Mounting a Radar Detector

MarkT

Rationale

Well I held out for the longest time.  Then I got two speeding tickets in the same week.  The judge didnt buy my protestations of innocence.  OK, that's it.  Since I can't afford law school just to get these judges to believe in my OBVIOUS innocence, I've gotta do something else quick or I'm gonna be in the poor house and walkin soon.

I'm not recommending anybody actually break the law and speed.  You know I NEVER do that. But due to aberrations in the alignment of the larger planets, which in conjunction with solar flares induce HUGE magnetic anomalies which unfortunately sometimes manifest themselves in the LEO's speed detecting equipment AT THE VERY MOMENT you may be passing by (believe me, this actually happened to me -  several times), I am suggesting if you have some extra money burning a hole in your pocket after you buy my Mild2 WILD glasspacks, you may want to consider this means of protecting your bank account from depletion by well-meaning but misinformed LEOs who think you were ACTUALLY SPEEDING and give you a ticket.

I was actually looking for a Valentine detector.  ( Since located at http://www.valentineone.com/home.asp ).   Couldn't find a dealer anywhere, then I ran into this product.  A Phantom radar/lidar detector & scrambler from Rocky Mountain Radar, an El Paso company.

YEAH, BABY.

That's what I need!  A unit that doesn't just TELL me the bears are takin pictures, but actually fights back with high tech electrons!  OK, I know, this unit and others were dinged by MCN as not working as advertised.  Well, it's worked for me in a limited way.

They claim it will prevent you from getting a ticket for speeding as it purportedly accepts the incoming radar (and lidar) signal, modulates it, and sends it back to the source so corrupted the cop's computer won't lock on.  Supposed to work until you're within 50-200 feet of the radar, at which point "punch-through" happens and the signal reflecting off the vehicle is stronger than the modulated signal from the unit.  Meanwhile, the cop has not been able to get a lock-on until after the momentary planetary solar magnetic anomaly claiming you're speeding has slowed down, as it also reports via beeps and flashes same as other detectors, so you can make sure the anomaly hasn't also affected your speedo (though not loud enough beeps if you're wearing a helmet, and it's easy to miss the LED's).   The range is far greater than the LEO's radar.  They even claim they will pay the ticket if you get one, given several limitations (take that with a SHAKER of salt, apparently just a marketing ploy). There have been reports seen on these boards, from respected bikers saying MSN tested them and they didn't work.  I would concur - for cars. I got a ticket in my Explorer while using the damn thing, for 13 over.  I'd say, too much radar profile to overcome in my Explorer.

   But on my bike, it may work.  I ride past those radar trailers that caution you on the speed, and the readout just flips.  I've ridden past photo radar vans with the magnetic planetary anomaly causing my speedo to indicate 20 over with nary a ticket.  I've ridden past the usual radar traps also showing 20 over and the cop never pulled out.  And I've done the same with oncoming radar, on a boulevard, and never got stopped.  A friend I ride with, who has a Valk and the Phantom, concurs.  My experience is, the Phantom does work on a Valk, at least for radar.  I don't know about the lidar claim.  Don't expect the Phantom to be any better than a radar detector in a car.

From the owner's manual:

"The Phantom Detector-jammer is a full featured radar and laser detector combined with passive laser and radar jamming capabilities.

"The radar detector is a dual conversion scanning superheterodyne receiver with separate alarms for each of the three radar bands, dark mode, mute and city/highway select.  It detects front and rear laser and radar.

"The radar jamming circuit mixes a doppler FM chirp with the incoming police radar signal and reflects it back to the radar gun.  The computer in the radar gun must receive several identical readings in a row before it will display your speed.  All the different speeds contained in the FM chirp confuse the computer in the radar gun so it does not display any speed.  This effect duplicates the normal operation that the officer usually sees.  Since it is normal to occasionally lose the target speed, the officer is not suspicious.  Reasonable care should be used as flagrant violators could still be caught visually with an estimated speed.

"The Phantom transmits a series of pulses at the same wavelength used by the police laser guns (Lidar) which are electronically timed at about 100 feet apart.  When the pulses pass through the windshield they will lose up to 50% of their power.  The power is four to eight times that needed to trigger the detector in the laser gun.

"Lidar sends out laser pulses and measures how long it takes to hit your car and come back.  From the speed of light it can determine your range.  It sends out several more pulses and calculates your speed from the change in distance over time.  The Phantom only allows the Lidar to see up to 100 feet so it is unable to calculate your speed.

"The radar detector has a local oscillator which is shielded against VG-2 (radar detector-detector) and can only be detected at close range...The Phantom will detect radar up to three miles away.   The radar jammer works at four to six times the range of the radar gun.  The laser detector and jammer is effective at two times the Lidar range."

   On the "ticket rebate program" - don't count on it.  The outside of the box brags about the wonderful program.  When you open it and read the instructions, you find they have so loaded the program with disqualifiers that you don't have a snowball's chance in Hell of getting it - it's a ploy to "guarantee" the unit's performance, to get you to buy it, which costs them nothing since they will virtually never have to honor the rebate. 

"To get the refund, you must

• Return the registration form within 30 days
• Not exceed 15mph or 30% over posted limit, whichever is less
• legible copy of both sides of ticket
• legible copy of court receipt
• Ticket AND receipt must clearly state "radar" or "laser" AND "speeding"
• ONLY original registration and claim forms ABSOLUTELY NO COPIES
• Only in USA
• registered owner of vehicle must be driving
• only registered owner of jamming product is eligible
• limited to first year after purchase
• Claims are verified through court systems and take 8 weeks to process
• more disqualifiers - DWI, DUI, school zone, California
• Tampering with, disassembly, or modification of this product voids the warranty and a tamper fee of $150 will be charged to repair it.
  
  If you have questions about the program, registration, or a claim, please WRITE to..."
   

They have a web site at http://www.rockymountainradar.com/ but there's nothing there but a Rosetta Stone - if you want to know how to say

"Welcome -This site is currently under construction.  Please check back at a later time."

in eleven languages, this site is for you.

The Phantom is not legal in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Virginia, Minnesota, and Wash. D.C.

All technical mods described here are merely reports of what I've done.  You may attempt to replicate them at your own discretion and risk if you choose.  Horseapple Ranch, LLC and Mark Tobias will in no way be responsible for the results of your attempting to perform these mods on any motorcycle, regardless of the outcome.

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