|
|
 |
Bel STi vs X50 vs RX65 vs V1
In this article, we lined up the four of the best radar detectors and
pitted them against one another to see how they compared against a Multanova 6F
speed camera. These types of speed cameras,
used throughout Western
Australia, South Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand operate around 34.3Ghz on 0.5mw (or
lower) power. Most radar detectors have a hard time detecting this weak
signal, especially when the camera is set up facing the rear of traffic, as
vehicles pass through the speed trap.
For this test, four runs were conducted with each of the four radar detectors,
two runs coming towards the speed camera (facing the vehicle) and two runs with
the Multanova facing the rear as traffic moves away from the camera. Only
one radar detector was switched on at any given time to eliminate possible
interference.
 Test
1 of 16
Bel STi versus Multanova 6F (camera facing towards front of vehicle)
click on the image to watch the video
First run the Bel STi alerted at approximately 18 seconds before passing the
camera at 60km/h. Note the camera is well out in the open, with the radar
beam firing towards the front of the car as it approaches the speed trap, thus provided
adequate warning time. In this type of set-up, the photo is taken at a
point 70m in front of the camera, when set up at an angle of 22 degrees to the
road. Most camera set-ups do not offer this luxury and are usually a lot
harder to detect.
 Test
2 of 16
Bel STi versus Multanova 6F (camera facing the rear of the vehicle)
click on the image to watch the video
Second run, a U-turn was made and the test vehicle driven back towards the
multanova camera. This time, the camera's radar beam is firing away
from the car, detecting the vehicle as it passes the camera and is moving
away. In this situation you are relying on the radar beam reflecting back
towards the detector - making it even more difficult to detect. The photo
is taken approx 50-70m past the camera on multi-lane set-ups, but can be as
short as 10m on single lane roads. In this test, the Bel STi alerted about
5 second before drawing level with the speed
camera. In this video you can
see
(on the right of the picture) a tree bearing purple flowers. In
front of this tree is a metal guard rail, and if you pause the video, you can
see the speed camera is set up exactly where this guard rail ends. On the
opposite side of the road (the left of the picture) you can also see a silver
guard rail. This guard rail finishes level with the one on the opposite
side where the camera is set up. This gives you a point in each subsequent
video, where the detector is level with the speed camera.
 Test
3 of 16
Escort X50 versus Multanova 6F ( camera facing towards front of vehicle
click on the image to watch the video
First run for the Escort (third run in total) the X50 faced the Multanova Speed
trap. Here the Escort alerted approximately 18 seconds before passing the
camera at 60km/h
 Test
4 of 16
Escort X50 versus Multanova 6F ( camera facing the rear of the vehicle
click on the image to watch the video
Again, the test vehicle made a U-turn and headed back
towards the camera facing the other direction. The X50 alerted
approximately 4 seconds prior to drawing level with the camera.
 Test
5 of 16
Bel RX65 versus Multanova 6F ( camera facing towards front of vehicle
click on the image to watch the video
First run for the Bel RX65 (fifth run in total) the RX65 faced the Multanova
Speed camera (forward). Here the Bel alerted about 20 seconds before passing the
camera at 60km/h - quite a surprising result considering it is sweeping the
entire Ka (wide-band) frequencies.
 Test
6 of 16
Bel RX65 versus Multanova 6F ( camera facing the rear of the vehicle
click on the image to watch the video
Once again, the test vehicle made a U-turn and headed
back towards the camera. The RX65 alerted about level with the speed
camera - you can see the guard rail on the left of the picture disappear
before the RX65 alerts. This is consistent with other tests using
the Bel RX65, in that it does poorly against 34.3Ghz Ka-band cameras.
 Test
7 of 16
V1 (Euro) versus Multanova 6F ( camera facing towards front of vehicle
click on the image to watch the video
First run for the V1 (set in Euro mode) and being the seventh run in total the
V1 alerted an impressive 28 seconds prior to passing the camera. The
Ka-narrow programming allows the V1 to scan just the 34.3Ghz
 Test
8 of 16
V1 versus Multanova 6F (( camera facing the rear of the vehicle
click on the image to watch the video
As per previous runs in the opposite direction, the test
vehicle made a U-turn and headed back towards the camera. This time,
the V1 alerted 15 seconds before drawing level with the camera; a full 10
seconds earlier than the next best detector.
