Bel PRO 200 - Best Radar Detector

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Technical DetailsInterpreting AlertsAlthough the Pro200 has a comprehensivewarning system and this handbook is ascomplete as we can make it, only experiencewill teach you what to expect from yourPro200 and how to interpret what it tellsyou. The specific type of radar being used,Alertthe type of transmission (continuous orinstant-on) and the location of the radarsource affect the radar alerts you receive.The following examples will give youan introduction to understanding the yourPro200’s warning system for radar, laser andsafety alerts.ExplanationAlertThe Pro200 alerts slowly for a while and thenabruptly jumps to a strong alert.The Pro200 alerts intermittently. Rate andstrength of alerts may be inconsistent or varywildly.ExplanationYou are approaching a radar unit concealedby a hill or an obstructed curve.A patrol car is traveling in front of you with aradar source aimed forward. Because signalsare sometimes reflected off of large objectsand sometimes not, the alerts may seeminconsistent.The Pro200 begins to sound slowly, then therate of alert increases. The Signal Meter rampsaccordingly.You are approaching a continuous radarsource aimed in your direction.The Pro200 alerts intermittently. Rate andstrength of signal increases with each alert.A patrol car is approaching from the otherdirection, sampling traffic with instant-onradar. Such alerts should be taken seriously.The Pro200 emits short alerts for a fewseconds and then falls silent only to brieflyalert and fall silent again.The Pro200 suddenly sounds a continuoustone for the appropriate band received. Allsegments in the Signal Strength Meter are lit.An instant-on radar source is being usedahead of you and out of your view.An instant-on radar source or laser source isbeing used nearby. This kind of alert requiresimmediate attention!The Pro200 gives an X-band, or K-band alertintermittently.You are driving through an area populatedwith radar motion sensors (door openers,burglar alarms, etc.). Since these transmittersare usually contained inside buildings oraimed toward OR away from you, they aretypically not as strong or lasting as a real radarencounter.A brief laser alert.The Pro200 receives weak signals. Thesesignals may be a little stronger as you passlarge, roadside objects. The signals increase infrequency.Laser is being used in the area. Because laseris inherently difficult to detect, any laser alertmay indicate a source very close by.A moving patrol car with continuous radar isovertaking you from behind. Because thesesignals are reflected (reflections are increasedby large objects), they may or may noteventually melt into a solid point even whenthe patrol car is directly behind you.CAUTION: Since the characteristics ofthese alerts may be similar to some ofthe preceding examples, overconfidencein an unfamiliar area can be dangerous.Likewise, if an alert in a commonly traveledarea is suddenly stronger or on adifferent band than usual, speed radar maybe set up nearby.16 17
Technical DetailsHow Radar WorksTraffic radar, which consists of microwaves,travels in straight lines and is easilyreflected by objects such as cars, trucks,even guardrails and overpasses. Radarworks by directing its microwave beamdown the road. As your vehicle travels intorange, the microwave beam bounces offyour car, and the radar antenna looks forthe reflections. Using the Doppler Principle,the radar equipment then calculates yourspeed by comparing the frequency ofthe reflection of your car to the originalfrequency of the beam sent out.Traffic radar has limitations, the mostsignificant of these being that it typicallycan monitor only one target at a time. Ifthere is more than one vehicle withinrange, it is up to the radar operator todecide which target is producing thestrongest reflection. Since the strength ofthe reflection is affected by both the sizeof the vehicle and its proximity to theantenna, it is difficult for the radar operatorto determine if the signal is from a sportscar nearby or a semi-truck several hundredfeet away.Radar range also depends on thepower of the radar equipment itself.The strength of the radar unit’s beamdiminishes with distance. The farther theradar has to travel, the less energy it has forspeed detection.Because intrusion alarms and motionsensors often operate on the samefrequency as radar, your Pro200 willoccasionally receive non-police radarsignals. Since these transmitters are usuallycontained inside of a building, or aimedtoward the ground, they will generallyproduce much weaker readings than willa true radar encounter. As you becomefamiliar with the sources of these pseudoalarms in your daily driving, they will serveas confirmation that your Pro200’s radardetection abilities are fully operational.How “POP” Works“POP” mode is a relatively new feature forradar gun manufacturers. It works bytransmitting an extremely short burst,within the allocated band, to identifyspeeding vehicles in traffic. Once the targetis identified, or “POPPED,” the gun is thenturned to its normal operating mode toprovide a vehicle tracking history, (requiredby law).How Laser (Lidar) WorksLaser speed detection is actually LIDAR(Light Detection and Ranging). LIDARguns project a beam of invisible infraredlight. The signal is a series of very shortinfrared light energy pulses, which move,in a straight line, reflecting off your car andreturning to the gun. LIDAR uses these lightpulses to measure the distance to a vehicle.Speed is then calculated by measuring howquickly these pulses are reflected given theknown speed of light.LIDAR (or laser) is a newer technologyand is not as widespread as conventionalradar, therefore, you may not encounterlaser on a daily basis. And unlike radardetection, laser detection is not proneto false alarms. Because LIDAR transmitsa much narrower beam than does radar,it is much more accurate in its ability todistinguish between targets and is alsomore difficult to detect. AS A RESULT,EVEN THE BRIEFEST LASER ALERTSHOULD BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY.There are limitations to LIDARequipment. LIDAR is much more sensitiveto weather conditions than RADAR, and aLIDAR gun’s range will be decreased byanything affecting visibility such as rain,fog, or smoke. A LIDAR gun cannot operatethrough glass and it must be stationary inorder to get an accurate reading. BecauseLIDAR must have a clear line of sight andis subject to cosine error (an inaccuracy,which increases as the angle between thegun and the vehicle, increases) policetypically use LIDAR equipment parallel tothe road or from an overpass. LIDAR can beused day or night.18 19
Page 1 and 2: Owner’s ManualBeltronics5442 West
Page 3 and 4: Quick ReferenceTable of ContentsQui
Page 5 and 6: InstallationPower ConnectionTo powe
Page 7 and 8: Controls and FeaturesProgrammingAud
Page 9: Details of ProgrammingTechnical Det
Page 13 and 14: TroubleshootingProblemSolutionProbl

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