Radar detectors? Laser jammers?

So here in Cali radar detectors are legal. I have the Passport 9500i (for about 4 years now). I haven't had a ticket since 7/31/2007!! Never got a ticket in my 09 335i coupe that i had for 3 years. And i do a lot of highway driving at 85 mph+. Saved me bunch of times, and paid for itself many times over.

I'm considering laser jammer installs or other installs for my '12 535i. What are you guys/gals using? Traditional "suction to the windshield" radar detectors, or something more sophisticated?

Check out this link for an example of what i'm talking about.

I was thinking of this system actually. I haven't set aside funds for this because I drive the same routes all the time, and I know where the cops typically hide. I actually stopped hanging my 8500 Passport by Escort because of this same reason. However, I have read a great deal about this system and "Radar Roy's" evaluations (etc.), and this system seems legit. Based on what I've experienced, Passport Radar detecors are outstanding. From what I've read, this system is outstanding. Hope this helps somewhat, pleasse post photos if you install.

What's the total cost including install?

Originally Posted by PJSD

So here in Cali radar detectors are legal. I have the Passport 9500i (for about 4 years now). I haven't had a ticket since 7/31/2007!! Never got a ticket in my 09 335i coupe that i had for 3 years. And i do a lot of highway driving at 85 mph+. Saved me bunch of times, and paid for itself many times over.

I'm considering laser jammer installs or other installs for my '12 535i. What are you guys/gals using? Traditional "suction to the windshield" radar detectors, or something more sophisticated?

Check out this link for an example of what i'm talking about.

They're actually ILLEGAL in California, so be careful dude...the wrong cop in the wrong mood can cite for endless petty violations.

I just sold my old laser/lidar gun to a cop in San Diego on ebay, so watch out, there's one more Ultralyte 200 on the streets.

Originally Posted by PJSD

The setup on that car won't jam anything. I guarantee I could capture his speed with my Prolite+ from as far as 2000 feet.

Laser Jammers typically don't work so my recommendation is to drive slowly. You have to spend a few grand to get a setup that works.

BTW for those who live in states where shifters are illegal, there is work underway on a fiber optic solution which can channel the optical transponders non visible light pulse into your grille and headlights using fiber optics, so there will be no visible device on the car. Obviously this approach will be very expensive, but I would imagine it would be very effective.

My friend in NY has this jammers and it works

Originally Posted by Stealth.Pilot

You have to spend a few grand to get a setup that works.

What system do you suggest?

Go to the radardetector.net forums. The best ones out there are laser interceptors I think - for protection you will have to install them on the front.

Been through this process multiple times...
all my past bimmers and my 911 all have valentine one custom installed with rearview mirror display and quad m47 blinders for laser shifters... i have received only one ticket in 8 years using this set up and it was from a crooked cop that was full of ****... most often you can see them looking at their error message on their guns.....
only new GT i opted to change because i am getting a little sick of the amount of falsies from valentines and in general while i do miss the arrows the valentine technology is outdated.

for the new GT i installed the escort 9500ci with rear view mirror display and the controller flush mounted in the dash to the left of the steering wheel where the driver assistant package buttons go the fit and convenience are perfect there and i like the ability to fine tune the 9500ci and i am loving the lack of false alarms yet the incredible range and accuracy of the detector... in addition i stayed with quad M47 shifters from blinder .. i like blinder better then laser intercepter, which i don't think are as weather ready and i know people that have had water get into the LI's..... my installers amazing and has taken apart the shifters to know exactly where the light receptors are and has them incredibly installed in my front grill...the front is fully stealth you cant see anything...the back two laser shifters are mounted to the left and right of the plate..

