Sailor Posted June 11, 2012 Share #1 Posted June 11, 2012 While riding with a friend in his pickup I noticed he had a radar detector. It was plugged in but on the transmission hump and facing the passengers door. " Fat lot of good that is going to do" I thought. Then it went off and a minute later we went through a radar trap. A fluke I figured. Then it went off again and a police cruiser passed us going the other way. Then a few minutes later it went off again and stayed on. I finally spotted a cruiser about three cars behind us. Obviously when you get zapped with the radar it bounces around inside the cab a few times. What is the cumulative amount of radar you are exposed to? Around here you can go through 3-4 traps in a day. Does anyone know of a study which takes in the total effect of multiple zappings inside the cab? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djh3 Posted June 11, 2012 Share #2 Posted June 11, 2012 Well I sure aint no scientest or expert on this stuff. But I belive what is used for speed detection is way different from the stuff say your dentist or a Dr uses to x-ray you. The speed stuff is more a radio wave kind of gig and lower wave legnths I belive. However you can probably find some lawyer that might go after them for over exposing you. 1-800-ask gary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venturous Randy Posted June 11, 2012 Share #3 Posted June 11, 2012 (edited) Several years ago I heard of a State Trooper that was suing because he had testicular cancer and he said it was from laying the radar gun in his lap. This is the same kind of radar you get from automatic doors and some motion detectors. RandyA Edited June 11, 2012 by Venturous Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etcswjoe Posted June 11, 2012 Share #4 Posted June 11, 2012 (edited) The police Radars are the same band as radar and satelittle broadcast ( X, K, Ka bands) and at such a low power you are not in any harm, however most use lasers now so its a mute point. As far as the usefullness of a radar detector it has to see the radar gun to go off since all the bands are LOS. Article from WHO http://www.who.int/peh-emf/publications/facts/fs226/en/index.html Edited June 11, 2012 by etcswjoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOO Posted June 11, 2012 Share #5 Posted June 11, 2012 AND by the time your radar detector goes off it's to late to do anything about it. Makes people feel better to have one I guess. BOO The police Radars are the same band as radar and satelittle broadcast ( X, K, Ka bands) and at such a low power you are not in any harm, however most use lasers now so its a mute point. As far as the usefullness of a radar detector it has to see the radar gun to go off since all the bands are LOS. Article from WHO http://www.who.int/peh-emf/publications/facts/fs226/en/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam Posted June 11, 2012 Share #6 Posted June 11, 2012 Laser isn't used from a moving platform mode because it is just a beam of light, and the laser unit measures the time of the flight of the light beam to calculate speed, The oporater picks a target (like shooting deer)and pulls the trigger and gets an instant reading. As for dopler radar you will be exposed to more radio energy with the TV remote., and yes the detector has to see the radar unit/beam to be of any good so If your first in the pack you might as well just pull over and wait to be awarded for your efforts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyinfool Posted June 11, 2012 Share #7 Posted June 11, 2012 With the detector on the floor it will still go off. But by the time it does it is to late. Having it on the floor does drastically reduce the distance at which it can detect a signal. I do not know if it is still made or not but there used to be a model out there that had a sensor mounted in the grill and a remote display that you could mount under the dash so it would not be seen by people outside of your vehicle. It was also popular on bikes for a while due to its concealability and difficulty in quickly removing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dacheedah Posted June 11, 2012 Share #8 Posted June 11, 2012 The radar looses half of it's energy by the time it reaches the end of the hood of the car. It is electromagnetic non thermal microwave radiation. It's just a radio wave that sends a signal and measures how long for it to return, and another . . . answer is your speed. There are units that are basically on but with a switch that turns the antenna (cone) off when button is not pushhed, press it and when the detector goes off you are had. Laser still uses radio waves but they are in the light spectrum and very sensative and narrow, you must hold still to get a reading but the distance is much longer. Officers used to put the gun in their laps and yes that is a bad practice but remember thae power in that radio spectrum is lost very quickly. ( the same as old cell phone brain cancers or public safety radio's with antennas by the officers head. Now many units and some states require units, to be dash or visabar mounted. You have more to worry about the cell signal you are carrying around, blue tooth, CB, am and fm radio signals, they are all low level radiation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joboo Posted June 11, 2012 Share #9 Posted June 11, 2012 Sailor, you can tell your friend that he is doing himself no favors by putting his detector where he has it. I did a lot of work with this type