The newest trend with radar detectors is devices that generate laser lights using a semiconductor. This new technology far surpasses the older radar detectors that uses radio signals to detect police.
Detectors that use lasers, also known as ladar, are the cutting edge and users experience fantastic success with the newer models. Since police now use guns that are a combination of laser and radar, these radar detectors work by picking up the laser portion and transmitting a sound to warn the driver of their speed. Some police and state patrols are now using narrow laser beams, which are much more difficult to detect. The older radar detectors are completely at a loss when it comes to these narrow laser beams, but the new laser radar detectors can detect these beams, although the advanced notification is severely limited.
For the most part, laser detectors offer a faster lock-on time, which averages around one-third of a second. The laser beams are confined to a limited spread, usually around six feet for about 2,000 feet of space. This allows the beams to be recognized more quickly, giving the driver more advanced notice.
However, laser detectors...