Net Radar general impressions after a month of extensive driving

I installed a front 3-head system with a front Net Radar antenna. I have two ALP sensors for the back, but have not installed them yet. My intention is to buy another Net Radar antenna for the rear once the directional software update is done. I don't relish pulling the rear bumper off my Porsche more than once, so I'll wait. Hopefully that software update will be coming soon.

In the month or more that I have had the system installed I've been experimenting with Profiles, filters, HiFi vs Bluetooth to my Android phone. I now run the phone extensively, as it give you so much information quickly and is easy to access where I have it on the center console just below my shifter. (UPDATE: Phone has been moved above the center console on a magnetic mount that keeps it just below the top of the dash, but easily in my peripheral vision). I, like many others, wish the HiFi could be used in conjunction with the Bluetooth, but that shortfall has already been beat to death in the forums, so I will not go any further down that road. Hopefully though, it will be addressed with an optional hardware update soon.

I recently returned from a 2,000 mile road trip that took me on backroads from north Florida to the mountains of north Georgia (Tallulah Falls, Clayton, Blairsville, Helen, Brasstown Bald, Cleveland, & Dahlonega to name a few) over to Ashville, NC. From Ashville, I was back into the mountains where I completed the Tail of the Dragon - briefly entering TN, Charhala, and many miles on the Blueridge. I returned to Florida through Gainesville, GA, Atlanta, Carrollton, Newnan, Andersonville, and Tallahassee. I found myself on all kinds of roads, with a mix of urban and country environments. Police included State Patrol, Sheriffs, and locals, as well as Park Police in all four states (FL, GA, TN, and NC).

Sadly (or luckily), during this trip, and since installing my ALPs, I have not yet had even one encounter with Laser! I have extensively tested them with the laser tester from ALP, and they register every gun it can duplicate perfectly.

I previously ran a STiR-Plus seperately (not integrated) with the ALPs, but sold it because of the K falsing issue. The front antenna Net Radar, mounted behind the bumper) has thus far been very nearly as quick as the M3 antenna on the STiR (and a previous 9500ci in a previous Porsche) on both K and Ka. Plenty of reaction time if they were constant on and not obstructed by terrain or some other structure. Even if they were, I often picked up scatter or reflection enough to warn me. Instant on remains as deadly as ever, but I try to always find a rabbit to lead me. Situation awareness is still required out there! Knowing where there is less likelyhood of running into a LEO plays into the equation as well. I have been leaving the Net Radar in Highway mode with very little falsing from BSM radars. They are fairly easy to discern as the warning increases as you creep closer to that Cadillac (or whatever) in front of you, and quickly diminish as you pass. Door openers are a pain in areas where you don't commonly drive, but that's mostly in urban areas where you can afford to turn the whole system off since you can't make any time anyway.

K band falsing has quieted down around where I drove most of the time, as I lock out door openers. It's only in the urban areas that I don't often travel that cause any occasional angst.

All totally unscientific. My observations only. Can't wait for the real world comparison tests. And, did I mention, I can't wait for the Net Radar directional ability?

Including a couple of pics of my Ride and ALP setup, Net Radar is mounted in the middle behind the bumper cover, above the center ALP. I have leveled the two outside ALPs (next to the driving/fog lights) since the picture was taken!

Let the flaming commence!

Attachment 5492
Attachment 5493

Another observation while using my Android phone. I have to swipe from the threat display screen to the first page to disengage and then use the original controller to revert to Parking Sensor mode only. Not good when seconds count, and you are about to talk to a LEO (hopefully this never happens!). I wish there was a way to change to parking sensor mode directly from the threat display screen on my Android phone. A minor critique, but one that might be resolved with a software update (unless I'm missing something here).

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Originally Posted by wailer

Anotherr observation while using my Android phone. I have to swipe from the threat display screen to the first page to disengage and then use the original controller to revert to Parking Sensor mode only. Not good when seconds count, and you are about to talk to a LEO (hopefully this never happens!). I wish there was a way to change to parking sensor mode directly from the threat display screen on my Android phone. A minor critique, but one that might be resolved with a software update (unless I'm missing something here).

