Radar in the rain?

bunnykiller · 06-29-2010, 01:08 AM

I have information that certain types or radar don't fly in court if its raining/snowing/fog because the moisture interfears with the signal. Anyone have insight on this?

davericher20 · 06-29-2010, 11:17 AM

no idea,
I also heard that cops don't do radar in the rain because peoples brakes or tires might be bad and it would cause an accident when they try to slow down

That went out the window one day when I saw it happening

BUT
I have some solid info on cops in york region get docked pay every km they go over 130km/h.
Just introduced. They hate it obviously, that's why my buddy was bitching.

I doubt it's true about the weather thing, but hey, I've been wrong a couple times in my life so this could very well be one of those times.
I could see it being a case.

W2WDETAILING · 06-29-2010, 01:05 PM

i know that certain types of radars are affected my dads car has collision avoidance its is controled by a radar system when it rains it says collision avoidance unavaliable. the radar wont work in the rain. i would suspect the same for police radar.

magnus · 06-29-2010, 01:46 PM

And hairspray on your plates will block the cameras and might as well hang a CD on the mirror as it blocks the radar!!!!

I wouldnt take the risk my self.
Luckily radar detectors are legal here and my Passport 8500 has saved my ass a few times!!!!

W2WDETAILING · 06-29-2010, 01:50 PM

actually its my understanding that they use reflective surfaces/sources of light to get a radar reading. can someone correct me on this? i heard that is the reason why we have front plates and technically we arent allowed to have covers on them. someone correct me if im wrong. the hairspray is for cameras i think

magnus · 06-29-2010, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2WDETAILING

... someone correct me if im wrong. the hairspray is for cameras i think

I was being sarcastic. None of these shit work. Unless you have a radar detector or jammer or drive within limits eventually you will get clocked!

bunnykiller · 06-29-2010, 08:28 PM

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasc...9/phy99484.htm

Quote:

Originally Posted by http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/phy99/phy99484.htm

Ask A Scientist©
Physics Archive

Radar Detectors and Weather

status other
age 30s

Question - Are police radar detectors affected by dense fog and or
rain? How and what are the affects.
------------------------------------------------
Dear Rocket-

Your question about police radars and how weather affects them is a good
one. Weather has almost no effect on the operation of those radars.

What a radar "sees" depends on the character of the radar beam. In general,
the higher the frequency of the radar beam, the smaller the particles it can
detect. Radars designed to detect moving vehicles use frequencies that are
not reflected by small moisture droplets such as fog and clouds, or even
precipitation.

Very heavy rain can reduce the range of all radars, (an effect called
"attenuation"), due to the signal being absorbed by the precipitation. In
this case, weather conditions usually cause motorists to slow down to well
below the speed limit anyway.

Wendell Bechtold, Meteorologist
Forecaster, National Weather Service
Weather Forecast Office, St. Louis, MO
================================================== =======

W2WDETAILING · 06-29-2010, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by magnus

I was being sarcastic. None of these shit work. Unless you have a radar detector or jammer or drive within limits eventually you will get clocked!

yeah but there is stuff you can buy and im prettysure ive heard someone say hairspray before because it coats the plate with a gloss or something and the reflection is not clear.

Quack · 06-29-2010, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2WDETAILING

yeah but there is stuff you can buy and im prettysure ive heard someone say hairspray before because it coats the plate with a gloss or something and the reflection is not clear.

they did it on Mythbusters along with other products, none of them worked

W2WDETAILING · 06-29-2010, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quack

they did it on Mythbusters along with other products, none of them worked

oh yeah i remember watching that... my bad

magnus · 06-30-2010, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2WDETAILING

yeah but there is stuff you can buy and im prettysure ive heard someone say hairspray before because it coats the plate with a gloss or something and the reflection is not clear.

Hairspray does not work. I have tested it so i know!!!!
The only things that work with the plates are clasified as against the law.
In Japan they put the front plate on hinges. That way it folds in at highspeed.
Personally if i was going for something illegal i would go for a jamer as i ve seen it work! But then you have a bigger risk if you get caught!

bunnykiller · 07-02-2010, 08:34 PM

I'm sure if you put enough layers of hairspray it would work.

slemmer · 07-02-2010, 11:56 PM

or a thick coat of flat black paint.

magnus · 07-03-2010, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bunnykiller

I'm sure if you put enough layers of hairspray it would work.

Maybe.....about a meter thick.

Try it if you think you are sure and let us know!

craigIS · 07-03-2010, 11:50 AM

From what I understand, old radars used to have a lot of trouble getting an accurate reading in the rain and fog. Now however, radar is much better than it used to be, so they don't have that issue so much anymore. The article bunnykiller posted is pretty much spot on.

The hairspray thing, just use common sense, and think about it for a sec. Not going to work.