Radar Detector
Submitted: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 03:07
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Coops (WA)
Can anyone recommend a good radar detector (and supplier) in WA that I could have fitted to my
sedan.
Do they work and are they worth it ?
Reply By: Zapper - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 12:33
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 12:33
Coops
Ignore most of the above. They are legal in WA and they do work - and
well. Laser detection is a problem cause it reads your speed so quickly and has such a narrow spread, if they lock onto you with it you are gone but if your detector picks it up as they are checking someone else you are ok.
As far as car bound radar and multanova go, a good detector will beat them every time. Normal radar throws a huge wide beam out that you can pick up
miles away, even if you top a
hill and are hit front on with no prior warning you can step on the brakes and beat it.
Best are latest model Bels or a Valentine One. Can get the Bels at strathfield and
places like that, dont know where you can get a V1 outside the states, you can order them over the net from their web site but they wont post outside US. I have a V1 and its the best detector I have owned of a total of 5 different units and makes.
Just dont cross the border into South Australia with it still on your dash.......
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Bernard - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 13:18
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 13:18
And don't cross into NSW where the Police are equipped with radar detector dectectors - and the fine is over $1,000 with immediate confiscation of the equipment. I got copped when I had the latest and greatest (and most expensive) from the USA with all the bells and whistles -- supposedly undetectable ... what a load of bull. Took ages to get over the financial withdrawal symptoms.
Don't waste the money -- drive close to the speed limit -- you'll get there just as quick.
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Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Widgiemooltha) - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 14:14
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 14:14
what I think alot of the knockers from interstate dont realise is that over here we have many areas where it is 100s of ks to the nearest town and very little traffic combine that with pretty good roads and very long straight stretches( Wa
home of australias longest straight stretch) and combined with that roadtrains with 4 trailors (try passing that at 110kph) and yet 30 years after their introduction we are still saddeled with the same speed limits that we were in our new HQ 202 with no power and crap
suspension and tyres
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Follow Up By: Coops (WA) - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 20:46
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 20:46
at last a sensible response although I do appreciate everyone's sentiments.
Zapper - thanks for the info and advice, that's what I was after.
I live in Kalgoorlie but have to travel to
Perth regularly as my pregnant wife is there under specialist supervision. I have to make the trek fairly often and as Davoe quite rightly points out, when you get stuck behind 3 or 4 road trains then the only safe way past is to put the slipper into it. I talk to them on UHF beforehand and all trucks are aware of what I'm up to (they also generally know if there's a speed trap around but not always). I will also be driving a 2005 BA MkII XR6T which is about as safe as I could feel on the open road. I've lived in country WA all my life and know what is an acceptable speed. I don't want to sit on 200 km/h all the way to
Perth but do want to pass those trucks and may just have to get there in an emergency also.
The UHF may suffice but I thought I would investigate all options.
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Follow Up By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 22:56
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 22:56
Spot on Zapper, I customer at work bought a V1 from the states and swears by it.
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Follow Up By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 23:01
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 23:01
Bernard, close to the speed limit is not good enough. My step father has crossed the nullabour 6 times in the last two years, he just got done a couple of hundred k's east of
esperance (there is NOTHING OUT THERE) and got booked for doing 118km/hr in a 110km/hr zone in a new Berlina. It's TOTAL CRAP.
Davoe, f'ing excellent comments there, good on you!
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Reply By: Member - Bradley- Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 17:09
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 17:09
Yes they are legal in wa and as long as you get the x band disabled it will work well, with x band enabled as per us settings it will pick up on automatic doors, atm machines etc.
BUT not one of them are 'undetectable' , other states police forces can pick up on any of the units available, so dont cross the border with one switched on, or they will nab you.
they are good for hand held radar, and vehicle mounted mobile radar, as it takes them a bit to get a good lock on you ( i used to play with the units in the interceptors and pursuit cars heaps) but as for laser, unless you get a fragmented bounce off another car, they will nab you very quickly
Cheers mate Brad
AnswerID:
112826
Reply By: Rick Blaine - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 17:14
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 17:14
Years ago I lived in an area known for its high petty crime rate. I was waxing my car one day and had the wax in a metal container that the paper label had come off. My cricket ground Yobo Neighbour saw me doing this and asked me what I was putting on my car. Now being an agent provocateur & knowing that this guy had numerous speeding fines to his credit I told him that it was "Radar Reflecting Coating" and that it worked by bouncing the signal back at the radar and so not registering any speed....
He seemed very interested but had no money to buy any but SWMBO sounded the tea bell so I left the can of wax there & went inside to watch... sure enough Yobo slinks over and takes some of the wax..... A week or so later the cops arrive and escort him away never to be seen again....His Girlfriend told me that the "F*** Cops had charged him for doing 190 kph in a 60 zone & he thought it would be ok cause he "knocked off some of that stuff youse were putting on yer car" The moral here is a) dont be a yobo b) if you are, don't ever become my neighbour! I'm not really a bible bashing wowser but this guy really got up my nose with some of his petty crime. He had 2 kids who stole My Choko's and tried to sell them back to me...
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Follow Up By: Sand Man (SA) - Thursday, May 26, 2005 at 11:41
Thursday, May 26, 2005 at 11:41
He He! That's funny Rick.
The neighbours sound more like ferals than mere yobbo's.
