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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Radar Guns Go Stealth

It is understood that radar guns are used around the world by law enforcement professionals to combat speeding motorists.  They are necessary to keep roadways safe for our families.  We at OpticsPlanet like to stay in tune with new and innovative radar gun technologies and updates, and new innovation has recently emerged.  Police radar guns by definition are stronger and more accurate than baseball radar guns, and in Dubai they now have never before seen capabilities to aid officers on duty.

There are new digital radar guns that from the palm of an officer’s hand, can record velocity and video simultaneously.  Dubai Police will soon start using handheld radar guns called Al Jin, to catch speeding cars and trucks.  The radar will not produce a flash and is capable of recording up to 4,000 images from a distance of 100 meters, clearly making this a very stealthy radar speed gun to own.

One day you might see this speed radar gun alongside our baseball radar guns and other speed guns.  Until then, check out our selection from brands like Bushnell, Decatur, Stalker, and more.  Always ahead of the curve, stay tuned to RadarGuns Blog and the rest of our Blog Network.   

 

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Specialized Training for Radar Guns
Decatur Radar Gun

A radar gun is a very important tool for police officers to combat speeders and reckless drivers.  With its possible negative effect on a driver’s permanent record, insurance, and wallet, radar guns should be used only by those that are specifically trained to do so.  Sheriff P.J. Tanner of Beaufort County, South Carolina, requires all of his deputies to participate in the proper speed radar gun use.

The three day radar gun class held at S.C. Criminal Justice Academy in Columbia educates officers to become certified in the use of speed detection equipment.  Radar and Lidar are both covered in the course, as well as tactics to receive the most reliable data.  When a driver is given a ticket, they have the option of fighting it in court, disputing the accuracy of the radar gun’s reading.  Since a machine is the key witness and testimony, officers must protect their case by being able to explain how to operate, calibrate, and read the police radar gun.  For instance, if a small car exceeding the speed limit is targeted beside a larger slower vehicle, the smaller car would go undetected.  Utilizing Lidar and their training, officers can now pinpoint offenders to issue citations. 

Not all officers are required by the state to attend such training seminars, much to the dismay of area residents.  Those that argue velocity radar gun tickets usually use this to their advantages, although judges do not automatically throw tickets out.

You too can learn about radar guns on our helpful How Radar Guns Work page.  Stay tuned to RadarGunsBlog.com for all of the latest radar gun news.  

Monday, June 22, 2009

Radar Guns and R/C
There are many R/C racers out there that want to know how fast their toys are running. A popular way to do this is with a radar gun. Radar guns are simple and easy to use, and depending on what you are doing, they do not have to cost a fortune. If you're running cars, you do not need a super fancy unit and you're not talking about super long ranges. For R/C planes, you will want a more powerful unit to get a longer range, and boats could be a different story altogether.

For R/C cars, the Bushnell Speedster II is an excellent unit. This has a maximum range of 90 feet for a baseball sized object and it will read a car to much greater distances. An R/C car is much smaller than a full sized car, so the range will be somewhere in between, but you're still talking about a greater distance than the radio range of many R/C cars. Many of these cars are zipping at 50 mph and faster and accelerating to those speeds faster than a sports car. Talk about bragging rights, how would you like to tell your neighbor that your toy car has a faster 0-60 time than their firebird?

For R/C planes, you will want a more powerful unit. The Stalker Solo 2 and the Stalker Sport are excellent options. These will pick up the speed of a standard passenger car up to a mile away in perfect conditions.

For R/C boats, you will need the Stalker Sport Radar Gun. This unit will have a greatly reduced range because of interference from the surface of the water. Using a less powerful radar gun will have a very short range.

With all of these units, you have to deal with the same issues seen by police radar guns. The biggest of these issues is the cosine effect, or the affect that an angle has on the speed measurement. In order to get an accurate speed reading, you must be as close to the path of the target vehicle as possible. Check out our online radar gun guide for more information.

Battling the cosine effect is much easier done with the cars than it is for the planes. To truly get an accurate speed reading on an R/C plane, a skilled pilot must fly the plane directly toward the radar gun for long enough to get a good speed reading and still have time to pull up to avoid a nasty mess. Also, clocking a plane in a dive, even at the slightest rate of decent, will pad your numbers and have the plane flying faster than it can from its own power.

