Another Look at POP RADAR

UPDATED: 10 MAY 07

For all the headaches that POP has created, I have yet to encounter a single speed trap actually using it.

This situation is not entirely unlike the problems created -- for the detector and jammer industry -- by stealth-mode police lidar from LaserAtlanta.

Like K-band POP, stealth-mode LIDAR is not consistently detectable by any other radar detector than the Valentine 1 and up until fairly recently wasn't detectable (and jammable as a result) by any jammers other than Blinder. It just so happens that VEIL is extremely effective against this form of police laser, so not many worries here.

But, I haven't actually come across a speed trap where stealth-mode has actually been used, so having a detector not being able to detect it or a jammer not being able to detect/jam it, isn't really a handicap. I am feeling more and more like this each day I drive about POP RADAR.

For all the fanfare that has been generated by POP RADAR (for which the technology has been around for some time), it has done nothing really positive. It has instead, has upset the whole radar detector industry, which is most unfortunate, because I very much doubt many of us will actually ever encounter it. The dynamic that this technology has created may be contributing to another potential problem...radar detectors built to detect POP RADAR are susceptible to radar emissions of a similar nature -- some of the new ACC/ADAS systems coming online, today. These systems, while well-meaning, are misguided in their design as they operate on the same frequency band as police K-band radar.

In fact there is one form of POP that operates four times quicker than regular POP RADAR -- at a blistering 16ms. The only detector that has been able to sniff this form out is again the V1, but it generally has about a one in ten chance of doing so. I was concerned initially about it, but no longer. As Steve has correctly stated in one of the comments below, you probably have about the same chance as getting hit by a bolt of lightning as being tagged with POP in either form (16ms or 67ms)!

*Reprinted with permission from the Guys of Lidar.

The threat of POP today is feeling more like a marketing ploy to sell certain police radar guns, than a bona-fide tool to measure speed in a furtive manner and I can only hope that it will fade into the history books of ideas that looked better on paper than in actual practice.

For that there is police laser, with which drivers may legally be ticketed.

Further, one doesn't need POP to obtain speed readings with minimal chances of alerting many other drivers. I have seen it [and so have you] and its called instant-on radar (which has been around for decades) from behind. I have seen very capable troopers in NJ utilize an older but effective K-55 X-band police radar from behind in a manner which provides very little advanced warning to approaching drivers and only the best detectors at X-band (V1, RX65, STi Driver) provide the greatest chance of spotting it before it's too late.

I seriously doubt that officers equipped with such guns feel the need (or are actually trained) to take the additional time to navigate through menus and take additional steps to properly engage POP and use it in their day-to-day monitoring of traffic in a manner that is consistent with the manufacturer's own guidelines. Perhaps when they first got them and there was this initial "buzz", but not any longer.

Why do I think that is a fair assessment? Because there are plenty of drivers out there who either do not drive with a detector nor possess a premium or ultra-premium radar detector. In otherwords, there are plenty of fish in the pond, so to speak, so there really is no need to take the extra steps or deal with the additional aggravation of operating radar in POP-mode. I really think it is that simple. Traffic enforcement has had plenty of business deploying radar for decades against drivers who have used radar detectors for about as long a time, so the likes of POP really won't change that.

In fact, I would argue that the deterrent traffic departments wish to achieve occurs when speeders are pulled over and receiving a ticket in plain view of everyone and not prior [by their particular method]. I know from experience to respect certain stretches of highway regardless of the traffic monitoring mode utilized, as I am sure you have, regardless of what radar detector is used.

I feel the same way about automated speed enforcement technology -- without the officer actually pulling over the offender in plain-site for everyone to see -- there really is no direct feedback mechanism to other drivers to let them know that a certain area is being monitored. If the name of the game is to slow drivers down, then what better way to do that than with traffic stops with lights blaring. Again that is where the deterrent lies and not with the technology, per se.

It is painful to see detector manufacturers spend the time, money, and resources on coming up with solutions to problems which really don't need to exist nor serve a productive purpose.

Veil Guy

©2007 Veil Corporation. All rights reserved. No part may be duplicated without expressed written permission of the author.

Interaction Between POP Reception in Radar Detectors and certain Collision Avoidance Systems

UPDATED 10 MAY 07:

According to AudiWorld, the Q7's side-assist system is located in the rear bumpers on both sides of the vehicle and monitors traffic to the side and rear of the car.

As of this morning, the feedback I have received from Valentine Research concerning this issue is that the side assist systems employed on the Audi Q7 utilizes a K-POP-like signal profile and since the Valentine 1 is the only radar detector that can actually detect K-band POP consistently (67ms variety, not 16ms), it alerts to the presence of this system - which is a bona-fide source of K-band radar - where other detectors less capable of this reception mode, can not.

*Reprinted with permission from Guys of Lidar.