equipment. First, the reply to Venturous..that was probably a true story about the State Trooper, years ago X Band was widely used, the frequency was 2.465GHz which was also the same frequency that was used in the first radar ranges which we now call microwave ovens. Door opening sensors, especially grocery stores also were widely used in that frequency. The power was up to 5 watts on the old radar guns but the waveform loses power from the source on a sliding exponential scale. So putting an old X band radar gun in your lap was probably a bad idea, because the source was in fact a tiny type of magnetron which are used to generate these waveforms which are indeed in the microwave band. Harmless unless focused and close up would generate heat at the molecular level. The power on the K and Ka bands has been limited to 2 watts but the bandwidth is more narrow and the frequency higher, also out of the heat danger zone. Back to your friend's detector, modern detectors use a band pass filter and discriminator at the end of a small collector tube as a receiver, while it is true that the waves "bounce around" inside a metal can it does delay his reception if that receiver is not pointed toward the source. Modern transmitters have "instant on" capability to reduce the signature and the ability to react to it. As far as harmful effects, at the distance you are from the source in your vehicle they would be almost zero. Some great answers here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djh3 Posted June 11, 2012 Share #10 Posted June 11, 2012 From experience (dont ask) you haave a chance of possibly getting a break if you dont have one in the vehicle. I got 2 of them laying in the garage somewhere. I dont put them in anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailor Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share #11 Posted June 11, 2012 I knew somebody out there would have the answer. A very knowledgeable group. I did not think there would be any harm but I was curious. As for the detectors, another question. With the common radar in use (not laser) would there not be scatter like you get with a flashlight beam? In that case would it not bounce off other objects and allow you to detect it before you actually become the target? Thanks for the replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvrT Posted June 11, 2012 Share #12 Posted June 11, 2012 I had a relatively inexpensive radar detector in my vehicle back in the mid 90's. It saved my butt several times. I remember one instance when it started bleeping, I was on a fairly open highway, long straight stretch with a sweeping right corner at the end of the straight, trees blocked vision of whatever was around that corner. No vehicles in sight but when it bleeped, I slowed down and sure enough, around the corner was a LEO travelling towards me. I don't bother with radar detectors anymore simply because I don't speed anymore.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joboo Posted June 11, 2012 Share #13 Posted June 11, 2012 Sailor, in answer to your question, the newer radar beam is fairly fast but is also fairly narrow, like a Maglite flashlight that has a focus adjustment to narrow the beam. This keeps the scatter to a minimum and the return from a large metal object gives an accurate reading. There is some scatter but to detect that and separate it from background noise is a problem for a low cost receiver. Basically it means you would get a lot of false alarms and would be less likely to use the product for its intended purpose. But with "instant on" and even more narrow beam laser, usually you are unable to react before the receiver has locked a return. The only real defense would be to either intercept the signal and prevent its return or transmit a signal of your own to prevent a receiver lock on the correct return. Unfortunately these are not legal alternatives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dacheedah Posted June 11, 2012 Share #14 Posted June 11, 2012 And if you are thinking of a jammer, if the officer knows he/she should be seeing a reading and isn't that PC for an inspection. In Illinois, and in most states, that will get you in a big jam, we would call in IDOT for a full vehicle inspection. lights, brakes ... Confiscation of the device, fine and costs, if you can prove you have a valid reason to have it and the FCC licenses to go with it it can be returned, otherwise you are broadcasting on a frequency reserved for public safety without a license and interfering with public safety. I would give passes on honesty , especially with a great story, always lay paper on detectors, Jammers turned into science projects that involved numerous agencies and lots of time, towing, certified inspectors, confiscation and days of paperwork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venture n Dixie Posted June 11, 2012 Share #15 Posted June 11, 2012 I just realized why I waste so much time reading this forum. It's like Popular Mechanics was in the 60's and 70's with a heavy emphasis on motorcycles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvrT Posted June 11, 2012 Share #16 Posted June 11, 2012 I just realized why I waste so much time reading this forum. It's like Popular Mechanics was in the 60's and 70's with a heavy emphasis on motorcycles! It's never a waste of time for me coz I think I learn something new here every day. for example, I just learned that reading this forum is like reading Popular Mechanics .