We held a Guys of LIDAR test from March 9-11, 2007. The following is a factual account of something we experienced during those three days. One underhanded act of subversion cast a dark cloud over the whole event: We were sabotaged. The night before the test, GOL's jimbonzzz and RacerX were out scouting the area of the test course to identify some different areas for testing radar detectors in different scenarios. There was NO radar interference in the area, as RacerX's Escort SR-7 remained silent. Then came the morning of the test. On the way to the test area, several people noticed that they were receiving Ka alerts on their radar detectors. We wondered about this, but as we had heard that the Toyota Proving Ground was in the area, we passed off the interference as coming from the test track. Of course, we couldn't test radar detectors at that location due to the Ka radar interference, which was present for the full length of our 5+ mile long straight stretch. In light of this, we decided to test the detectors at another location several miles away, which was free of radar interference. The Ka radar interference continued throughout the second day of testing. At the end of the second day, GOL's happya$$, RacerX, and jimbonzzz became suspicious of the Ka signal. We found it peculiar that the signal completely disappeared after passing a certain spot going in one direction. So, we stopped to try and locate the source of this signal. At first, we used the Valentine One in order to get the general area, and then we switched to one of the less sensitive detectors (The KAT) to pinpoint the location. The signal seemed to be coming from the top of a hill/mountain. So, we set out through the desert and climbed our way up the hill, and we video taped our ascent.... At the top, we found something hidden under a camouflage tarp. It was a radar antenna! A Kustom Eagle... In the box there was batteries for power, and the rest of the radar unit. It was aimed straight down our test course! The box had a shipping label on it... there was a name on it... and here it is. Roy Reyer, of RadarBusters.com (the sponsor for our March test event) has filed a small claims lawsuit seeking damages in connection with this incident. |