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There is already a way. You can customize different profiles with different settings and you can quickly just switch between profiles that either have options enabled or disabled.

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Originally Posted by BestRadarDetectors

There is already a way. You can customize different profiles with different settings and you can quickly just switch between profiles that either have options enabled or disabled.

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Now why didn't I think of that? LOL! Thanks! You are QUICK!!!

Nice ride:thumb:

UPDATE: Around where I live the threat is mostly Ka. If you get on the highways, you may see a motorcycle FHP shooting laser, but it's fairly rare. I've had numerous Net Radar saves with more than adequate warning for Ka.

Well, finally, months after installation, I finally got a legitimate laser save. I was headed towards St Augustine from Jax, and there was a work crew on the side of the road. Five or six workers, and one female in the back bed of a DOT pickup truck with a Ultralyte III. When she hit me the first time, I was running 90+ and got the warning. In the three second delay before jammer cutoff I was able to get back well within the flow of traffic which was running about 75. She hit me a second time, but like I said, I was running with the traffic around me. Still probably lucky there was traffic around to blend into. It wouldn't have taken much for her to notify the four troopers waiting about 3/4 mile further on down the road to pull over the Porsche! Anyway, that was my first legitimate laser save. The ALPS are amazing! :D

Finally got around to mounting my two rear ALP receivers, and updating all the software. The good news was that I did NOT have to remove the rear bumper to mount them, like I thought I would. However, if I add a rear NetRadar receiver, it looks like I won't be so lucky! :dread:

Attachment 5651

Very nice and clean !!

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Originally Posted by wailer

Finally got around to mounting my two rear ALP receivers, and updating all the software. The good news was that I did NOT have to remove the rear bumper to mount them, like I thought I would. However, if I add a rear NetRadar receiver, it looks like I won't be so lucky! :dread:

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You could mount a Rear NR up high (to keep it out of FLA Sunshine & overheating it) in the back window.

This is the 1st time I noticed your OP & the Front 3 Transponders...Important ques:

What is the spacing distance from the CM (Center Mass) to each of the outer ones. If it's more than 23-24" you will be very vulnerable to DragonEye Lidars (used in FLA & GA) ! Other Mfg Legacy models will not be a problem

what a great looking ride congrats :thumbs2: like the rear window mtg idea

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Originally Posted by dinkydi

what a great looking ride congrats :thumbs2: like the rear window mtg idea

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Thanks a bunch! Love the ALPs integrated with the Net Radar. Best setup I've ever run. Love the K filtering of Net Radar!

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Originally Posted by RedRocket

You could mount a Rear NR up high (to keep it out of FLA Sunshine & overheating it) in the back window.

This is the 1st time I noticed your OP & the Front 3 Transponders...Important ques:

What is the spacing distance from the CM (Center Mass) to each of the outer ones. If it's more than 23-24" you will be very vulnerable to DragonEye Lidars (used in FLA & GA) ! Other Mfg Legacy models will not be a problem

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I won't mount in the rear window because it is tinted. I'll be under the car (on a lift) for an oil change next week, and will see what mounting opportunities avail themselves without pulling the bumper. I know how to pull it. It's just a PITA! I am pretty happy with what the front NR is picking up behind me, that I don't feel I really need it. It would likely increase the frustration factor too by lengthening threat encounters and possibly some additional lockouts. On the positive side it would give super sensitive rear coverage and direction to the radar threat, so I will think about it after my next trip.

For the ALPs, I felt the rear license plate and tail lights were the biggest vulnerability. The extreme slope of the fast back should help deflect a shot that hits there. Having the ALPs where they are also lends some coverage to any reflection given off by the rear wing when it is raised.

Distance between the center front ALP and each of the outside ALPs is exactly 23". I felt the driving lights could be problematic, so I mounted them there, which also puts them right under each headlight. The hood slope on the Porsche is extreme, while the slope of the front windshield is raked back more than most cars too.

Attachment 5660

Thanks for all the feedback and kind comments guys!

