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Questions About Radar Detectors
Questions About Rental Services
Are radar detectors legal in the US or Canada?
Note: This information is only applicable in the United States and Canada. We do not track the laws in other countries!
Laser detectors are legal in all situations except for the following:
It is your responsibility to know all of the applicable laws in your area, or in the area you will be traveling through. Radars for Rent makes absolutely no guarantee that this information is current, or 100% accurate.
Can I use a radar detector overseas?
Not every country uses the same radar frequencies that are used in the United States. If you plan to travel overseas, we suggest you consider our Beltronics Vector 995, which has been specifically tuned for the most commonly used European frequencies, as well as the ones used in the United States.
Can I use two radar detectors at once?
There is nothing stopping you from using two (or more) detectors at once in a vehicle. However, this will not improve your capabilities of detecting a frequency. Instead, it may actually lessen the capabilities of any one of the detectors you are using. Radar detectors rely on the detection of various radar signals across various frequencies; one radar detector might interfere with a signal signal by lessening it, partially deflecting it, or garbling it so that it is unidentifiable by another radar detector. We recommend using only one detector that best fits your needs.
How common is the use of police laser guns?
Laser guns are far less common than radar guns, due to their increased price (they can run almost four times as much as a radar gun). However, the use of laser guns is still fast increasing, mostly in highly populated cities or urban areas because of their highly accurate detection.
How common is the use of police radar guns?
Radar guns are the most popular and most common tool used for speed enforcement, since the mid-seventies. There are easily over 100,000 radar gun units used throughout the United States.
A radar detector is, very basically, a radio receiver tuned to the specific radio frequencies that are most commonly used by police radar guns. It operates in very much the same way as your typical radio, which is tuned to AM and FM frequencies. Depending on the surrounding area, a detector can pick up a radar signal nearly a mile away.
A police radar gun is a machine that emits radio waves at certain frequencies (very much like a radio tower transmits radio waves in AM and FM for your car radio). These waves reflect off of objects and are then bounced back and received by the gun. Based on the time it takes for the radar to be emitted and received again, the gun can calculate the miles per hour that the target is travelling.
There are two basic types of radar that is used for this purpose. Stationary radar can only be used from a stand-still position. You can most typically see this type of radar used by police that are parked off of the side of a highway or road. Moving radar allows an officer to measure the speed of a vehicle that is driving in the opposite direction that they are. Be warned! Some moving radars have two antennas for measuring not only the speed of a driver travelling in the opposite direction, but also drivers that are approaching the police vehicle from the rear.
One major problem with police radar is the wideness of the radar “beam.” Please read our answer to “What is laser and how does it work?” for more information about this.
Should I be concerned about radar detector detectors?
Radar detector detectors, often referred to as RDD’s, are used by police in areas where radar detector use is illegal (please read our answer to “Are radar detectors legal in the US or Canada?” for more information). The most commonly used, and most effective, RDD is the Spectre III, which can detect every radar detector certified for use within the United States.
RDD’s work by detecting the “leakage” of radio frequencies emitted by all radar detectors. The only radar detector known to avoid being detected by an RDD is the Beltronics STi, which we do not carry at this time.
What are the different bands or frequencies?
X-band operates between the frequencies of 10.475 and 10.575 gigahertz, and was the first band ever used by police. Today, however, it is used less than 20% of the time. This band is also used by a number of other devices, such as garage door openers and bank security alarm systems, which results in a greater number of false alerts. Many detectors give you the option of turning this band off completely.
K-band operats between 24.0 and 24.25 gigahertz, and was developed for use in 1976. Currently, over 60% of all police radar guns use this frequency. There are some other devices that operate on this frequency, but with a far less rate than on X-band.
Ka-band operates between 33.4 and 36.0 gigahertz, and was developed in 1989. It, like X-band, are only used about 20% of the time. This band is considered the “cleanest” as there are very few other devices that operate on this fequency, which means the least number of false alerts.
Ku-band has officially been alloted the 13.45 gigahertz frequency, but there are no Ku radar guns sold or used in the US. This band is most widely used in European nations.
For more information about laser, please read our answer to “What is laser and how does it work?”
There are a number of devices, other than radar guns, that are allowed to operate on the same frequencies as those detected by a radar detector. Automatic door openers, high powered security devices, and some newer model tail lights are powered by X band transmitters. These can all produce signals that will appear legitimate to a radar detector and cause it to send an alarm. There are other devices, such as electronic road signs, that produce look alike K or Ka band signals, which will also cause a radar detector to emit an alarm. All of these are considered false alerts. Most of the newer radar detectors have the ability to significantly reduce the amount of false alerts that it picks up.
What is laser and how does it work?
Laser guns emit short bursts of light which bounce off of a targetted object and are returned to the gun. The gun then calculates the targets speed based on the timing of the outgoing and returning beam of light and displays it to the user.
A laser gun is a lot more accurate than a radar gun when it comes to determining the speed of a single target due to the size of the beam of light that it emits. A radar gun’s beam is about 250 feet wide at 1,000 feet out. A laser gun’s beam, on the other hand, is only 3 feet wide at 1,000 feet out. This provides a nearly foolproof way of identifying a single vehicle’s speed.
Laser guns operate only in “instant on” mode, and can only target vehicles within a short range (somewhere between 600 and 1200 feet). Due to the shortened distance and the narrowness of the laser beam, no radar detector can give you previous warning of this type of speed detection and instead can only alert you once you are targetted.
What is POP, instant on, or pulse?
