Radar Detectors

[DavidWardlaw]

Hello,

I do not know anything about radar detectors, but I know a significant amount about amplifiers, computers, electronics and soforth... I would like to learn about radar detectors by building one myself (I am a tactile learner). Is it cheaper to do so than if i were to buy one? Is it complicated (more so than an amplifier etc.). Are there kits available?

Thanks

[Conrad Hoffman]

IMO, a difficult (I didn't want to just say bad) project choice. You're working with frequencies you probably can't see on your scope, probably can't generate to test, and are trying to detect a system that's designed not to be detected. There were some construction articles in the old magazines like Electronics Now and its predecessors, but they were few and far between. Probably not to be trusted for today's systems. Detectors are also illegal in some places. It's not impossible, and you might end up building microwave generators and detectors to do it. A better path might be to play with the microwave communication bands available to ham radio operators, and the ARRL pubs and speciality ham books have a lot of practical circuits for transmission, reception, and test equipment. I think there's even some area of power and frequency where a license isn't required, but not sure.