Blog Archive

Can police get my speed while they’re driving?

Yes. Radar guns typically have the ability to operate both in stationary mode or moving mode. Police officers can also pace you which means they drive at the same speed as you and measure your speed by looking at their speedometer. Unlike using radar, pacing doesn’t set off radar detectors. Laser, on the other hand, …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/faq/can-police-get-my-speed-while-theyre-driving/

What are X, K, and Ka band?

You know how your car stereo can tune to different radio stations because they broadcast on different frequencies? Police radar guns also transmit on different frequency ranges, or different bands. X band (around 10.5 GHz) is the oldest technology and least common. With its huge antennas, X band has been phased out of most of …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/faq/what-do-the-different-bands-mean-on-my-radar-detector-like-x-band-k-band-and-ka-band/

What’s the difference between laser detectors and laser jammers?

Laser is a very thin beam of light which makes it very hard to detect. Generally speaking, your radar detector’s built-in laser detector will only alert when you’re being targeted. Except for very rare instances, it won’t go off if the officer is targeting someone else. (Additionally, given that laser is aimed at your grill …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/faq/whats-the-difference-between-laser-detectors-and-laser-jammers/

What about radar jammers?

Radar detectors work by detecting radar that’s being shot up ahead of you and giving you time to adjust your speed accordingly before it’s your turn to be clocked. Radar jammers will actively jam the police radar gun, preventing it from getting a reading. The thing is that unlike radar detectors, radar jammers are massively …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/faq/what-about-radar-jammers/

Are laser jammers legal?

They are legal in 40 out of the 50 states and are illegal in 10 including California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. Penalties if caught are generally pretty minor, akin to a fix-it ticket, like having tint that’s too dark or not running a front plate if you’re supposed …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/faq/are-laser-jammers-legal/

Are radar detectors legal?

Radar detectors are legal across most of the United States, except in Virginia and Washington D.C. If you’re caught in Virginia, it’s a small ticket and no points. They used to confiscate your detector, but the law has been relaxed and they no longer do that. They simply write down your RD’s serial number instead. You …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/faq/are-radar-detectors-legal/

Why is my radar detector going off when there’s no police around?

There are many sources of radar that can trigger a radar detector. A police radar gun is just one of them. Examples of other sources of radar include automatic door openers in drugstores and grocery stores, speed signs on the side of the road, as well as many cars and semis with blind spot monitoring …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/faq/why-is-my-radar-detector-going-off-when-theres-no-police-around/

Why didn’t my radar detector alert when I passed a cop?

A radar detector is not a police car detector. It’s a radar detector. If a police officer doesn’t have a radar gun in their vehicle (and many don’t) or if they simply aren’t actually running radar and transmitting, there’s nothing for your radar detector to detect and thus it will stay silent. This is very …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/faq/why-didnt-my-radar-detector-go-off-when-i-passed-a-cop/

Load more