When radar detectors started proving that radar guns could be detected from miles away, manufacturers began producing “instant on” radar, also known as “pulse” radar. When used in instant on mode the radar does not emit any signal that is detectable by a radar detector. A police officer waits until his intended target is close, then releases the radar from its stand by mode to detect a speed reading within a second or less. Radar detectors can pick up on this detection, but most often not until it is too late.
In 2003 manufacturers began producing instant on guns that offer “pop” mode. These guns produce a burst of energy at less than 1/15th of a second, that is used to quickly acquire the speed of the vehicle almost instantaneously. Only the most current radar detectors offer protection against Pop mode radar guns.
Where can/should I mount my radar detector?
To be most effective, your detector should be in a position where it can “see” both out the front windshield and the rear. Most often, people choose to place their detectors suctioned to the front windshield in the area of the rear view mirror or clipped onto the drivers side visor. When you rent a radar detector from us, you have the option to use either a windshield suction mount, or a visor mount.
Certain types of windshield tint have been known to cause interference with radar detectors. If your windshield tint is metallic, or reflective in nature, you could actually be reducing the amount of signals you receive. We highly suggest using radar detectors in cars that do not have an excessive amount of metallic or reflective tint.
Every radar detector is slightly different, and what is “best” for one person might not be the “best” for another. There have been numerous reviews and comparisons done by various third-party groups to determine which radar detector is best, including Radar Test and Radar Busters, and their determinations can be read on their websites. We suggest giving several different models a try before deciding on which model is best for you.
Will a radar detector pick up every police officer?
Radar detectors DO NOT pick up the presence of a police officer. They pick up the presence of a radar gun that is transmitting a signal. This means that your detector will not go off everytime you come within the vicinity of a police officer, since not all officers are using radar guns to enforce speed limits.
Will laser guns replace radar guns?
Laser guns are becoming more popular but due to their premium price, limited application and more complex operation, we believe that they will never be used as widely as radar guns.
Can I hardwire my rented equipment to my vehicle?
We do not ship any of our rentals with hardwiring kits.
Can I request a gadget or model that you don’t carry?
We would love to hear your suggestions about which gadgets, and which models to carry. Unfortunately, we are unable to satisfy special requests. To see what gadgets and models we currently carry, visit our products for rent page.
Do I have to pay for return shipping?
Absolutely not! Shipping, both ways, is included in the base rental price for every model. It is 2-day shipping, with signature confirmation and insurance to protect both yourself and us from any damage incurred during shipping.
Do I have to sign for the delivery of my rental?
We ship all of our rentals with signature confirmation to guarantee that you receive the rental that you have scheduled, and to make sure that you are not charged for any extra days that your rental is not in your possession. If you will not be home to sign for the delivery, consider having your rental shipped to your location of business, or to a neighbor or friend. Remember, though, that your rental period will begin on the day that someone signs for your delivery, so make sure you ship it to someone/someplace that you trust.
Yes! However, when we place our security deposit authorization on a debit card, many banks indicate this as a withdrawl from your account. When we initiate an actual charge, the remaining portion of the withdrawn amount is refunded by your bank. Radars for Rent is never in possession, nor are we responsible for, the funds that your bank withdraws from your account to cover the security deposit authorization put on a debit card.
Do you only offer short term rentals?
Yes, at this time we only offer short term rentals.
Do you place a hold on my credit card for a security deposit?
No, we do not put a hold on your credit card. We do, however, place an authorization for the full retail price of the model you select to validate available credit; it is not a charge. With many credit cards, this authorization doesn’t even affect your actual available balance. This is to protect us from theft of the equipment. Please read the Terms and Conditions during the checkout process for more detailed information.
Yes! Before your rental begins we will email you a pdf copy of your rental’s manual, so that you have time to look it over before your rental arrives.
Does my rental period include shipping time?
No! Your rental period will not begin until the day you sign for the delivery of your rental, and will end one the day USPS receives the package from you for return.
My rental wasn’t delivered on the date I requested!
We do our best to ensure proper, timely delivery of your rental. We make all shipments using USPS Priority (2-day) mail, but there are occasions where USPS is not able to deliver the shipment in the 2-day time frame. These occurrences are, unfortunately, out of our hands. However, your rental is not considered active until the date you sign for your package. If USPS delivers your shipment a day late, your rental period will begin one day later as well.
What credit cards do you accept?
We accept all forms of MasterCard and Visa.
What if I return my rental late?
We encourage you do your best to return ship your rental on the end date of your rental period. This date can be found on the price estimate emailed to you at the time your rental was placed. However, if for some reason you are not able to return your rental on the appropriate day, an additional $10 per day charge (up to and including the date of return shipment) will be added to your final rental charge.
What happens if I can’t return my rental in the original packaging?
We encourage you do your best to return ship your rental along with all of the original packaging that it arrived to you with. However, if for some reason you are not able to return your rental with all of the original packaging, an additional $10 charge will be added to your final rental charge.
By shipping with USPS we are able to provide you with the quickest shipping at the most reasonable cost.
What happens if I lose one or more of my rental’s accessories?
We encourage you do your best to return your rental with all of the accessories it arrived to you with. However, if you lose one or more of your rental’s accessories an additional fee (dependent on your rental model and the accessory) will be added to your final rental charge. To see a chart of these additional fees, please see our Additional Pricing page.
Radars for Rent News ...
So, how do you like the new digs? We’re pretty excited to have a fresh new look to go along with some big changes here at Radars for Rent, and we’d like to know what you think!