Reading the radar detector

The letters X, K, and Ka designate radar frequency bands used by radar based speed monitors. The letters correspond to designations given by Federal Communication Comission (FCC) frequency bands reserved for speed monitor equipment.

• X band - 10.525 GHz
• K band - 24.150 GHz
• Ka band - 33.4 ... 36 GHz
  

The number (range is 1 ... 5) is the radar signal strength, where 1 indicates weakest signal (you are still at some distance, or maybe false alarm) while at 5 you should be able to see the white in the eye of the cop holding the radar gun.

The letter V indicates the detection of a "Detector Detector". Devices like the Cobra are illegal in some countries and police has counter-measures available to detect some radar detectors. The maker of the Cobra states, their products go unnoticed but that won't help you if highway patrol sees the thing sticking on your windshield.

The letter S indicates hazard warnings (like train crossings).

Finally, L indicates detection of a LASER based velocity detector.

See Whistlers FAQ page for the meaning of the X, K and Ka bands. Their FAQ page gets into great detail explaining these bands,

Ok X, K, and Ka are the type of radar bands the officers radar gun admits. The V is shown when an officer's gun can detect certain radar detectors. The S is a safety alert when emergency vehicles are near. BTW here is a link to a PDF manual that should be similar to your model. http://www.cobraelec.com/downloads/manuals/ESD9110_manual.pdf

When any detector "detects" radar, it will produce some form of Audiable sound. If someone is speeding, they need to slow down IMMEDIATELY if they want to avoid a ticket. It doesnt really matter if the radar gun is x, k, ka, ku, etc. You will probably get a ticket if you dont slow down.

Most dectectors will have indicators lights or displays that indicate the x, k, ka, etc., radar signals are actually being detected. This can provide SOME useful information. THe letters simply designate BANDS of frequencies that are used to send the radar beams. It is similar to changing the channel on a radio - k and ka bands use HIGHER frequencies for their radar signals.

X band is the oldest radar band and it is used for police radars AND door openers at supermarkets and other locations. If you drive by a supermarket, your radar detector is likely to go off and it is almost certainly going to be X band. CHeck it out next time you drive by a supermarket with an automatic door opener.

Since the police and the radar companies like to play cat and mouse, newer radar bands have been invented that OBSOLETE the older radar detectors. When the K bands showed up in the police radar guns, the radar detector folks had to have a new product offering that would detect X band and K band. And the race continues to go on even today and now, there are LASER police speed detectors and the new "RADAR" detectors now need LASER detectors as well. If you want to know the exact frequencies of these "bands" (K, Ka, etc), let me know and I will send them to you. But they are operating in the tens of GigaHertz regions.

THX

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check the sensitivity on the unit and turn it down it's picking up everything when the sensitivity is wide open

Radar detectors are not police detectors. Radar detectors only alert to police when the police have their radar guns turned on. Most police officers operate their radar guns in "instant-on" mode rather than leaving their radar guns turned on continuously. Instant-on operation involves very briefly turning the radar gun on for up to a second or two in order to get a vehicle's speed.

Cobra radar detectors are known to have great difficulty detecting the 35.5 Ka band radar gun frequency. This should be considered a serious problem since 35.5 Ka is the second most popular Ka radar gun frequency following the most commonly encountered 34.7 Ka radar gun frequency. There isn't much that Cobra can do about this issue since their competitors hold all of the really good patented solutions for detecting 35.5 Ka police radar while ignoring false alerts caused on this frequency due to other radar detectors.

I know it has these K, Ka,Ku,X,LASER,POP,KA Superwide, Photo. I hope that helps. Please don't forget to rate. Thanks.

"K" IS LOCAL POLICE BAND, "KA" IS STATE TROOPER, AND "X" IS SILENT ELECTRONIC ALARM SYSTEMS. HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT WHAT "VA-2 ALERT" IS YET.
OTISRAYSR

X stands for wide band radars(easy to detect,lots of false alarms)
K/Ka stands for pulse band radars(similar signal has auto doors)
W,L stands for laser detection (very little false signals)
Ku stands for signal most used on speed cameras
V stands for radar detectors detector
Have in mind that you can only lower your speed 20-30 km/h in city zones, and up to 50 km/h on highway.This depends on car,brakes and You.

When "X" lights up, this means that your RD is either detecting X band police radar or that it is detecting an X band microwave automatic door opener.

When "K" lights up, this means the same as above except that the radar signal is a K band radar signal.

When "Ka" lights up, then this means that your RD is detecting police Ka band radar since no automatic door openers operate on Ka band.

When "VG-2" lights up, this is supposed to mean that your RD is detecting a VG-2 radar detector detector (RDD). Police use RDDs such as the VG2 and the Spectre to indicate that a motorist is using a radar detector.