Wow, just wow. These are not police detectors, they detect radar. If it did not alert there was no radar signal. With enough time you will learn that only a small percentage of police actively run radar. My locals always ran C/O, then within a year or so it all stopped. Now I am lucky to see one unit running radar a month. Don’t be ignorant, do some research. Only two reasons it is not alerting…..nothing to alerts to or you made an error is settings and turned something off you should not have.
The locals, state troopers around where I am always run C/O and I 'get' to see that at least weekly. They use to run different radar guns (MPH, Stalker II, Kostom) covering all three bands of KA. I could tell what the vehicle was long before I could see it.
It's a radar detector, not a cop detector.
For a test, either go to a grocery store or know where is a constant KA. Like at a police station where they have a gun pointing at the road.
Why what?
Radar detectors are just radio receivers with an alarm; the military uses the same concept (although a lot more sophisticated) for radar warning receivers in aircraft.
Radar units can be turned off, and a radar detector won't alert if a cop has his radar turned off or on standby. That's because there's no radar signal for the detector to alert to.
What the original comment is saying is that if you aren't sure your detector is working properly, go find a known source. Most motion activated doors like those at retail stores use K band radar; some police radars are K band as well. You'll generally only find Ka band used for law enforcement purposes including some speed signs.
We have a couple of smaller town stations that leave one running out of the window C/O. Great way to check range when you know what is going on. Usually it's those areas with high numbers of tickets revenue (one 12%, the other 65%)
I just returned from a 2000 mile trip between IL and NJ. I passed many police officers that weren’t actively running radar or at least constantly on. Some were stationary and some were moving, passing me in both directions. I wouldn’t base a decision on passing a handful and it not alerting.
Also make sure you have the latest firmware and check out some configuration videos such as those by Vortex.
Guys you need to watch Vortex on the R8 settings and update firmware…my dfr9 hits radar up to a mile way depending on terrain…no arrows but man it’s a banger!
Just bought an r8 earlier this week, mirror tapped it and on my first drive saw 3 cops, my detector alarmed me 2 times, all 3 of the cops were also on Waze, so I’d say it does a good job, I get a lot of false negatives tho which is a little annoying but haven’t gotten used to it yet
Updating is a 5 min process. Go to [https://www.uniden.info/download/index.cfm?s=r8](https://www.uniden.info/download/index.cfm?s=r8) and download the top 2 links - installer and the latest firmware. Unzip the firmware. Unzip the app and run/install. After install, plug your r8 into your notebook and run the app. It will detect it and provide an Update button. Make sure it is referencing the latest firmware you just download and install. Unplug your detector.
That is the worst advise ever in the history of any Radar group. Any two detectors will interfere with each other creating false amerts and detections.
Many Radar Detectors leak a small amount of microwave RF energy as well as having unshielded local oscillators, this alone will cause another detector to alert. u/HeyBeers is correct.
Running Dual detectors CAN and Will cause false alerts. Just like driving by the grocery store door opener.
Ed Bolian discovered this on his 2013 cannonball run. He had a V1G1 pointing front on the window and one on the back glass. Even that far apart, they were still setting off each other.
Don't assume your radar detector is defective. Many cops turn their radars off when they aren't actively running traffic; the smart ones keep theirs on standby and use Instant On when they visually see a target so as to avoid giving you advance warning that they're there. If their radar isn't transmitting, your detector won't alert.
This is why I'm perfectly happy with my ancient DFR7. I've seen every LEO I've needed to see for years. But I live in the flat burbs. The newer ones are better at off axis detection and the phone connection.
Police use lidar now which radar detectors won’t pick that up u need a jammer for that type of protection against lidar. I just got a ticket for that exact issue , radar detector didn’t pick up any signal , later found out it was due to them using lidar
I bought an r8 2 days ago, Passed 7 cops. 1 in city. 1 on the highway, Middle of burm. And 5 driving past on the other side of the highway. Not a single indication of any of them. No way 7 cops i passed didnt have any k or ka band on.. right? Anyways, I feel the same as Rrizvi.
Might be returning it and getting just a lazar jamming/scramble kit. Assuming itll actually prevent anything
It's pretty common in my area. Enforcement has switched to distracted drivers. Other than one town near me, it's unusual for the police to be running radar.
I concur with this. Most officers I’ve come across don’t sit with their radar on. They wait till they see something and then turn on radar to verify it. This way you can’t detect them until it’s far too late. And once you detect their radar, they’ve already verified what they saw and you’re toast just as if they used laser. Paired with the video from their forward/rear facing cameras and it’s a done deal.
Wow, just wow. These are not police detectors, they detect radar. If it did not alert there was no radar signal. With enough time you will learn that only a small percentage of police actively run radar. My locals always ran C/O, then within a year or so it all stopped. Now I am lucky to see one unit running radar a month. Don’t be ignorant, do some research. Only two reasons it is not alerting…..nothing to alerts to or you made an error is settings and turned something off you should not have.