My installer performs a million tests and all is perfect...in states where they are illegal blinders can be converted to parking assist mode and shifting disabled... i have a kill switch for all right next to the controller for those iffy situations.....

you can see pics of my install on the GT forum..

figure 3K++ for a job a done right...

good luck...

mp

Originally Posted by mpress

Been through this process multiple times...
all my past bimmers and my 911 all have valentine one custom installed with rearview mirror display and quad m47 blinders for laser shifters... i have received only one ticket in 8 years using this set up and it was from a crooked cop that was full of ****... most often you can see them looking at their error message on their guns.....
only new GT i opted to change because i am getting a little sick of the amount of falsies from valentines and in general while i do miss the arrows the valentine technology is outdated.

for the new GT i installed the escort 9500ci with rear view mirror display and the controller flush mounted in the dash to the left of the steering wheel where the driver assistant package buttons go the fit and convenience are perfect there and i like the ability to fine tune the 9500ci and i am loving the lack of false alarms yet the incredible range and accuracy of the detector... in addition i stayed with quad M47 shifters from blinder .. i like blinder better then laser intercepter, which i don't think are as weather ready and i know people that have had water get into the LI's..... my installers amazing and has taken apart the shifters to know exactly where the light receptors are and has them incredibly installed in my front grill...the front is fully stealth you cant see anything...the back two laser shifters are mounted to the left and right of the plate..

My installer performs a million tests and all is perfect...in states where they are illegal blinders can be converted to parking assist mode and shifting disabled... i have a kill switch for all right next to the controller for those iffy situations.....

you can see pics of my install on the GT forum..

figure 3K++ for a job a done right...

good luck...

mp

Great post.

I personally would not recommend a Blinder M47 on a BMW. I have yet to see an impenetrable Blinder setup on a BMW. I would also say Laser Interceptor quality is rock solid, having used them on 2 successive cars, living in a tropical climate with torrential rain.

The reason the LI is better is because it uses laser diodes which are much brighter and higher output than the LED diodes used by Blinder. My setup Quad HP is powerful enough for HGVs. I believe in overspecification.

Agree with the ablities of the old m25s from blinder but really love the m47s so far....

Havent looked at li's recently... Had them on one of my x5s and on 2005 911 turbo.. Had roblems with water both times so i switched to blinder....

Stealth you got me into the escort 9500ci and i love it thanks by the way..
Mp

Another vote for the laser interceptor. It has saved me dozens of times and seems to be very effective at jamming laser. I use a Valentine One for radar and laser detection.

The interceptor firmware can be updated for free when they release new software and Valentine Research has a firmware upgrade program for approx $150. Both are tops for detection and countermeasures. With the ability to install fw upgrades, they will be current for many years to come. Be careful with the jammers in California - I believe they have laws against laser jamming. Radar jammer are illegal in all states.

http://www.laser-interceptorusa.com/

http://www.radarbusters.com/californ...awsarticle.cfm


Detectors are legal in CA.

Originally Posted by ObeyMyFast

http://www.radarbusters.com/californ...awsarticle.cfm


Detectors are legal in CA.

Correct, but jammers are not which is what the poster was referring to.

Originally Posted by Stealth.Pilot

Great post.

I personally would not recommend a Blinder M47 on a BMW. I have yet to see an impenetrable Blinder setup on a BMW. I would also say Laser Interceptor quality is rock solid, having used them on 2 successive cars, living in a tropical climate with torrential rain.

The reason the LI is better is because it uses laser diodes which are much brighter and higher output than the LED diodes used by Blinder. My setup Quad HP is powerful enough for HGVs. I believe in overspecification.

Stealth, I would be interested in hearing more about your set up and where you mounted things. I see you went with the Bel over the escort, any particular reason? They appear similar. What is an HGV? Finally in your sig you have a Zaon MRX, this appears to be for planes....?

Originally Posted by mpress

..

My installer performs a million tests and all is perfect...in states where they are illegal blinders can be converted to parking assist mode and shifting disabled... i have a kill switch for all right next to the controller for those iffy situations.....

who was your installer? I might make a trip of it?

I had LI send me some dealer names but both have neg reviews online

http://www.technik1.com/index2.php

ask for gus...tell him michael press sent ya...
great guys great shop, real attention to detail..and great follow up...
this is the third car they have done for me..
mp

I have that system in my 2011 535i. It was installed by BMW Cleveland (where all of the above mentioned technologies are NOT illegal) and I WILL NOT have another car without this system. It's saved me more than a dozen times. Not that I was really going THAT fast, but much like in Golf...a point is a point.

