Radar Detectors & Bear Trackers..from the "cop" we all love to hate

[Kenny H <glxmann@bellsouth.net>]

Hey guys and gals,

    It's your favorite cop on the list here, with a little "411" for you
on this topic. First, a little lesson on radar to benefit everyone.
Radar used by law enforcement is the same type used by your local TV
station to track weather.....doppler. Doppler radar travels at the speed
of light, 186,000 miles per second. I do not know of a X band radar
systemstill  in use today except in "mayberry" towns. Most are K or Ka.
Ka was originally used for photo radar, but is now used as standard
speed detection. The "average" person takes 1/4 of a second to move
his/her foot from the accelerator to the brake. This does not include
the time it takes for your brain to say, "oh shit hit the brakes" after
your radar detector goes off. It takes less than one second for modern
radar to show your speed. I think that a good radar detector should not
beep, it should just say, "please pull to the shoulder and get out your
license and registration." Does this mean that radar detectors are
useless and do not work? Heck no! They work great if you have a rookie
radar operator riding down the road clocking everything with more than
one wheel, or an officer who drives around with his radar on just to
deter people. But, if the operator is radar certified and experienced,
he is trained at speed estimation. Uh oh, what's the pig talking about?
Basically, if I am riding down the road, I look at a car, determine that
the car is speeding, then I activate the radar without ever taking my
eyes off the vehicle. My radar emits a sound, called a doppler tone,
which changes in pitch depending on the speed of the vehicle. While I
continue to "track" the car, I am determining whether or not the tone I
am hearing supports the the tone for the speed I estimated the car's
speed at. If so, I look at the display on the radar and read the speed.
If everything matches, it's time to have a little talk on the shoulder.
My advice on radar detectors? Go ahead get one. But the best policy, I
think, is, "all things in moderation." Why not just go 10 mph over the
speed limit. You will save a little time, but not have to worry about
tickets except form the hard-core traffic cops. This does not apply to
school zones, neighborhoods, or wet roads.
    That came out really long, so just a quick note about Bear Trackers.
A bear tracker recieves signals from the radio frequencies that are
commonly used by State Patrols who are often a long way from their base
radio towers. Since most portable radios are not strong enough to
transmit a signal that far, their vehicles have a repeater. The portable
transmits a low power signal to the car on a different freq. than the
main freq.. Then the repeater kicks in and simultaneously transmits the
troopers traffic over the high power radio in his car to the base tower.
SO, the bear tracker tries to pick up this low power signal to let you
know a trooper is nearby. The problem is, these systems are quickly
going out of use due to the efficiency of 800 mhz and 900 mhz radios.
Second, you will only pick it up if the trooper is actually transmitting
on his portable. Most officers, for safety reasons go back to thier cars
to talk on the radio.
    The question I have, is all this gadgetry full of flashing lights
and beeps and static and police signals and ten codes really worth going
a little faster when you will still get tickets? You may think it saves
you money, but you will actually get more tickets due to the false sense
of security. When I was 18, I had a radar detector, and a scanner, and
...shhhhhh..... I sped all the time. I've had 9 traffic tickets.  But I
found that it was much less stressful, to spend all the money on a nice
stereo, slow down, and enjoy some tunes. I was in a much better mood
when I got to where I was going. Sorry this is so long, but I do try and
offer my perspective on things in order to help the list. Any questions,
let me know.

Kenny
glxmann@bellsouth.net