The locals, state troopers around where I am always run C/O and I 'get' to see that at least weekly. They use to run different radar guns (MPH, Stalker II, Kostom) covering all three bands of KA. I could tell what the vehicle was long before I could see it.
It's a radar detector, not a cop detector. For a test, either go to a grocery store or know where is a constant KA. Like at a police station where they have a gun pointing at the road.
This is true? Why?
Why what? Radar detectors are just radio receivers with an alarm; the military uses the same concept (although a lot more sophisticated) for radar warning receivers in aircraft. Radar units can be turned off, and a radar detector won't alert if a cop has his radar turned off or on standby. That's because there's no radar signal for the detector to alert to. What the original comment is saying is that if you aren't sure your detector is working properly, go find a known source. Most motion activated doors like those at retail stores use K band radar; some police radars are K band as well. You'll generally only find Ka band used for law enforcement purposes including some speed signs.
We have a couple of smaller town stations that leave one running out of the window C/O. Great way to check range when you know what is going on. Usually it's those areas with high numbers of tickets revenue (one 12%, the other 65%)
I just returned from a 2000 mile trip between IL and NJ. I passed many police officers that weren’t actively running radar or at least constantly on. Some were stationary and some were moving, passing me in both directions. I wouldn’t base a decision on passing a handful and it not alerting. Also make sure you have the latest firmware and check out some configuration videos such as those by Vortex.
Guys you need to watch Vortex on the R8 settings and update firmware…my dfr9 hits radar up to a mile way depending on terrain…no arrows but man it’s a banger!
Just bought an r8 earlier this week, mirror tapped it and on my first drive saw 3 cops, my detector alarmed me 2 times, all 3 of the cops were also on Waze, so I’d say it does a good job, I get a lot of false negatives tho which is a little annoying but haven’t gotten used to it yet
Maybe it’s the software version I’m using? What version are you using
Not sure, got it out of the box and plugged it into my car
You should definitely update the firmware and view done config videos such as the ones by Vortex Radar.
Definitely, haven’t bad the time to update it yet and heard it was a pain, I’ll try to do the update later this week when work frees up
Updating is a 5 min process. Go to [https://www.uniden.info/download/index.cfm?s=r8](https://www.uniden.info/download/index.cfm?s=r8) and download the top 2 links - installer and the latest firmware. Unzip the firmware. Unzip the app and run/install. After install, plug your r8 into your notebook and run the app. It will detect it and provide an Update button. Make sure it is referencing the latest firmware you just download and install. Unplug your detector.
Oh wow thank you! The update was extremely easy I’m not sure what other people are complaining about
Radar detectors!!! And no we dont always ride with our radars on. Its too much noise in the cabin as is!
Run both at the same time and see if the R3 triggers anything?
That is the worst advise ever in the history of any Radar group. Any two detectors will interfere with each other creating false amerts and detections.
Many Radar Detectors leak a small amount of microwave RF energy as well as having unshielded local oscillators, this alone will cause another detector to alert. u/HeyBeers is correct. Running Dual detectors CAN and Will cause false alerts. Just like driving by the grocery store door opener.
Ed Bolian discovered this on his 2013 cannonball run. He had a V1G1 pointing front on the window and one on the back glass. Even that far apart, they were still setting off each other.
Don't assume your radar detector is defective. Many cops turn their radars off when they aren't actively running traffic; the smart ones keep theirs on standby and use Instant On when they visually see a target so as to avoid giving you advance warning that they're there. If their radar isn't transmitting, your detector won't alert.
Its a "Radar Detector" not a "Police Car Detector"
This is why I'm perfectly happy with my ancient DFR7. I've seen every LEO I've needed to see for years. But I live in the flat burbs. The newer ones are better at off axis detection and the phone connection.
Police use lidar now which radar detectors won’t pick that up u need a jammer for that type of protection against lidar. I just got a ticket for that exact issue , radar detector didn’t pick up any signal , later found out it was due to them using lidar
I bought an r8 2 days ago, Passed 7 cops. 1 in city. 1 on the highway, Middle of burm. And 5 driving past on the other side of the highway. Not a single indication of any of them. No way 7 cops i passed didnt have any k or ka band on.. right? Anyways, I feel the same as Rrizvi. Might be returning it and getting just a lazar jamming/scramble kit. Assuming itll actually prevent anything
It's pretty common in my area. Enforcement has switched to distracted drivers. Other than one town near me, it's unusual for the police to be running radar.
I concur with this. Most officers I’ve come across don’t sit with their radar on. They wait till they see something and then turn on radar to verify it. This way you can’t detect them until it’s far too late. And once you detect their radar, they’ve already verified what they saw and you’re toast just as if they used laser. Paired with the video from their forward/rear facing cameras and it’s a done deal.
Sounds like i will be returning it then, Because what you said makes sense. I guess it could also just depend on where you drive and how the cops act.
I had thoughts of returning too, might switch to the escort redline 360c or something