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Products Evaluated:K40 RD850 Dash Mounted Radar Detector,
K40-2000 Remote Radar Detector Speed Measurement Laboratories Inc. (SML) was asked by K40 Electronics of Elgin, IL to field evaluate its products.As is the standard procedure for SML in all field evaluations, all radar and laser guns were operated by a licensed and certified police officer. This procedure eliminates any doubt as to the authenticity or the results. Traffic officer Matt McClure of the Fort Worth Police Department operated the various radar and laser guns and radar detector/detectors. Officer McClure has over ten years experience in traffic enforcement. SML instructed Officer McClure to operate the radar and laser guns as he does each day in issuing speeding citations. Location/Methodology:The field evaluation was conducted on a lightly traveled access road of Interstate820 in west Fort Worth beginning at 9:00 a.m. Orange cones were placed 1/2 mile, 1/4 mile, and 1/8 mile from the radar and laser gun’s position, SML’s van. SML personnel accompanied three K40 personnel in their test vehicle to substantiate the reported performance of K40’s detectors. The test vehicle containing the radar detectors was in commercial radio communication with SML transmission vehicle containing the radar and laser guns. The placement of the distance cones enabled comparison of K40’s products to Passport 8500 and Bel 985 detectors in the following categories: constant radar gun transmission and “instant on” transmissions of Ka band at 33.8 GHz, 34.7 GHz, 35.5 GHz, K band at 24.150 GHz, X band at 10.525 GHz, and laser guns at904 nanometers. Radar detectors were also exposed to two radar detector/detectors, i.e. the VG-2 and Spectre.The VG-2 is looking for local oscillator radar detector radiation at 11.4-11.7 GHz and the Spectre is looking for detector radiation between 13.2-13.6 GHz. It must be noted here that operating a radar detector in a car is legal in all states except Virginia, Washington D.C. and all U.S. military reservations. Operating a radar detector in commercial vehicle, i.e. 18 wheeler, is illegal in all states per USDOT Directive, CFR 47 (Code of Federal Regulations), parts 392-392.71 effective February 1995. Consequently, there is little or no enforcement implications for VG-2 and Spectre detection if operating a radar detector in a car. The most current radar and laser guns were used including: Stalker DSR Ka 34.7 GHz, Kustom Signals K band 24.150 GHz Falcon, MPH Z-25 Kb and with POP, MPH Bee III Ka band at 33.8 GHz with POP, Stalker K band Basic, MPH K-15 X and at10.525 GHz. Laser Atlanta Speed Laser 904 nanometer laser gun with pulse rate of 238 pps (pulses per second),Kustom Signals Pro Laser III 904 nanometer at 200 pps, and Stalker LZ-1 laser gun 904 nanometer at 130 pps. Radar And Laser Gun Unique Features: The radar and laser gun makers acknowledged radar detectors in the mid 1980’s with the introduction of the “instant on” feature. This feature was advertised to defeat radar detectors. All radar guns have a momentary trigger. The officer “triggers” the radar gun on for approximately one second and then it immediately turns off. Older radar detectors of that era had a difficult time in detecting the momentary “instant on” transmission. Present day detectors have little or no difficulty in seeing “in stanton” operation. The national organization that certifies radar and laser guns the International Association of Chiefs of Police (theiacp.org) accepts this “instant on” feature. Recently, MPH Industries (mphindustries.com)announced its new Ka and K band momentary transmission feature called POP mode. POP mode transmission is very fast at approximately 67 milliseconds. However, this mode may not be used in issuing traffic citations as is stated in MPH’s Operator’s Manual.POP does not allow the officer to meet the legal requirements of locking a speed reading to legally establish a “visual tracking history” and is advised only to be used in areas of suspected high radar detector use. If an officer sees an excessive speed, they must trigger the radar gun traditionally to obtain a legally accepted speed. This feature is another example of radar gun makers using an anti-radar detector feature to market their product. Laser Atlanta’s new “Stealth Mode” is again another example of a laser gun maker introducing a new feature to acknowledge and defeat the proliferation of laser jammers. This mode has not been approved by the IACP for use in speed enforcement. However, during our field evaluation we look at the performance of detectors against both the POP mode and Stealth Mode. How Radar And Laser Guns Are Used To Issue Citations: SML holds a master radar and laser gun instructor license and certifies police officers on the use and understanding of radar and laser guns. SML also serves as an active consultant to three of the four radar gun manufacturers. SML assists law enforcement agencies in the U.S., Canada,China, India, and Brazil. Legally, an officer must establish a visual tracking history of a vehicle expected of speeding. This means the officer must be able to visually identify the vehicle by make and model of vehicle prior to assessing its speed with either a radar or laser gun. The normal maximum distance for an officer to use a radar gun doe snot exceed 1/4 mile as beyond that point the make and model can not be discerned. Ale gal precedent was established by Judge Reginald Stanton, New Jersey Superior Court in 1998 stating a laser gun (LTI) may not be used for targeting at distances greater than 1,000 feet. This restriction was due to the laser gun’s three milliradian, beam divergence. At 1,000 feet the laser’s beam is 36 inches. Judge Stanton ruled that past 1,000 feet the beam diverges to greater dimensions creating a strong likelihood that the beam might strike an adjacent vehicle creating an erroneous reading. Thus the purpose of a radar/laser detector is to provide ample advanced warning of these distances.
Summary of Results: In our maximum range test, with a beginning distance of two miles from the gun’s location, the K40-2000 Dual Undetectable Remote and portable RD850 detector correctly reported and alerted the driver to the use of radar over seven times the normal targeting distance of all radar guns on all bands. Both K40 detectors were also the only models we tested that were able to correctly detect and report the presence of the new MPH Z-25 K-band POP mode radar gun. None of the detectors evaluated in our test were able to alert to the MPH Bee III Ka-band 33.8 GHz POP mode radar gun. The K40 RD850 was not detected by the VG-2and it correctly responded to the presence of the VG-2 with an audible and visual alert. All detectors we redetected by the Spectre radar detector detector. In our laser gun tests, the K40 Laser DefuserPlus equipped K40-2000 remote system successfully jammed the Stalker LZ-1 laser gun 100% of the time while the test vehicle was moving at 30 mph from the normal targeting distance of 1/8thmile (660 feet). It was also the only detector system in our test that was able to detect laser gun use at 1/8th of a mile. Conclusion: In our test of the industry’s top rated radar detectors, no other detector outperformed K40’s new portable RD850 or Undetectable Remote System for maximum range reception on all bands from 2 miles. BothK40 detectors provided outstanding performance to all radar guns under all conditions. RD850 was a simple excuse to break the law more often than I already do, which is the mark of any quality piece of electronics. This evaluation was conducted in accordance with accepted police practices of operation of radar and laser speed measurement devices as outlines by the International Association of Chiefs and NHTSA. Police officers operating radar and laser guns were currently certified, active duty officers. Attested To This 18th Day of April 2003 |
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