What do all the bands on my radar detector mean?

Question

Ku Ka K V X Im cluelesss????

Answer 1

Depending on what country you are in you only really have to look out for certain bands. For example K is typically an old police signal which is commonly used on door sensors, same goes for V. The main one I believe you have to look out for is Ka since alot of cops in many countries use this. Not sure about Ku however.

Have a look at your manual if you have one. I wouldn't worry too much about Laser bands since when a laser gun is fired at you, unless you have a "speed or light" reaction time, you're sure to get a ticket if you are over the speed limit.

I also found this on Wikipedia which should help:

Ku - mainly used for satelitte connections, nothing too much to worry about.

Ka - Is a portion of the K band. Used by law enforcement to detect speeding vehicles so this one you have to be on the lookout for.

K - Used to be used by law enforcement, super-seeded by Ka band. Is commonly used on automatic doors now.

V - Not heavily used, requires unobstructed line of sight to operate - I believe these are common in burgler alarms.

X - Used in air traffic control, weather monitoring etc. Used to be used for law enforcement but super-seeded by K.

As you see most of these radar bands now have different uses although each one has been used by the law over the years. The main ones to look out for is the Ka and Laser signals these days.

Best of luck with your radar. Very handy things. I have included the Wikipedia link for further readings too.