SEMA 2007 Overview

This year at the 2007 SEMA show, I hooked up with Steve Page who is the manager of the RadarBusters.com website for Netshops. As this was Steve’s first experience with SEMA, we mapped out and scheduled several meetings beforehand with various representatives in the speed countermeasure and 12 volt automotive field.

Our first scheduled visit was with Leon and his wife Bonnie at the Blinder laser jammer booth. But before we could get to the Blinder booth, we both had to walk past the Rocky Mountain Radar booth.  As we did, I was taken back as RMR had dramatically scaled back its presence at the show. Gone was the display shelves of their various products and their Kustom radar gun incased in Plexiglas that served as a “rigged” demonstration on how their radar jammers worked. Instead I saw a line of tables separating three RMR reps from the general SEMA audience along with several roll up product display boards and an LCD monitor. Also missing then and during the entire duration of the show was RMR president Mike Churchman and head engineer Raul.

A few minutes later after arriving at the Blinder booth, a RMR rep approached me handing me a letter written by Mike Churchman that was addressed to his distribution and business partners. After reading it and digesting it for a few minutes it then made perfect sense. RMR was in financial straits because of the recent FCC actions against them and their dealers and perhaps the tables were arranged in a fashion to form a buffer between their reps and what may turn out to be angry clients whom may have been cited or news media who wanted more information.

More information on RMR’s Law Suit and Mike Churchman’s letter can be found here.

BLINDER USA
Blinder USA released their new M-27 and M-47 Blinder Xtreme laser jammers back in July this year. Leon  went on to explain that their new system provides more voltage and brighter LED lights then their previous versions, thus providing a stronger laser jamming signal.

Don Norton from Cheetah was also present and explained their new laser node install kit for the Blinder series reduces the install time by over half as the laser jammer heads and the blinder controller both install under the hood connecting to a Cheetah transmitter that then relays the alert wirelessly to either their GPS mirror or their wireless fitting kit.

Blinder’s booth was so packed this year with SEMA attendee’s that Elvis awakened from the dead to see what all the excitment was about.

COBRA ELECTRONICS
Next we headed over to the Cobra Electronics booth and checked out the new XRS 9940 and XRS 9950 radar detectors that are expected to be released in March of 2008. The XRS 9950 is an all band radar and laser detector that also includes GPS locator that has a database of speed and red light camera locations.

Cobra also claims that both their 9940 and 9950 will be of a new higher performance category that will enable their detectors to detect X and Ka bands at nine miles line of sight.

If Cobra can ever build a radar detector that has the performance capabilities as good as its looks, they will have a winner!

BELTRONICS – ESCORT
Don Rich VP of Beltronics related that they had recently released their new STi-R remote detector to the Australian and European markets with great success. Their new unit is the first remote all band radar and laser detector that can defeat the Spectre RDD units. To also make it stealth to the eye, Don related that they built a separate display module and controller module that can easily be built into the dash area.

Don also explained another new feature of the STi-R remote is the ability to us selective Ka band programming and filtering. This enables the user to select individual blocks of Ka to scan or to block out, thus decreasing the scanning time while also increasing the range.
Don related that details for US distribution were still being “hammered out” but he felt that an official announcement for US availability would be coming out at the January CES show.

Although Escort did not have an official presence at the show, I did have an opportunity to sit down with their staff. They were being very close to the chest but I got the sense that they would also be coming out with their own remote install product line for the US market at CES.

PHOTO FIN
Perhaps the most interesting new product this year was the Photo Fin. Developed by an individual that lives in Cave Creek Arizona who got tired of getting photo radar citations. The Fin is a new way to defeat photo radar and red light cameras without having to apply a plastic cover across your license plate.

The PhotoFin is a thin piece of reflective metal that attaches to your license plate that acts as a mirror when viewed at an angle, causing distortion to your plate.

When viewed straight on, the fin is absolutely invisible to the eye and does not attract any attention at all.

OVERVIEW
As I expected, the major announcements of new products in the speed countermeasure industry will be made at the January CES show. However, the SEMA show is still a must attend event for anyone in the industry who needs to keep abreast of newsworthy events that effect the industry as a whole.

The big surprise of course is Michael Churchman’s attack on the FCC in his attempt to keep his company afloat. However Mike should also focus his attention to the staggering amount of complaints that have recently been filed with the El Paso Better Business Bureau that have caused his company to receive a “Unsatisfactory Record Status” rating, more info here.