R/C racing can be an absolute blast. Next time you go out, bring a radar gun and really check out what those things can do!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Police Equipment or Common Sense?

Police equipment such as radar guns, walkie-talkies, or even the presence of a squad car is usually enough to make traffic slow down to a screeching halt.  This can be a good thing to raise the level of safety for motorists, but in what cases does police equipment fail to secure those that are closest to us?  Is a radar gun enough to save the life of a child? 

School zones are supposed to be a safe haven for playgrounds and after-school pedestrian traffic.  They are usually signaled by the familiar school zone crossing signs and sometimes flashing lights.  These are made to alert drives that they need to slow down due to the presence of children, and eliminating the need for a pesky police officer to hide behind foliage with a radar gun or other traffic monitoring police equipment

The truth of the matter is the fact that police equipment alone should not be held accountable for the lives of others, especially children.  Bright, flashing lights should be visible when entering a school zone, not just a sign saying to slow down when children are present.  Governors still should be willing to provide grants to pay for upgraded radar guns and overtime pay for traffic enforcement officers, but nothing can replace a solid infrastructure. 


Give our kids a brake, slow down for their sake. 

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Radar Saves Lives
Police Radar Gun

It is nothing new to hear how a radar gun spoiled someone's afternoon with a speeding ticket, or how the local neighborhood watch enforcement lectured you for being five miles over the limit.  Radar guns have been the source of controversy when combined with the topic of traffic control, but what about the times when a radar gun like the Bushnell Speedster II or the Stalker Lidar have made an enormous impact on a society?


In the Caribbean, traffic is not the first thing that comes to mind, rather a pristine beach and drinks with umbrellas.  Nevertheless, traffic related fatalities were becoming a problem in the villages.  Guyana in particular experienced 147 deaths in 2007.  With a combined effort of the police force and public awareness, the area witnessed the lowest road fatality rate in 39 years.


The Guyana traffic police department attributes the drop to a new zero tolerance policy, and the acquisition of police radar guns that have been in use during the year.  Motorists see the radar guns more frequently and understand that police are watching.  Who knows whether they are using a Decatur model or a Stalker, but these radar guns are saving lives. Read the full article here.

Friday, December 12, 2008

The Dual Mode Swing Speed Radar from Sports Sensors

For those of you who golf, you know more than anyone else how necessary perfecting your swing is using radar guns. The new Dual Mode Swing Speed Radar from Sports Sensors is the radar gun that may change the way you play the game.

The Swing Speed Radar is a compact, inexpensive unit that uses microwave radar to provide the golfer with their swing speed and timing rhythm, two key elements in a golfer's swing. Just like baseball radar guns, the Swings Speed Tempo Timer Radar unlocks your abilities by helping you optimize your swing, maintain consistency, and closely monitor your positive progress. In the past there were few options for the player looking to monitor their clubhead speed and swing tempo. You could either pay thousands for the systems that professional club makers use, or you could experience inconsistent results with a small club attachment which generally will change the dynamic of the club itself. Sports Sensors has developed the solution with its Dual Mode Swing Speed Radar. Press one button and receive the tempo time from club takeaway to ball impact AND the speed of the clubhead as it approaches. Each of these values can be displayed independently or at the same time thanks to Speed Sensors' Dual Mode. All of this from an affordable device that can be used on the course, indoors, or at your home hitting area.

The Swing Speed Radar with Tempo Timer is the best gift idea for golfers of all ages and skill levels. It offers the flexibility to use anywhere, delivering the same method of improving accuracy and precision at an economical price. For the ultimate golf gift, check out our bundle that includes a pair of EagleVision 2 Sunglasses that contrast green colors to help identify difficult breaks on the course. Sports Sensors comes through with a great holiday idea that can make any golfer excited to go out and hit a few!

To see the best way to work with Sport Sensors' radar guns, check out their great guide here.

The Perfect Gift...

Christmas is approaching faster and faster each day, and everybody is getting stressed out from trying to find that perfect gift for that special someone. Don't worry yourself to death! The Speedster II Radar Gun might possibly be exactly what the coach in your family has been looking for. Bushnell provides a high quality, cost effective radar gun that has been used time and time again in sports such as hockey, soccer, baseball, tennis, and volleyball. Have a future major leaguer in the household? The Speedster II's speed reading capabilities can boost their confidence and take their game to the next level with its large LCD display. Anyone can operate this simple radar gun due to its compact and ergonomical design. Players and coaches all agree that the Bushnell Radar Gun series just cannot be beat. That is one gift off of the wish list!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Everything about Radar Guns

Radar guns are everywhere, whether we want them to be or not. They are pointed at us on the highway by patrolmen, and gunning our way during baseball practice. Have you ever stopped to think about radar guns as a whole? Prepare to be informed, as this article will give you the goods on these guns.


