Spurious Ka Band Alarms

StarPower

StarPower

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I searched for "radar" and "Ka" but I couldn't find anything on this topic.

Ever since I bought this car I've been getting almost constant Ka band alarms on by radar detector. I've tried two different detectors in multiple locations on the windshield. I've had the detectors in several other cars without a problem, so it's definitely something from the LS.

The only thing I can think of is that the reflective coating on the glass is interfering with the detector. My last car (Mercedes) had a couple of spots on the windshield that weren't coated with the reflective coating to allow signals to pass through. They could be clearly seen if you looked at the right angle. Does the LS have a similar spot?

Thank you for any information you can provide.
 
I've never had an issue with mine. I put it on the right side of the mirror.
 
I have radar detectors in my LSes, and no false alarms (other than door openers and such). Coatings on the glass certainly won't cause false alarms. They could only prevent real alarms.

I suppose that a marginal coil might cause false alarms, but that is a really big long shot. It is hard to imagine that the emi would get to that high of a frequency. Have you tried it with the engine off to see if the alarms go away?

The radar detectors that I have are Passport 8500s.
 
joegr said:
I have radar detectors in my LSes, and no false alarms (other than door openers and such). Coatings on the glass certainly won't cause false alarms. They could only prevent real alarms.

I suppose that a marginal coil might cause false alarms, but that is a really big long shot. It is hard to imagine that the emi would get to that high of a frequency. Have you tried it with the engine off to see if the alarms go away?

The radar detectors that I have are Passport 8500s.
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LOL if this is coil related that would be epic
 
Haven't had an issue with mine with it being mounted to the mirror. One time sitting in our driveway my brother parked in front of me and he has the same detector I do and mine went ape sh!t. Don't know if these things interfere with one another or not.

Mine sings the song of its people mostly from door openers as mentioned. If it's interference from a marginal coil that just goes to show that if you have a problem with anything LS related, start with your coils.
 
jmtiseo said:
Haven't had an issue with mine with it being mounted to the mirror. One time sitting in our driveway my brother parked in front of me and he has the same detector I do and mine went ape sh!t. Don't know if these things interfere with one another or not.

...
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All radar detectors emit some RF, but some more than others. The best ones won't set any other radar detectors off. The worst ones will light up all the ones around them. (Generally, the less they "leak", the more sensitive they are to real alarms.)

Just an FYI: They have radar-detector detectors that are used in the states where radar detectors are illegal. You can also buy radar-detector-detector detectors to detect the radar-detector detectors so that you can turn your radar detector off before it is detected.
 
In most states they're legal aren't they. I'm not looking up the law now because I'm at work but that's what I thought. I also thought the reason they're illegal or you get ticketed even though they're legal is because they obstruct your view with them being on the windshield.

Sounds like a vicious cycle of detectors lol.
 
Mine has been mounted on my dash for over 3 years with no issue.

Passport 8500.

detector.jpg
 
jmtiseo said:
In most states they're legal aren't they. I'm not looking up the law now because I'm at work but that's what I thought. I also thought the reason they're illegal or you get ticketed even though they're legal is because they obstruct your view with them being on the windshield.

Sounds like a vicious cycle of detectors lol.
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Yes, they are legal in the US everywhere but Virgina, and D.C.
There, it's not because of obstruction of view. It's because they passed a law saying that you can't use them.
 
Radar detectors are also illegal in Illinois, I believe. I am currently using a cheap detector (my backup unit, going to be ordering a remote mount detector tonight) in my LS with no false alarms, so it does sound like your car is emitting something abnormal. Have you tried putting the detector in another car and see if it picks up your car while running?

You might also try wrapping the detector in aluminum foil, with the entire detector encased other than the front of it and with a long thin tunnel made of foil. The heavy duty stuff would be best. The aluminum foil should prevent the detector from picking up anything other than what's directly in front of it. You can then use it as a detecting wand to see if you can isolate exactly what in the car is causing the problem. Start the engine, then slowly move the front of the detector around. This isn't something I've tried myself as I've had no reason to, but I see no reason why it won't work. Incidentally, a little background on myself, I've worked in telecommunications since 1988 with some military satellite communications experience.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

I have an Escort Passport 8500 x50 (~6 years old) and a Solo S3 (new). The 8500 x50 was mounted on the lower part of the windshield above the dash, and the Solo S3 is currently mounted to the right of the mirror. The Solo is battery-powered, so that eliminates any noise or interference from the car's electrical system. I've moved the detectors around the cabin, and they don't seem to get false alarms when they're not on the glass (e.g. on the passenger seat or in the door pocket).

One of the weird things about this interference is that it's Ka band. I'm used to seeing false K band alarms from automatic door openers and such, but I've only ever seen Ka from an actual police radar. This makes me think it may be interference from the detector itself bouncing off of the glass. Maybe mounting it to the visor instead of using the suction cups would move it far enough away from the glass.

My car does have HIDs and navigation. The car's in the shop right now, but once I get it back I'll try to pinpoint the source a little better. I may also try to turn the navigation off to see if that changes anything.

Lastly, I don't know if all of the glass is factory. All of the panes are marked with the Lincoln logo, but the windshield and sunroof are Pilkington while all of the other glass is Carlite.
 
