Superprotector Visibility & Photo Spray application

[Regis]

To anyone that has one, I am wondering how visible a superprotector is to casual observation. I have a 6-7 year old photo plate cover which is glaringly horrendous, and also have a relatively new PhotoShield cover which is much improved, but still noticeable to anyone who looks. From directly behind it may be a little more difficult to spot, but from a slight angle (ie, a cop overtaking/stopped in the lane beside you) it is fairly obvious. From the info/demo on Roy's site of the Superprotector, it looks somewhat different from the photoshield plate cover I have.

Absent a photo plate cover, anyone have any thoughts about putting photo spray on the plate, and then on both sides of a clear plate cover on top of that plate (similar to the recommended Veil application method)?

Cheers!

[RacerX]

Hey, i have a Superprotector on the way from Roy.
Once i get it i'll let you know.
As double coverage i'm wondering if Veil on it would help with Laser.
Now this is for my back plate, since i don't have a front plate.
Depending on how it looks, and if Veil directly on it isn't an option, i was thinking maybe a generic clear flat cover that i can Veil and stick underneath.
I'll play with it and see.

[RacerX]

Once again, Roys service rocks. It's here, a few hours after the above post.

From the back at any distance i would say it has a very slight tint to it. if anything it looks like it is just a clear protective cover.


EDIT:6/5/05 See below for updated info/description.

[Regis]

Thanks for the info! I'd definately be interested in seeing the pics.

[RacerX]

Okay, at night, with just the plate lights, you can tell it has a good tint to it, but you can still read it.
With headlights from the rear, it looks fine and is completly visible.


EDIT:6/5/05
Okay, now that i have had a chance to play with it, i have done a few mods to make it a bit less"obvious".

The problem i was noticing was that the cover had a tendency to cause the plate to look "blurred" for lack of a better word. I originally had only 2 top plate screws. i added 2 to the bottom, which helped keep the cover more "flush" against the plate. This made it look more like a clear cover, as opposed to a blocker.
From the sides, it seems to mainly block the right half of the plate, regardless of which side you were on. Directly behind and everything was/is visible.

Now i decided to go one step further. with the cover "loose over the plate, it still gave it a slightly "fuzzy" look. Iwanted to see if i could make it as unobvious as possible, yet retain the protection. Here's what i did.

i used a dab of silicone adhesive in the middle of the cover (see red circle in pics below) this held it closer to the plate, and cleared things up a bit. As an added bonus (or double edged sword, depending on how you look at it), This also increased the "blocking range". Meaning instead of blocking the right half from about 10' away, it blocks it from about 15'-20' away. This wider field of blocking should translate to a bigger range of protection.

Now that i've done this mod, i'll look at it again tonight and let you know how it looks/works.

[N3T_K1LLA]

I'd love to see the pictures, I was thinking about getting one.

[nvr2fast]

Hey, i have a Superprotector on the way from Roy.
Once i get it i'll let you know.
As double coverage i'm wondering if Veil on it would help with Laser.
Now this is for my back plate, since i don't have a front plate.
Depending on how it looks, and if Veil directly on it isn't an option, i was thinking maybe a generic clear flat cover that i can Veil and stick underneath.
I'll play with it and see.

Pix please :D

[RacerX]

Okay, i modified some info above, and here's some pics you guys requested.


This one shows a front(top) and left(bottom) side view without the cover.
http://www.donspc.com/Forum/precover%20front%20and%20left.jpg



This ones shows the same views with the cover on.
http://www.donspc.com/Forum/cover%20front%20and%20left.jpg

These were taken from about 12' away, zoomed and cropped.
As you see, it looks like a clear cover from the front, but blocks from the sides.

[Regis]

Thanks for the pics! It will certainly do the job for cameras, but to me, it seems a little too obvious from an angle. I'm sure I'd be stopped sooner or later for having that on, and/or definately be ticketed for it if pulled over for some other reason. Whether or not that ticket would stand up in court is another issue, but alas, a hassle nonetheless.

I think I'll stick with the spray, which is far less effective, but is also undetectable. Although photo enforcement is everywhere here, it is usually easy to spot so to me the risk of the plate isn't worth it.

