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Radar Guns Blog: Radar Gun News, Radar Gun Forum, Radar Gun Products, Radar Gun Reviews, Radar Gun Information, Radar Gun AdvisesFriday, September 30, 2011New, and yet Old, Speed Detection Device Used in Some States You may see pneumatic tubes, or small air hoses, stretched across the road from time to time. They won't interfere with your driving, so you don't need to worry about them getting caught up in your wheel well, but they can be used by police to determine if you're speeding. A single tube is a cheap, easy way to count the number of cars on the road, but if there are two tubes, they can also be used for speed readings and determing the types of cars are on the road. The spacing of the axles can be matched with known vehicle classes to determine the car's model. This method of counting cars, measuring speeds and determining car types is mostly used by road engineers when designing new roads or improving existing streets. But while they're mostly used by engineers, these air hoses are also in use by cops as an alternative to police radar guns. The reason they've chosen these tubes is usually because of local or state laws prohibiting the use of radar guns. One state in particular where local police are using pneumatic tubes is Pennslyvannia. According to state law, only state police are allowed to use traffic radar guns to catch speeders. If there's no law against it few police officers would choose the air tubes over a radar gun, because radar guns are nearly unbeatable for their performance and portability. Still, these tubes have been around for a while, require very little power, are very accurate, and are inexpensive. Not bad. Better for engineers than police officers, but it's still interesting to see. I prefer a high tech option like the Decatur OnSite 200 Radar Speed Display Sign w/ K-Band Directional Antenna & LED Display. It shows drivers how fast they're going and encourages them to slow down without having to have a police officer present, and it can be used to compile data on speed for records. Check it out at RadarGuns.com! Labels: decatur, new technology
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Tuesday, September 27, 2011Who First Thought to Use Radar Guns for Pitching?Some sad news today. Danny Litwhiler, a former Major League Baseball player and coach of multiple championship college baseball teams, passed away on Friday at the age of 95. Though he has been inducted into 6 halls of fame and was the second outfielder in the MLB history to complete a season without an error, Litwhiler will likely be remembered more as a coach and baseball innovator. In the early 1970s Mr. Litwhiler was coaching at Michigan State University whe  n he saw a college newspaper article about how police radar guns were being used to measure the speed of passing cars. As a man whose life was dedicated to the Great American Passtime, Mr Litwhiler thought the radar guns might be useful for measuring the speed of a pitch. He enlisted the aid of John Paulson, who invented the JUGS pitching machine, and the two created the first baseball radar gun prototype.These days it's very common to see baseball radar guns used in games to track a pitcher's performance. When a TV commentator mentioned the speed of a pitch, Mr. Litwhiler used to remark to his wife "Wonder how... they knew that?" Radar guns for baseball weren't his only invention though. Danny Litwhiler constantly sought new ways to improve player performance. He developed weighted balls to increase arm strength, a shatterproof mirror that pitchers could throw at to see their form, and drying agents that removed excess moisture from baseballs and cover wet spots on the field. It's sad to think that this great innovator is no long amongst us, but his legacy will live on for years to come. There are countless players who have benefited from his passion for baseball, and every time we watch a game today and see a reading from a baseball radar gun we have Danny Litwhiler to thank. Labels: baseball radar, new technology Friday, September 23, 2011Baseball Radar on the Rise: Moneyball Comes out Today! I'm a big movie buff, and I also happen to love baseball, so the movie Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, the General Manager of the Oakland Athletics who took a new approach to scouting talent and changed the game, is something I've really been looking forward to. Beane was able to see past so much of what was going on in baseball in the nineties and find exceptional players that his team could afford. It's a lot like the advent of baseball radar guns. At one time pitching performance was more of an art than a science. Today, scouts, coaches, trainers and pitchers can rely upon the readings they get from a radar gun to know if they're up to speed, rather than just seeing how things go in a game. Don't get me wrong. I actually think this is a good thing for baseball. Because of baseball radar guns, pitchers today throw harder and more accurately than ever, and that has forced batters to improve, so the whole game is at a higher level now. And that's part of what makes Moneyball so cool. It's about a team of misfits that most other teams thought weren't good enough because of reasons other than their performance in the big game. They took the latest technology and statistical theory and applied it to baseball, just like the first guy to use a radar gun for baseball, and they found out something new about the game that gave them an advantage. People have been using stats for baseball for years. Thinking outside the box is a  