ALP Setup Guide Part 2: Deciding How Many Laser Heads You Need

In this section we’ll cover how many laser jammer heads you should get for your ALP. Choosing the correct number of heads is vital for solid performance. It also really matters both where you install the heads on your vehicle and how you position the heads. Mess up any of these things and your jammers will not be able to do their job and protect you. Just because you have laser jammers somewhere on your vehicle does not mean that they will work properly! You have to use your tools properly, not just have them on your car.

Installing them properly is one of the most important things I’ll cover in this entire guide so definitely read over this to ensure you know what to buy and how to install your jammers.

In order to know how many laser jammer heads you need on your car and where they should go, you need to first know what the targets are on your vehicle you’re trying to protect.

Lidar Guns Targets on our Vehicles

Police officers are trained to target the areas of the car that are the most reflective and easiest for a lidar gun to get a reading from. Those areas are:

  1. Driver’s side headlight
  2. Center mass (grill or front plate if applicable)
  3. Passenger’s side headlight
Lidar targets on vehicle: How many AntiLaser Priority heads

Lidar targets on a vehicle

Modern lidar guns are able to get a reading off of any part of the vehicle, not just the shiny parts. This includes the bumper, foglights, blacked out non-chrome grills, etc. However, installing our laser jammers such that they are ideally suited to protect the 3 primary target areas will also have the effect of protecting the rest of the car too.

How many AntiLaser Priority jammer heads: Police officer shooting a lidar gun

How Many Laser Jammer Heads Do We Need?

Here’s a quick overview of how many heads you need for your vehicle, depending on the type of vehicle you drive, where you drive, and if you want front protection only or both front and rear protection. Some of the newer anti-jamming guns with a variable pulse rate (VPR) will require additional heads.

1 Head

  • Motorcycle, front coverage only, no VPR guns

2 Heads

  • Small to mid-sized cars, front only
  • Motorcycle, front and rear coverage
  • Motorcycle with full protection against VPR guns, front only

3 Heads

  • Mid to large sized vehicles, wide sports cars, trucks, SUV’s, front only

3 Heads: 2 Regular, 1 Tx

  • Front protection for vehicles that encounter the DragonEye guns

4 Heads

  • Front and rear 2/2 protection for small to mid-sized vehicles

5 Heads

  • Full protection for all vehicles against normal guns, front and rear

6 Heads: 2 Regular per side, 1 Tx per side

  • Full protection for all vehicles that encounter the DragonEye guns, 3 front and 3 rear
  • Full protection for larger vehicles like trucks and SUV’s that need 3 heads per side

7 Heads: 2 Regular per side, 2 Tx front, 1 Tx rear

  • Front supports two Tx sensors connected to a splitter (one blue, one green)
  • Primarily an option for future-proofing
  • Generally not necessary today

2 or 3 Heads per side?

The front is the main area most people need to protect and in many parts of the country they only target the front of your vehicle. As for how many heads you need per side of your vehicle, here’s the general rule of thumb:

For small and compact cars, 2 heads will generally provide sufficient protection in many situations. Standard/mid-sized vehicles can often work well with just 2 heads as well, especially against older guns.

Midsize to large cars, including wide sports cars, as well as trucks and SUV’s would need 3 heads to fully protect the front of the vehicle due to their larger target areas.

Against some of the newest variable pulse rate (VPR) lidar guns that are designed specifically to defeat laser jammers, the ALP can defeat some them with just 2 heads, but things improve greatly with a third head in the center of the vehicle and it’s for this reason that if VPR guns are in use where you drive, 3 heads are highly recommended. Watch this video to see an ALP with 3 heads installed on a big truck take care of a deadly VPR gun.

AntiLaser has introduced special Tx (transmitter) heads designed specifically to help address the DragonEye guns even further. You’d use 2 normal heads on the right and left sides with the Tx head in the center.

