12 Volts DC - Available in cabin?

[Eka]

Aren’t radar detectors illegal? Why not at least pretend to be a good driver and use a different example.

They aren't illegal in most states.

For commercial vehicles 10,000 lbs and over they are illegal in all states by federal law. Some states also ban them in all commercial vehicles. As far as I know Washington DC, and Virginia are the only places they are illegal for private passenger vehicles.

Many places it is an automatic ticket if the cop sees it.

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[Jhodgesatmb]

For commercial vehicles 10,000 lbs and over they are illegal in all states by federal law. Some states also ban them in all commercial vehicles. As far as I know Washington DC, and Virginia are the only places they are illegal for private passenger vehicles.

Many places it is an automatic ticket if the cop sees it.

I find it interesting that radar detectors would be legal anywhere. Isn’t the whole idea of a radar detector to break the law and evade capture? If that is the case, then why would the authorities make them legal? I’ll check California law out of curiosity.

update: radar detectors are indeed legal in California in passenger vehicles as long as they aren’t installed on the windshield. Police and Highway Patrol can apparently detect the use of radar detectors.

 

[hemiarch]

I find it interesting that radar detectors would be legal anywhere. Isn’t the whole idea of a radar detector to break the law and evade capture? If that is the case, then why would the authorities make them legal? I’ll check California law out of curiosity.

update: radar detectors are indeed legal in California in passenger vehicles as long as they aren’t installed on the windshield. Police and Highway Patrol can apparently detect the use of radar detectors.

Yeah. That is an interesting question that maybe our lawyers here could share thoughts on. In the case of lock picking tools for example, there is a use case which is non-criminal like unlocking doors for people who accidentally locked themselves out but what non-crime motivated use is there for a radar detector?

 

[Eka]

I find it interesting that radar detectors would be legal anywhere. Isn’t the whole idea of a radar detector to break the law and evade capture? If that is the case, then why would the authorities make them legal? I’ll check California law out of curiosity.

update: radar detectors are indeed legal in California in passenger vehicles as long as they aren’t installed on the windshield. Police and Highway Patrol can apparently detect the use of radar detectors.

Many radar detectors use heterodyning to make the radar signal easier to detect. The radar detector detector looks for that transmission.

Yeah. That is an interesting question that maybe our lawyers here could share thoughts on. In the case of lock picking tools for example, there is a use case which is non-criminal like unlocking doors for people who accidentally locked themselves out but what non-crime motivated use is there for a radar detector?

It is part of freedoms from the First Amendment. If they transmit it via the public airwaves, like that heterodyning signal, you can receive it. It is up to the one making the transmissions to keep it private, or not transmit it at all. The same constitutional protection allows you to photograph anything you can see from a public place. Those signs saying you can't photography X are bogus and unenforceable. Also there are legitimate uses beyond speeding. Many years ago most radios used heterodyning to improve their sensitivity*. I built a phased array wide band radio detector that could track them. It could even track engines that used sparks to ignite the fuel. It should have also been able to detect a Tesla's motors when in use.

* FCC eventually greatly restricted the power of those side transmissions to help clean up the radio air space. That made it near impossible to track radio receivers.

 

[MCraft99]

The interesting part about laser detectors/jammers are that they are regulated by the FDA, not the FCC. So jamming is perfectly legal, but they usually stop jamming after a second or two, to allow you to slow down, because it's obvious you have a jammer to the cop's emitter/detector. You can only buy radar jammers when imported and labeled as something else, to sneak past customs.

 

[hemiarch]

Many radar detectors use heterodyning to make the radar signal easier to detect. The radar detector detector looks for that transmission.


It is part of freedoms from the First Amendment. If they transmit it via the public airwaves, like that heterodyning signal, you can receive it. It is up to the one making the transmissions to keep it private, or not transmit it at all. The same constitutional protection allows you to photograph anything you can see from a public place. Those signs saying you can't photography X are bogus and unenforceable. Also there are legitimate uses beyond speeding. Many years ago most radios used heterodyning to improve their sensitivity*. I built a phased array wide band radio detector that could track them. It could even track engines that used sparks to ignite the fuel. It should have also been able to detect a Tesla's motors when in use.