I have HIDs and navigation on one of my LSes. I've had one 7500 and one 8500 fail after they were pretty old (5+ years). One of them failed with frequent false ka alarms. The other failed with the X and K (or was it Ka) bands not detecting real alarms.
 
Telco said:
Radar detectors are also illegal in Illinois, I believe. I am currently using a cheap detector (my backup unit, going to be ordering a remote mount detector tonight) in my LS with no false alarms, so it does sound like your car is emitting something abnormal. Have you tried putting the detector in another car and see if it picks up your car while running?

.
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They're legal. ;)
 
I don't see how those help you guys.

The way we were trained was to have the radar on as absolutely little as possible. Some mumbo jumbo about inconclusive studies about how residual radar bounce back from the windshield into the cabin being linked to cancer.

With that being said this is his we roll. We sit facing so the cruiser is facing the target traffic area. The radar stays off this whole time, so your detectors won't work. Again, its not to defeat your detectors, its so I don't become sterile.

As I watch traffic, if i see a car that I feel is speeding I kick it on just long enough to get a good readout, maybe 2-4 seconds. Get the speed, then its off again.

Anyway Virginia has the death penalty for half its traffic offenses. Those guys are Nazi's. A quota for citations is directly related to their promotional system or so I am told.

As far as your interference goes, we get interference if our cooling fans are running at a high speed or if were transmitting with the radio.

Food for thought.
 
I have a V1 mounted top drivers side of the mirror and I have a heavily tinted windshield and have no problems picking up guns.
 
Upstairs Chris said:
I don't see how those help you guys.

The way we were trained was to have the radar on as absolutely little as possible. Some mumbo jumbo about inconclusive studies about how residual radar bounce back from the windshield into the cabin being linked to cancer.

With that being said this is his we roll. We sit facing so the cruiser is facing the target traffic area. The radar stays off this whole time, so your detectors won't work. Again, its not to defeat your detectors, its so I don't become sterile.

As I watch traffic, if i see a car that I feel is speeding I kick it on just long enough to get a good readout, maybe 2-4 seconds. Get the speed, then its off again.

Anyway Virginia has the death penalty for half its traffic offenses. Those guys are Nazi's. A quota for citations is directly related to their promotional system or so I am told.

As far as your interference goes, we get interference if our cooling fans are running at a high speed or if were transmitting with the radio.

Food for thought.
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Instant on isn't usable for conviction. My detector (Valentine V1) has saved me from many a speeding ticket.
 
I don't know of this "intstant on" you speak of. Not a term I have ever heard of.


I am telling you how we do it. The radar has a hold mode where its on but doesn't transmit. It stays in that position untill I want it too, read a speed. I hit the button and it will give me a speed in 2-3 seconds.
 
The "instant on" is a passport feature. Can't say how it works but it sounds like it's supposed to attempt to pick up what you're describing. Short bursts of radar action!
 
jmtiseo said:
The "instant on" is a passport feature. Can't say how it works but it sounds like it's supposed to attempt to pick up what you're describing. Short bursts of radar action!
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Interesting, well the radar when in hold mode is not transmitting any radar at all, but when I unhold it, it can give me a speed in 2-3 seconds under optimal conditions. Those speeds are completely usable for convictions.

Edit: I found this http://www.radarbusters.com/2003radardetectorinstantonarticle.cfm It was interesting a little. Things are a bit different on this side of the radar. Btw, we only use Ka bands.
 
I wasn't sure on IL.

The Ka interference would not be dependent upon being plugged in. The only way the interference would set off the Ka, and affect multiple units, is if something is generating either Ka band directly or a harmonic of Ka. Something in your car is generating the signal.

Did you recently change plug wires on the car? The coils will put out a radio signal that the plug wires will radiate. Race only wires generally aren't sheilded, street wires are. Worn wires may also have damaged shielding which will transmit.

InsideChris, radar detectors definitely work, BUT they aren't infallable. You have radar guns to see our speed, we have detectors to see your attempts. Now since you're the enemy in this case I'm not ever going to lay out the techniques for how to avoid radar guns. Rest assured though, that they work most of the time. I've probably saved about 40,000 dollars in tickets counting instances where I was speeding well over the limit, was alerted by my detector and slowed down to the limit to pass the cop. Out of 26 years of driving I've been tagged three times while using a detector. One time I ignored the detector, the other two I was just outright busted and both times the cop had a spot that the local features gave him all the advantages (I won't say what they were :p). A radar detector is just an extra set of eyes and they aren't infallable. The ones they don't work for, are the ones who think that radar detectors are some kind of magic shield that will let them speed right by the police and they'll never even look up from their donuts.

Don't take the "enemy" comment to heart though. I know you're just doing your job and I for one am glad you guys are out there. I've seen some of the accidents you guys have had to work and I'm glad it was you and not me. I just don't want to be part of your quota. :cool:
 
Telco said:
...Did you recently change plug wires on the car? The coils will put out a radio signal that the plug wires will radiate. Race only wires generally aren't sheilded, street wires are. Worn wires may also have damaged shielding which will transmit...
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The LS is COP (Coil-On-Plug). There are no plug wires.
 
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