Road Patrol XK Wireless Hidden/Remote Radar Detector (220-1622) Features Faxback Doc. # 32788 INTRODUCTION Your Road Patrol XK Wireless Hidden Remote Radar Detector is a state-of-the art device with five times the range of standard detectors. It receives both X and K-band radar signals and works with all police radar, including the handheld type. FEATURES Bumper-Mounted Sensor Unit - provides unobstructed detection of radar signals. Wireless Indicator Unit - Slips into a shirt pocket, and is powered by rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries. Rechargeable Nickel-Cadmium - let you power the indicator unit without Batteries cords. Battery-Saving Circuit - reminds you to turn off your radar detector's indicator unit when you turn off your car engine. NOTE: Some states and localities regulate the use of radar detectors. It is your responsibility to check local regulations before using your radar detector. RADAR DETECTION Police radar operates on a scientific principle called the Doppler Effect. When the transmitted microwave radar beam strikes a moving automobile, part of the beam is reflected back to the police radar unit. The police radar unit electronically compares the reflected beam to the transmitted beam. Then, it shows a digital display of the vehicle's speed. This complex process requires less than a second to complete. Your radar detector's ability to recognize police radar signals is based on two factors, selectivity and sensitivity. Selectivity is a measure of your radar detector's ability to reject false signals. Sensitivity is a measure of its ability to detect very weak police radar signals. Your radar detector has high-level selectivity and sensitivity, owing to modern superheterodyne technology. Earlier radar detectors had to receive a direct beam in order to register the presence of police radar. Your Micronta Wireless Hidden Remote Detector's up-to-date superheterodyne technology is sensitive to both direct and indirect radar beams, and can detect very weak police radar signals. RANGE The maximum operating range of the best police radar is about 2500 feet for automobiles and 3500 feet for large trucks. The effective working distance, however, is somewhat less. This is the distance within which a target vehicle will reflect the police radar signal strongly enough to activate its digital display. For stationary police radar, the effective working distance does not exceed 1500 feet. Moving radar has an effective working distance of up to 2000 feet. Although radar signals cannot work effectively beyond 2000 feet, the signals can travel much farther. Police radar signals widen in a cone shaped pattern as they move away from their source. Any portion of a radar signal that travels beyond the effective working distance is called scatter Scatter can be detected several miles from the originating radar unit. RADAR EFFICIENCY Police radar is highly accurate (to one-tenth of a mile per hour), but there are several things that can affect its accuracy. Radar signals can travel only in straight lines. Because of this, they are effective only in line-of-sight situations. The reflected signal is much weaker than the transmitted signal. The transmitted signal can reach as far as five miles. However, the approaching target vehicle must be close enough to reflect the signal with sufficient strength to activate the police radar unit. Besides making a radar measurement, a police officer must be able to make a visual identification of the target vehicle in order to issue a valid citation. Beyond 1700 feet, visual accuracy is questionable. Hence, police use of radar may be effectively limited to 1700 feet. These principles are illustrated in the following examples: Radar does not detect Vehicle A (outside the effective working distance) or Vehicle B (out of the line-of-sight). Radar detects Vehicle A (entering the effective working distance), but does not detect Vehicle B (still out of the line-of-sight). Radar displays an incorrect speed measurement (always lower than the actual speed) when the target vehicle reflects the radar signal at a wide angle. A vehicle traveling at a 90-degree angle to the radar beam registers a speed of zero. RADAR TIPS The False Alert Suppression Technology (FAST) circuit in your radar detector filters out most of the extraneous signals from other radar detectors on the road. This circuit does not reduce your detector's ability to receive actual radar signals. Because of the high sensitivity of your radar detector, it can detect energy from devices operating on the same frequencies as police radar (door openers, railroad-car counting devices, and security systems). It's impossible for your radar detector to distinguish between police radar and other signals transmitted on the same frequencies. Not every police car you see is equipped with radar. Not all radar equipped police cars operate their radar units all the time. Do not expect your radar detector to sound an alarm every time you see a police car. Your radar detector might occasionally give you a late alert. This is because radar signals are highly directional, and the way the officer holds a radar gun can affect your detector's response. The way the radar is turned on and off can also affect your detector's reaction. Your radar detector is a driving aid, not a license to speed. Use it with common sense. (BR/EB 4/30/96)