Why the test? Because I got a ticket, of course. Up until the ticket, I was under the belief that laser tickets could be avoided by careful observation and driving a black car. The black car should reduce the effective range of the laser. As you can see on this ticket, my black car was clocked at 85 MPH at a distance of 1773 feet. It was at night so there was no opportunity to see the officer in time. My Valentine 1 laser warning did sound to let me know that a ticket was coming.
The officer did not show for the hearing (you can read the details of this here) so I did not have to pay the ticket. Since one certainly can't expect the officer not to show all the time, it was obvious that something needed to be done. Time to try a jammer.
After a bit of research the Blinder M20
X-treme was
chosen. It is worth noting that since this test, new
models of
the Blinder have been released. The M20 was approximately
$250.Installing the Blinder M20. Installing the unit is not easy. The transmitters must be installed correctly. For my car it was necessary to fabricate aluminum brackets to mount the transmitters to. Since all cars have different grills and bumpers there is no way for the manufacturer to create a one size fits all mounting system. Compared to radar detectors there is much more work involved in the install. And as the testing will show, how well the transmitters are placed is very important. Unless you are comfortable with some fabrication and understand automotive wiring you may want to get the unit professionally installed.
The difficulty of installation likely keeps sales low. While Blinder does recommend certain installers, you should consider the cost of installation before buying the unit.
Test Cars. Two cars were used in the test as outlined below.
CAR 1.
Model: 2007 Cadillac CTS.
Color: Black
Grill: Black Plastic.
Notes: Optimal transmitter mounting. Chrome on grill blacked out. No shiny bits on front of car. No front license plate (not required in Michigan).
2007 CTS as tested.
Close up of right
transmitter mounted in CTS grill.
CAR 2.
Model: 2000 VW Passat Wagon.
Color: Green.
Grill: Black Plastic.
Notes: Big Chrome VW logo on front (left as is). Transmitters partially obscured by plastic grill. No front license plate.
Test Setup.
- Laser Unit:
- Kustom Electronics Pro Laser III Lidar Gun.
- Manufactured by Laser Craft in Georgia.
- Distributed by Kustom Signals of Kansas.
- Some detail of the units operation is given in
this federal docket related to laser emmissions
safety.
- Long straight stretch of rural two lane highway.
- Laser unit located about five feet from road edge to minimize any cosine error.
- Laser unit hand held.
- Top of nearby car door was used at times to steady the gun.
- Slight downhill approach to Laser Unit.
- Starting distance of test was approximately 1000 feet.
- Laser operator performs speed surveys and is an expert on the use of the Laser unit.
- Weather was cloudy and 85 degrees F.
Test Baseline. We used the units range display to identify a road sign that was 780 feet away. We clocked passing traffic both approaching and departing at this distance and we were able to consistently lock vehicle speed within 1 or 2 seconds of aiming. Aiming at distances over 1000 feet is difficult and requires more time to get a lock. Within about 1000 feet it was easy to obtain a lock quickly.
Since we only had transmitters installed on the front of both vehicles we only tested aiming at the front. You can add two rear transmitters to the Blinder but we did not have them.
Test 1 VW Passat:
We did a baseline run with the Blinder off and could easily lock a speed at 1000 feet.
With the Blinder on we were unable to lock a speed until about 650 feet.
Similar test showed similar results - effective range of laser unit was reduced.
Valentine One sounded laser warning each time.
Test 2 Cadillac CTS:
We forgot to do a baseline test.
With the Blinder on, the Laser unit failed to lock at any distance.
We tried again and once again no lock was obtained.
We tried again at point blank range (less than 200 feet) and no lock was obtained.
We tried different drivers and laser unit operators and failed to obtain a lock.
Valentine One sounded laser warning each time.
Conclusions:
- The Blinder M20 is an effective counter measure against the Kustom Pro Laser III.
- Different installations on different cars yielded significantly different results.
- An improper installation on the VW and/or the chrome on the VW grill significantly reduced the effectiveness of the M20.
- The blacked out CTS is virtually invisible to the Pro Laser III.
Notes:
- Since the test, the VW's transmitters have been moved to a
better
location and the VW chrome logo has been blacked out.
We plan on
retesting the VW with these changes.
- It is possible that the Blinder transmission was setting
off the
Valentine 1 laser warning instead of the Lidar gun.
- Since the test, Blinder has released the M25 which is supposedly more powerful and effective. If they want to send us one for free we will test it!
Tips for drivers:
- Laser units must be aimed via some sort of gun-like sighting system. At distances greater than 1000 feet it is difficult to aim accurately enough to get a quick lock.
- Laser detectors can be
useful. The Valentine One
consistently alerted to laser.
- The more shiny stuff on a vehicle the easier it will be for the unit to lock.
- The more perpendicular stuff on a vehicle the easier it
will be
for the unit to lock.
- If you are far enough away you may be able to slow down before the gun obtains a lock.
- The skill of the operator will
be a
factor on how quickly a lock can be obtained.
- The speed reading is blank until a lock is achieved.
- Laser guns need to be on target for a short period of time to obtain a lock.
- You can be clocked coming or going.
- It is easier to obtain a lock when pointing at a vehicle
travelling away from the unit. This is likely
because the
target is more perpendicular to the laser beam and
there is a
rear license plate to reflect the laser better.
- The unit measures the speed between your vehicle and the unit. Cosine errors, which are to your advantage, will occur just as they do with doppler radar.
- Windows slightly reduce the effective range of the unit. Officers will usually shoot out an open window or from outside the vehicle. Because of this, laser use goes down in cold weather.
- Rain or snow reduces the effective range. Some units
have a
"weather mode" that somewhat compensates.