K40 Calibre Radar Detector Review

[RadarReviews_Net]

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author bluufish - I bought the K40 Calibre system with laser jammer about a year ago for $2,000 installed. This is billed as an "undetectable" system that has radar protection and jams police laser scanners.

While it is cool looking and undetectable, the original laser alarm had a false alarm every 15 minutes, which rendered the unit so annoying that it was unusable.

Following up on complaints, the company re-engineered the laser receiver and offered a free replacement to all who called to beef. I've been using that for a few months now, and they nailed the issues. The laser unit has saved me from two tickets, and is blissfully quiet when the cops are off duty. New systems now have the re-engineered detector.

This is the best built-in system out there, and totally worth the price- if you buy a fast car you might as well spring for equipment to enable you to use the car to its potential. For this price the company should be responsive to any issues, and after some prodding they are.

Go buy it- it'll pay for itself in a month on saved insurance and ticket costs.
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[RadarNutt]

I wonder what a "police laser scanner" is. Hmm... sounds ominous. Guess I better run out and protect myself from THAT as well.

Perhaps it tells the LEO what you ate for breakfast when you're pulled over because you were using a "bluetooth" radar detector that only picks up the radar signal from the cruiser behind you as he's pulling you over.

Oh... no, wait a minute... I get it. Bluetooth + radar detector = it will detect my computer's bluetooth mouse. Plus maybe my bluetooth cell phone. Wow, how cool is that. piss

Good thing that person was so helpful in telling us all to spend $2,000 on that awesome system that doesn't do anything except line the pockets of K40 and their dealers.

[RadarNutt]

anybody know if Uniden has got a scanner model that picks up police laser scanners?? Is that beyond digital? Maybe it's a secret project from the Federal Department of Homeland Paranoia.

I can see the FCC freq logbook now... Must be something like

1. analog frequencies
2. digital frequencies
3. super digital
4. don't even bother cause it's encrypted
5. don't listen to this or we will beat the crud out of you frequency
6. police laser scanner

Man, those K40 products are SO advanced! I should spend $10k and have a dealer put 5 of them on my car for even better protection. Yeah, that's it.

I read that garbage on EPundits. What a douche bag.

[MEM-TEK]

Interesting review. Now go and look at the FCC ID on the K40 and tell us the first three characters of the FCC ID. Then look up on the FCC web site the name of the company which is assigned by the FCC this three character company ID and which makes the Calibre for K40. I am not saying that the Calibre is a bad system. I'm just saying that K40 uses a lot of advertising hyperbole to describe their products and that some of their claims are provably false.

Just food for thought.

[CJR238]

Originally Posted by MEM-TEK

Interesting review. Now go and look at the FCC ID on the K40 and tell us the first three characters of the FCC ID. Then look up on the FCC web site the name of the company which is assigned by the FCC this three character company ID and which makes the Calibre for K40. I am not saying that the Calibre is a bad system. I'm just saying that K40 uses a lot of advertising hyperbole to describe their products and that some of their claims are provably false.

Just food for thought.

X2, I had a K40 and was told it was the best, boy were they wrong. The advertising really fooled the people i bought it from and me. But that was a long, long time ago.

[WilyB]

In Virginia, where RDs are illegal, a K40 installed with dual receivers and one laser jammer costs $1,600. But you can get new ones of eBay for half that price and installation is a breeze as the unit uses a Bluetooth network to communicate between the central unit and the receivers and the jammer.

Even if the K40 performance may be average compared to the latest/newer detectors, it will still give ample warnings and it gives very few false alarms.

Where the K40 is priceless is by the complete invisibility of its installation. No cord, no suction marks, and of course no hardware to be seen. This is also a plus in other states as possession of a RD may be considered by the LEO as intent to speed.

[TSi+WRX]

^ Agreed - even "average" performance, given the concealed nature of the radar detector elements and integrated control/alert pods, is something that should be taken into consideration, and can give the K40 a favorable purchase-profile.