I would expect that the V1 would tend to alert frequently to this radar-source from within the confines of the Audi Q7, which would not really be a workable situation, IMO. In this situation, V1 owners who drive such equipped vehicles could disable the side-assist option and/or disable the J-function as a workaround for the near-term.

On the surface, this may appear to be a "flaw" in the Valentine 1, but that is not the case. In fact, the opposite holds true - it is actually a reflection of the high sensitivity this detector has to K-band POP mode. I haven't been able to confirm whether or not disabling the POP reception (J-function) will eliminate this alerting.

This type of "falsing" is more of a challenge than the typical alerts one gets from stationary K-band door openers and the like that are readily identifiable as such -- by listening to the signal ramp and observing the arrows (from front to side to rear) as one passes these sources.

These kinds of alerts appear more like a bonafide threat -- in the form of a cruiser operating K-band radar in the flow of traffic -- making it much harder for the driver to make a relatively quick distinction.

Fortunately, this system on the Q7 that operates in the K-band range is pointed towards the rear. It's cruise control (Distronic) apparently operates at 76.5Ghz. Had that system been designed to operate on the same frequency as the side-assist, the problem for us drivers, who use the V1, would be compounded further as additional alerts would appear from the back initially and one would have to slow down and wait until one was overtaken by a vehicle so equipped before realizing that it was not a cruiser or unmarked vehicle operating K-band radar to nab would-be speeders from behind.

Suffice it to say, Valentine Research is aware of this potential issue and is working on addressing it in a manner that does not compromise the detector's performance and I trust they will do so -- long before this technology becomes more commonplace.

To read more about the particulars of Side-Assist technology -- which, at the moment appears to be a $500USD option -- one may refer to the following online sources of information:

Animated Video of Side-Assist in Use
Audi World

• 
  
  Audi's Q7 side-assist and K-band POP Reception Don't Mix Well
  


• 24Ghz ACC/ADAS Systems Causes Most Radar Detectors to False with Very Strong K-band Alerts


• An Examination of Technology, Driver Inattentiveness,Traffic Controlling Devices, and Their Impact on General Highway Safety


• Another Look at POP RADAR

Veil Guy

©2007 Veil Corporation. All rights reserved. No part may be duplicated without expressed written permission of the author.

How to quiet-down your Valentine One without giving up performance

Yesterday (Sunday), I drove my usual Northeasterly route - which takes me through parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey that go by some heavily populated areas and heavily traveled highways.

Oftentimes, it is in these kinds of areas, where the Valentine One's extreme sensitivity can become...well...tiring...to put it nicely. Sure the V1 alerts with high frequency to the presence of both X-band and K-band door openers and the like which every strip mall in northern Jersey seems to have, but it is also not uncommon for the Valentine alerts with a relatively high number of Ka-band falses - which come from a plethora of cheap and poorly insulated radar detectors that are operated by the majority of the great motoring unwashed (please forgive my hubris).

Wouldn't it be nicer world if everyone who thought about owning and operating a radar detector - to potentially save them thousands of dollars - would be willing to drop a few more dollars to really have a chance at accomplishing such a thing [by owning an ultra-premium radar detector] while at the same time providing relief to guys like us, who have already made that wise decision?

Pollution is everywhere in these extra-urban areas, it seems - noise pollution, air pollution, and yes RADAR pollution. Things, of course, may be getting better (at least on the air front), but wouldn't it be nice if there were a way to easily abate some of this without having to wait for the driving public to wake-up to its senses and turn their RADAR polluting devices (cheap radar detectors) into solid waste?

Well, there just may be a short-cut to that nirvana, at least with the Valentine One. That short-cut is entitle 'J-feature' disabled. Some of you may be wondering, 'what the heck is J-feature disabled'? Very simply, it is the turning off of POP radar reception. In all of the years that POP radar has been out (now several), I have yet to encounter a real speedtrap that has been employing POP radar as a precursor to standard instant-on police radar usage.

This, of course, is not to say that this specialized operating mode of a particular series of police radar guns manufactured by MPH Industries is not being utilized or more likely mis-utilized somewhere in the country, it's just that I have yet to encounter one in the many of thousands of miles that I have traveled.

Instead, what I have encountered, frequently, is either reduced operating performance of many of my radar detectors when operated with the reception mode enabled or one particular radar detector that, despite it's quieter nature as compared to previous versions (when POP reception was first incorporated into it), is a noisier detector than it has to be.

Yes, I am referring to my Valentine One. More times than not, when I travel on busy highways like I-78, I-287, I-80, I-95, GSP in northern NJ and the outskirts of New York City the Valentine frequently alerts to Ka sometimes followed by the J[unk] alarm muting sequence, sometimes not. At any rate, it all can become pretty fatiguing.

