Filtering of False Alarms

Second most important is filtering of false alarms. Adequate detection range is great, but if your unit is beeping constantly for other stuff, too, you’ll soon end up paying very little attention when it goes off. The “boy cried wolf” syndrome, so to speak. False alarms generally fall into two types. First and most annoying are those generated by other driver’s radar detectors. That’s right-the other guy’s detector. All radar detectors have a small transmitter inside called a local oscillator. Your detector may be beeping not because there’s a cop nearby, but because the guy tailgating you has a crappy detector made by a company that wanted to save 10 cents by not putting a shield around the part of the circuit board with the local oscillator. These are the most irritating false alarm sources simply because they exist in greater quantity and because they are mobile just like you. If you and one of these jokers are traveling the same direction and speed your detector could be beeping for miles. Thankfully, the better detectors have sophisticated circuitry that can ascertain the subtle difference between a police gun and the emissions from the other guy’s detector.

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