great way to overcome an opponent with a lot of advantages, like a big team such as the Yankees who can pay way more for their players. If you coach a ball team consider investing in a sports radar gun like the Bushnell Speedster III. It's a great way to see just how well your pitchers are playing, and you might be able to use that knowledge to win a few more games.If you want to see more reviews and advice about awesome equipment like radar guns or rifle scopes, head over to GearExpert.com. We just launched the site and should have some great info up soon. Labels: baseball radar Tuesday, September 20, 2011What's a Million Million Billion Times Lighter than a Feather? Scientists in Sydney, Australia have just won an award for making the smallest measurement of force EVER. Their technique involves using laser beams to measure the displacement of atoms in a vacuum. It's actually a lot like the way a radar gun works. Radar guns send out a radio wave at a specific frequency. When that signal hits something, it can be affected in various ways. If it hits a stationary object the frequency doesn't change, but if the object is moving toward or away from the radar gun, the frequency will be increased or decreased based on the speed of the object. The change will tell you how fast the object is moving. What the physicists down in Australia are doing is far more complex, but it involves similar principles. I'm sure if I try to explain it I'll mess it up, but the lasers involved can bounce off atoms, and the changes can show if the atoms move. The scientists made a measurement of a couple hundred yoctonewtons. I know a Newton is a measurement of force, and I know some prefixes, such as nano or milli- show some degree of how small the measurement is, but the prefix yocto- is just crazy small. There is a decimal point and 23 zeroes before the numbers. I can't even put that in my calculator. Wowza. This new level of precision may help with both mining and defense technologies. Cave-ins, volcanoes and earthquakes start small, and it's possible there are atomic signs before the actual event, so this could potentially save lives, which is awesome. I doubt this level of technology will be used in any police radar guns or baseball radar guns in the near future, but maybe someday this will be the norm. While this tech isn't available at RadarGuns.com, we do have some great options for measuring the speed of larger objects such as a baseball, golfball or car, and we also just started the site GearExpert.com with reviews of all sorts of gadgets and technology. So what's a million million billion times lighter than a feather? A yoctonewton. Labels: new technology Thursday, September 15, 2011Police Demonstrate Radar Guns to Lawyers in Alexandria
I've written a few times before about how police do their best to show how they use radar guns to help them identify speeding drivers. One story was about how there are camps for kids with cops giving the children hands-on experience with many of the tools used in law enforcement.
But today I read about how cops in Alexandria, VA. are giving demonstrations of police radar guns to local lawyers. I love seeing stuff like this. I have a ton of respect for police officers, and it's always good to see them make police procedure as clear as possible to the public. The demonstration was put together by a District Court Chief Judge, who felt that if lawyers had a better idea of how radar guns work they would be better prepared when fighting speeding tickets in court. A lot of time has been spent during recent hearings explaining exactly how the police officer made their determination as to how fast a car was going, so giving lawyers a prior briefing will hopefully minimize the time spent fighting these violations. A number of different techniques were shown, including how a radar specialist can use a tuning fork to calibrate a radar gun and how other factors in a police car, such as air conditioning, can affect the precision of the device. The demonstration has come in response to a higher number of drivers on the roads in recent years, and the growing impatience (and therefore higher driving speeds) these drivers have displayed. I hope more police departments perform these sorts of traffic radar gun demonstrations to give the public a better idea of how tickets are issued for speeding violations. Labels: pocket radar, police procedure Monday, September 12, 2011Radar Detector Detectors are now in Use by Tasmanian Police One of the things people think about when then consider police radar guns is how to get around them. Obviously, if the police get a reading on your car that's well over the posted speed limit you're going to be in trouble, so many drivers invest in other means of protecting themselves from tickets. The most popular investment for avoiding speeding tickets is a radar detector. I've heard them called fuzz busters too, which is my favorite name, but regardless of what you call it, the idea is that you'll get an advanced warning that a radar gun is being used nearby and that you should slow down. These tools are legal in many places, but not everywhere. One place where radar detectors are illegal is Tasmania, Australia. Law enforcement in the area argue that the only reason for someone to have a fuzz busters is to help him break the law. The Tasmanian police have cracked down on unsafe driving recently, with a far greater number of speeding tickets issued in the last few months. With this spike in ticketing, many drivers have turned to illegal radar detectors to help them continue speeding. The Tasmanian police are not blind