Yes, I heard all about the V1 issue (on speedzones). And like most here I take everything with a big grain of salt. There is some good info on the site, BUT

I am a Valetine man and will probably always be...

 

I got hit from behind for a 51 in a 35, but I only got a warning notice out of it. I suppose I attracted attention to myself by pulling a U turn just prior to an intersection late at night. I had just finished polishing the vette and wanted to get a burger the main boulevard had the sprinkers on and with the top down I didn't want to get drench or my newly polish job messed up.

Either way, it prompted me to get a radar unit. It is a cordless Solo S2. All I know now is when it goes off I slow up to the speed limit if I'm over and every time it is right on the money.

I don't know about other places but here in FL we have a lot of unmarked patrol cars. Heck we even have a lot of super hi-performance patrol cars. I've been warned to watch out, some of those cars (camaro's, mustangs etc) cruise to entice a race and bust you. So I don't race anyone on the roads. That is just asking for trouble.

I like having the abilty of the radar detector to tell you if your being painted from behind. Regardless of the Vette's radar signal I like knowing when I'm being painted.

 

Sadly I too have a minor in physics with my BSEE and I agree, yet I still feel like your missing the point. Mostly intentionally; I would guess to let it be known how smart you are. Sound energy is not energy in the same respect to radio or radar true, great you passed a class. Sound takes needs mass (a medium) to travel. I don’t think I need another book on this subject, thanks anyways. If you want I can suggest a few for you to go study for a personality; especially if you are offended now. I was just giving a little input in more of layman’s terms and trying to get you to stop attacking others. So see if you like it when pointless corrections and information are made.
I.e. radio waves travel at 186,000 miles per second through air, woopty-doo right, so you should already know. In contrast, sound waves travel at only 1/5 of a mile per second, much slower. If a modulation is made of the radio wave that exactly reproduces the amplitude and frequency characteristics of the original sound wave, then sound can be transmitted rapidly over long distances, hence a radio.
And what uses this,,, If you said, a radar gun, your right. A radar gun is used to send out radio waves of specific frequencies in a chosen direction. What do you think these specific frequencies are referred to, Bands, yep they commonly use Ka-band and others close to it.
Can I stop now, O, were still testing, ok…
The traveling waves then bounce off objects, including vehicles (Even a Corvette!), and return to the radar gun's receiver. When the waves reflect off a moving vehicle, a measurable frequency shift, called Doppler Shift, occurs. The radar gun computer then uses the frequency shift to calculate the speed of the moving vehicle.

More, the term "wave" is used to describe the transmission of energy through a medium such as air, water, or even space. All radio waves and all light waves travel at a constant speed known as the speed of light (186282.4 miles/sec or 299,792,458 meters/sec). Sound depends on the medium. Generally speaking, radio waves will continue indefinitely unless they are reflected, refracted, or absorbed, which usually happens. The term reflection, like when radio waves will bounce off an object in direct relationship to the angle of approach such as a windshield or headlights. Refraction refers to the breaking up of the radio signal when passing through a material which neither reflects nor absorbs the signal. An example of refraction is found when light passes through a broken windshield, which I hope you don’t have; light is diffused into different directions. Absorption occurs when radio waves strike an object which neither reflects nor refracts the signal. Radio waves can be absorbed by the soil, leaves, rocks, your head, etc. Most material will effect the radio wave with a combination of all three; reflection, refraction, and absorption.
Can I quit now,
I just wanted the other OZ to give it up, he’s not going stealth and everyone knows it. Someone, like yourself, was attacking him for saying sound when, yes, he should have said “RADIO”. But no, someone all ways has to be a jerk and start correcting people on junk that doesn’t even help the point of the matter or the person. I would think since you were here on this forum longer you would know, and be the better member. But I was wrong. Instead I get heckled by a jerk like he did.

Thanks, I would have to say to you, that no one is right. The ENTIRE point was missed. JLB, **** engineering is not what we need to do on this site. This thread went on way too long; and for no reason, because no one here needs or wants a physics lesson, and defiantly not from a know it all that likes to retort on others in that manor.

To all, I am sorry if you felt you had to read this. It is truly dumb that someone can take themselves so serous.

 

Ill say plenty of tickets, plenty....

