We’ve all been there. You wake up late, jump out of bed and run, toothbrush in you mouth and fumbling with your keys to the car. You’re late for work. But no worries mate. You have your “avoid jail altogether card” sitting on your dash. You radar detector blinks to life as you shove the key into the ignition and you smile for the first time that morning.

Ever sine we watched Smokey and the Bandit, we’ve learned to love our little dashboard buddies that keep us ahead of the police and speeding tickets. The uses of radar detectors have grown from being our illegal sidekick to helping weathermen gauge the next storm surge or scientists track an unidentified object on the ocean floor or in the skies above us. We have also seen the uses of radar detectors snatched wholeheartedly by the military.

Although the design of radar detectors that are used by the military vary from those that can be carried in a car for a green light to speed, they use the same radio waves to detect the speed and direction of missiles, both in the air or under the water. The beacon what blinks on the console that seems to be the center of attention in all those submarine movies is nothing but an example of radar at work, keeping track of any threats or debris in the water around the craft.

Ever wanted to know what’s on the ocean floor in the Bermuda Triangle? How about looking for proof of the lost city of Atlantis? Well, thanks to another use of the radar detector, we have a chance at seeing these mysterious geographic areas firsthand. Scientists would possibly be able to send unmanned underwater vehicles down to take pictures of the ocean floor and the surrounding area. The scientists would be able to wait at a safe distance while the radar detector mapped out the scene for them, returning its findings to the receiver on the ship.

Radar detectors are also used to map and predict weather patterns. How can a radar detector that tracks dense objects like missiles and speeding cars track a cloud’s movement, you ask? Well, by increasing the amplification of the radio waves that are received, we can get a clear picture of the less dense objects floating above us in the sky. Our ability to track and gauge the severity of storms can help us to avoid situations like Katrina and the multitude of weather-related tragedies the news throws at us everyday.

Keeping our eyes on outer space can also be assisted by radar detectors. Mission control stations all over the world have receivers and detectors searching for audible, physical and visual phenomenon outside of our ozone layer.

So go ahead, speed if you’re late for work. Use that radar detector. But remember, just because you CAN speed, doesn’t mean you SHOULD. Why not put that radar detector to better use looking for treasure in the lake behind your house?

A radar detector is an electronic device used by motorists to determine whether their speed is being observed or not by a police officer. The objective of a radar detector is to protect the motorist from getting a speeding ticket from the officer who is using a radar gun.

Radar detectors were introduced in the early 1970’s. The term radar detector originated from technologies that were used earlier to detect speed.

Now the question arises, "What is radar?" Radar is a system used to measure the speed and location of any object. This system consists of two important parts - a transmitter and a receiver. The radio transmitter causes voltage fluctuation by oscillating an electric current at a predefined frequency. This oscillation of the electric field generates electromagnetic energy. This electromagnetic energy propagates in the air as electromagnetic waves. A transmitter consists of an amplifier and an antenna. While the former increases the power of electromagnetic energy, the latter transits it into the air.

The basic function of radar is to determine its distance from the destined object. For this function, the radar device emits concerted radio waves to observe any echo. If any object comes in the way of the radio waves, then it can be easily detected by radar with the help of electromagnetic energy. Radio waves constantly travel in the air at the speed of light. The distance of the object from the radar is determined by observing the time taken by the radio waves to return.

For measuring the actual speed of any object, radar can be used with a fact called Doppler shift. When any moving object passes in front of the radar, its echo will reflect the signals of the radar. The time taken by the radio signals to return after striking the object, and the frequency with which they travel, gives the actual speed of that object. If an object is coming towards the radar, then the signals will come back in a shorter period of time. It will increase the frequency and tells the actual time in which an object will cross the radar. This process depends on how fast the frequency will change. Traffic police use radar in the form of a radar gun, which is either hand-held or vehicle mounted, to detect speeding vehicles.

