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When the Illinois State Police was formed in 1922, it had 20 surplus World War I Harley-Davidsons. In 1992 (70 years later) motorcycles were reintroduce. Another 14 years later (2006) the State Police had only 8 motorcycles (7 in the Chicago area), until now.

In July 2006 Illinois State Police unveiled a new Motorcycle Enforcement Bureau, and 50 new 2006 Harley-Davidsons equipped with radars and computers.

The program (equipment/training) costs is reported to be about $500,000. The Illinois Department of Transportation's (IDOT's) Division of Traffic Safety is covering the expense.

The photograph I saw showed a small hand held radar powered by the motorcycle battery. Not requiring a moving mode and using the motorcycle battery can make for a small light weight easy to reposition radar.

There are radars that mount directly to a motorcycle, and have a stationary and moving mode. Fixed mounting a radar to a motorcycle is a bad idea. All microwave (X, K, Ku, Ka) police radars use the Doppler principle and are sensitive to any radar motion (especially vibrations and agile maneuvers).

Radars mounted to motorcycles are NOT approved (tested) by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) / International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) CONSUMER PRODUCT LIST (CPL).

CopRadar

FROM FCC -- "The FCC considers the use of traffic radar jammers as malicious interference and strictly prohibited by the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, as well as by FCC rules. Anyone using a jammer risks such penalties as losing FCC licenses, paying a fine, or facing criminal prosecution."

Note the FCC does not have jurisdiction over laser jammers, only microwave jammers (really all RF and microwave sources).

Starting July 01, 2006 it is illegal in Tennessee to use a radar jammer. Violators are subject to citations and confiscation of the jammer.

Illinois just passed a law making jammers illegal. The law also states police cannot stop someone solely based on suspecting they have a jammer. However if stopped for some other reason and a jammer is found, the fine is $50 for a first offense.

Most police are not too concerned about jammers because most jammers do not work. Other legitimate transmitters (and unintentional radiators) can be more of a problem in certain locations or situations.

Some laser jammers are effective sometimes, but usually only at long ranges (around 1000 feet). Jammers that do effect radar sometimes give themselves away (speed readings change rapidly and by several tens of mph). Laser jammers are not illegal in most states (except IL and TN). This will probably change as (if) laser jammers improve.

CopRadar

Many people in many former Soviet Union countries consider police more crooked than the crooks. To help improve police image the country of Kazakhstan requires video recordings of all radar citations. The video is used as additional evidence (vehicle identification, traffic, road, weather conditions, etc.). One picture worth 1000 words, typically video = 25 to 30 pictures (frames) per second.

CopRadar

Since 1961 local police in Pennsylvania have not been allowed to use radar for traffic enforcement. Currently only PA State police are allowed to use radar, local police must use timing systems to enforce speed (time consuming and labor intensive -- compared to using radar).

Recently the state Chiefs of Police Association is lobbying to allow local municipalities to use radar. State Police have also endorsed local police using radar, after decades of opposing it.

The main concerns of oppoents are abuse (revenue generators), and lack of officer training. Note the POLICE TRAFFIC RADAR HANDBOOK has everything and more an officer needs to know to properly operate radar.

CopRadar

Engineers at Ohio State University have filed a patent for a new "super radar" with multiple applications including police traffic radar. The radar is reported to be undetectable because it uses a generated noise signal spread over several gigihertz (GHz). Commercially available and fast digital shift registers allow pseudorandom waveforms (generated noise) to correlate the transmit and receive signals (noise). The inventors claim the system can be built for about $100.

Don't hold your breath waiting for this system to become available. There are many other and more mature technologies that would work (better). Research and development cost to perfect the new super radar is probably grossly underestimated, as is final production cost.

CopRadar