RaDaRkInG

The latest radar/laser detector and laser jammer results are out.

Radar/laser detectors:

http://www.guysoflidar.com/march-200...ctor-test.html

Laser Jammers:

http://www.guysoflidar.com/march-200...mmer-test.html


Spreadsheet of the radar/laser detector results:

http://home.comcast.net/~ccaeric6/GOL_averages_MB5.htm

rob13572468

yep... no question about it; the V1 is a great detector; its finally getting some serious competition from the sti though after all these years. IMHO the one thing that would truly make the V1 a great unit would be if they finally ditched the 90's era casing and built a proper remote front/back unit version. the waveguides can be made small enough that the receiver portion could be made to sit right at the top of the windshield so that it still receives with optimum range. it would look like an ipass or similar remote toll transponder.

what i have ended up having to do for the clients that really want the V1 is purchase 2 of them, break them down to just the receivers, and then build an interface for the instrument cluster and steering wheel controls. completely stealth and *no* cutting whatsoever. its so much easier to use the bluetooth calibre+M40 jammers. like i said, the v1 is great if you just want to throw a detector up on the windshield and go but man if the cops cant see that thing blinking from about a mile away...

WilyB

I believe that there was some bad blood between K40 and one of these forums and that they settled their dispute more or less amicably, the forum agreeing to never mention K40 in any way (bad or good) ever again.

I have 2 BEL 975R and 2 K40 and they all fullfill their mission well.

I also have a Solo2 when I rent cars and it works very nicely too.

jbondox

I can say I know someone who has done a K-40 Calibre system and a Laser defuser on a distronic plus vehicle. And i just want to say that distronic isn't the issue with these, because you can turn that off with the radar feature on the steering wheel controls.... there is something else.... PARKTRONIC sensors.

found it at this link

http://www.esotericsoundandperforman...view_album.php

They work with MB/Porsche and do allot of R&D

jbondox

Also he stated that he used to do Valentines all the time when he was not merged with MB/Porsche. He used to do allot of work for A BMW dealer and they had a bunch of modules for the V1 to instrument cluster display like the above posted pics a few back, but everyone missed the warnings, or they got a ticket. He had to replace all the V1 units for K-40 which cost him $1000's (plural). he also sold the used V1's for $250. He will never go back to V1 again.

All of this is verifiable also

his phone number is listed, and the BMW dealership is Ganley in Middleburg Heights Ohio, so no BS

rob13572468

it actually *is* the distronic plus that causes the problem and not parktronic... here is why:

the distronic plus system is an integrated system of 7 sensors: 2 short range K band sensors in the back bumper , 4 short range K band sensors in the front bumper , and one long range W band sensor mounted in the grille. the short range sensors are called park assist and only come as a feature with distronic plus. the reason for this is because the two inner front short range sensors are integral to the distronic plus system. the problem *is* with those front and rear bumper sensors but they are not to be confused with parktronic which uses ultrasonic sensors.

there is a solution for this as well which involves basically disabling distronic and disconnecting the sensors. this is different from selscting the "disable distronic" setting on the cluster menu since this leaves the sensors powered up and the local oscillators cause K band alerts. it is important to note that since the short range sensors are used by distronic plus that the system will not work when you want radar.

the esotericaudio solution is ok, but from what i understand when you flip the switch to disable distronic and use the radar you get an error message on the instrument cluster everytime you start the car. plus you have to switch the sensors on anytime you want to use park assist. a better method would be to have the whole setup auto switch above a certain speed, say 15 mph. maybe ill build a module to to that...

finally its important to note that there is a difference between distronic and distronic plus... only distronic plus has the issue with radar detectors.

rob13572468

im surprised the guy ever recommended the V1 and sold them. most integrators do not like V1 because they have no dealers or discount pricing; a v1 costs the same whether you buy 1 or 10,000. K40 on the other hand has a pretty decent dealer program so you see some bias towards K40 on the part of dealers.