* FCC eventually greatly restricted the power of those side transmissions to help clean up the radio air space. That made it near impossible to track radio receivers.

Makes sense. I don’t know if that’s necessarily the impression I want to make on an officer who pulls me over but I guess you can stash it with the right install strategy.

 

[Eka]

The interesting part about laser detectors/jammers are that they are regulated by the FDA, not the FCC. So jamming is perfectly legal, but they usually stop jamming after a second or two, to allow you to slow down, because it's obvious you have a jammer to the cop's emitter/detector. You can only buy radar jammers when imported and labeled as something else, to sneak past customs.

Jamming a signal is far different than receiving it. There are plenty of regulations making deliberate jamming signals like radar waves illegal, including FCC regulations. One doesn't even need to go into interfering with law enforcement.

For a laser jammer, seeing it is transmitting laser light, there are applicable FDA regulations governing lasers. High enough power or focused well enough, they can harm eyes.

 

[HaulingAss]

Makes sense. I don’t know if that’s necessarily the impression I want to make on an officer who pulls me over but I guess you can stash it with the right install strategy.

I've never stashed my radar detectors when I get pulled over, they are in plain sight. Cops really don't care, they are 100% legal in your private vehicle in 49 states.

 

[hemiarch]

I've never stashed my radar detectors when I get pulled over, they are in plain sight. Cops really don't care, they are 100% legal in your private vehicle in 49 states.

Not sure what the etiquette is I guess. Never owned one.

 

[bpobob]

I've been using radar detectors for 20+ years. Cops don't care.

 

[gtgarner]

There is no 12V power anywhere on the truck. It has a 48V system. There are 110 plugs in the cabin in the center console, under the rear infotainment system and in the ceiling for possible light bar installation. Whatever equipment you have will need a 110 plug. Another option would be to buy a 12V to 110 adapter.

I haven't read the entire thread, but - there is 12V all over the cabin.

You should have said - "I haven't found it yet".

 

[YDR37]

For commercial vehicles 10,000 lbs and over they are illegal in all states by federal law. Some states also ban them in all commercial vehicles. As far as I know Washington DC, and Virginia are the only places they are illegal for private passenger vehicles.

Just for the record, radar detectors are reportedly illegal in most (but not all) parts of Canada:

Radar detectors are legal to own and to use in British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.

Radar detectors are not allowed by provincial laws / highway acts in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, and all northern territories. Police in these provinces use Spectre RDD (radar-detector-detector) to catch radar detector (with leakage signal).

 

[HaulingAss]

Just for the record, radar detectors are reportedly illegal in most (but not all) parts of Canada:

I guess politicians in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and the other non-Western provinces have a lot in common with politicians in Washington D.C. and Virginia!

Thankfully the Western provinces still allow some freedoms (at least for now). I've used radar detectors most of my life and they provide a lot of peace when travelling on the open road. When travelling up, for example, Vancouver Island on the desolate Inland Island Superhighway with huge grassy fields on either side, and a huge grassy median in the middle, on a finely-tuned and balanced Ducati Sport-Tourer with a high performance 996cc engine, and tires designed for 160 mph, it feels just wrong to travel at 68 mph, the posted limit. Mind you, you probably wouldn't get ticketed for going 78 mph in good conditions, but the detector gives you a little added peace of mind. And, to be honest, at times of sparse traffic, 90 mph feels more suitable on such a machine. Detectors don't make you immune to tickets, the only way to achieve that is to strictly adhere to every speed limit, but they do allow you to relax a bit more, and increase your awareness of the road environment and the presence of LEO's.

 

[TexasRaider]

They are legal here. I don't use one. That was just an example. I'm more interested in powering ham radio equipment.

Right. False sense of security.

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