I'd be curious to hear from you after a few months to see if you have had any problems with LEOs noticing it!

Thanks again for the photos!

[RacerX]

Your welcome.
I thought i was imagining things about it blocking opposite sides of the plate depending on which side you're on. In the shade it does block the left half but you must be right on top of it.
I have noticed that at night with just my plate lights on, the left side over the numbers does have a darker tint to it.

I re-tested it with a vehicle behind me, and to each side, and it's less obvious at night.
I also noticed that depending on whether it is in direct sunlight, shade, or a combo, it does look, act a bit different.
Overall i like it, it's just a matter of whether i get hassled for a "plastic protective" cover or not.

And believe me, if it becomes a problem and i get stopped or hassled i'll let you know.

One more thing, if anyone's interested, i can maybe do a quick video while i stand behind it and walk left to right, or better yet, get someone to drive my truck and i'll follow behind with a camcorder and film the plate. If anyone really wants to see it let me know. :)

[Regis]

I'd be interested in seeing it if it's not a big deal for you to do! All the "demos" I've seen out there are pretty bad animation things from the manufacturers, nothing independant or realistic!

[RacerX]

Done.
I just need to load my editing software and play with it a bit.
I now figured out why i was getting different results on which side is blocked.
It has to go with the "padded" side towards the plate. That i got. however, if you have it one way, it blocks the right side, and if you flip it 180 it blocks the other. That's why i thought i saw 2 different things when i was playing with it. Also, i removed the RTV from the middle. I found that when water runs down it, it will tend to show the numbers more, even from an angle.
Anyway if not tonight, then tomorrow i should have the video clip ready with an intro on what/ how i filmed it.

[sethy]

I believe the super protector would be good for highway driving for long roadtrip through unknown areas. It's not likely a cop will sneak up behind you and realize you have a photoprotector.

[RacerX]

Actually i did get it more for road trips. Up north a bit for photo radar, and trips to San Diego for red light cameras. It's not much of a threat here yet, just planning ahead.
Here's the video.
I've included 3 different sizes depending on the connection you have.
The smallest is 5.36 MB. Any smaller and the quality would suffer too much and this ones about quality to see what it looks like.
I also included a 10.5 MB and 22.6 MB for those with a fast connection.

I did this in the shade to give you an idea how it looks. If anything in direct sunlight it's easier to read from behind.
I stood 20' away and zoomed in, then walked to both sides and zoomed in, and also walked by, similar to a vehicle passing on either side and zoomed in again.
I hope this works for you.


5.36MB
http://www.donspc.com/Forum/Superprotector.WMV

10.5MB
http://www.donspc.com/Forum/Superprotectorlg.WMV

22.6MB
http://www.donspc.com/Forum/Superprotectorxl.WMV


Oh, and Sethy, no tape comments. :) :wink:

[Regis]

That's awesome, thanks for taking the time to make the video and post it! I think the superprotector you have is definately less visible than the one I have and don't use (the "photoshield"). Good thing mine was cheap, and my expectations of it weren't that high. hehe.

Next time I order something from Roy (doh, sort of, one order just shipped yesterday from Roy) I'll probably add one of those to it since shipping alone more or less doubles the price for me. Maybe I'll add a laser shield as well, and swap back and forth between highway and city driving, although rear lasering is very rare here (no front plate to worry about, and Veil's got me covered as well).

Right now I'm using the photo spray with a photo-sprayed 'bubble' clear cover for a little more reflection, but haven't had an opportunity to test it out. Next time I hear about a new camera with a 30 day grace warning period, I'm so there. :)

Thanks again!

