why does the laser detection go off so much?
 

hey guys. i have an issue with my radar detector (passport 8500) and my capacitor. i am running a ma audio hk-1000d amp with a ma audio 12" sub. been running this for about a year now.
i had the rd for more than 2 years now and never had a problem till recently. i recently made a custom amp rack and now (or so it seems to be since i made the rack) that at about 14.3 or so volts that the cap reads, the rd laser detection goes off. this is just something i'm noticing, maybe no connection at all. it's getting really annoying and this has never happened till recently. i was hoping that someone on here could tell me why this is happening and maybe a fix for it. i was thinking about decharging and then recharging the cap and see if maybe power got drained from it, but i wanted t see what others thought first.

and sorry if this is in the wrong forum.

thanx for the help

later
ja

You are getting false laser readings from your detector?

If so, it is probably from LED brakelights from other cars. More cars have them now. The LED wavelength is closer to laser, plus they pulse.

Dave.

thanx for the reply. but would that still happen even if there is no one around? i could understand what you are saying if others are near, but i live in the country where there is hardly anyone.

If you are using one of the big caps that has the built-in red LED voltmeter and this is openly visible in the passenger compartment along with other LEDs on amps and such, it's likely this light is getting picked up by the detector. The LED voltmeters especially tend to 'strobe' much like lidar.

Temporarily cover up your goodies and see if this helps.

Actually, LED's wouldnt cause them to trigger unless they were IR. LED's dont pulse, they're Diodes running on DC (in a car anyway).

Things that will set off Laser detectors:

Stoplights with the car counters.
Night vision cameras w/ IR emitters (including all new luxury cars with nightvision HUD).
Remote controls (those IR LED's do pulse!).
and of course Laser Guns!

Laser detectors are a false hope any way, by the time they go off, you're already caught. Its not like Radar where there is excess radiation emitted that you can pick up. Laser by definition is a concentrated beam of energy.

How about HID lights? It seems to consistently set off the V-1 as well as ZR3 laser shifter whenever the light is shine directly at the unit or reflecting off the glass. :confused:

false laser alarm
 

i cant tell you why but i can say that when i turn on my pia after market fog lights, i get a laser detection alert on my passport. very weird if you ask me and its a rear detection at that.

i get alot of false X and ka alerts when going by gas stations and banks.......i guess you get what you pay for when you buy a 40 dollar cobra lol

The only time my 8500 gives me a false lidar is when it rains and the water diffuses the light, or when I spray the washer.

I was on a run up the coast this past weekend and I was the only one with a V1. Others had Passport and other models, and they often kept complaining of false x band signals where my V1 remained quiet. The only time it went off was during real encounters with radar--either on the side of the road--signs measuring speed, or from CHP.

Although I did have a few false alarm laser alerts and there always seemed to be a late model SUV near by.

late model SUV causing V1 Laser to go off?? Most likely an Infiniti or Lexus?

Keep in mind some luxury vehicles are now equipped with laser-guided adaptive cruise control. That same laser may cause your laser detector/diffuser to go off. I now suspect that first, especially when traveling in dense traffic conditions.

I have the K-40 with laser diffuser . I wonder what , if anthing , that does to any of the oncoming cars with their laser equipment. I know what it does to laser guns :)

Randy

I have an 8500 I've been using for about 5 years now. It used to go off in both of my camaros, whenever I hit the horn. Garanteed. If I hit the horn, the extremely loud laser detection noise would go off, and slowly pulse down. Very annoying. Because of it, I used my horn as little as possible.

I'm an electronics technician, and I can say that the most likely simple explanation, is that everything is fed off of the same power source. That said, it is possible to send electronic frequencies TO that power source, and out to other devices.

Radio stations broadcast at 100 megahertz. Speakers transmit about 3k-22k. That is your hearing range. Radio stations mix their audio signals (the 3-22k) with their broadcast frequency (the 100mhz). When your radio recieves it, it removes the 100mhz (because you tell it what frequency to de-tune) and you're left with the audio the radio station injected.

1 of 3 things can be happening:

1. You really are getting some kind of false trigger from somewhere else. LEDS, another light source, or something that you're not aware of.

2. Harmonics. Certain frequencies can 'trigger' or interefere with other frequncies that are harmonics, or 'sound multiples' of that frequency. This isnt a true example, but lets say 4k 8k and 16k are all harmonics. If you have a sensor looking for 8k, it's possible that 4k and 16k 'could' trigger it as well, depending on the quality of the sensor.

3. De-multiplexing. In the radio example provided above, you have to remove the 'carrier signal' to get the audio. It's possible that 8500s have these built in. If so, they are taking the lazer frequency, and reducing it to a frequency they are probably much more able to handle. (This is a guess, because DC is stable power, and DC hi-freq oscillators are more expensive than AC). So if they are really looking for a frequency less than what lazers are really at, it could be possible that something else in your car is generating that frequency, causing the false triggers.

To troubleshoot, you'd need to try as many different options/configurations as possible. Maybe even go to radio shack, and built a portable 12v power supply for your 8500, to see if it still happens when it's not on the cars power.

Havn't had any problems since I got rid of the 2 camaro's & their horns. Good luck.

I have the latest Passport 8500 and have never gotten a false laser
detection.

My Passport started doing that... no one around, daytime, night-time... it didn't matter.... I just figured it was dead after a few years of heavy use... bought a V1

laser false alarm
 

i kinda have the sAME PROBLEM MY LASER DETECTOR GOES OFF WHEN I TURN OFF MY RALLY LIGHTS BUT IT TELLS ME LASER IN THE REAR DETECTED. NOT A BIG DEAL BUT IT IS WEIRD