Why a Laser Jammer?
Lets cover what a laser jammer is, also known as a laser defuser, they are fitted on the vehicle in a position they get a clear view forward and backwards, most vehicles require 4 heads to cloak the vehicle from a laser attack. Laser jammers wait for a laser signal from a laser speed gun, either being used hand held or from a vehicle such as safety camera van. The laser jammer then decodes the laser signal from the gun and adds a signal to the reflected beam from the laser gun. The laser gun then simply gets confused and will not give a speed to the operator. As long as the laser jammer is on, the operator will not get a speed reading.
A laser detector is next to useless so don't be sucked in by the wild claims that they will give you warnings, the most a laser detector will do is tell you have just been nicked. Simples…
The systems that are on sale vary, some being very basic and some being very sophisticated. The Blinder Compact HP905 being one of the most advanced laser jammers available today.
I have tested most of the laser jammers on the market, with the help of the police and using my own laser guns. Some perform very well, some don't so buy wisely, it really is a case of you get what you pay for and use a installers that know what he is doing, a badly fitted laser jammer is useless and won't help you. I have seen some fitters work and its shocking.
The correct use for a jammer is to use it wisely, follow some simple rules and you should have no issues.
• Keep the heads clean and free from obstructions.
• Set the shut down timer to around 5 seconds, no longer
• If you see the laser trap first, slow down and turn off the jammer. Don't let them activate the jammer unnecessarily.
• If they see you first, slow down and then turn off the jammer to reduce suspicion.
• Don't use your local laser speed trap as a free test.
• Most importantly, laser jammers are not a licence to speed, they are there to protect you and use common sense when using your laser jammer
The law is a little unclear. Laser jammers are legal to sell and buy, you can fit one to your car and turn it on, the grey area is using it against a laser speed trap. Most people that have used them sensibly have never had any issues, it is the idiots out there that think they are immune, speed through laser trap sites, day in and day out and attract attention and ultimately get a visit from the boys in blue. I have used jammers on and off for nearly 20 years and never had an issue.
It is also worth noting that with the advent of vehicles using collision avoidance and LED light some laser jammers will false alarm, again the betters jammers can be programmed to ignore such events.
Laser jammers can also be blinded by the sun and you need to be aware that most of them cannot deal with this situation. If you are driving into the sun and there is a laser trap ahead of you and he fires at you your jammers may not respond due to the IR from the sun, I only know of one jammer thats been programmed to deal with this and warn you but this is the most likely situation your jammer may not protect you.
