Ku-band Rumor

Ku Band

Since January I’ve been looking into the Ku-band rumor. I’ve known of only one Ku-band radar ever to appear in the States. That was a Gatso Type 09 Microspeed unit (private labeled as a Speedophot) brought here for a three-month Federal Highway Administration photo radar test along the Washington, D.C. Beltway in 1990. The unit was returned to Europe after the test concluded. (It’s also been out of production since 1988. Judging from its size--that enormous box on the rear bumper is the antenna--is this any wonder?)

According to one Web site whose operator is known for rumor-mongering, there’s a possibility that a U.S. manufacturer may introduce a Ku-band radar. From what I’ve found, there’s an equally good possibility of an asteroid hitting Topeka later this year.

Turns out that a single U.S. radar manufacturer has cobbled up a couple of Ku-band prototypes—for their Irish distributor. And there’s a good likelihood that the unit will never be produced. The chances of its being released in the U.S.: about zero.

But it’s given Cobra Electronics a 12th “band.” There are only three radar and one lidar (laser) bands in use here, a number highly unlikely ever to increase. But twelve band’s got to be better than four, right?