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venturous Randy Posted June 11, 2012 Share #17 Posted June 11, 2012 In my opinion, if you were going to put a radar detector on any vehicle, it should be on a motorcycle. The reason I say this is a motorcycle, especially a 1st gen seems to be pretty stealthy. The problem with this is radar is not discriminating enough and radar reads the strongest bounceback, not the fastest or slowest. Therefore, if you are going down the highway doing 55mph in a 55mph speed limit and you have a truck a half mile behind you doing 65mph, the cop is going to get a 65mph reading and unless he is well trained, you are going to get pulled over. If you know from a beep that you are in the vicinity of radar, it does give you a chance to see how fast you are going, not just to slow down, but to confirm to you that you are or not speeding. My problem is at one time those that used radar were fairly well trained, like State Troopers. Now we have deputies and Constables that I suspect know little more than how to turn their radar gun on. Occasionally when we have the units set up beside the road that constantly send out radar and have a big screen that posts speeds, my detector may go off a mile before I get to it and I have to be very close, less than 200 feet to get it to read me, and if I am in any traffic, even stretched out, it will not read me at all. RandyA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venture n Dixie Posted June 11, 2012 Share #18 Posted June 11, 2012 It's never a waste of time for me coz I think I learn something new here every day. for example, I just learned that reading this forum is like reading Popular Mechanics .... Specificaly the OLD PM when articles had useful content and were more than glorified ads. Only drawback is now that my laptop died I can't take the forum to "the Library"! Now what were we talking about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condor Posted June 12, 2012 Share #19 Posted June 12, 2012 I like radar detectors. They keep me awake when traveling at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyinfool Posted June 12, 2012 Share #20 Posted June 12, 2012 The biggest benefit I get out of my radar detector is that it can display a digital voltmeter to help keep tabs on a weak electrical system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warriorhoneybee Posted June 12, 2012 Share #21 Posted June 12, 2012 http://www.valentine1.com/ is your friend. i know there will be people to disagree but the valentine one is the best detector I've ever used or had. of course now i don't have one but if i were to get another one there would be no doubt on this one. and yes they do help out if there shooting others you can pick it up in time,however with the instant on, if they don't shoot anyone in front of you and pick you out than you've had a bad day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msshearin Posted June 12, 2012 Share #22 Posted June 12, 2012 ROFLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Guys I retired 2 years ago for the NCSHP and used one type of radar or another for 30 yrs to write 1000's of speeding citations no 10s of 1000's and one thing I will tell you for sure!!!!!!!!RADAR stands for radio detection and ranging its just a radio transmitter and receiver and will no hurt anyone. And the BIG truth.....if I stopped a vehicle for speeding with a warning in mind and there was a radar detector in the vehicle........INSTANT CITATION I figured the detector was his/her chance for a warning.......just saying ;)oh and don't forget about VASCAR......no signal...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warriorhoneybee Posted June 12, 2012 Share #23 Posted June 12, 2012 the ole painted lines or fixed object,it's hard to beat a stop watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warriorhoneybee Posted June 12, 2012 Share #24 Posted June 12, 2012 how about it Skid??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msshearin Posted June 12, 2012 Share #25 Posted June 12, 2012 In my opinion, if you were going to put a radar detector on any vehicle, it should be on a motorcycle. The reason I say this is a motorcycle, especially a 1st gen seems to be pretty stealthy. The problem with this is radar is not discriminating enough and radar reads the strongest bounceback, not the fastest or slowest. Therefore, if you are going down the highway doing 55mph in a 55mph speed limit and you have a truck a half mile behind you doing 65mph, the cop is going to get a 65mph reading and unless he is well trained, you are going to get pulled over. If you know from a beep that you are in the vicinity of radar, it does give you a chance to see how fast you are going, not just to slow down, but to confirm to you that you are or not speeding. My problem is at one time those that used radar were fairly well trained, like State Troopers. Now we have deputies and Constables that I suspect know little more than how to turn their radar gun on. Occasionally when we have the units set up beside the road that constantly send out radar and have a big screen that posts speeds, my detector may go off a mile before I get to it and I have to be very close, less than 200 feet to get it to read me, and if I am in any traffic, even stretched out, it will not read me at all. RandyA the radar is only used to confirm our speed estimation.To get a radar cert you have to estimate 10 out of 10 vehicles within +- 5 mph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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