Escort / Bel Radar Detector Settings for Australia

Below is an explanation to some of the settings you may find on your radar detector and some suggestions when setting up a radar detector for operation in Australia.

These recommendations are what we consider to be effective for most users.

Radar detector settings can be tailored to suit individual requirements in individual locations. We always suggest you establish, where possible, what speed measurement activity exists in your location for your specific needs.

Please note that not all Police / Highway Patrol vehicles are scanning using radar. They may be using other systems to detect road users of interest.

Depending on which brand of radar detector you own you may only have some or all of the following setting options.

• X-Band

  This frequency is not used by any speed monitoring equipment in Australia (X-Band is used however by some automatic doors and can therefore cause false alerts if enabled).



• K-Band

  This frequency is used by mobile speed cameras and Police patrol cars depending on which state you are in. K-Band may also be used by some automatic doors causing false alerts, in some cases these can be minimised depending on your radar detector.



• Ka-Band

  Ka-Band should be turned ON; this frequency is used by Police patrol cars and mobile speed cameras, again depending which state you are in. Ka is a licensed frequency and any false alerts most likely are from other leaky radar detectors.



• Laser or LSR

  Laser should be turned ON as this is designed to detect the Infra-red light from a laser gun or, in some states, laser cameras. Laser is difficult to detect and speed calculation is almost immediate. Laser jammers are recommended to protect against handheld laser and Laser speed cameras.



• SWS

  Safety Warning System is a method of sending short messages to a radar detector to warn of traffic hazards such as roadworks or emergency services vehicles in the area. This system uses K-Band radar to send messages to the radar detector which it can then give an audible alert and display a simple message such as 'Roadworks Ahead', more information here

  *We recommend setting SWS to OFF as it can cause a delay to a standard K-Band alert signal.



• POP

  A form of instant on radar that sends out a very short burst of radar designed to get an estimate of vehicle speed, it is not very accurate and is not used at all in Australia.

  *We recommend setting POP to OFF as turning it on may cause false alerts.



• TSR

  Traffic Signal Rejection. In some states of Australia a specific kind of K-Band radar may be used to monitor traffic density and average speed (this system is not used for monitoring individual vehicle speed but just the general traffic flow speed). It works by sending out very short bursts of K-Band radar signals every 60 seconds or so, this can cause radar detectors to give an (false) alert, to help counter this the TSR setting on the radar detector will delay any radar alert for approximately 0.5 seconds meaning that the radar detector will only alert to radar signals longer than 0.5 seconds.

  *We recommend setting TSR to OFF as it can delay (a positive alert) the receive alert signal; however, you can turn it on if you have these traffic monitoring systems in your area and are bothered by false alerts.

  Note: Setting TSR ON may help eliminate false alerts from blind spot alert systems now fitted to some vehicles.



• RDR

  Radar Detector Rejection is used to minimise false alerts from other radar detectors. Some radar detectors while receiving radar signals may also transmit a small amount of radar signal very close in frequency to the standard radar signals used by police thereby causing false alerts on other radar detectors.

  *We recommend turning RDR to OFF as this can delay a positive alert.

The above are the most common settings which affect the performance of your radar detector and should be used as a general guide only; please contact us for more specific setting advice if required.

In summary, our recommendations for an effective radar detector set up are:

These recommendations are what we consider to be effective for most users.

Radar detector settings can be tailored to suit individual requirements in individual locations. We always suggest you establish, where possible, what speed measurement activity exists in your location for your specific needs.

Please note that not all Police / Highway Patrol vehicles are scanning using radar. They may be using other systems to detect road users of interest.