 

Whoa..... i go off to a wedding for the weekend thinking my post will attract little interest.... ill check it on monday , come back and there's three pages worth of replies!

so, this article i read many moons ago, it was by "Dave Mc Llelan" ?? what is the name of his book, id like to re-read it.

 

Funny, you look away one sec and BAM!

 

I would get popped by radar in my Cutlass once a year easy for 10 years till I got my my Vette. 7 years later and I have blown by many radar traps with the cop looking back at me with a really strange look as I pass him. Too many times to be a fluke.

Funny though, becuase the C5s around my area say that they get clocked by radar no problem. Must be that big fat a$$!

I was also told at the GM training facility that the ZR1 windshield will distort radar readings by design.

 

Just to shed some light on RADAR. For your enjoyment and for those times when you can't sleep, try reading Skolnik. If you couldn't sleep, you will need a freaking blowhorn to wake your butt up. If you can sleep, well just make sure no one tries to bury you prematurely. Interesting reading if you are awake but don't do if you are moderately tired.

 

Mate im not certain which book youre talking about, but it is probably the one called: "Corvette from the inside" or something like that

 

Give the man a cigar! The same "laser pulse" principle can now be found in the distance measureing devices that you can buy at Home Depot - the technology used by these devices is to send a pulsed laser to the far wall and measure the distance by the time it takes the return pulse to come back to the hand held unit. Go buy one - there is an audible sound emitted by these units as it send the pulse of light out.

 

Lets face it. If we are speeding in a sports car and the police want to get us, they will. I was stopped in Minnesota because I was clocked by a Minnesota State Trooper in a small airplane flying about the freeway. They clocked the time it took me to travel between two fixed points and converted it to speed. A squad car on the ground made the traffic stop. I assume the tropper in the air used radio to communicate with the squad car. I always assume that when I'm speeding I may ge a ticket. When I do, I **** and moan to myself a little then pay it.

 

I remember seeing a review a while ago on some radar/laser jamming equipment.

One company was building a stealth bra for cars, using honeycombed carbon-fiber to trap the radar waves. reduced the distance of detenction by 2/3 over no bra. Don't know what ever happened to them, but it was a pretty cool review.

Another part was reviewing the laser jammers. In effect they were all smoke and mirrors. What they said was it is MORE effective to turn your lights on high beam. This distracted the laser gun and made it more difficult to lock onto you. During this time, you should be hard on the binders to get under the posted speed. I forget what the distance change was, but it was pretty significant.

Some guys I used to know in the ECM shop (electronic counter-measures for those not into military lingo) made jammers all the time. They said all you needed was a 10 watt transmitter since the radar gun can only recieve about 1/4 watt. The damn gun just smokes, blows a resister in the receiver circuitry...almost a dead giveaway if you are the only car on the road, but in traffic what can they do?

All I know, is I too have been driving my car for a long time. I've only had a few tickets in 15 years, and I don't generally drive under the posted speed. I've noticed that the "warning signs" that get put up to show you your speed usually get normal cars clocked at least twice as far away as mine...and with stiff shocks I can get really hard on the binders and the nose barely even dips to give the cops a clue that I'm slowing down.

 

98 in a 70, got clocked on the interstate, cop was driving the opposite direction too. Our cars are hardly radar proof.

A V1 fixed that problem real quick

 

Former Corvette chief engineer Dave McLlellen wrote a book about Corvettes (Corvette from the Inside) and he talks about the fact that C4 has to be twice as close to a radar gun as most cars to be picked up. In addition, lasers don't work well on black C4s, especially if they are dirty. -- Eric

 

Corvette from the inside, thanks guys

 

hah thats pretty cool info.


BTW for us V1 owners, a few tail lights (even mentioned in the manual) will set the laser off. the newer 4Runners and some of the larger Ford SUV's will do it also.

 

If the vehicle behind you is speeding, then you are either going faster, or as fast as that vehicle.

We all use laser/ladar now. radar is so 1980s..


-- Joe

 

Good thing most HP are behind the times

 

HUH

If I am on the highway doing 65 (posted limit), and someone behind me is coming up on me then they are speeding they are going faster (speeding) not me. I'm still holding a constant speed.

 

If they are closing in on your that would be obvious. I'm refering to the argument of "radar always picks up the biggest car, it was someone else".. Yes, the truck was speeding too, and probably every car around you.

Everyone speeds, everyone breaks the law. But I think we do a pretty good job ticketing the worst offenders.

-- Joe