A basic radar detector detects police radar with just a simple radio receiver. In contrast, detectors that are more sophisticated comprise of a basic receiver along with a radio transmitter. A jamming signal is produced via this transmitter. It blends the signal of the police radar gun with extra radio noise. Due to this, a perplexed echo signal is received by the police radar gun, and the exact speed-reading cannot be taken.

Light-sensitive panels are being used in modern detectors which detect the beams from police laser guns. Lidar is difficult to avoid due to its concentrated beam, so it is quite possible that by the time the detector is able to detect it, the vehicle is in the beam’s sight already. For that, speeders also use a laser jammer. It works much like a radar jammer.

In conclusion, there are several systems available to detect radar, but none of these systems is a sure shot way to get protected against speed detectors. However, one thing that can be done to avoid speeding tickets is to ’slow down’.

Nobody likes speeding tickets. The fines, the increased insurance premium, and the points on the license make police cars a much-feared sight. In spite of this, very few people don’t speed.

To understand radar detectors, what they’re detecting has to be understood, first. Radar guns are basically radio transmitters and receivers. The radio waves’ frequency changes when it hits a moving car, and the amount of change to the radio wave is consistent with the car’s speed: the faster the car, the greater the change to the radio wave. The radar gun converts the change to a relative speed: the difference between the police officer’s speed and the target’s speed. (Notice that if the police officer isn’t moving, his speed is 0 mph, so the speed revealed by radar equals the target’s speed and no math is needed.)

Police also use lidar, which uses the same principles as radar with infrared laser bursts instead of radio waves. This circumvents radar detectors and is highly focused. You almost have to be the target to detect it, in which case you’re already caught. Though it can be used like the old radar, lidar is more common where the ticketing system is automated, where the detection of a speeding car activates a camera to catch the car’s license plate, and a ticket is mailed to the offender.

Radar can be easily detected with a radio receiver comparable to your AM/FM radio but set to the frequency range used for radar. (Other frequency ranges happen to be full of such things as television broadcasts and distance automatic car openers.)

However, such a basic radar detector means that if you happen to be the first target when the police officer activates his or her radar gun, you’re caught by the time the detector tells you about it. It’s passive, alerting you to the use of radar in the area and nothing more. This is often enough, since radar spreads so much that you’ll usually detect it before you’re the target. Lidar, by contrast, is highly focused, so you’ll probably be the target before you detect it. (A black car—which absorbs more light—and plastic covers for your license plate can decrease the lidar ability to detect you while not harming your detector range, which may give you enough time to slow down before your speed is detected.)

Active detectors jam the speed readings, interfering with the signal that reveals your speed. Radar jammers and lidar jammers exist, though the police are continuously advancing the technology to detect speeders. Any jammer can become obsolete at the turn of a hat, making the investment of a few hundred dollars abruptly worthless.

Warning: radar detectors themselves give off telltale radio frequencies that are detectable with a VG2 device. Radar and lidar detectors are illegal in some areas, making their owners liable to prosecution.

The ultimate way to avoid speeding tickets is simple and widely known: don’t speed. But how many drivers actually follow that method?

A&J Racing Enterprises Inc. announced the premiere of Speed Talk Live a weekly syndicated NASCAR radio program that make its debut this week.

The show will be taped in front of a live audience at the ESPN Club on the Boardwalk at the Walt Disney World resort in Lake Buena Vista Florida; Tuesdays from 6:30 to 7:30.

Hosted by the editor of the Cup Scene Daily Website, Greg Engle, the show promises to be an action packed look at the world of NASCAR racing.

Engle a former stand-up comedian and currently a working NASCAR journalist looks forward to the weekly tapings in front of a live audience.

“I’m in my own element,” Engle said. “In front of 500-1000 people each week, preaching the gospel of NASCAR to the masses is an experience I’m excited about.”

The hour-long show will highlight the past weeks race, the news of the week from the track and rumors. In addition there will be Fantasy Racing news, a preview of the upcoming race and call in guests from around the world of NASCAR, along with Engle’s own unique brand of NASCAR humor. [PRWEB]

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