[RacerX]

Your welcome, glad to help. I figured the video would be better than a few close up pics.
I too have been debating on getting a Laser Shield, since i only have a rear plate. At some point i'm going to beef up my rear laser protection, but as you see by the video, i have a huge target area and i don't think a laser shield will help much until i Veil the rear lights and maybe add a few rear jammers. Targeting to the rear doesn't seem to happen much, but it only takes one time.
I don't know if putting Veil on the Superprotector would help or not, since as someone pointed out in one of the other threads, that the redlight cameras use a flash, and the plate cover needs to reflect it to block the pic, so i don't know if Veil would be good or not on it.
And, i don't think i want to test it out on the real thing. :)

[Regis]

I could be wrong, and often am, :D , but I think the plate cover you have doesn't reflect the flash, it just distorts it. There are other plate covers that reflect like the spray does, but from your video and the description on Roy's site, I don't think the superprotector works that way. Thus, I suspect that you'd be okay Veiling it, although that may draw more personal attention to it.

You do have a mighty big target to cover on the rear, you're right, it may not be worth it though.

[nvr2fast]

Great vids... makes it so clear that it "disappears" suddenly at the right angle.

What happens if you go MORE over after it disappears? Does it re-appear again?

[jbird]

yes

[RacerX]

Regis,
then again you could be right. :!:
My "reasoning" ( well okay "assumption") was that the seperate photo radar blocker obscures the plate, and the redlight camera blocker reflects back the flash. You could be right in that this one just blocks it from top to bottom at an angle, which means a coat of Veil could be an option, although it may like you said draw too much attention. :)

nvr2fast,
Thanks. :)
On my truck with the bumper blocking the far side, it goes from blocking one side, then it starts to block both, then it looks like it starts to unblock both like jbird said, but i can't say for sure since the plate sits in my bumper.

[nvr2fast]

Regis,
then again you could be right. :!:
My "reasoning" ( well okay "assumption") was that the seperate photo radar blocker obscures the plate, and the redlight camera blocker reflects back the flash. You could be right in that this one just blocks it from top to bottom at an angle, which means a coat of Veil could be an option, although it may like you said draw too much attention. :)

nvr2fast,
Thanks. :)
On my truck with the bumper blocking the far side, it goes from blocking one side, then it starts to block both, then it looks like it starts to unblock both like jbird said, but i can't say for sure since the plate sits in my bumper.

Do you mean it must be very sideways before it unblocks (like almost 80-90 degrees, almost parallel with the plate)?

[RacerX]

On mine yes.
I think even without the bumper, you would almost be parallel before it would unblock.
So at least the way i have it mounted, once you get to that angle that starts to block, you basically won't see the entire plate again, unless maybe you were right at the bumper looking down.

[Flitsservice.nl]

Just a request: Could you film this at about 20 degree angle on your car, where as 0 is straight ahead and then 20 to the left. That is the angle photoradar is using. What I see on your film is an angle of about 45 degree and the one at about 20 degree your license is clearly visible.

[thestaton]

hrm... interesting is 20 degrees something that was agreed on by a certain organization? I mean for instance here in Dover we have all kinds of redlight cameras. should I assume those are 20 degrees or how can you tell? thanks for the help!

I had the super protector on my car but got pulled in MD by a prick ass cop who wrote me a 40 dollar ticket. I have taken it off for the time being but i'm still tempted to put it back on. Being its not a moving violation...

[Regis]

Just curious, but what was the charge you were ticketed on?

[TheGame]

Considering the long-term insurance cost of a moving violation I'd rather have a $40 ticket every month than one speeding ticket a year....

[thestaton]

"failure to maintain & fasten veh reg plate in visible position" is what the cop wrote me up for. but it was easy to get out of :)

[kaledrr]

does this cover aginst the Digital camera?

[Regis]

Yes, sounds to me like your plate was still very visible and that charge would be easily beatable. They just like to harass no doubt!

My VF2 photo jammer is on the way, looking forward to that!

[Flitsservice.nl]

hrm... interesting is 20 degrees something that was agreed on by a certain organization? I mean for instance here in Dover we have all kinds of redlight cameras. should I assume those are 20 degrees or how can you tell? thanks for the help!

I had the super protector on my car but got pulled in MD by a prick *BEEP* cop who wrote me a 40 dollar ticket. I have taken it off for the time being but i'm still tempted to put it back on. Being its not a moving violation...

