Best Police Scanner...V1 didn't help Laser

[CarCrazed4Life]

So I got raped today by the MD State Troopers. V1 didn't give me any warning on laser because its pretty much shoot upon target. So I was told a few police scanners actually have a feature that alerts you if a police officer or vehicle is broadcasting within a certain raidius...like a mile or something...

Was wondering if anyone has tried these, Its my last and final resort. I drive about 30k a year, and about 100k in total with the family...I'll keep the scanner, but the other cars deff need V1s...

[illegalprelude]

nothing can pickup lazer because when they pickup lazer, it means the cop picked you up too....

[///AlpinePower]

well, a scanner won't help you either--- if you're in MD, get one of those Blinder packages from Denmark. Don't bother with radar jamming, because i can't find any that actually work; the laser jammers from Blinder are decent. they get people arrested in the UK....

edit: what do you think an officer is going to be talking about on the radio when he's busy tagging drivers???

[Arman]

There have actually been a lot of people from the M5 forum www.bmwm5.com that bought the Lidatek unit and have been very happy with it. There has been couple of GPs each with like more than 20 or 30 people on them!

I'm saving up for that, I think thats the best thing you can buy for laser.

www.lidatek.com

If you want more info, go to www.bmwm5.com and do a search for Lidatek....

[///AlpinePower]

arman--- i'll get in on that with you when the next one comes around.

[Iwannadinanm3]

yeh definately go for the lidatek, lotta the bmwm5.com guys say it's great

[bignate]

try removing your front license plate, if you live in a state that dosent' require one.



natester

[CarCrazed4Life]

I don't have a front license plate (DE doesn't require it) But he hit me head on...so exactly how does laser work if no license plate is there...

The thing about the scanner is it picks up locations that are recieving and broadcasting...so even if the officer isn't talking, you still get a warning that his location is near. At least that was my understanding of it, which can be totally wrong again.

[///AlpinePower]

well....finding the cop with the scanner will be as much of a crap shoot as the V1 finding laser. consider that the radio must be in use and in the same band as your scanner.

if you want 100% coverage, the V1 will cover radar very well, and the Lidatek, which the M5 owners swear by, should have an almost perfect success rate against laser.

i'd get the scanner because it's something cool and entertaining. i am not convinced of its utility in my endeavours. i find that the CB helps most for traffic and speed traps because truckers are very keen on moving shipments quickly without enforcement intervention.

by the time everything is implemented in the car, you may find it getting confusing. the V1 beeps, the scanner talks, the Lidatek beeps, and the CB talks....then you've got the radio on....

[bignate]

i think the no license plate defense works best in the dark. i'm sure any competent police officer operating laser during the day could easily see, even from a distance with the gun's spotting scope, whether or not you had a front plate on your car, and then adjust his targeting point appropriately. around here, i'd say the laser usage i have encountered is 30% day, 70% night.

here's a case study: i was crusing down a local interstate through a rural area at night. i was alone and clearly "exceeding" the posted speed limit (85 in 65, enough to be considered "excessive" speed here in ohio). everything is ok and then my v1 goes from silent to blaring in a split second, a typical response to laser dectection. sure enough, it indicates laser ahead. i take my foot off the gas and expect to see some lights coming on. i scope the area ahead of me for a cruiser but see none. instead the v1 goes silent and about 2 seconds later, i get the exact same warning again. at this point i'm slowed down to about 72 and still dropping. then silence, then alert. still can't see anything. now i'm at 68, my normal highway crusing speed when i know the cops are around. i get ANOTHER alert. now i can see the source, an ohio highway patrol unit running dark in the median. he didn't come after me. i contemplated waving as i passed just for grins but decided against it.


this situation has happened to me several times over the last few years, always at night. i can't assume it's just coincidence as it's becoming a regularly occuring theme. i can only assume that officers using laser from a distance cannot lock onto my car for some reason. maybe lack of a front plate? maybe since my car is black it absorbs some of the beam? maybe these advantages are only "advantages" when shot at from a distance? by a rookie cop with a substandard gun? maybe the first shot didn't hit but the second one did, but by that time i was slowed down enough for him not to bother me, maybe he was chowing a donut and too lazy to pull out, i can't say. i just know that it's happened too many times consistently to be all coincidence. and every single time, my valentines warning combined with whatever powers-that-be that kept the lock off of me (if thats what happened) kept me safe.



nate

[///AlpinePower]

my experience with the V1 is similar---- at night it can pick up laser without any trouble. during the day, the sun, heat and visible light and electromagnetic rays and radiation hinder the V1's ability to pick up laser. at night, none of these factors come into play. it's like leakage.

[bignate]

that sounds like a viable solution. here's another case study, the only time i've ever experienced laser usage from behind:


2 am sunday morning, november of '01. i'm driving back to cincinnati from columbus. on the interstate, rural area, no one around, crusing along comfortably in the 75-80 range. i see lights coming up behind me. turns out to be an old ford bronco, who whizzes by me in the left lane. this guy was flying like he'd eaten nothing but taco bell and apple juice all day and the toilet was still a good hour away. i decide to take advantage and speed up in the right lane. at this point he has thrown all caution to the wind and is running around 100mph alone in the fast lane, and we are the only cars on the road. in most places around here, driving this way pretty much turns the equation into just a matter of time. i held back about half a mile and stayed in the right lane, using him as a decoy. we passed cars occasionally but pretty much ran between 90-100 for a good half hour. coming into the outskirts of the city, i got a little braver and closed the gap some. once inside the beltway loop on the interstate, there's a pretty slim chance of getting bagged by a stationary unit, as there's really no places for them to sit along the road, and there's just not many of them ever around. coming around a bend, i spotted, sitting at a break in the center divider, none other than ohio's finest. he was actually facing the other direction towards the northbound side. at this point i am running in the center lane, about 50 feet behind bronco who is in the left lane. i glance at the speedo.. 102. i start visualizing local metro bus schedules in my head, hoping there's a stop close to my office. bronco passes the cop, like 5 FEET from his rear bumper, since he was facing away from us, without batting an eye. cops brake lights go on, i'm thinking slowing down would be moot at this point, and go to contingency plan.. move to the right, try to blend in with the 2 other cars on the road and hope to get to the next exit before cop can catch up. about 4 seconds after we pass him, v1 starts blaring.. laser from behind. it's all over now i'm thinking. i'm slowed down to about 60 mph with the exit in sight. i cross my fingers. in my mirror i see cop flying down the highway in the left lane to beat the band. euphoric, i watch him fly past me at about 120mph and bag the bronco, who is about a mile ahead of me at this point. someone had a bad night that night.

i got off at the exit anyway, no sense in taking chances, right? i stopped at a gas station to grab a soda and check my pants. i can only assume this poor guy was half asleep in the median when he saw us coming. no time to set up his gun, he aimed to the other side and let us pass into his sights, then wheeled around to come after us.

so be aware, laser can be used from the rear!

nate