Are VPR guns used in your area? Well they’re most heavily used in GA and in Edmonton, Canada. In the US they’ve been reported in CO, FL, GA, IA, KS, LA, MA, MD, MI, MO, NV, NY, OH, RI, TN, TX, UT, VA, WV, & WA DC. In Canada they’ve been spotted in B.C., Alberta, Ontario, & Newfoundland. They may also be in use elsewhere and they continue to spread steadily throughout the country. Even if they’re not in your state yet, it would be safest to go for at least 3 heads for peace of mind, especially if you’re gonna be spending the time and energy to get everything installed anyways which can involve removing your bumper, running wires back through your vehicle’s firewall, etc.

In general, I recommend 2 regular heads + 1 Tx head up front.

If you’re looking to protect the rear of a larger vehicle, you’ll also need 3 heads in the back. The way to do 3 heads in the rear is to have two normal heads and one Tx head. You can’t do 3 normal heads in the rear.

If you need to order more heads, I recommend doing so before you start taking off your bumper, running the wires, etc. It’s much easier to do everything all at once. You can purchase more heads here.

INSTALLATION NOTES:

AntiLaser PriorityThe ALP’s control box has ports for 3 heads up front. If you’re running only 2 heads up front, make sure you’re using only ports F1 & F2. Don’t plug either head into the F3 port.

If you run 3 heads up front, the center head (normal or rear) MUST be plugged into the F2 port of the CPU. If you’re using a Tx head, the Tx head will be used in place of the normal center head in port F2. It doesn’t matter if the left or right head is in F1 or F3, but the center head must be plugged into the F2 port in order to jam those VPR guns properly.

Rear Protection?

Do you need protection in the rear? Some places shoot only the front, some places shoot both front and rear. In other places they shoot only in the rear. There isn’t really a comprehensive list of what’s in use where. However, most places around the US focus on the front and it’s for that reason that front protection is considered standard and rear is generally considered extra for complete protection.

If you can afford it, I’d recommend front and rear for full protection. It’s a few hundred dollars more for the heads plus a more involved install, but should you encounter rear laser, you’re going to be glad you protected your rear. 😉

If you encounter rear DragonEye shots (Edmonton, Alberta is a perfect example), definitely go for 3 heads in the rear. You’ll use two normal heads and one central Tx head. This will give you maximum protection on both ends of the vehicle.

INSTALLATION NOTE:

Since the ALP CPU only has two ports for rear heads, make sure you buy it with the splitter for rear. The two normal rear heads will plug into a splitter which runs into the R1 port and the rear Tx head will plug into the R2 port.

Continue on to Part 3: Proper Head Placement

ALP Setup Guide Sections:

  1. Why go with the AntiLaser Priority?
  2. Deciding how many heads you need
  3. Proper head placement
  4. Proper head installation
  5. Register your system
  6. Update to the latest software
  7. Configure your settings
  8. Get your setup tested
  9. How to use your jammers
  10. Installation & setup checklist
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/2016/01/alp-setup-guide-part-2-deciding-how-many-heads-you-need/

19 comments

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    • Norm on May 17, 2017 at 6:42 am
    • Reply

    I am looking to buy a 2018 Mustang GT. Just wanted to know which AL Priority package I should purchase how many sensors ? And I need to have it installed by a professional installer around Columbus Ohio USA.

    1. In the article it states that you’ll need 3 heads up front. If you also want rear protection (generally a good idea), you’ll want to choose 5 heads instead.

    • sang on July 17, 2017 at 11:32 pm
    • Reply

    Hello Vortex, I have a Alfa Romeo 4C. Can I get away with just 1 sensor in the front?

    1. You’ll definitely want 2 heads up front

    • Charlie on March 19, 2018 at 3:47 am
    • Reply

    I have a 2017 Jaguar F-Type. I cannot use the Tx sensor since the Jaguar emblem is in the way. If I mount 3 regular heads in the front, will this work against the DragonEye?

    1. 3 normal heads works against the DragonEye too. You can have the Tx head just off center or something too, but if you wanna do 3 regular heads, that’ll work too.

        • Charlie on March 19, 2018 at 1:22 pm
        • Reply

        Do they all need to be in line or can the center head be located below the other 2?

