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Dayton, OH 45414
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West Carrollton City, OH 45449
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How Does a Police Radar Gun Work?

Police Radar

Police officers in North America have been using radar guns to catch speeders since 1949. This relatively simple technology evolved from military applications before World War II, where long-range installations were the size of a medium-size apartment building. Modern radar guns aren’t quite pocket-sized, but they are easily transportable and can be hand-held or installed permanently in a police vehicle. Let’s look at how a radar gun works.

How Does Speed-Detecting Radar Work?

In simple terms, a radar gun transmits a narrow beam of radio-frequency energy out the front of the gun and looks for that signal to be reflected back to the gun after bouncing off an object. Unlike lidar and laser guns, the speed measurement is calculated by how much the received signal has changed in frequency after reflecting off the moving object. This phenomenon is called a Doppler effect and is the same reason that a car sounds different as it approaches and drives away from you.

Police Radar
Radio frequency signals bouncing off a stationary object are reflected to the source at the same frequency.

Please Explain Doppler Effect to Me!

Imagine that you have a tennis ball machine shooting balls at a stationary object once every second. The balls bounce back to the machine and arrive once per second. If you start to move the object toward the ball launching machine, the balls bounce back faster and faster as the object approaches the machine. This increase in return speed represents an increase in frequency.

Police Radar
Radio frequencies that bounce off of an object moving away from the radar gun are reflected at a lower frequency.

If an object is moving away from the tennis ball machine, it will take longer for each ball to bounce back, thus representing a decrease in frequency. The digital signal processor in modern radar guns is configured to analyze the changes in the reflected signal very quickly and display a speed reading in less than a second.

Police Radar
Radio frequencies that bounce off of an object moving toward the radar gun are reflected at a higher frequency.

Different Radar Bands

Police RadarIn North America, police officers use radar guns that operate in the X, K and Ka band frequency ranges. X band is the oldest technology and operates between 8 and 12 GHz; the K band is between 18 and 27 GHz; and the Ka band is between 27 and 40 GHz. X band radar is prone to interference from automatic door opening systems. K band (K is short for Kurz, which is the German word for short) and Ka (K-above band) radar are less resistant to atmospheric absorption than X band and less effective over long distances. Most of the new radar guns such as the Stalker II and the Kustom Talon use Ka band signals, so if your detector goes off, you know you need to react right away.

Radar Detectors Provide Early Warnings

Unlike lidar, the radar signal isn’t as precise at long distances, allowing it to spread well beyond the vehicle being measured. The high-sensitivity radar receiver in a radar detector is tuned to pick up extremely low-level signals and alert you that radar is in use. You need to act quickly when a radar detector goes off. Your local specialist mobile enhancement retailer can help you choose the perfect portable or custom-installed radar for your application and ensure that the system is installed cleanly. Drop by and find out what’s available today!

This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.

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Filed Under: ARTICLES, Radar Detectors, RESOURCE LIBRARY

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Testimonials

Staff was very nice & professional

Staff was very nice & professional!! Very satisfied with car window tint that I had done. If you have been to the rest of their competition & not satisfied I recommend you go see the best @ Car Stereo Max!!!

Really nice guys and very professional

Paul and Nick are really nice guys and very professional. Their customer service was great and they took care of me and my car. I felt at ease leaving them my car for over 4 hours too. I originally had an appointment for Saturday but they had a cancellation on Thursday and asked if I wanted the slot. Knowing Saturday's weather wasn't looking good for the drive, I jumped on it and brought my car down right away and they installed a new head unit and backup camera on my 2006 Z06. I'm very pleased with the work they did and would definitely recommend this shop to anyone.

Awesome group

Awesome group of people very knowledgeable, helped me get the right equipment and installed it for me. Best prices around.

Exceeded my expectation

Went there to get quiet a few things done and they have exceeded my expectation of work. Everything turned out great and could not ask for better customer service. Will be returning for more work. Thanks guys!  

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Dayton Location

3349 Needmore Road
Dayton, OH 45414
Phone: (937) 237-1544

West Carrollton Location

3580 Miamisburg-Centerville Rd
West Carrollton, OH 45449
Phone: (937) 522-0864

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