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Got Radar?

Discussion in '2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015)' started by Leer, Feb 20, 2012.

  1. Feb 21, 2012 at 6:56 AM
    #21
    beeesmitty

    beeesmitty Well-Known Member

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    Ha. Good one.

    8500 x50 here also. Great piece of plastic. Works wonders picking up radar being used ahead of you. If you are the lone vehicle on the road, it wont help much. You have to drive in a pack. Learn how to use the detector for your benefit. You can read a lot about how to use it to you benefit online. Just Google it.
     
  2. Feb 21, 2012 at 6:57 AM
    #22
    hellrazor004

    hellrazor004 Well-Known Member

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    I find that a lot of local cops sit with their radar gun 'on'. Most of the state cops wait for you to approach.
     
  3. Feb 21, 2012 at 6:58 AM
    #23
    hellrazor004

    hellrazor004 Well-Known Member

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    All good points.
     
  4. Feb 21, 2012 at 6:59 AM
    #24
    moe1967

    moe1967 Well-Known Member

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    Indeed. Been having mine for about 12 years now. It has more than paid for itself many times over.
     
  5. Feb 21, 2012 at 7:08 AM
    #25
    F34R

    F34R Well-Known Member

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    yes...
    Not sure what you mean by that...
     
  6. Feb 21, 2012 at 7:51 AM
    #26
    sir1123

    sir1123 Tacomas FTMFW!!!!

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    i hate seeing this "im above the law" shit. for example about two days ago there is a 35 mph zone going over a bridge. at the foot of this bridge there is a parking lot where cops sit all the time radaring. i am going along at about 35mph when a cop pulls up behind me all fast and then slingshots me while talking on his phone with his computer screen open?????? He was at least gping 50. so if it is a law to go 35mph the we ALLLLLLLLLLLLL have to go 35. But he was probably on the way to an emergency right? ya right. sorry for the rant!;)
     
  7. Feb 21, 2012 at 8:09 AM
    #27
    BlueT

    BlueT Well-Known Member

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    I moded 1999 Taco so much it had turned to Land Cruiser
    Yep 8500 is a champ hands down. I was using it when I was commuting 90 miles one way. It had worked every time. Well worth its price tag. ;)
    Now for those with dark cars there used to be a paint that you could use to reduce reflection so License plate would be the only item reflecting radar waves. Not sure if thats still available. But it would make radar "look" for reflective spot on the car and give more time for 8500 to catch laser radar signal.
     
  8. Feb 21, 2012 at 8:21 AM
    #28
    F34R

    F34R Well-Known Member

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    Under every day, normal circumstances, I agree.
     
  9. Feb 21, 2012 at 8:25 AM
    #29
    JimBeam

    JimBeam BECAUSE INTERNETS!! Moderator

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    :laughing:
     
  10. Feb 21, 2012 at 8:25 AM
    #30
    F34R

    F34R Well-Known Member

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    ROFL. That was funny...
     
  11. Feb 21, 2012 at 8:40 AM
    #31
    carcharias

    carcharias Giggiddy what what

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    :ohsnap:
    Am gonna go on a limb and guess that's a resounding "no."
     
  12. Feb 21, 2012 at 8:52 AM
    #32
    elmo7

    elmo7 Easily Replaceable Member

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    Radar detectors are antennas - antennas like to see clearly - so it makes sense to mount it high with a 360 degree view, pointed straight and level. Still, I've seen obscure installs all over the place. I had a Passport some years ago. Yes - it'd go off in the floorboard, but with way less signal detection. I used to tune mine by parking at the grocery store and using their door sensors! Most filter that out now I assume.

    Laser detection has to see the beam, and likely that's going to be bounced off the hood on approach, so a good windshield view would be best there.

    That being said, instant on radar will own you....unless you happen to catch a signal bounce from someone ahead of you. But let me say this - when are you really rolling? When you're on an open highway, of course. So over the hill and owned.

    And as for laser, they have a narrow beam and are aimed at you. Once again, you're likely to have been read by the time you get the alert.