        1. Being in line is preferable, but it’s okay to have the center head be a little bit below the other two in a slight V-shape.

    • Charlie on March 26, 2018 at 11:19 am
    • Reply

    How far off center can the Tx sensor be mounted? My Jaguar emblem makes it impossible to center the Tx sensor. Will this affect the performance of either of the 2 regular sensors mounted below the Tx sensor? Also, if I use the ALP jammers in conjunction with the new Escort Max Ci Radar Detector, will this require mounting both Escort displays as well as the ALP control panel ?

    1. If it’s just slightly off-center, you should be okay.

      If you’re running the Max Ci with the ALP, you will need to install controllers for both, yes. The Max Ci has a controller and a display. The ALP has just a controller and an alert LED, as well as the option to have it run through your phone if you don’t want the control pad installed in your cabin. This way you can use your phone running the app as your controller and display, but I prefer having a dedicated controller so it always works and I don’t have to worry about backgrounded apps.

      If you’d like to really go into detail, you can book a private session and we’ll talk about all your options and make sure everything is set up perfectly. https://www.vortexradar.com/private-sessions/

        • Charlie on March 28, 2018 at 12:49 pm
        • Reply

        What do you mean by “slightly off center”? 3 inches, 5 inches, etc.? The Jaguar badge is 3.5 inches in diameter so 2 inches off center would put it 1/4 inch from the badge. Also, would the installation of 3 regular sensors work just as well as the Tx + 2 regular sensors against the DragonEye? Would I be better off going all ALP rather than Max Ci and ALP combo? Thanks for all your help.

        1. If you’d like detailed one-on-one support, your best bet is to book a private session here: https://www.vortexradar.com/private-sessions/

    • Christopher M. Sikorski on March 28, 2018 at 11:03 am
    • Reply

    Hello I have a 2015 kia optima, looking to getting 3 heads ( 2 regular and one Tx head) for the front and rear of my vehicle. I see options for an extension cables and wasn’t sure if I really needed extension cables for the entire vehicle itself. Also, if I were to be purchasing the Unidon R3 as a standalone detector, would I really need the Net Radar DSP detector? And lastly for the ALP system, the last option for the setup is offering a GPS antenna, quoting “Required for Tx or Radar options.” I am guessing I will need that GPS antenna for the Tx heads, correct? All in all, I am looking for advice about this setup; ALP system, 6 heads, external speaker, bluetooth module, and gps antenna if i need it. This whole system as the jammer and will be using the Unidon R3 as the detector. Is this reasonable or should I just go with the Net Radar DSP that could be integrated with the ALP system? Thanks in advance. Videos are awesome and very helpful. Thank you for this website and tutorials as well.

    1. Unless you really want a stealth install with nothing on your windshield, personally I’d lean towards the R3. I’m working on a video now going over the NR DSP and the other remotes and that’ll explain more about why.

      The GPS is needed if you go for a Tx head (which you are) and/or an integrated remote like the NR DSP.

      The ALP head cables are 5 meters long which is typically enough for many vehicles, depending on where you install the CPU though. The extension cables add another 2.5 meters.

      If you’d like to discuss things in detail, you can book a private session here: https://www.vortexradar.com/private-sessions/

    • avi finkel on July 2, 2018 at 7:27 pm
    • Reply

    How do i know if i need a TX head?

    • Toby schumacher on January 16, 2020 at 10:11 am
    • Reply

    So a 2015 GMC 2500 pick up would need 3 fronts for sure and connected with 360c would be good setup to you?

    1. That sounds like a great setup.

  1. 2016 Cadillac CTS VSport. Was looking at the R7, but the Net Radar has my interest. I am in S. Florida where the R7 has an advantage over the 360 series. How many front and rear / type of sensors will I need and what is needed to integrate the Net Radar. What are the pros and cons over the Uniden R7?

    Is there an layout picture/how to for installing in my vehicle?

    • Karan Shertukde on June 16, 2020 at 4:57 pm
    • Reply

    thanks for the great write-up. how many sensors front and rear did you have on your miata?

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