It does never cease to amaze me the amount of arguing that goes on over which radar detector is the best. as i posted before the best in the ratings does not necessarily translate into the best user experience. every year when the radar detector comparisons come out K40 is always way down the list and V1 is at the top. yet most luxury car owners end up buying the K40 system. I really think that it drives valentine crazy that they lose so many sales to K40 when they constantly have the top rating. Its a clear case of a manufacturer not understanding their market: luxury car owners like the K40 because it is very easy to use, very easy to understand the warnings, and the installation is clean... they dont want a box suction cupped to the windshield of their $100,000 car.

still every so often i get a guy with a brand new top-of-the-line mercedes that brings in the car and driver radar shootout issue and points to the V1 and says, " i want this... its the best". and thats what they get because in the end its the client's dollar that determines what product they will buy. I just make sure that when they drive away they do so very happy that the have the best workmanship possible.


BTW: on a related note about the displays i just finished an integrated display for the S550/S600. the nice thing about the integrating the calibre is that you get the voice prompt warnings as well as text display right no the cluster so there is no way anyone is going to miss it.. plus no cutting or drilling holes in the dash of your brand new expensive car!

ill post some pics in a few days...

jbondox

It is the P/A that is the issue. There is no flip of the switch either, it is a push button that cycles through the menus and was recently integrated through the steering wheel controls to cycle on and off via the canbus wires. They were going to add it to the display,but isn't worth the time nor would it be beneficial for the customer. K-40 is it's own system and should operate as intended and not have the need for displays when the unit itself tells you "front K-band...etc" screw reading it!

further, it leaves no faults either in the diagnostic history.

also they worked on another one to capture the data from the P/A and the D+ to allow full operation of the vehicle when Radar is on.

But for an after-market car audio shop, they did something that the manufacturer should of done... So they get mucho credit

As for K-40, it is a great system, but is flawed in design. To be a full custom system they need to make some modifications such as a diagnostic mode to ensure the radar/laser is fully functional, have a mute output, all the plugs and LED's need to be quick disconnect plugs, fuse can be mounted on the control box instead of inline, the front and rear receivers can be prewired and terminated with quick disconnects for the laser defusers... But the biggest complaint is that they have no ability to let you know that they are up and fully functional.

Also V1 is a joke, it is like bose, all marketing. I have yet to see a real test with just k-40 and V1. I am not knocking K40, will be the only Radar/Laser unit I use in my vehicles until someone comes with something better.

I had a radar jammer in my vehicle many years ago, i might revisit the idea again when i have time. However i am more worried about the Rf radiation then anything else. And no it wasn't anything commercially available either, it was designed by myself and a few of the EW's (electronic warfare specialists in the Navy) while on a deployment in the first Gulf war... it was just very very very big with the waveguide mounted under the hood.

rob13572468

ok.. i didnt realize that they had changed it. i saw the pics with the switch in the ashtray. thats good that they got it all working.. ther arent many places that can do that sort of work. the radar detector comparisons are always up for debate, which is why i do not bother making recommendations anymore.

i agree with you on the k40 product needs work as far as the aesthetics and install friendliness. its a case where just having quick connects would make a big difference in being able to swap things out. i do remember k40 having a set of test transmitters that they used to offer to dealers to do the testing if the installed units. i wonder if they still offer that.

rob13572468

here are the new 221 display pics for the K40 system

wman

I have the k40 also in my s550, mine just has blus lights that flash on the dash and audio warnings it was isstalled nov 06, when did they add the feature that displays it in the instrument cluster.....thank you

wman

sorry for all the type o"s

rob13572468

its not a k40 feature... its a custom interface that takes the K40 output and translates it to text that is displayed on the cluster.

wman

thank you ......this is my 3rd s class with the k40, love it saved my butt many times

jbondox

Yeah i think they still offer it to test the unit, $80 or something like that. I found a few flaws with the K-40, but out of every radar detector out there, it is by far my favorite. i do like the display but hate reading displays, blue light and chirps for me, makes life so much easier and simpler. i take it that is CAN interfaced? I see you tossed it under the audio menu, and reason you went with that instread of system?

rob13572468

yes, its done over CAN. the system display prompts are actually limited to preprogrammed responses on most of the MB models. you can reflash the cluster to ad new messages but then you risk the dealer inadvertantly reflashing the cluster. by using the normal update prompts the cluster will display messages on audio, nav, or telephone display

WilyB

Rob,

Where may I find this very cool interface? Will it work on a SL55, a '96 ML500 and a '95 S55?

