the business to recommend radar detectors, but if I were........
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| tejones's Full Review: Beltronics BEL 980 Radar Detector |
I recently retired from a major metropolitan police department, having served in the Traffic Division as a motorcycle sergeant and traffic lieutenant. After 28 years in law enforcement, especially in the radar vs. radar detector end of the business, I’ve learned a few things about both technologies. Speed cops have always found it necessary to learn about the technology designed to defeat their efforts, plus I have a unique perspective from spending years on the display side of the radar unit. Much of what you read on police radar FAQs and websites is totally inaccurate.
Without going into a dissertation on the evolution of radar units and those little black boxes designed to be a defense against them, allow me say that the radar threat to motorists for the past few years has been the new Superwide Ka Band. The old X-Band radar has virtually disappeared from police vehicles, and the 2nd generation K Band, once the bane of speeding motorists, now must go up against redesigned radar detectors that easily detect it. An estimated 30% of all police radar now in operation function on the Superwide Ka band; a phenomenal growth of traffic radar technology in a very short time.
But, virtually every radar detector I’ve ever encountered proved to be almost worthless against this new Superwide Ka Band technology. In 1996, our motorcycles were re-equipped with latest model Ka band radar units; the insidious MPH Industries Python two-piece moving radar. From the outset using the radar was like shooting fish in the barrel. Most radar detectors in use then were not even designed to combat the Superwide band, and the few that were rated for the band only belatedly awoke to the threat once the driver was well in range. It was not even necessary to use the radar’s electronic countermeasure (ECM) switch to cancel the beam until a speeder was in range.
For starters, the new Ka radars (there are several models) have true range control, and can be adjusted down to radiate a miniscule 12 milliwatts effective radiated power (ERP). Compared to the 1970’s X-band radars that produced a whopping 7 full watts ERP, you can get an idea of just how difficult it is to detect Ka band on the basis of radiated power alone. Additionally, the beam width of the Ka band radar units is on the order of 3 degrees while the older units operate at about 12 degrees beam width. A narrowed beam makes for more difficult detection. Finally the Ka-band’s frequency is constantly changing along a range of several gigahertz, and its high frequency is easily absorbed by water molecules in the air. The high frequency radiation also does not scatter very well around curves and over hills; also bad for detection.
To make matters worse for motorists, nearly all radar detectors labeled “Superwide Ka Band” only sound off at a few hundred feet distance from the radar unit. Given the nominal quarter mile range of the radar gun, a typically equipped motorist does not need a calculator to know the odds are stacked against him. For some reason the manufacturers of discount store radar detectors have been totally unable to produce a product to equal the opposition.
In time after introduction of the Superwide Ka Band radar, my officers and I began to notice speeding vehicles that from a great distance would activate the radar’s audio tone and speed display only briefly before both the tone and display would abruptly drop (a sure sign of a radar detector in use). Normally when using the Ka band units the front bumpers of speeders didn’t take a dive until they were in visible range of you whether they were radar detector equipped or not. Of course by then the officer had already been waiting for some time for them to arrive.
Occasionally, we would stop these vehicles, when they could be identified as speeders, and discovered that almost without exception, the drivers were using various models of Bel radar detectors. Since we had been unable to obtain a detailed tracking history (a technical/legal radar term) of the violator, we released them with only a warning. After this, we borrowed a Bel 860 from one of our pals at the local electronics store, road tested it, and learned that it was a dead even match in terms of Ka band maximum range.
Enter the Bel 980. My opinion here will not go into the bells, whistles and features of this late model detector since all detectors have basically the same features anyway. Besides, if features are important to you, that information is easily found on any number of Internet websites. Your real concern should only be whether or not the model 980 will outperform the Superwide Ka band. It does, conditionally.
The Bel 980 can’t be found in discount stores, or even in most electronic outlets; it costs too much. We borrowed a shelf model from a truck stop which is the only counter sale location for the 980 I have ever found. Interestingly, the price on the box was only $239.00, which is considerably less than any other price advertised anywhere. Putting the 980 through some road tests on a slow Sunday afternoon and evening, we learned that if the Ka Band radar was left running in continuous mode, the 980 was more than a match for the radar gun. This was true of over hills, around curves, and especially on straight roads. On straight roads the 980 would detect the presence of the Ka band frequency at an incredible distance of nearly 3 miles! Not since the early 1980's when our Kustom KR-11's and MPH K-55's did battle with Cincinatti Microwave's then formidable Escort radar detector has the speeder been presented with an such an opportunity to ably equip himself (and in case you're wondering, the sun set a long time ago on Cincinatti Microwave; the ruthless Ka Band stacks the current Escort models like cordwood...it's like entering a VW Beetle in the Gran Prix).
The Bel 980 always defeated the Ka radar unit, every time, so long as the radar gun’s transmission was not interrupted with the ECM switch. The only downside to this remarkable sensitivity is that the 980 was sometimes too sensitive…..it would occasionally detect the heterodyne oscillator of other radar detectors coming its way and give a false Ka alert. Since the 980 didn’t always false in the presence of another radar detector, I presumed that only certain models of radar detectors with “leaky” local oscillators were to blame. However, I never identified the models of the guilty units.
Of course, using the radar gun’s ECM switch would change everything in the equation, even if you had a radar detector that could detect the distance to the moon. If you speed, and allow yourself to become out front, by yourself, and nearest the radar unit, you can be caught. The only absolute immunity under the law is diplomatic immunity and very few of us qualify for that. Still, as radar detectors go, the 980 comes as close to protecting a speeder as any electronic device possibly can. Some cops use the ECM switch, and some don’t, it’s a matter of personal preference. Even so, the officer’s use of the ECM switch is not a guarantee that you will be nabbed, especially if you can detect a transmission aimed at a speeder well ahead of you (another reason for not being out front and by yourself). To use any radar detector, keep your window glass clean, and mount the device as high as possible to give you greater line-of-sight to the horizon (the cops do it when mounting their radar antennas, so why shouldn't you?).
There may be comparable or even better units on the market, but I’ve yet to see them, and if I were to buy a radar detector today, it would be a Bel 980. I understand that the Valentine One is also an excellent performer, but I've seen only one being used by a motorist. It is notable as well that I never saw a motorist equipped with a Bel 980 either, although I was looking for one. Is it possible that the owners of both models were outranging us and we were denied the stop? Or, is my observation just a statement that both expensive models are rarely in use? I doubt that I'll ever know.
Of course my opinion does not even cover LIDAR (laser), VASCAR, or stopwatch, or photo radar detection which are entirely different technologies and topics altogether.
Finally, my advice to everyone regarding traffic laws is not to speed. The penalty could be a great deal worse than a 3 point speeding ticket. You should have known I couldn't let you go without at least giving a warning!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tejones
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Member: Thomas Jones
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 11 members
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