Field Tested!
K40’s New RD850 Radar Detector

We’re not proponents of surpassing posted speed limits (heck, we’d never even suggest such a thing), but every once in a while we all are caught unaware of exactly where that speedometer needle is sitting. It’s moments like this that we most appreciate radar and laser detectors, and K40 Electronics has just released a new portable detection unit that works so well it comes with a ticket-free guarantee for the first year of ownership.

We recently received one of the first RD850 detectors to test, and gave it a 900-plus mile shakedown on the always busy Southeastern 1-95/1-4 corridors. Our goal wasn’t to see if we could beat The Man at his favorite game, but rather to determine if this new K40 unit could do its job of alerting the driver well before popping up on the proverbial radar screen.

The heart of the RD850 is a new microwave receiver and waveguide antenna, which is designed for increased sensitivity to all police radar frequencies, such as X, K and superwide Ka.

The RD850 is programming provides automatic calibration checks to ensure that only actual police radar frequencies are scanned and false signals are eliminated or minimized. Also included is a VG2 (“radar detector” detector) detection/protection mode that provides audio and visual alerts when VG2 is being used to detect vehicles with radar detectors (good for places like Virginia and Washington. D.C., where radar detectors are illegal).

The company claims that the RD850 is 30 percent lighter than previous K40 portable units. It’s definitely compact and, some may think, even stylish. It mounts easily enough on your dash, or hang it from the windshield. Power comes from your 12-volt power supply, so the complete assembly can be quickly and easily removed for storage. The software package allows for a number of custom programming modes that best suits your needs and driving style.

Across the board, we were impressed with the RD850—not only with its smart looks, ease of installation, and intelligent programming, but more importantly, its performance. Most of the time the RD850 squawked and blinked 3/8- to 1/2-mile out from the radar gun, and offered plenty of warning before we stepped into the dreaded quarter-mile gotchya-zone. Independent testing data provided by K40 shows that the RD850 responds to police radar signals seven times beyond this conventionally accepted targeting distance. And that’s plenty of time to wake up and get on the binders.

k40 Electronics, www.k40.com