 Test
9 of 16
Bel STi versus Multanova 6F (camera facing towards front of vehicle) - second
attempt/P>
click on the image to watch the video
The second run for the Bel STi from the front gave 25 seconds warning at 60km/h,
7 seconds more than the first run.
Test
10 of 16
Bel STi versus Multanova 6F (camera facing the rear of the vehicle)
- second attempt
In this run, the STi gave even less warning to the rear facing Multanova than
it's first, approximately 2 second before drawing level.
Unfortunately the video footage didn't work for the next three tests.
Test
11 of 16
Escort X50 versus Multanova 6F (camera facing towards front of vehicle)
- second attempt
In this second
run from the front for the Escort, the X50 alerted in very similar times to
it's first attempt, approximately 19 seconds at 60km/h
Test
12 of 16
Escort X50 versus Multanova 6F (camera facing the rear of the vehicle)
- second attempt
 Test
13 of 16
Bel RX65 versus Multanova 6F ((camera facing towards front of vehicle)
click on the image to watch the video
Second set for the Bel RX65 (thirteenth run in total) the RX65 challenged the
Multanova Speed camera from the front. This time the Bel initially alerted
23 seconds prior, then paused, then alerted again at 13 seconds prior, before finally giving a
constant alert from 10 seconds until the cameras was passed. Notice in the
video how the RX65 immediately finishes alerting when level with the speed
camera.
 Test
14 of 16
Bel RX65 versus Multanova 6F (camera facing the rear of the vehicle
)
click on the image to watch the video
Final test for
the RX65 gave about 1 second warning before passing the camera.
 Test
15 of 16
V1 (Euro) versus Multanova 6F ((camera facing towards front of vehicle)
click on the image to watch the video
Second run for the V1 in Euro mode gave 27 seconds warning, a shy second less
than the first time.
 Test
16 of 16
V1 versus Multanova 6F ((camera facing the rear of the vehicle
)
click on the image to watch the video
Final test run (number 16) and the V1 gave an initial
alert 21 seconds prior to passing the camera for just over 4 seconds in
duration, then was quiet for 3 seconds, then began alerting continuously
from 14 seconds prior to passing level with the camera at 60km/h with the camera facing the rear. Perhaps there was a
better reflection from traffic coming in the opposite direction than in the
first run, but none-the-less a clear winner against the Multanova 6F6F
Conclusions
These tests
are simply one real-world example of these four radar detectors against a
Multanova speed camera. Observations from this test, coupled with
prior experience suggest this particular camera set-up was set at full
power, and was relatively easy to detect coming from the front.
Detection ranges against the Multanova vary from day-to-day as widely
reported on various radar forums, depending upon the set-up.
For this test, it was interesting to see the results when
the detectors challenged the camera facing the rear. As
aforementioned, in this scenario, the detector is relying on the radar beam
to reflect back from traffic coming in the opposite direction, as well as
metallic signs, walls or other objects.
|
Detector |
1st run |
2nd run |
3rd run |
4th run |
Total |
|
Bel STi |
18 secs |
5 secs |
25 secs |
2 secs |
50 |
|
Escort X50 |
18 secs |
4 secs |
18 secs |
4 secs |
44 |
|
Bel RX65 |
20 secs |
0 secs |
23 secs * |
1 sec |
44 |
|
Valentine 1 |
28 secs |
15 secs |
27 secs |
21 secs ** |
91 |
* In this run, the RX65 alerted at 23 seconds initially,
then stopped. It alerted continually from 10 seconds prior.
** In this run, the V1 alerted initially at 21 seconds
out (paused for three seconds), then alerted continuously from 14 seconds.
The winner clearly was the V1, followed by the STi
second, and the X50 in third. The RX65 came fourth as it had the
lowest sensitivity coming at the Multanova from the rear, drawing almost level both times before
alerting.
Thankyou to all those involved in providing Delonix the
videos above.
|
| |
