It's called cosine error, and they know that it won't stand up in court.

Knowing the guy's general location is at least as useful as knowing that he is there at all. Even if he can't get a true read of my speed, even if I'm not actually speeding - still would like to know which way he is coming from.


1. It is IMPOSSIBLE to range a transmitter of unknown power simply by receiving a signal.

I'm pretty sure that traffic radar guns are all regulated to have a maximum power rating, which means that you can compare relative distances. Guns that don't use the max power will also have a reduction in range effectiveness. Since no radar detector tries or even claims to tell you the precise distance to the emitter, this lack of precision isn't much of a problem.

2. It is IMPOSSIBLE to determine the location of a transmitter with a single antenna, unless you're driving around in tiny circles and marking the highs with a nice directional antenna.

We are not trying to call in an air strike on the emitter here, we don't need to know the precise direction - front/back or somewhere in between is a huge improvement over "somewhere out there."

>Police laser is shot at a wavelength of 904nm. Why do tailights set off the V1 and not any of the 'modern' units? Could Mr. Valentine please improve his IR receiver -they sell them at Radio Shack in the correct frequency.

Dunno - perhaps red neon has harmonics that are close enough to 904nm that they trigger it, and the other detectors aren't as sensitive? Since your only hope with LIDAR is to pick up "splash" from another car before you are targetted, I'll take the additional sensitivity if the cost is the ocassional false read from an easily identifiable source.

>Simple programming and operation = safer use while driving. Why do you have to search on some secret corner of Valentine's website to learn how to program your unit? Why do you "program at your own risk?"

Last time I checked, all the info was in the manual. You program at your own risk because you are turning off detection of certain frequencies, if you've turned them off you are now at risk of being illuminated and not knowing about it.

>When you are in an accident, everything in your cabin can become a projectile -would you rather get hit with a light, rounded box or a heavy, metal box with pointy corners?

Sure, but I would rather not be hit by anything at all, so am I better off with no radar detector?

>I'm a big boy -I know the difference between a K-Band 24.150 GHz radar shot and a 24.500 GHz door opener. Please tell me the frequency -don't just give me a single LED and expect me to start following the arrows.

I don't know about you, but if I am anywhere close to the speed limit and my detector goes off, my foot hits the brake and then I worry about evaluating the alarm. Telling me the actual frequency won't make much difference after I've already hit the brake.