~Wailer

Looking forward to see if there is a special RDD proof we need it here in Australia

Toms working on it :D

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Originally Posted by wailer

**I won't mount in the rear window because it is tinted. I'll be under the car (on a lift) for an oil change next week, and will see what mounting opportunities avail themselves without pulling the bumper. I know how to pull it. It's just a PITA! I am pretty happy with what the front NR is picking up behind me, that I don't feel I really need it. It would likely increase the frustration factor too by lengthening threat encounters and possibly some additional lockouts. On the positive side it would give super sensitive rear coverage and direction to the radar threat, so I will think about it after my next trip.

***For the ALPs, I felt the rear license plate and tail lights were the biggest vulnerability. The extreme slope of the fast back should help deflect a shot that hits there. Having the ALPs where they are also lends some coverage to any reflection given off by the rear wing when it is raised.

Distance between the center front ALP and each of the outside ALPs is exactly 23". I felt the driving lights could be problematic, so I mounted them there, which also puts them right under each headlight. The hood slope on the Porsche is extreme, while the slope of the front windshield is raked back more than most cars too.
Thanks for all the feedback and kind comments guys!

~Wailer

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**Rear window tint doesn't affect Radar reception unless you have Athermic glass which will block radar waves. The NR doesn't have to be right near the glass, you could mount it under the Rear seat headrest & the top of the Rear seat kinda hidden.

***Fla. State Troopers are back shooters w/ Lidar guns, the DragonEye Lidars are deadly, especially against White or Silver body color. You best watch your "6" when rolling by Interstate On-Ramps or Overpasses !!!

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Originally Posted by RedRocket

**Rear window tint doesn't affect Radar reception unless you have Athermic glass which will block radar waves. The NR doesn't have to be right near the glass, you could mount it under the Rear seat headrest & the top of the Rear seat kinda hidden.

***Fla. State Troopers are back shooters w/ Lidar guns, the DragonEye Lidars are deadly, especially against White or Silver body color. You best watch your "6" when rolling by Interstate On-Ramps or Overpasses !!!

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Thanks for the tips. I wasn't sure about tint effect on radar. I'm not sure what athermic glass is, but it wouldn't surprise me if Porsche doesn't use it to keep that greenhouse fastback window from heating up the car too much. The tint I used is not so dark, but is VERY effective at keeping heat out. I'm not sure of the molecular structure and any effect it might have. If I can get it behind the rear bumper, that would be ideal, especially to keep it really stealthy.

Yeah the highway patrol can be sneaky around here. The only laser I encountered so far has been a trooper embedded with a highway work crew (in work crew vest) sitting in the back of their pickup truck as they worked on the side of the road. Was doing 90+ on the initial hit, but slowed to surrounding traffic by the time she hit me again after ALP shutdown. 3/4 mile down the road a couple of FHP cars waiting on the side! I LOVE this system! Will definitely slow down for the on ramps and backside of bridges, etc.! :thumbs2:

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Originally Posted by wailer

Thanks for the tips. I wasn't sure about tint effect on radar. I'm not sure what athermic class is, but it wouldn't surprise me if Porsche doesn't use it to keep that greenhouse fastback window from heating up the car too much. The tint I used is not so dark, but is VERY effective at keeping heat out. I'm not sure of the molecular structure and any effect it might have. If I can get it behind the rear bumper, that would be ideal, especially to keep it really stealthy.

Yeah the highway patrol can be sneaky around here. The only laser I encountered so far has been a trooper embedded with a highway work crew (in work crew vest) sitting in the back of their pickup truck as they worked on the side of the road. Was doing 90+ on the initial hit, but slowed to surrounding traffic by the time she hit me again after ALP shutdown. 3/4 mile down the road a couple of FHP cars waiting on the side! I LOVE this system! Will definitely slow down for the on ramps and backside of bridges, etc.! :thumbs2:

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Athermic glass is UV coated "solar glass". Thin metallic layer in the glass for keeping the heat out but also prevents GPS signals and radar signals from coming through...

Ceramic tint is fine for using a RD through it but metallic tint is not.

Yeah, OK. This was a ceramic tint. I'm not sure about the glass though. More research required. Looked under the rear bumper. I would have to pull it to mount the NR there. :\

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Originally Posted by wailer

Yeah, OK. This was a ceramic tint. I'm not sure about the glass though. More research required. Looked under the rear bumper. I would have to pull it to mount the NR there. :\

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I put my rear Net Radar behind the bumper cover and it works great there. I did have to remove the bumper cover to get it mounted properly.

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Originally Posted by BestRadarDetectors

I put my rear Net Radar behind the bumper cover and it works great there. I did have to remove the bumper cover to get it mounted properly.

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Yep. My front NR is behind the bumper cover and works great too! :)

My MRCD antenna us behind the bumper as well and the rage is always a few hundred meters. As long as it's behind flat plastic, the bumper shouldn't render performance all that much!

How did you fabricate the rear head enclosure? I'd love to do something similar on my car. Thanks

On top of RedRocket's suggestion, your 2 outer heads look like they're slanted on the X-axis. This will further increase your vulnerability against VPR guns. Being in an area that has DragonEye I'd address it sooner than later.

Then again, it may just be the picture. The center head looks super clean!

Do you have a 3rd sensor in the middle up front? Is it a Tx sensor? Have you encountered the Dragoneye laser gun?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wailer

I installed a front 3-head system with a front Net Radar antenna. I have two ALP sensors for the back, but have not installed them yet. My intention is to buy another Net Radar antenna for the rear once the directional software update is done. I don't relish pulling the rear bumper off my Porsche more than once, so I'll wait. Hopefully that software update will be coming soon.

In the month or more that I have had the system installed I've been experimenting with Profiles, filters, HiFi vs Bluetooth to my Android phone. I now run the phone extensively, as it give you so much information quickly and is easy to access where I have it on the center console just below my shifter. (UPDATE: Phone has been moved above the center console on a magnetic mount that keeps it just below the top of the dash, but easily in my peripheral vision). I, like many others, wish the HiFi could be used in conjunction with the Bluetooth, but that shortfall has already been beat to death in the forums, so I will not go any further down that road. Hopefully though, it will be addressed with an optional hardware update soon.

I recently returned from a 2,000 mile road trip that took me on backroads from north Florida to the mountains of north Georgia (Tallulah Falls, Clayton, Blairsville, Helen, Brasstown Bald, Cleveland, & Dahlonega to name a few) over to Ashville, NC. From Ashville, I was back into the mountains where I completed the Tail of the Dragon - briefly entering TN, Charhala, and many miles on the Blueridge. I returned to Florida through Gainesville, GA, Atlanta, Carrollton, Newnan, Andersonville, and Tallahassee. I found myself on all kinds of roads, with a mix of urban and country environments. Police included State Patrol, Sheriffs, and locals, as well as Park Police in all four states (FL, GA, TN, and NC).

Sadly (or luckily), during this trip, and since installing my ALPs, I have not yet had even one encounter with Laser! I have extensively tested them with the laser tester from ALP, and they register every gun it can duplicate perfectly.

I previously ran a STiR-Plus seperately (not integrated) with the ALPs, but sold it because of the K falsing issue. The front antenna Net Radar, mounted behind the bumper) has thus far been very nearly as quick as the M3 antenna on the STiR (and a previous 9500ci in a previous Porsche) on both K and Ka. Plenty of reaction time if they were constant on and not obstructed by terrain or some other structure. Even if they were, I often picked up scatter or reflection enough to warn me. Instant on remains as deadly as ever, but I try to always find a rabbit to lead me. Situation awareness is still required out there! Knowing where there is less likelyhood of running into a LEO plays into the equation as well. I have been leaving the Net Radar in Highway mode with very little falsing from BSM radars. They are fairly easy to discern as the warning increases as you creep closer to that Cadillac (or whatever) in front of you, and quickly diminish as you pass. Door openers are a pain in areas where you don't commonly drive, but that's mostly in urban areas where you can afford to turn the whole system off since you can't make any time anyway.

K band falsing has quieted down around where I drove most of the time, as I lock out door openers. It's only in the urban areas that I don't often travel that cause any occasional angst.

All totally unscientific. My observations only. Can't wait for the real world comparison tests. And, did I mention, I can't wait for the Net Radar directional ability?

Including a couple of pics of my Ride and ALP setup, Net Radar is mounted in the middle behind the bumper cover, above the center ALP. I have leveled the two outside ALPs (next to the driving/fog lights) since the picture was taken!

Let the flaming commence!

Attachment 5492
Attachment 5493

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I have a middle grill mounted mounted regular sensor. It is not a tx sensor.

UPDATE to my 2017 review . . .

It's now mid-2019, and I have changed nothing since installing the system described in that review (3 regular ALP heads and an original Netradar unit up front, and 2 regular ALP heads in the rear). This setup has SMOKED everything I've ever run before. And yes, I've had MANY laser encounters since the original write up. While Netradar is probably NOT the very best radar detector currently out there, it integrates so well with the ALPS, and significantly quiets most blind-spot radars. I still only have the one (original, non-DLP) Netradar up front, but it has worked MORE than adequately to give me warning from both in front AND behind. So much so, that I'm not sure that I will ever spend another $500 to install a rear-facing detector to add more noise and longer encounters, when the one unit up front has been doing the job just fine (yeah, it picks stuff up from behind me). And with little analysis, I am able to ascertain relatively quickly which direction the threat is without the touted front or rear indications. DLP is probably a bit better in longer range detection, but the basic unit I have has proven to be more than up to the task. Where I live the primary threat is Ka, and I treat every Ka warning as an immediate threat. There is the occasional laser threat from motorcycle cops and State Patrol, but they are rare. The ALPs have taken care of them on every encounter. I have K set up to warn me if I wander outside my home county. It is amazing to me that this combination has worked perfectly since 2014 to keep me safe and ticket free. And yes, I'm still using my Android phone for display. I love the info it provides and I have locked out most all the non-radar threat falses from door-openers, traffic signs, etc. in my area. ALP/Netradar have proven to be a bullet-proof solution for today's threats. The one down-side is that it's 2019, and I'm still waiting to see a solution that allows me to use my add-on speaker instead of my Android phone for threat announcements. I would have expected an optional hardware fix for that by now, but I expect I'll get hammered for even bringing it up! Despite this, I'm a believer. ALP/Netradar sets the standard for effectiveness, reliable hardware AND convenience!

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Originally Posted by System

On top of RedRocket's suggestion, your 2 outer heads look like they're slanted on the X-axis. This will further increase your vulnerability against VPR guns. Being in an area that has DragonEye I'd address it sooner than later.

Then again, it may just be the picture. The center head looks super clean!

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I definitely agree w/ @System about your 2 outer Transponders have a slant in the X-axis, & it's a disadvantage towards bulletproof defense. Because of that slant it leaves a vulnerable open in your CM on fairly close range (<600-700ft) Lidar, even tho' you have the center Priority down low.
DragonEye guns are used in FLA (others nearby,too) & for the last 4yrs an ALP 'Dual' is not enough, you've been wide open on your 6 & even moreso now completely defenseless against recent f/w versions.

Compliments to you for the nice review on AntiLaser system performance.
You really should get Tested asap, there are some Testers in FLA now & I know one is moving there shortly from up north.

Early 2021 now and have upgraded the 2014 base Porsche Cayman to a 2015 Cayman S. I've reinstalled the ALP/NetRadar system into the new vehicle which has white metallic paint. Tested the front NetRadar DSP behind that paint and as yet, experienced NO degradation. I moved the regular NR head to a shelf just behind the seats, pointed out the back window. Works great and now have arrows! :) I was much more diligent with mounting the ALP heads straight and level, but wish I could find someone in the Jacksonville area with a gun for testing. They are level and as straight as I could possibly measure. I have read a lot about the metallic paint, but decided to test on my own and so far so good! I'm getting PLENTY of warning (even off-axis) for everything I encounter (mostly Ka) around here. Only a couple of laser encounters (one DragonEye), and the ALPs appear to be functioning as they should.