You know guys I like to push the envelope as much as the next guy, but there is an ROI here that to me doesn't pay. It's called the FCC, their rules outlaw all jammers of any kind and carry first offense fines of up to $11,000 and possible jail time, second/multiple offenses can go as high as $75,000 + poss. jail. $11K pays a lot of fines to say nothing of the cost of a decent installation of good equipement. Just IMHO.

Originally Posted by MSgtMel

You know guys I like to push the envelope as much as the next guy, but there is an ROI here that to me doesn't pay. It's called the FCC, their rules outlaw all jammers of any kind and carry first offense fines of up to $11,000 and possible jail time, second/multiple offenses can go as high as $75,000 + poss. jail. $11K pays a lot of fines to say nothing of the cost of a decent installation of good equipement. Just IMHO.

Here's a link:

http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/jammer-enforcement

Originally Posted by MSgtMel

You know guys I like to push the envelope as much as the next guy, but there is an ROI here that to me doesn't pay. It's called the FCC, their rules outlaw all jammers of any kind and carry first offense fines of up to $11,000 and possible jail time, second/multiple offenses can go as high as $75,000 + poss. jail. $11K pays a lot of fines to say nothing of the cost of a decent installation of good equipement. Just IMHO.

You are barking up the wrong tree.

The jammers people are referring to here are not radar jammers but laser transceivers.

A bit of education:
1) FCC only regulates certain radio frequencies. K band, KA band and X band are regulated FCC frequencies. It is a felony to jam these radio frequencies.
2) There are no jammers commercially available that jam speed enforcement radio frequencies. Even if they did exist, such a device would require vast amounts of power and likely give you cancer. Brute force jamming a directional antenna is not easy.
3) Laser/lidar speed enforcement devices are not on an FCC regulated frequency but typically use infrared or other non visible light bands. Since it is not radio but light it is not regulated.
4) The devices that I and others own are not actually jammers. A jammer broadcasts white noise to block all communication in a band. The laser transceiver simply responds to an infrared pulse with another infrared pulse. It has a receiver and a light emitting diode. Exactly the same principle as an infrared transceiver you may use in your home to improve the range of your remote control. So when a cop shoots an infrared pulse at me, my car shoots an infrared pulse back which says nothing to see here. One the cop stops shooting the car stops responding. It is not jamming. It is responding with Infrared LEDs on an unregulated light frequency.

Originally Posted by milepig

Here's a link:

http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/jammer-enforcement

Notice the page says it prohibits devices which interfere with Cellular and PCD frequencies, Police Radar, GPS and Wifi.

These are FCC regulated frequencies.

It doesn't say anything about infrared beams.

If they chose to regulate infrared beams, they would have to ban:
1) Infiniti's Laser Cruise Control
2) Most remote control extenders
3) Heat Lamps
4) Xenon Headlights (yes these interfere with lidar too so if you want a few seconds drive with them on).
5) Most red LED lamps.

The FCC does not give a crap about lasers or infrared devices, they do care about radio frequencies (the RA in RADAR stands for RAdio).

"freakin lazers" are regulated by the FDA not the FCC.

Originally Posted by Stealth.Pilot

4) The devices that I and others own are not actually jammers. A jammer broadcasts white noise to block all communication in a band. The laser transceiver simply responds to an infrared pulse with another infrared pulse. It has a receiver and a light emitting diode. Exactly the same principle as an infrared transceiver you may use in your home to improve the range of your remote control. So when a cop shoots an infrared pulse at me, my car shoots an infrared pulse back which says nothing to see here. One the cop stops shooting the car stops responding. It is not jamming. It is responding with Infrared LEDs on an unregulated light frequency.

nitpicking a bit..

it is technically jamming as your are still deliberately using and generating a signal to disrupt another.

a barrage jammer is what you describe as a true jammer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrage_jamming

there are mnay other "smarter" jamming techniques that do not just transmit noise.