to these radar detectors, and have begun issuing tickets and fines for having them. Catching people can be tricky, as drivers don't really advertise that they're breaking the law. Police do notice when a driver's speed suddenly plunges when they come in range of the radar gun, but that can be shaky ground to pull a car over. To help catch people with radar detectors police have equipped themselves with RDDs, or Radar Detector Detectors. I'm not going to claim to understand all the science involved in RDDs, but the general idea is that in order for a radar detector to work they actually emit a small amount of radiation. While this radiation is very slight, it is possible to detect its presence, so police can now see if you have a radar detector, even if it's hidden within the car. I like to think this may lead to further escalation, with radar detector detector detectors coming next, so that drivers can detect if the police can detect them while using a radar detector. Eventually, we'll have RDDDDDDDDDDs, which (if I counted the number of 'D's correctly) would be used by police to see if you are detecting a detection of a detection of a... darn, I lost count. This issue is likely to become increasingly tricky in the future, as many GPS units have functions that warn drivers of where potential speed traps are located. This feature could be construed as illegal under the anti-radar detector law. I doubt police are going to be able to ticket someone for having a GPS device, so in the next few years this could become a scofflaw. Make sure it's legal to use a radar detector where you're driving before you purchase one. Otherwise, just drive safe. Labels: police radar, radar detectors Friday, September 09, 2011Voting is going on NOW for the Bushnell Speedster III Video Contest! I posted back in July about the Bushnell Speedster III Video Contest that is being sponsored by OpticsPlanet and RadarGuns. The time to enter your own video has past, but the voting is still ongoing. We've extended it through Sunday, 9/18/11, so make sure to vote for your favorite today, so they can win a Bushnell Speedster III! There are five videos to choose from, and they're all pretty cool. The first one is of a RC car that comes right toward the camera at about 157mph! Next up is the current vote leader, which is for an indoor baseball training facility. They're way ahead right now, with a more than 50 vote lead, but they can still be caught! The third video listed is extra cute, with a young man in a Darth Vadar costume who wants to use a speed detection device to see how fast he swings a lightsaber. For those looking for a more musical entry, the State Champion Rap is definitely for you. And finally, we have Run Spot Run!, where the entrants hope to measure the speed of a super quick dog when it's running. There is a nice mix of different things you could use a Bushnell Speedster III for. Radar guns are very versatile tools, so see what you could do with one today! Labels: Bushnell Speedster II Radar Gun, contest Tuesday, September 06, 2011Edmonton Police Letting Drivers Know Where to Slow Down One of the main complaints many drivers have with speeding tickets is that the purpose for those tickets is seen as more of a revenue generator than a safety measure. Most police departments and local governments say that speeding tickets are designed to make drivers more aware of their speed and hopefully minimize accidents, but their practices seem to be more in line with collecting fines.One city that is definitely using radar guns public safety above collecting is Edmonton, AB Canada. I'm really impressed by their latest measure to curb speeders. Using their website and social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter, the Edmonton police are letting drivers know where police radar guns are stationed. This level of transparency is rare. Most cops try to hide where they are at so that drivers don't have an opportunity to slow down before being caught. Radar guns are a great way to detect car speeds, and the resulting tickets generally do get drivers to slow down, but the police can't be everywhere. Letting people know that the police are out in force and ticketing speeders helps get people to slow down. This is pretty cool. I realize there's a chance that many drivers will simply slow down in the radar zones and speed up in other areas, but it still gets them to slow down for at least some stretches of road. And if the cops are spaced out correctly, there should be very few high traffic areas where people will dare to speed. Hopefully this saves some lives. The use of social media to let drivers know where radar guns are is similar to the use of speed display signs like the Decatur OnSite 200 Radar Speed Display. Rather than a means of collecting money or issuing violations, the display sign serves as a reminder to keep your speed down and be safe. I wrote a post about a week and a half ago about how well Canada has done in their efforts to lessen deaths from car accidents, and it looks like they haven't halted their efforts. New technology is great, and this is a cool way for law enforcement officials to save lives using social media. Twitter and radar guns? Sounds like a good fit! Labels: canada, police radar | |
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Sports Radar Guns, Police Radar Guns, Radar Guns Blog, Radar Guns Forum, How Radar Guns Work, Radar Guns Glossary, How to Buy, Recommended Resources.
Sports Radar Guns, Police Radar Guns, Radar Guns Blog, Radar Guns Forum, How Radar Guns Work, Radar Guns Glossary, How to Buy, Recommended Resources.