Radar detectors in Holland

[Tom Nas <tnas@euronet.nl>]

Hi all,

Last time this thread came up, I promised a couple of European listers to
look up an article in the Dutch AutoWeek which tested radar detectors. I've
since located said article. As lots of European countries use the infernal
(Dutch, of which I'm not proud!) Gatso roadside cameras, this is of
interest to a number of listers.

Frequency bands used for speed detection in Holland:
K-band (24.125 GHz)
KU-band (13.45 GHz)
KA-band (34.36 GHz)

The old X-band (9.8 and 10.525 GHz) is slowly disappearing because too much
civilian equipment like alarms and remote controls use this frequency.

Some ways of measuring speed, like the trajectory check with video cameras,
and loops in the road used for red-light checks, cannot be detected by any
of the radar detectors. Also, the laser gun which is quickly gaining in
popularity is almost impossible to detect before it's too late.

The test concludes that most imported detectors use bands that are close
to, but not the same as those used here. The result is a detector that
'falses' often, or reacts late (if at all). As the Dutch market for
detectors is a relatively small one, there's only one manufacturer who's
taken the trouble to make a detector for Holland only. This is the only
unit which came out of the test with an 'excellent' rating. The test was
conducted together with Gatsometer BV, the manufacturer of most speed
detection equipment.

Tested equipment	Price	Rating
_________________	____	_________
Uniden LRD2200SWS	$300	Worthless
Snooper SD815i		$450	Barely useable
Uniden LRD6199SWS	$150	Worthless
Stinger Junior		$500	Excellent
Future Tech		$140	Worthless
Snooper SD95iR		$600	Worthless
Early Warning LRD911SW	$215	Junk

$500, just to prevent you from getting the occasional ticket? I think I'll
just try to adhere to the limit.

HTH,

Tom

 _______________________________________________________________________
 Tom Nas                                          Zeist, The Netherlands
 tnas@euronet.nl
 1988 Audi 80 1.8S, mostly Tizianrot metallic, 215,000km

     Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others.
                                  -- Groucho Marx, 1890-1977