    Now, above and beyond that, there's the smartphone apps that tie in with certain models of detectors. Those can crowd source detection/speed traps and give you an alert before you actually detect a signal. Kinda like the old CB radio "breaker breaker - smokey at mile marker 15"; no squelch required.

    I don't use a detector in my cars anymore. Just easier to roll with the traffic. No tickets either....unlike when I had a detector back in the day. YMMV.
     
  13. Feb 21, 2012 at 8:53 AM
    #33
    sir1123

    sir1123 Tacomas FTMFW!!!!

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    Thank you for understanding.
     
  14. Feb 21, 2012 at 8:54 AM
    #34
    Fightnfire

    Fightnfire Recklessly tired

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    I use a Whistler XTR-543 and love it and it works great. Rechargeable batteries that can go for about 10-12 hours and recharge from the outlet in the car. I like no wires.

    As some people have already said. Laser detection is pretty useless unless the guy running it is .... sloppy. The beam is small enough that it only hits one car at a time even from several hundred feet. Keep in mind tho, Laser guns are very expensive so not widely used. Think big city and downtown.

    K and Ka are what they are really good at and work well for me. A lot of Sherriffs/Troopers/Local all run with their radar on all the time either while driving or also while sitting and waiting. My detector picks these up in plenty of time. The key here is the spread of the beam at distance. Radar is rather sloppy and over 1/4 mile is really easy to detect. On a straight stretch of freeway my detector will pick up a trooper on an overpass over a mile away, if he's pointed in my direction.

    X is pretty outdated, there are only a few areas still using them. The rest are all going to be very small town or rural. These cause a lot of false positives because lots of equipment emits X band radar.

    Mount it center of the dash, higher is better than lower.

    You just need to get use to it and understand how it works. Mine has saved me a couple of times. Nothing major as I'm not crazy but I do have a bit of a lead foot. Typically my tickets in my youth were 10-15 over. Lots of rural highways in my area with 35, 40 or 50 MPH speed limits. Most people drive them at 50-65 so it's easy to get caught up in the flow and not realize you're doing 15 over.
     
  15. Feb 21, 2012 at 9:04 AM
    #35
    F34R

    F34R Well-Known Member

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    Welcome.
    Pretty much nailed it.
     
  16. Feb 21, 2012 at 9:15 AM
    #36
    GP3

    GP3 Well-Known Member

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    I was hoping for some mounted pics like the OP requested.

    I've been waiting for a thread like this to get ideas to hard-wire my V1.

    Anyone have mounted pictures and/or how-to of their hard-wired detectors?

    EDIT: Pics of them hard-wired in their Tacoma
     
  17. Feb 21, 2012 at 9:15 AM
    #37
    BlueT

    BlueT Well-Known Member

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    I moded 1999 Taco so much it had turned to Land Cruiser
    Ha ha :D and I guess thats the way should stay ;) as long as you believe that nothing exists its all good.
     
  18. Feb 21, 2012 at 9:18 AM
    #38
    Large

    Large Red

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    Seen someone on here have one mounted above their rear view mirror and ran the wiring through the mirror plastic to the dome light, looked very professional.
     
  19. Feb 21, 2012 at 9:20 AM
    #39
    jackhart

    jackhart Well-Known Member

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    interesting topic. i personally think many highway speed limits are set artificially low, which in part generates revenue by ticketing "speeders." this is reinforced by the notion that officers are given ticket "quotas." publically they all deny this, but many people, myself included, know a cop who has said there is at least pressure to write tickets. i'm not talking about 30 mph in villages or 20 mph in a school zone, either, those are most often appropriate and i observe those limits. i'm talking about 55 or even 65 mph speed limits on interstate highways with 3 or more lanes of traffic that continue on for hours and hours with not a single bend, nor any limited sight situations. that's normally what i reserve my radar detector for, it's legal (where i drive), and i'm not going to apologize for using it either.
     
  20. Feb 21, 2012 at 9:20 AM
    #40
    GP3

    GP3 Well-Known Member

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    I wonder if it was suction cup mounted?

    Those black dimples on the windshield just forward of the rear-view mirror kill any suction cup's holding power.
     

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