Red light photo's don't use radar, so there is no set angle. It just needs to show the red light and the car. They use induction loops in the road to trigger the camera and they can nmeasure speed.

all photoradar are at about 20 degree angle

[RacerX]

Just a request: Could you film this at about 20 degree angle on your car, where as 0 is straight ahead and then 20 to the left. That is the angle photoradar is using. What I see on your film is an angle of about 45 degree and the one at about 20 degree your license is clearly visible.

Sure, sorry i didn't catch the request sooner. :oops:

How far back do you want me to be?

As far as the 20deg, i'm thinking mark the ground at 0, and 90. measure the distance, take half for 45, half of that and move a few degrees over.
Is this the easiest way or is there a better way to ensure i'm at 20 deg?

[Flitsservice.nl]

Just a request: Could you film this at about 20 degree angle on your car, where as 0 is straight ahead and then 20 to the left. That is the angle photoradar is using. What I see on your film is an angle of about 45 degree and the one at about 20 degree your license is clearly visible.

Sure, sorry i didn't catch the request sooner. :oops:

How far back do you want me to be?

As far as the 20deg, i'm thinking mark the ground at 0, and 90. measure the distance, take half for 45, half of that and move a few degrees over.
Is this the easiest way or is there a better way to ensure i'm at 20 deg?

That setup would be great. When you sit in the car, 0 degrees would be front, then 45 degrees to the left and then half up would be great.
If you would take a watch, 10:30 on the short arrow would be about the 20 degrees.

Take different distances and heights please.

Thanks!

[RacerX]

No problem. i'm glad you responded before i did this. i was going to just do the rear, but i noticed you are talking on the front.
i don't have a front plate ( not required), so i'll just move the rear one for the test, or i'll make something similar for the test.
either way, i'll go ahead and do it front and rear at different distances and heights.

[RacerX]

okay, i did the test again from straight on to about 20deg left and right.
You are correct, at this angle the plate IS still visible. it doesn't start to block until 30-35 deg. at 45 it's fully blocked( half of it) and past 45 it then blocks more, including the other half of the plate.somewhere at around 60-80 deg( i think, the video should confirm) it actually starts to unblock the side that was blocked, while then blocking the other side.

i did this from about 40' away (and up to the plate), left and right, and from about 10'+ up on a ladder. the height didn't make much difference in legibility. depending on height and time of day, glare may be a little better or worse depending, but it didn't change the ability to see it.

now from about 6' away, if i moved the camera up, it would start to block the whole plate.
i think what i'm going to do when i put it back on, is use the idea someone had here to put a spacer behind it. i'm going to angle it down as much as possible, without it being obvious from the sides if someone (LEO) is in a car next to or behind me, or someone walking up to the car (LEO again).

Give me a day or so to edit and post the video clips.

the short answer is, from straight on to 20 deg, it IS visible. it doesn't block it until 30-35 deg.

[RacerX]

okay, i took 2.8 gigs and cut it to 10 megs.

i don't like the way it came out, but here it is anyway.

it mainly answers the question of whether or not the plate is visible at 20 degrees and the answer is YES.

you must be around 35-45 deg before it is fully blocking half the plate.

between the first video and this one you will be able to see this.

height doesn't appear to make much difference either.

now i did the spacer idea with some washers when i put the cover back on the rear, and angling it down does seem to help block things a bit better from higher angles. too much though and besides being real obvious, it makes it harder to see from standard angles, which could draw unwanted attention, so i would suggest playing with that idea to see what works best for you.
here's the video. 10.2 MB
www.donspc.com/Forum/Superprotectormed.WMV

[Flitsservice.nl]

Ok, thanks for the trouble!

[pipinos1976]

As some of you know I'm from Greece. Here the police uses stationary Gatso cameras with piezoelectric lanes, so I bought a Super Protector which I use only when I travel, usually at night where there is no traffic.

The other thing they use is mobile Gatso (in tripods) using Ku band, but they are rare and after all I can detect them with my Bel 550. Of course they use Gatso cameras inside unmarked police cars (K band) but I detect them too. Only lately they started using them as instant on. They turn it on, only when they see someone way over the speed limit (on a limit of 120Km/h they start photograph when you are over 140 or 150). They follow him, they line up behind him and they take the photograph. Imagine that in the most dangerous place in our highways, where we have over 100 dead people the last year the cameras are set to 120Km/h when the limit is 80-90Km/h.

