Radar Detector Placement?

[Ed M]

I can't believe that this has never been successful challenged, it should have been gone 40 years ago. The Federal Communications Act of 1934 is pretty clear on the subject, Americans have the right to monitor any radio signal. All a radar detector does is monitor set frequencies and alert the user when those frequencies are in use, seems pretty simple to me.

Nope, a RADAR detector emits RADAR frequencies, hence the VA laws are currently enforceable. However since a LASER detector is passive they are legal to use in VA.

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[thunderstrike]

Every time I visit VA from AL, I don't worry about my Valentine 1. It's mounted high up above the rear view mirror and wire is put away, hidden behind the dark sun-blocking OEM tape above the mirror. I've been stopped in VA and it was never noticed by the officer -- no one bends down to look up inside the cabin. Most radar's are suction cupped and visible mid windshield and below.

 

[Dave TBG]

Nope, a RADAR detector emits RADAR frequencies, hence the VA laws are currently enforceable. However since a LASER detector is passive they are legal to use in VA.

Sorry, but that's incorrect. A detector doesn't "emit" anything (the word you want is transmit).
If they did transmit, they would be illegal everywhere as it is against federal regulation to knowingly interfere with another signal. This is why jammers are illegal at the federal level.
Laser is an entirely different subject as regulations covering RF do not have anything to do with the transmission or reception of light.

 

[Deleted member 33561]

Nope, a RADAR detector emits RADAR frequencies, hence the VA laws are currently enforceable. However since a LASER detector is passive they are legal to use in VA.

The radar detectors that are used by the police to measure your speed do emit microwave signals. Simply picking up the police radar signal is all that is required by the standard radar detector in your car. The "Adaptive Cruise Control" works similar to the police radar but that's to measure distance between your car and the one in front. There may be some radar detectors that do emit signals to try to jam/confuse the police radar but certainly not all radar detectors do this.

 

[Grintch]

Nope, a RADAR detector emits RADAR frequencies, hence the VA laws are currently enforceable. However since a LASER detector is passive they are legal to use in VA.

A Radar detector emits radio waves. Like a radar gun, radios, microwave ovens, even most electronic devices at low levels. Are microwaves illegal in VA?

But, pushing back on these things is not easy or cheap. You will need expert witnesses, and a typical traffic court will throw it out, meaning you will have to start all over on the appeal.

 

[Dave TBG]

A Radar detector emits radio waves. Like a radar gun, radios, microwave ovens, even most electronic devices at low levels.

No, yes, no, yes and no.
Microwave ovens emit radio frequency (RF) radiation in the microwave portion of the spectrum, that's how they work. RADAR, gun or fixed, TRANSMITS and receives within the microwave spectrum, that's how they work. Radios and RADAR detectors are "receivers" and do not transmit anything, by definition.
Cheap electronics MAY emit insignificant level of RF radiation, generally outside the portion of the spectrum called "microwave."
It is not illegal for any electronic device to emit RF provided it does not interfere with other signals. If a device could be illegal because it emits, or even transmits RF within the microwave portion of the spectrum, your cell phone would be illegal.

 

[JohnDoe]

Instead of tapping into the harness with a prong, I cut a very small hole in the harness wires and taped it up from there. Then I tucked the extra wires and circuit board under the headliner. I say circuit board, because I like to open up my cigarette adapters and take the circuit board out. Saves a lot of room.

 

[thunderstrike]

Here are pics of Valentine 1 Mount using the MirrorTap hookup.

 

[frank s]

A Radar detector emits radio waves. Like a radar gun, radios, microwave ovens, even most electronic devices at low levels. Are microwaves illegal in VA?

But, pushing back on these things is not easy or cheap. You will need expert witnesses, and a typical traffic court will throw it out, meaning you will have to start all over on the appeal.

Detector manufacturets would stand to make a lot of money if Virginia became a new market by rescinding whatever laws ban RADAR detectors, You can bet they have done the due diligence WRT challenging the laws, and if they decided against initiating the process, there is good reason.

 

[Deleted member 33561]

A Radar detector emits radio waves. Like a radar gun, radios, microwave ovens, even most electronic devices at low levels. Are microwaves illegal in VA?

But, pushing back on these things is not easy or cheap. You will need expert witnesses, and a typical traffic court will throw it out, meaning you will have to start all over on the appeal.

Nonsense! That's like saying your electronic digital wrist watch transmits RF. It's true that any electronic oscillator is radiating tiny amounts of RF but it's generally not detectable from more than a few feet away. Microwave ovens are designed to "emit" microwave energy. Of course that energy is used to heat/cook whatever is inside the oven. Theoretically what little that escapes from the oven is small enough to be safe to humans only a foot away.
Radar systems consist of a transmitter and receiver designed to radiate RF and then pick up the small amount of reflected energy that returns (Police radar, Military Radar, Airport Radar etc.).
Radar "detectors" are not transmitting any detectable energy. They are completely passive devices just like a digital watch. Of course any device designed to communicate via WiFi or Bluetooth will need to transmit energy.

 

[Zooks527]

Radar "detectors" are not transmitting any detectable energy.

Well designed ones do not. Poorly designed ones do.

Google "Spectre RDD" or go to the product page: http://spectre-rdd.com/spectre.asp

They are completely passive devices just like a digital watch.

Unlike your watch, a radar detector has an oscillator generating a reference frequency for the superheterodyne filter. Badly designed or cheap ones leak like a sieve, giving off detectable levels of RF that can be easily detected by other radar detectors or by the "radar detector detectors" used in jurisdictions where radar detectors are illegal..

 

[Ed M]

Well designed ones do not. Poorly designed ones do.

Yep. My V1 has picked up the poor ones from over 1/4 mile away.

 

[Zooks527]

Yep. My V1 has picked up the poor ones from over 1/4 mile away.

I have a V1 as well. Drive me crazy when the cheap one is 1/4 mile in front of me and going in the same direction. Then again, he's acting as a rabbit, so .....

 

[GentlemanJack]

Here are pics of Valentine 1 Mount using the MirrorTap hookup.

Really like your install; I'm going to try for the above-mirror install too, except with the Uniden R3

 

[Todd00000]

Stuck on with 3M tape.

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