However, its price/performance ratio, when compared with other fully-integrated systems such as the Escort SRX/SR7/SR7+ and 9500ci units, makes for a hard-to-win argument.

And as a side-note, the laser jammer aspect of the K40 is far from "invisible." The plate-frame design is a dead giveaway and is easily recognized - and unfortunately, this hardware configuration cannot be changed by the end-user to effect a more discrete mounting setup (i.e. in-vehicle grill, etc.).

[RadarNutt]

Originally Posted by WilyB

In Virginia, where RDs are illegal, a K40 installed with dual receivers and one laser jammer costs $1,600. But you can get new ones of eBay for half that price and installation is a breeze as the unit uses a Bluetooth network to communicate between the central unit and the receivers and the jammer.

I can see the allure of this system in Virginia, but I would still stay away from it. The Bel STi Remote is a much better option. You can buy one yourself from an authorized Bel merchant for $1100 (or less from a non-authorized one, but say good bye to your warranty). The average install price is $1,500. Even in Virginia you can find some companies who will install it.

Then fit a better (and more easily concealed) laser jammer if desired.

The K40 is NOT un-detectable. Also, it's Bluetooth function suffers from the fact it is Bluetooth. BT is not a fool-proof wireless protocol. And when you start to have a BT radar detector, BT cell phone, and BT whatever else, you are crowding that space, not to mention BT signals from people and cars around you. In the wireless world, Bluetooth has low throughput and low peak bandwidth.

Look, regardless Bluetooth is a marketing gimmick for K40, that's it.

Installation is not a breeze. You still have to run wires. Even with BT, you have to run power to those components. You have to move things out of the way to install them somewhere. It's like the misnomer of "wireless" home stereo speakers. Sure the music is transmitted wirelessly, but how easy are they to install when you have to run an electrical cord to them - which is often more difficult than just running some speaker wire.

You want solid protection? Then don't be lazy. Expend the effort. Your efforts will more than pay for themselves over time.

If you want a radar detector installation which is truly "a breeze," use a standard RD with suction cups or a visor mount. You'll pay half the cost or less versus a remote mount unit. Take some of your extra cash and get a very dark tint for the upper tint band on your windshield if you are worried about stealth. Plus in many cases you will get better reception going this route.

This is also a plus in other states as possession of a RD may be considered by the LEO as intent to speed.

Well, Virginia also allows you to drive around with open containers of alcoholic beverages in your car and not be presumed to be drinking. What an bass-ackwards state.

If you are worried about what a LEO thinks then don't use an RD. Better yet, don't speed and they will leave you alone unless you do something dumb to attract their attention.

Most cops don't care if you have an RD. They care if you have a gun. Plenty of them use an RD themselves. If it's legal to own/use one, they don't care. What they care about is they pulled you over because you were speeding. If they see an RD, they just think the RD is a P.O.S.

These days with more and more laser being used, they also know the RD's are useless against it, so they are prolly smirking on their way back to the patrol car.

Look, you can't worry about that. Either you want to use an RD - for whatever reason - or you don't. The federal government gave you that right in 1934 with the Communications Act. I personally think Virginia's law is unconstitutional because it reaches over a federal law which grants you the right to receive all radio communications which are not for national defense. A radar detector is a radio receiver that beeps. Nothing more. That being said, what's even worse are the few states which limit your use of scanners. That's an even more blatant slap in the face to their citizens.

[TSi+WRX]

^ Good points, all.

Indeed, the K40's radar side is not "undetectable" - for that the 9500ci (and the Bel STi-R, thank you for the reminder!) is a much better choice.

[MEM-TEK]

RadarNutt,

I couldn't agree more. The K40 Calibre isn't a bad system, nor is it a superb system either. I do however think that it is overly hyped through the use of quite a bit of advertising hyperbole. But, of course, K40 has a long history of using advertising hyperbole to overly exaggerate the performance of their products compared to competitor products.