WHAT?

What is a radar gun really? Radar itself is an acronym for Radio Detection and Ranging, and a radar gun is a radio transmitter and receiver. It sends out a signal and returns the same signal, reading its frequency to find out the speed of the object it was pointed at. This phenomenon is labeled as the Doppler Effect. Radar guns come in different sizes and strengths. Smaller guns, such as the Speedster II or the Bushnell Velocity, are used for little league baseball, soccer, and other sports where extreme precision is not necessary. Higher powered guns such as the Decatur Genesis VersaPak, are used as police radar guns.

WHO?

The type of people that use radar guns is extremely widespread. Users range from sports coaches, parents, highway patrolmen, matchbox car racers, researchers, and even neighborhood watch leaders. The applications for radar guns are seemingly endless.

WHERE?

You have probably seen a police officer hiding on the side of the road with a radar gun pointed at oncoming traffic, but that is not the only place where you can find them. Many teams of various sports use radar guns to help train and motivate their players by showing the results of their technique, posture, and hard work. Nothing gets a young tennis player more excited than actually seeing their serve speed increase by 5 mph! In many racing circuits, radar guns are used to keep track of straight-away speeds and also to monitor a car’s performance.

WHY?

Why do we need radar guns? Well, one of the most important and crucial reasons why radar guns are so prevalent in society is to monitor the speed of drivers on roads and highways. In today’s fast paced world, many drivers are neglecting speed limits and consequently getting into more accidents. Police radar guns such as the Stalker Lidar help control our streets and make them safer.

The world of radar guns can be further explored in our radar guns FAQ, while some of the terminology used can be referenced in our glossary. Stay tuned to OpticsPlanet to see the latest in radar gun technology!

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

The Bushnell Speedster Used in Research


The Bushnell Speedster Radar Gun, besides being one of the most cost-effective radar guns used in baseball, tennis, and soccer, is also utilized in the field of muscular research. In 2006, the Journal of Athletic Training published a study that investigated shoulder muscle fatigue and its relationship with injury risks in baseball players. Twenty players were tested on their ability to counteract an internal rotation of the arm in various situations. One group went right into the test, while the other group threw pitches, measured by the Speedster Radar Gun from Bushnell, until they were fatigued.


You can read more about the experiment and how the Bushnell Radar Gun was used here. Read about how radar guns work in our detailed guide, and of course, stay tuned to OpticsPlanet for the latest in radar guns from Bushnell, or any of our other brands such as Sports Radar, Decatur, and SpeedChek on http://www.blogger.com/www.opticsplanet.com.


Friday, December 05, 2008

Sports Sensors Baseball Glove Radar

Sports Sensors Baseball Glove Radar

One of the most versatile and ingenious radar guns that we promote, the Baseball Glove Radar from Sports Sensors puts pitching speed measurements literally in the palm of your hand. This unique Doppler radar velocity sensor brings a new element to improving your skills in baseball and/or softball. The Glove Radar, which can attach to virtually any glove or mitt, reads the velocity of the ball at the point just before it is caught. One can only imagine the number of applications this affordable sensor can bring.


From little league players to seasoned softball veterans, this sports radar gun helps develop and maintain proper throwing techniques, as well as motivates eager athletes to keep improving their throwing speed and posture. Pitchers, catchers, infielders, and outfielders can attach this unit to their glove with its heavy duty nylon cord (instructions here) and instantly begin to benefit from knowing your throwing speed. With the Glove Radar’s rugged casing protecting the microprocessor and internal components, and power from a single cell lithium battery, you can expect this radar glove to withstand many training sessions. Check out the testimonials and see for yourself how popular the Glove Radar is among parents and coaches alike.


The Glove Radar from Sports Sensors has become a staple for baseball and softball teams as a fun and educational radar gun that allows players to develop their techniques and posture without having to change their routines. Weighing in at 3 ounces, the Glove Radar is hardly noticeable attached securely to your glove. This baseball radar gun would be a beneficial and cost effective addition to any training program.




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