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Stop Press: Spectre distributor admits RDD cannot detect Beltronics and Escort with TotalShield Technology.
July 2010: The new Spectre ELITE is manufactured by Stealth Micro Systems (Brisbane, Australia) and distributed by Stalker Radar (USA). The "pdf" brochure on their web site states - under the specifications category - Detects: Most radar detectors. |
Specifications
• Operating Frequency: 10 GHz - 25 GHz
• Temperature Range: 32° - 176° F
• Power Requirement: 11.5 - 14.5 VDC
• Current Requirement: 300 - 500 ma
• Weight: 1 lb.
• Sensitivity: -110 dBm @ 25 GHz typical
• Detects: Most radar detectors
• Dimensions: 6.1” D x 3.5” W x 1.4” H |
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| There is no specific mention of the specific brands/models of Radar Detectors that have defeated "all" RDDs. The Beltronics STi achieved this feat as far back as early 2006.The "remote" model STiR PLUS also achieves "undetectability". Two models from Escort (owner of Beltronics) are also "undetectable" to the Spectre Radar Detector Detectors: Escort RedLine EX and Escort MAX Ci.The small concession must be for legal reasons. The truth has finally been conceded, albeit only in the fine print. |
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How
RDDs work:
All modern radio receivers - including
Radar Detectors - use the "super-heterodyne"
principle. To produce great amplification,
an internally generated "tuning" frequency
is mixed with the signal that is desired to be received.
This local oscillator (LO) is described as a "spurious
emission". A device (RDD) tuned to this frequency
will be able to generate an alert many hundreds
of metres from the radar detector (RD). |
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Limitations
of RDDs:
Marketers of RDDs make boastful claims about
their products. They do not acknowledge
there are several Radar/Laser Detectors
that cannot be detected by any RDD. It's
not possible to claim that future RDD models
will address this problem. New versions
seem pointless or at the very least "incomplete".
It can be assumed that police departments
are unaware of the faults or are willing
to accept the limited usefulness of RDDs. |
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| Visibility: The Spectre RDD is designed to be fitted to the
windscreen of a patrol car. Note the bulky mounting
bracket. Surely this type of installation must block
the drivers view of a vehicle to the front-left
(front-right in America)? The VG-2 RDD is mounted
on the dash of the same patrol car above the windscreen
wipers. In a moving vehicle it could create a potentially
dangerous situation. When passing through an intersection
in pursuit of a traffic violator another vehicle
might not be seen. The operator would almost certainly
be driving above the speed limit, and at risk of
causing one of those speed related crashes governments
are always warning us about. For an ordinary motorist
an "accessory" mounted in this manner
would no doubt incur a fine. |
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Stalcar / Spectre RDD |
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VG2
Interceptor RDD |
False
Alarms: RDDs
can produce false alerts. Users of "radar detectors" know
that microwave radio-receivers sometimes
"trigger" when no Police Radar
is present. This is because all radio receivers
are subject to "RF" interference.
Another contributor to false alerts is "band-sharing". It
is not possible to make a "radar detector"
that will never false alert. Neither is
it feasible to make a Radar Detector Detector
that is 100 percent free from false alerts.
The laws of physics cannot be avoided. Therefore it is
likely that motorists "not" using
radar detectors will be stopped. RDDs will
always remain less than perfect devices. |
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RDDs
are used in all states and territories except Western
Australia! |
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