By disabling POP reception, with programming, which is not the default mode of this detector, I have found that my V1 is much more quiet and more livable as a result in these areas. Not once in almost 300 miles today through very heavily traveled roadways did I receive one Ka-false nor J alert. Other times through these same areas, such alerts routinely happen totaling 8-9, on average, a day.

In fact, for now, I am going to leave my Valentine in this quieter mode (as well as my other radar detectors). What I give up for all this peace and quiet is POP reception. But, I keep my blazing sensitivity to all standard police radar band forms of X, K, Ka, and of course the blistering laser reception ability of this radar detector is unaffected in any event.

If I ever end up getting ticketed by some knucklehead operating only POP radar to obtain my speed, I'll know it, because the detector would not have gone off. I don't believe that POP radar can be used to legally issue speeding tickets in and of itself, anyway, and what better way to collect that kind of information at the time of stop. I'd sure like to hear the explanation of the offending-officer to the court why he thinks his in-admissible evidence should be allowable. In other words, I really don't believe that could really ever happen.

My advice* to all existing post-POP owning Valentine One owners, is to try disabling the J operating mode...You may like it and like it enough to leave it off.

My advice* to all owners of Escort Passport 8500 X50, Escort Passport 9500i, Beltronics RX-65 Pro, and Beltronics STi Driver radar detectors is to leave POP reception off so you can not only enjoy a quieter radar detector, but a generally higher performing one, at that.

*Of course, have POP reception enabled, if you are certain you are deriving a benefit from it in the unusual case you actually encounter POP augmented radar speedtraps and receive advanced notification to them with it on.

How to achieve 'jaw dropping' performance from the Beltronics STi Driver

It's pretty late Sunday night and I just got back from a day's worth of driving testing out the relative performance of both the Bel STi Driver (vA4.M9) and the Valentine One (v3.826) and I am pleased to share my recent experiences with you.

I have now driven with this detector for several weekends over recently and have accumulated almost 1600 miles on this new detector and all I can say is, WOW! What a difference a year makes. It's very clear to me that the 'boys' at Beltronics know what they are doing.

The very first model I drove with showed a solid detector in the making, but appeared to be in some need of should we say, 'some sorting out.' Well. it appears that in the interim of 12 or so months, that Beltronics did just that - they sorted this detector out. I have driven throughout four states with this detector - Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania - and have encountered all forms of police radar with this detector (X, K, Ka (33.8Ghz), Ka (34.7Ghz), Ka (35.5Ghz) with most of the speedtrap encounters being of the instant-on kind and I believe it's safe to say that the Bel STi Driver's performance on these fronts in many cases appears to actually exceed the performance of the mighty Valentine One, particularly on X & K band and particularly with this detector set at its default radar reception operating mode of POP RADAR detection OFF*.

In this mode we have found that we are being notified sooner and farther away from known drone radar sources than with the Valentine One and on a regular basis.

Even without POP mode enabled, we are finding that it's X-band reception performance outperforms the Valentine One sometimes dramatically so - for example, we once received a full seven second plus advanced notification - to an instant-on speedtrap using X-band on I-195 Westbound outside of Trenton, NJ. A seven second advantage to [the Valentine One on] an instant-on trap - when one is traveling at 85-90mph - is pretty huge. To be sure, those types of margins didn't and don't always occur and oftentimes they essentially tie, but to see these types of advantages appear more the once over the course of three weekends and about 1600 miles is notable, indeed.

Valentine has pretty much dominated X-band performance, historically, with the RX-65 Pro almost essentially equaling it in many cases. With the new STi Driver, it appears the Beltronics has actually raised the bar a bit on this reception frequency and its is simply breathtaking to behold, really.

Both K-band and Ka-band reception appears to benefit further by leaving POP disabled on this detector. K-band reception also appears to exceed, on a regular basis, the capability of my Valentine One. We need more time with Ka encounters before forming an opinion, but I am going to look forward to putting some serious miles on this detector to ferret out those details.

Does that mean, to me, that the Valentine One is going away any time soon? Not on a bet, but it is truly marvelous to experience this level of performance from another radar detector manufacturer. I always liked the Beltronics RX-65 Pro from the first day I drove with it and it is quickly becoming apparent to me that Beltronics is not going to sit on its laurels in any way shape or form. They are pushing the envelope and we enthusiast drivers are the beneficiaries.

Forget about the stealth-nature of this detector (immune to VG-2 and Stalcar/SPECTRE III RDDs) - that's just a nice bonus. The levels of performance this radar detector is achieving is absolutely stunning!

My recommendation to the serious driving enthusiasts out there, is add this radar detector to your arsenal, now.

We'll [You'll] have more, when we get it...

*Thanks to Steve (co-founding member of the Guys of Lidar) - who suggested that I try out the latest version of the STi Driver on highway mode with POP disabled - I can share these results.