Thursday, August 23, 2007

A question that I have to answer pretty frequently is “How far does a Radargun work?” My standard response to this question is “That depends on the radar gun, the object you are tracking, and the weather conditions.” So what does weather really do to a radar gun?

Weather conditions such as humidity, fog, dust, pollution, and rain all dump particles into the atmosphere that create a “barrier” for the microwave emissions of radars. I decided to test and see what kind of “barrier” rain would produce.

In my previous tests of the Bushnell Speedster II, I was able to get a clear and accurate reading of a car at distances of up to 330 yards before I ran out of road. Today just happened to be one of the most torrential storms the Chicago area has seen all year, if not longer, so it was a good day to test the “worst conditions possible” scenario. Streets are flooding, trees are blowing around like tinker toys, and I am soaking wet standing on the side of the road with my Bushnell Radar Gun.

There were plenty of cars on the road, so the test was very quick. I discovered that I could not get a reading from a car at a distance of over 75 yards. This distance was calculated by pacing out the distance, because the rain was so heavy that my Laser Rangefinder would not pick up a reading, either. I was, however, able to clock the speed of rain. It was falling at a rate of 17mph downward, and up to 25mph in a, easterly direction.

You should have seen the look on my co-workers’ faces when I came back inside soaked.

Ryan