Complete Guide on How Radar Detector Works

This guide is to aim at the most asked question How Does a Radar Detector Work. You are driving along on a beautiful road, enjoying the sunny weather and don’t mind the speed. And there you see those dreaded blue and red lights right behind you, forcing you to hit the brakes.

How Does a Radar Detector Work?

Nothing can ruin your day faster than a speeding ticket! More than 40 million tickets are issued every year in the United States and that’s approximately 100,000 people every day.  Luckily you can avoid all these by buying a radar detector. Before you buy one though, you need to understand how radar detectors work.

How Radar Guns Work?

Police radar uses Doppler technology to determine the speed of your vehicle. The radar gun is pointed at moving vehicles and beams are sent out towards the vehicle.

The radar beams are sent out at a certain frequency. Based on the frequency with which the beams are reflected, the speed of the vehicle is determined.  

The problem with this method of speed detection is that the radar waves are not pinpointed at a particular vehicle and they are sent out in a different direction. If there are too many cars coming down the road, it is difficult to find an accurate reading of one car.

How do radar detectors work?

Radar detectors work by identifying the radar signals that are emitted by the police radar gun. On detecting a signal, the radar detector sends out a signal or a voice alert to inform the driver of the police car nearby.

The radar detectors can save you from costly fines, defensive driving classes, and insurance premium hikes, but to get the most of it you need to understand how radar detectors work in detail.

While all detectors perform essentially the same functions, come equipped with a variety of unique features that might suit your vehicle.

How do radar detectors really work?

Radar detectors working can vary based on the band released from the police radar guns.

Basically, there are three different bands used by police radar guns. But do radar detectors work in all three bands?  Read on to understand the bands and how they are used.

X Band

This is probably the oldest radar technology used mostly in rural areas these days. They operate on a frequency of 10.5GHz. The major advantage of this type is that it is not affected by bad weather and can detect vehicles at far distances also.

K Band

This is a slightly improved technology than X band. The police usually use a frequency range of 24.125GHz to 24.15GHz. This band has a shorter reach when compared to X Band detectors. Most modern detectors have overcome this issue, though.

However, you can expect a lot of false alerts while using these radar band detectors. Certain other instruments like an automatic door, gas stations, garage doors, etc., also use this frequency. So it may tire you out with alarms in a short while.

Ka-Band

This band has increased complexity and is much better than the other bands. For instance, Ka-band can use up to 5 frequencies.

It detects at very short distances. Hence, there is a very low rate of false alarms. A new age radar detector can protect you from this radar band. However, older models might fail you.

Do Radars detectors work?

How does a radar detector keep you out of trouble?

• Understand the law of the land. Read through the laws regarding the radar detector in your state and country.
• Most modern detectors have voice alerts in addition to alarms to help you on time.
• Radar detectors also have smartphone integration.
• Radar detectors are much cheaper than the cost spent on speeding tickets, court fees, and increased insurance premiums.
• Depending on the state, you can go for a windshield mounted or remote mounted radar detectors.

Radar detectors perform a simple function of listening for broadcasts from the X, K and Ka bands, which are likely used by the police. They don’t jam or alter the radar signals, but only alert the driver with signals or voice message that there is a likelihood of a police car in the vicinity.

In most cases, a radar detector allows plenty of time to hit the brakes and pass by the police vehicle well within the speed limit.

Final thoughts

Radar detectors come in three major varieties – the corded, cordless and remote-mounted. Each of them has different models which can detect various bands. It is better to decide the right model of the radar detector based on the location you live and the roads you are likely to travel.

Radar detectors might be useful to avoid unnecessary speeding tickets. However, none of them are fool proof. There might be a situation where the radar detectors may detect the signals too late, that the police vehicle would be right behind you. So it is always better to keep tabs on your speed while driving. Keep visiting www.radardetectorguide.com for more info on How Does a Radar Detector Work.