DIFFERENCE between LASER and RADAR???

[super_namer]

Hey guys, i was reading the post about the various radar detectors on the other forum and have a question.

What is the difference between radar and laser?
i always though they were the same, but then i read that some members are that you can't get away from laser....

can someone explain to me the difference?


and one more thing,
for you guys with valentine one's, have you ever been caught with it by a cop using a radar detector detector?

[bignate]

the most basic difference between standard radar (x,k,ka bands) and lidar (laser) is that radar systems use radio waves, and lidar uses very narrow, focused light beam pulses (a laser) to gauge your speed. in a very nontechnical definition, radar systems send out radio waves which bounce off of objects and return to the source. the radio waves spread out all over the place (some radar bands more than others) bouncing off everything from your car to other cars to inanimate objects to particles of dust in the air, just about anything you can imagine. this makes radar waves much easier to detect than laser, because it's much easier to detect stray bounces of the signal before the bulk of it actually gets to you enough to gauge your speed in most cases. because of this, radar systems are genereally only used at and/or are accurate at close(r) ranges.

lidar systems send out laser pulses from an aperture in the gun directly onto a specific spot on your vehicle, usually the front license plate (think of a laser scope on a handgun) the officer uses a spotting scope attached to the gun to target a particular vehicle, then activates the gun. laser pulses hit your car and bounce directly back to the gun hunderds of times per second with better than 99% accuracy. since it happens so quickly and there is almost no beam scattering like radar, the laser is very difficult to detect unless your particular car is being targeted, at which point there's not really anything you can do. also, since the operator can single you out and nail you from a long distance away, there's really no reaction time in which you can try to correct.

think of if this way. radar is like someone you can see shooting at you with a shotgun. laser is like a sniper you can't see shooting at you with a very accurate rifle. the only good thing about laser is that it can't be used while moving, the source must be sitting stilll. radar can be used sitting still or in motion. also, laser targeting is almost exclusively done from the front as you approach the source. using laser from the rear is much more difficult and defeats the purpose of laser in the first place.


nate

[Duckydos]

The reason most say "You can't get away from laser" is because if your detector is picking up laser, you're already being picked up. Radar sends out a wide signal that bounces off of a bunch of objects. So, you can pick up radar from quite a distance. But laser is different and is alot more accurte and has a much smaller signature. So, if your detector is going off, it means that the laser-gun is already being pointed at your car.
As for the Radar Detector Detector, the ValentineOne will fool the VG1 and VG2 detector detectors. But, there is a new type of detector from Canada named the Spectre RDD which will detect the ValentineOne, although the Spectre isn't in alot of use yet.

-Ducky

[E31]

Bignate answered perfectly.....

[illegalprelude]

*gives Bignate a cookie*

I believe over all, the V1 is the best you can get on the market right? its just so damn expensive.

[MikeV]

Originally posted by illegalprelude
*gives Bignate a cookie*

I believe over all, the V1 is the best you can get on the market right? its just so damn expensive.

yea. it saved me last night though!

[robfrmny21]

http://radartest.com/article.asp?articleid=4096 HOW LASERS WORK
http://radartest.com/article.asp?articleid=5000 RADAR <===



http://radartest.com/article.asp?articleid=5500

TIME DISTANCE COMPUTERS

http://radartest.com/article.asp?articleid=9000
GENERAL INFOI<===

http://radartest.com/article.asp?articleid=8502
JAMMER TEST LASER

http://radartest.com/article.asp?articleid=6000

RADAR JAMMER

http://radartest.com/article.asp?articleID=1024
DIFFERENT RADARS REVIEW<===

[GTP95]

think of it this way....you can get a regular radar detector that will only detect certain things, and those certain things have to be in a certain range as well. Or....you can spend a few hundred on a V1, which will save your butt a lot...depending on how you drive at least.

Another way to think of it is....get the cheap radar detector, you get a few tickets, just a few less than you had before......or if you get a V1, the price of the V1 will more than make up for itself after you have been using it for a while. I say go for a V1...it's well worth the price

[robfrmny21]

the v1 review is on the last link and on the last page of that link

[super_namer]

that answered my question but now other ones arise lol.

damnit, i live in canada

"there is a new type of detector from Canada named the Spectre RDD which will detect the ValentineOne, although the Spectre isn't in alot of use yet"

so i guess there is no point of me getting a V1 huh...
is there???

and besides, now that i know what radar and laser are, i believe most cops here in ontario use mainly laser.
Can ontario people correct me on this?

[bignate]

thank you, thank you. my valentine rocks.. i love it. it works, and it's just so farking cool, like your own little version of norad mission
control. if you live in cincinnati, like me, you can go to the lab where they are made and they'll do a bunch of demos for you. well worth the price of admission.


nate

[Tomato]

Originally posted by super_namer
that answered my question but now other ones arise lol.

damnit, i live in canada

"there is a new type of detector from Canada named the Spectre RDD which will detect the ValentineOne, although the Spectre isn't in alot of use yet"

so i guess there is no point of me getting a V1 huh...
is there???

and besides, now that i know what radar and laser are, i believe most cops here in ontario use mainly laser.
Can ontario people correct me on this?

Only Toronto Cops have the Spectre Detectors So far in Canada. Also IIRC(dont' quote me) but Lidar was never approved by the MTO as an approved method for police officers to use to check for speeding I've heard that they will still give you the tickets in hope that you will just pay it and shut up but that if you take it to court it gets throw out due to the fact that Lidar is not allowed in ONT.

[bignate]

you have to watch for planes catching speeders alot around here lately.. valentine needs to come up with an AWACS feature or something


nate

[big_sur]

But, there is a new type of detector from Canada named the Spectre RDD which will detect the ValentineOne, although the Spectre isn't in alot of use yet.

i'm assuming the 8500 is also vulnerable to this?

[PrinceE30]

LASER = Light Amplification by Stimulation of Electron Radiation

RADAR = RAdio Detecting And Ranging

One is light waves. The other is radio waves. Both part of the EM spectrum. However, one is very high energy and the other is very low energy. Their traveling patterns is and speed are really the only difference between the two, physics-ly speaking.

-Prince