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Reply By: Exploder - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 18:16
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 18:16
Just contact you local Gypsy Joker about the pistol., Wizard
Who cares if coops want’s a radar detector, judging by the fact that he lives in
Kalgoorlie it would be used for country driving, and most of the roads in northern WA can safely be travelled at faster than 110 anyway, and like Davo said try going past a V triple and staying on 110 it just ant going to happen, and they are Legal in WA.
The bell model is the way to go, they do work but you have to be quick to hit the brakes, I do not have one just what I have been told.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Coops (WA) - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 21:26
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 21:26
thanks for that Exploder.
Frequent long country trips are a big part of my life at the moment for one reason or another and if you've ever been on the GE Highway on a Friday night you'd understand where I was coming from. Nothing but truck after truck after truck. We're in the middle of a resources boom at the moment and it's busy as all hell on the highway.
I am just researching and usually get good informed info from this site. This time was no different and fortunately I can tell the trees from the forest so have picked out info that I need.
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Reply By: Mark- Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 21:45
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 21:45
I hate it when people say "if you dont want to get caught dont speed". These are the people who drive at 90 in a 100 zone and cause more accidents that people driving at 110.
In QLD its LEGAL to sell and own a radar detector but not to use it in your vehicle.
Try Olbis
communications (www.olbis.com.au). Make sure what you buy is tuned to Australian radar frequencies.
Most radar detectors are 'detected' by the Police regularly switching on and off their radar and looking for brakelights the instant they switch it back on. Its easy to get caught this way when the patrol car is behind you, particularly at night. Also dont place it in an obvious position on your dash. Stealth installations are available but it sounds like this is only going to be a problem for you if you go interstate.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 23:12
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 23:12
Last weekend I had some spanner head doing 70km/hr in a 110 zone in a new excel going down the SouthWest highway. She was holding up traffic including the semi's!! EVeryone sturggling to get around her, your right they are a danger
on the road. Talk about banning 4wd's from the city and requiring special licenses!! Maybe we should ban dopey un confident drivers in excels from the country and make them get a "special" license if they want to leave the metro area!!
The surf cruises happily at 110km/hr fully loaded, but it's bloody hard work trying to pass in the 4 cyl diesel on tight roads. And you can get stuffed if you think I'm going to sit behind some stupid bat doing 70km/hr and STILL HAS TO SLOW DOWN FOR THE CORNERS!!
GET THEM OFF THE ROAD! Save lives!
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Reply By: joc45 - Thursday, May 26, 2005 at 00:15
Thursday, May 26, 2005 at 00:15
Dunno about the detectors, but a few people in WA in the last few years have taken to demolishing the Multanova cameras. A guy was in court the other day, fined and also charged $105,000 for replacing the destroyed unit. Ouch!!
I notice that now they mount the units near a large pole or obstacle to prevent drivers running over them.
Gerry
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Nudenut - Thursday, May 26, 2005 at 11:03
Thursday, May 26, 2005 at 11:03
No matter how well a detector is hidden if it is detectable by an RDD you can be assured your vehicle will be searched. QLD Task Force Police have lately impounded vehicles in the north and centre of QLD detected with these latest imported radar detectors and taken to stations for dismantling when hasty
search failed to find the unit on the spot.
One of the highlights of Radar Detector Shoot Out USA June 2004 produced the following results against the new Spectre 3 radar detector detector under evaluation. Escort 8500x50 and PNI 7500 frequency were shifted out of range making it undetectable to the Spectre MK 3! Both units are highly detectable by the Stalcar MK 3 RDD used in
Australia! A number of US Police agencies complained about the high number of false alarms the Spectre 3 RDD also detects.
QLD has purchased more Stalcar MK 3 RDD.
RDD = radar detector detector...geez this aint fun any more
AnswerID:
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Reply By: woddonnee - Saturday, May 28, 2005 at 23:56
Saturday, May 28, 2005 at 23:56
G'day all
Guys, I am a road crash rescue responder (27+ years experience) and see the results of people speeding and get sick up to my eyeballs hearing people make pathetic excuses or childlike diversersions about their speeding (and probably tail gating) habits. Eg, they shouldn't put them on a hill. Well, speeding down a hill is worse than speeding on the flat as it extends your braking distance even more, if you are not able to control the speed of a vehicle going down a hill you are not skilled enough to hold a licence. By the way I was a speeding, tailgating hoon in another life :-)
Here in south oz about 12ish years ago after all the wingers cried about hidden speed cameras, the govt incredulously took them out of service for about 4 months. The increase in average speeds was incredible, the amount of fatalities and serious incidents escalated dramatically, very dramatically, like 6x, this was also found to be so by police and and insurance guy I spoke to at the time. Then the cameras came back, the speeds and fatalities did to. Everyone seems in a hurry on the roads, they leave 5 minutes late and try to arrive on time.
I highly recommend pulling back a bit, have a 2 second gap (at least) in front and try to anticipate everything, but don't be in to much of a hurry, the road is more of a conveyor belt than a racetrack.
End of sermon, don't get upset, get defensive :-)
cheers
Rod
PS I'm heading off to central oz next week, keep an eye out for the exploreoz wheel cover on the back of the van, you can give me the finger or thumbs up, depending on your point of view LOL
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Follow Up By: woddonnee - Saturday, May 28, 2005 at 23:57
Saturday, May 28, 2005 at 23:57
By the way, as stated above a cruise control is good if you have one, or speed alert. Driving a diesel though its easy to get in tune with the speed. :-)
cheers
Rod
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