At a hillcrest, V1 started chirping about a weak Ka ahead. A mile passes, then another, then more still, yet the warning barely strengthens. I’m guessing that a Ka patroller is ahead, rolling the same direction I am. It has to be ahead and moving; there’s no way V1 can pick up a stationary signal so far away that we seemingly never close on it.
I pass through a green-light intersection without slowing, V1 still beeping Ka. The road narrows to two lanes here. This is a spot where drivers usually gas it to overtake a car ahead–nobody wants to be stuck behind a slower car for several miles with no passing zones. But now the Ka strengthens noticeably, so I ease off a bit, which brings another car up tight on my back bumper, no doubt thinking “dude, WTF, why are you giving up the pace now?”
Just then my headlights pick up a glint ahead, motionless, close by the road, a state cruiser in full-dark mode. It’s almost comical to see my buddy behinds’ headlights dive as he spots the cruiser and spikes his brakes to avoid a “following too close” ticket.
On my return trip 15 minutes later, I see the trooper has not one, but two, cars pulled over. Being unwary has its own costs.
Now a reckoning on my part—the Ka wasn’t moving, it was simply an incredibly long way off. V1 Gen2’s range is gratifying and then some.
Tim Hall
Parker, CO