Thanks.

jbondox

thanks Rob, hey if you ever have an interface to actually do a diagnostic while the K40 Calibre is supposed on let me know, or let K40 know. i just came acroos a Range Rover with the K-40 on voice, though the browns weren't energized and it wouldn't go into reset mode.... I was wondering how long he has been riding like that

rob13572468

hmm.. thats interesting.. i had a similar car do almost exactly that a few months back but could never pinpoint how or why it went wrong. you bring up a very good point about the diagnostics because a simple test at power up would actually solve the problem. i had always wanted to get ahold of a bluetooth sniffer and read the actual protocol running between the antenna units and the controller to see if any sort of diagnostic info could be gleaned. or perhaps build a small transmitter that pops a burst at the 3 band centers 5 seconds after power up. or both...

jbondox

the easiest way I thought of so far to see if it works is to run 2 wires back in side to a tri color LED, tag the brown in front and the brown in back, each to a lead of the tri color led, one will give one color, the other another, and the third color is when everything is on... though it only shows on power up or that the unit has power, it doesn't say that it works and this won't include the Laser unit which is just a mystery till you are getting pinged. it also defeats the whole not running the wires inside scenario...

further here is some other things i thought about, the K-40 unit for being the best has a poor manual or presentation to the owner of the vehicle, a couple of one liners doesn't cut it on a tri-fold brochure. i was looking at the valentine manual and it is good quality and quantity, including the paper. the other thing i noticed, is for a remote mount, none of the hardware is stainless, and i have seen rusted screws too many times.

and since i am nit picking, the plate frames and the laser unit themselves just plain ol suck to have painted. creases everywhere on the laser unit, the frame needs a lot of prep work also... a recess kit would be nice so you can mold them in the bumpers, along with a better way of the wires coming out of the side... would it be too much to ask if they can come out the back, so when you professionally mount it without the plate bracket the wires aren't showing???

Maybe i am too **** or too much time on my hands?

rob13572468

no, i absolutely agree with you... the fit-and-finish of the k40 leaves alot to be desired and and is really quite unacceptable considering the price point the unit commands. considering that the k40 ends up on just about every high end vehicle its insane that they dont spend the 5K for a better set of injection molds for the laser parts. again i agree with your earlier comments on the quick connects; how hard would it be to have an additional socekt on the radar antenna and a matching plug for the laser diffuser. then you could plug it right in. same goes with a quick disconnect plug for the radar antenna itself. i know that on the older units the plug on the radar unit was constantly a point of failure (corroded contacts anyone?) but that could have been solved by using a proper weather proof connector; there are about a hundred different models to choose from.

a good example of proper industrial design is the passport SR7/ZR3 which while it has its own issues as far as mounting goes at least the various receiver antennas are nicely finished and paintable and have quick connects.

jbondox

I agree on the passport, and would maybe consider it if it had a theft warranty, warranty in general, and the speeding ticket immunity for a year. the display however would have to be modified heavily though

imisssefler

anyone in LA know of a place that could help me get a radar detector hardwired in my CL600, V-1 or k40? i don't care if they have to disable the K band, CHP only seems to use Ka band on the freeways and that's my main and pretty much only concern.

Stuartpa

Well I got the V1 installed with the remote and after much fiddling around have managed to get it to function with no changes made to either the car or the V1.
I position the V1 so that just the front right hand part of the unit is looking through the opening in the Windshield coatings and I have tested the unit extensively against POP and other Radar guns operated by the Police and the V1 picks up them all, over hills around corners, just as it is designed to do.

If you do place the unit all the way inside the opening in the protective coatings, then you will get nothing but false alerts from the car itself.

I am aware that I am losing some sensitivity, but so far I would have had enough warning to save me from a ticket up to about I would guess 120, unless I was willing to literally drop the anchors al the way.

I have to admit that Valentine said I would have problems, and so dod the folks at K40.
Well like the member earlier on in this list, I guess I got lucky.

LowTech

Getting the K40 Calibre installed next week. When you say "custom featue," is it one you rigged yourself, or is it an optional offering by the K40 people or your installer? Thanks!