Re: Radar Love? (+ Radio detectors)

[treilley_at_BANKMARK@conseco.com (treilley)]

     This radio scanner sounds great.  I guess it must be legal in VA and 
     DC considering it is not a radar detector and it cannot be detected 
     anyway.
     
     Tim 90CQ, 77Spitfire


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Radar Love? (+ Radio detectors)
Author:  Daniel Hussey <GY3WSX@UNIVSCVM.CSD.SCAROLINA.EDU> at Internet
Date:    4/9/96 11:48 PM


     
      Hey guys,
     
          I have a little knowledge on this subject.  I believe the remote unit
 you are talking about is called the K40 Sonaradar.  They have been making them 
 for years and the technology has become a little outdated.  I know two people
with these in thier Audi Quattros, and they are real neat, but false a lot, and 
seem to be hard to hear (makes a faint cliking sound when you are detecting ins 
tant on...or has the trigger pulled on you) if you have the sterio cranked.  I 
like something that I can make real loud (if I need to).  But, I have also hear 
d that they just updated it (wideband/laser??) and it is supposedly a very good 
unit now, and much better.  Probably worth the money.
     
          The two people I know with these have Audi 5000CSTQ's.  One of them h
as the unit mounted right on the steering column (a common place to have them m 
ounted....easy to see it flashing) right in front of the instrument cluster.  I 
t is very neat there, and is in plain sight to see if any radar activity is det 
ected.  Also, you can glance at that and your speedo at the same time so you ca 
n see what your ticket will be for before you get it!  My other friend had his 
in the car when he bought it and was really custom installed.  The unit itself 
is hidden in the glovebox (up against the side part inside it) and there is a s 
witch to turn it on and off in one of the dummy switches in the center console. 
When it goes off, you can hear it well from the glovebox (unless there is a spe 
aker hidden somplace else in the car), and a light in the instrument panel (the 
blank one) blinks.  This is a very smart system and its really cool. Unfortunat 
ely it is one of the older units and falses too much here in downtown Columbia. 
I have been trying to get him to get the newer version, but he already has a Be 
ll 635Xti (with stealth).
     
        On the radio scanners; I have heard great things about the Uniden Beart
racker, but I know no one who uses it and I can't seem to find them anywhere. 
This unit supposedly will tell you if any police car, or emergency vehicle is i 
n the vicinity, and will designate what it is on the LCD display.  It can tell 
you if it is a local police, a Highway Patrol, or an emergency vehicle.  It det 
ects this by radio frequency, so it can warn you even if they are not using rad 
ar!  This is very usefull to detect a speed trap before they get you with insta 
nt on!  I think it might also detect radar, but I'm not sure on that, and I kno 
w you can also listen in to radio frequency channels like a normal scanner as w 
ell.  You just have to punch in the state code for the particular state you are 
in and it will track out the bears.  Also, I know they recently upgraded this m 
odel and the new one is now available.  The new one is supposedly improved and 
smaller.  The only two places I have seen them available from is The Sharper Im 
age and some other mail order catalog which escapes my mind at the moment.  It 
also doesn't need to be mounted near the windshield since it plugs into (and us 
ues) your existing radio antenna. So, you can truly hide it.  I have been meani 
ng to try it out and see what it's like (for the 30 days) and then return it, b 
ut I don't want to charge that much to my credit card at the moment, and not ma 
ny places have the Beartracker available.  Has anyone else on this list used, o 
r has experience with the Uniden Beartracker, and wouldn't mind sharing it with 
us?  I am very curious about it.
     
         I personally have an old Passport radar detector (circa 1987) and it i
s great!  It is almost 10 years old and the technology really isn't that outdat 
ed.  It still performs wonderfully and hardly ever falses.  I don't use it arou 
nd town though....ony on the long drives to and from school.  Works great for m 
e and I can't justify spending any more money for one of these Laser, stealth, 
wideband dewhickeys when most cops still use the old faithful X and Ka.
     
                                                                  Later,
                                                                  Dan