Laser presents two problems to you and your driving record. First, most radar detectors can’t notify you of a laser encounter. If you do get a warning, consider it as an invitation to appear in court on a speeding ticket. Second, laser false alerts are increasing from cars now using laser at 1,000 pps/Hz as collision avoidance or to disengage the vehicle’s cruise control. You will also find laser false alerts at airports with range finders used by air traffic controllers. There are solutions.
          Jamming or attempting to jam a police radar gun is a federal felony and illegal despite what makers of radar jammers say. Spend the time to find out. Don’t take our word for it. See www.fcc.gov and put in the key word of radar jammers. Case closed if you take the time. There are no federal laws prohibiting the jamming of police laser guns. Some states have banned them so check with local or state ordinances. At the Annual Test we looked at the two leading laser counter measures to see how well they worked, Blinder M25 and Passport ZR4. Both are often illegally copied. It’s a compliment to their reputations and performance. Click on their logos for specifics. Their transponders are mounted in the grill equidistant from the headlights to the license plate and concealed. Both have in-cabin warning systems telling of your encounter with a police laser gun. Escort offers an integrated system with its ZR4 easily interfacing with its dash mounted detectors or combined with its ci series of remote radar detectors. Blinder is a stand alone unit for those who already have a radar detector and want laser protection. Tiger Lily offers a series of combined systems. Click on their logo to find out more.
          To test the jamming efficiency of both the ZR4 and Blinder we used two transmission points of 1,000 and 500 feet. As the test vehicle approached the cone at each distance, they would count down three, two, one. At “one” the officer would trigger the laser gun. We used a Blinder attached to a motor cycle and a Blinder attached to a Chevy. We also tested the ZR4 alone and as part of Passport’s 9500ci remote package. Each was given three tries at both cone locations. Officers were directed to aim the laser at the front license plate. We used the Kustom Pro Laser III and the LTI Ultralyte LR as laser guns. We chose these two guns as they are the most used and combined account for 75% of all lasers sold. J means the Blinder or the ZR4/9500ci jammed the laser gun. Escort calls it shifting. N means the laser did not jam the gun and the distance was noted in feet. Both laser guns were in the speed/distance modes. MC means motorcycle.
          The laser receiver’s location is critical. Blinder’s laser receiver is located where the laser is aimed on the bumper. When laser is aimed at the windshield at 500 feet it did not alert. Its receiver is not there. Conversely, with laser was pointed at the detectors mounted on the windshield they alerted to laser. In many cases, with laser was aimed at the bumper, especially at 500 feet, windshield mounted detectors did not alert to laser. You must understand laser’s beam width. At 1,000 feet the laser beam is 36” wide meaning many detectors reported it regardless of the laser’s aiming point. At 500 feet, the laser’s beam is only 18” meaning many detectors did not report it as they could not see it. The exception here was  AdaptivTechnologies TPX as it is mounted on a motor cycle which is much smaller then a car. We tested Whistler’s Laser Signature ID. We found it to be accurate when exposed to many laser guns. It correctly reported the following pulse rates: LTI 20/20-125, LTI Ultralyte LR-120, LTI TruSpeed-120, Kustom Pro II-238, Kustom Pro III-200, Kustom ProLite-200, Stalker LZ-1-130, Laser Atlanta Speedlaser-238, Laser Atlanta Stealth-70, and a hand held laser tester-360. The LSID feature eliminates laser false alerts. Only the dash mount Valentine One and Passport 9500i saw laser each time. Contact us at speed@speedinglimits.com.

Although not a laser counter measure, Whistler has introduced a new technology designed to eliminate laser false alerts called Laser Signature ID™ on its XTR 695. It measures and shows the driver of the pulses per second of encountered laser sources. It allows the driver to lock out or eliminate laser sources terminating laser false alerts. This is especially helpful when encountering cars now equipped with laser systems as pictured below left. The detector knows the pulse rates of real laser guns and allows the driver to eliminate false sources. Click on Whistler’s logo for more information on the XTR 695.