Anyway. I need info about the stationary Gatsos. I know they have an angle of 20-22 deg facing the road with a beamwidth of about 5 deg. I don't know thought 2 things:
1. At what height do they have the camera? I, myself made a calculation that the camera is about 3,5m above the ground level. My calculation is based on the hight my hand can reach, so it's rather inaccurate.
2. At what distance from the camera do they usually put the piezoelectric lanes? Is there a standard or they change it according to the local conditions? I made an optical calculation and the nearest they can put it is less than 15m and the farthest about 50m.

Using elementary trigonometry (lets say that the licence plate is 0,5m above the ground level) for a camera at 3,5m (3m above the level of the plate) and a car about 20m away the angle is about 9 deg (8,5 more accurate). The limits for the angle are 3,5 deg for 50m from the camera and 16,7 deg for 10m from the camera. According to what RacerX wrote (and tested of course) the Super Protector doesn't work on these cameras. Am i missing something or I just hit the jackpot = the SP is useless in my case?

Is there any luck if I drive as left as possible to increase the horizontal angle? I believe that for a 20 deg camera with a beamwidth of 5 deg, for a car at 10m away from the camera the angle is 40-50 deg and for a car 50m away from the camera the angle is 5-15 deg. For intermediate distances we have 20 deg +/- 5 deg = 15-25 deg which means the SP is ineffective again. But if we are close to the camera (less than 20m)...the situation is good to save yourself from a deadly photograph. That's why I ask about the distances of the piezoelectric lanes.

I expect your opinions about my calculations. I admit the numbers and calculations are very inaccurate and prone to false but they give the resume of my thinking.

Thnx in advance for your time. Sorry for the long post and my english.

[RacerX]

Some of these guys will be able to give you a better answer than i can, but let's try.

if you are dealing with cameras that only shoot from one side, i think you could easily "adjust" the SP to fit your needs. since the plates sit square, if you used spacers (washers) you could adjust the angle of it until you get the degree you want. you may have to setup some string on the ground or something and maybe even use a small ladder and play with it until you get full blockage at the desired angles.

No guarantees this will still work at all possible angle/distance combinations, but it may put it much closer to the degree of coverage you need.

i'm no photo expert so hopefully someone else can either confirm this or explain why it still wouldn't work. :)

[LS2]

SpecterGuard anti-photo plates. They are not visible from the rear or straight on as claimed. Anyone with the naked eye can plainly see that your license is covered. You will get yourself a ticket real fast with this product.
Go to their website and you will see all of their BS disclaimers, no return policy, not responsible warnings because they don't back their product because they don't work. Phony, fakes and frauds. Operating out of Hermossa, Florida.
Here is their advertisement:
The Super SpecterGuard is designed to defeat photo radar cameras mounted high
over-head, usually on poles, bridges, overpasses, and from side angle as well.


• The all-in-one solution! Protects you from Regular, Overhead, and High angle cameras!
• Proven defense against all Photo-Radar and Photo-Laser!
• Protect your privacy, avoid a costly ticket!
• Will not yellow! Guaranteed shatterproof!
• Sizes for all countries available! Get one now!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The SpecterGuard is easy as installing a license plate cover...

How does photo radar work?
Special camera and computer technology combine to photograph the back of your vehicle as you drive by, and record your speed at that exact second. Based on the results - a ticket is then issued to the owner of the vehicle. Radar and laser detectors are ineffective due to the narrow beam width and angle across the road. Even if you do detect the beam, its too late. You're caught!

How does SpecterGuard work?
Photo radar operates at known angles to the direction of traffic flow. Using a passive, state-of-the-art light-bending lens, the camera is unable to identify your vehicle. A 5-minute installation is all that is required. Note that the license plate will still be completely readable from straight on.

1-Year Limited Warranty


Home | Original SpecterGuard | Over-head SpecterGuard | Super SpecterGuard | SpecterGuard Laser

Note: Buyer assumes all responsibility for using this cover in compliance with local motor vehicle codes in their area of vehicle use. :roll: