It’s a common misconception that a radar detector has to have arrows to be “360 degrees” and that without arrows, it can only pick up police radar threats from directly in front.
This simply isn’t true.
Radar stands for Radio Detection and Ranging. In short, it’s just another type of radio signal the one transmitting your favourite radio station.
Think about when you’re driving in your car listening to the radio. You can head across town west to east and the radio picks up the station. You then head west again, then south. Same radio station, still sounds great.
This is because it’s a radio signal and you can hear it no matter which direction you’re travelling.
Similarly with radar – it’s just a radio signal being broadcast from a police car with the intent of measuring your speed (for your safety, of course)
While a “single antenna” radar detector (no arrows) will be more accurate and efficient on threats directly in front of it, it IS still just a type of radio aerial. The radar will pick up radar threats in any direction, you just won’t know which direction they are coming from.
The difference with the arrow detectors is it has TWO antennas, which means it can show you between from and rear.
The fact it has two antennas doesn’t automatically make it better, stronger, faster or have a longer range. All it means is it can do two things at once, sometimes to its detriment if the “brain” isn’t quick enough to process the information, or it sacrifices range for processing speed.
Here’s the bottom line: ANY radar detector will detect from all directions, 360 degrees. Only the detectors with dual antenna (or arrows) can show you WHERE the alert is coming from.
