Radar Detectors Discovered In All Their Glory

What is a radar detector? It is an electronic piece of equipment that tells a motorist if radar equipment, as used by the police for example is anywhere in the vicinity. The name of the game is thus to bypass radar traps and as a consequence speeding tickets.

The radar guns used by highway officers is used to measure the speed of any moving car or object, with respect to a specific point. There are two main components to any radar detector, a transmitter which despatches a radar signal, and a receiver which collates returning signals.

In its simplest sense, radar is used to work out the distance of one thing from another. It stands to reason of course that if the distance of a moving vehicle from a fixed location can be recorded a couple of times, and the distance travelled by the car, the speed of that object can be quickly calculated.

A radar detector can find police radar guns with a simple radio receiver. Some sophisticated detectors also use a transmitter as well as a receiver, which can effectively jam the radio waves of the radar guns, scrambling the information that is sent back to the police radar equipment.

Science has moved on to try and beat the radar jammers, using laser technology. Rather than using radio waves, laser guns use concentrated light beams to detect speed and movement. Because light travels so much quicker, the offending car is usually detected before the detection equipment has realised the vehicle is being recorded. As a consequence, laser detectors have been created in order to jam laser guns as well. The technique used is similar to that used for radio detectors.

At the end of the day, you pay your cash and then you make your choice as to the top system available for the money you can afford. The more pricey detectors will offer you a wider range of detection, but you have to pay top dollar for the system.