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HOW RADAR WORKS
Traffic radar, which consists of microwaves, travels in straight lines and is
easily reflected by objects such as cars, trucks, even guardrails and
overpasses. Radar works by directing its microwave beam down the road.
As your vehicle travels into range, the microwave beam bounces off your
car, and the radar antenna looks for the reflections. Using the Doppler
Principle, the radar equipment then calculates your speed by comparing
the frequency of the reflection of your car to the original frequency of the
beam sent out.
Traffic radar has limitations, the most significant of these being that it
typically can monitor only one target at a time. If there is more than one
vehicle within range, it is up to the radar operator to decide which target
is producing the strongest reflection. Since the strength of the reflection is
affected by both the size of the vehicle and its proximity to the antenna, it
is difficult for the radar operator to determine if the signal is from a sports
car nearby or a semi-truck several hundred feet behind.
Radar range also depends on the power of the radar equipment itself. The
strength of the radar unit’s beam diminishes with distance. The farther the
radar has to travel, the less energy it has for speed detection.
Because intrusion alarms and motion sensors often operate on the same
frequency as X-Band radar, your SOLO will occasionally receive non-
police radar signals. Since these X-Band transmitters are usually contained
inside of buildings or aimed toward the ground, they will generally
produce much weaker readings than will a true radar encounter. As you
become familiar with the sources of these pseudo alarms in your daily
driving, they will serve as confirmation that your SOLO’s radar detection
abilities are fully operational.
HOW LASER (LIDAR) WORKS
Laser speed detection is actually LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging).
LIDAR guns project a beam of invisible infrared light. The signal is a series
of very short infrared light energy pulses which move in a straight line,
reflecting off your car and returning to the gun. LIDAR uses these light
pulses to measure the distance to a vehicle. Speed is then calculated by
measuring how quickly these pulses are reflected given the known speed
of light.
LIDAR (or laser) is a newer technology and is not as widespread as
conventional radar, therefore, you may not encounter laser on a daily
basis. And unlike radar detection, laser detection is not prone to “false”
H O W R A D A R & L A S E R W O R K
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