Internal Radar

["Tom Brown" <tbrown@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bob:

I deprogrammed the laser feature on the V1 in my Audi after sitting in traffic
one day and getting nearly constant false alarms.   Drove me batty.  It
happened repeatedly and I knew I'd start ignoring the thing if it continued.
Haven't had a ticket in 3 years or more.   I go fast, by the way.

The bike has no possiblity of laser working, but it's not a big sacrifice.  I
too have seen these laser traps where one guy stands on the side of the road
with a handheld unit and radios the 5 chase cars behind him.   These "teams"
roam around the state to different locations and clamp down on trouble spots.
I feel that keeping ones eyes open for signs of this is just as effective as a
laser detector.   The only time I've ever seen one go off that wasn't a false
alarm is when I was definitely already clocked.  It's possible that you could
catch a ray of light aimed at another car, but not very likely.

Anyway, not a consideration with this setup.  You have to mount the V1 on the
parcel shelf to get laser protection.  I went that route for several years.  I
lost one to velcro giving way once, but I've found that they dry out and work
fine if they get wet.    I dropped my '99RT in a stream once.   Long funny
story, but the detector got submerged and didn't work for a couple days.   I
plugged it in one last time before sending it back and it worked like a champ.
Never had another problem.  Same thing when I got caught in a rainstorm.    I
usually just pulled the thing off my parcel shelf and threw it in the unradio
compartment, but I was on a fast highway and really wanted the detector as
long as I could have it.   A day later, back working again, same as before.


>It seems that GM only supplied those particular LED brake lights on one(?)
year of truck. I run a V-1 that is fully enabled and although it still happens
sometimes, it is relatively rare now, so you might want to periodically enable
your laser detection to see if it is still often enough to be a problem for
you. Oh wait, I just remembered your detector is not in view. Nevermind.

>Laser detection is worthwhile; more and more departments are adopting laser
speed detection all the time. I know of 4 or 5 reports from people I know
personally (in real life) whose V-1s have helped them in a laser enforcement
scenario, so don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Bob

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