View Full Version : Bad weather and RD performance?
a529612
10-16-2007, 03:06 PM
I'm not advocating speeding under bad weather condition but how does rain, etc. affect RD performance? Can it "see through" the water mist from the car in front? Thanks!
CJR238
10-16-2007, 03:09 PM
How does rain, etc. affect RD performance? Can it "see through" the water mist from the car in front? Thanks!
It will still work but it also will affect detection distance for you and the LEO.
carter840
10-16-2007, 03:11 PM
For some reason i always find i get more range when it is coudy and rainy. This might just be because there are less cars on the road though since there is no good explanation besides that.
Orbital75
10-16-2007, 06:08 PM
Hummm...... I thought Rain, Sleet, Snow, and other forms of precipitation
only affected Lidar.... I hope more people chime in, I'd like to know this
myself.
The shorter wave length is, more it affect to a molecules of water in the air. The most resistant to weather conditions is X band (or any other which uses longer wave), the least - laser.
KnightHawk
10-17-2007, 04:16 PM
Bad weather conditions greatly affect the radar's ability to pick up a target speed.
CJR238
10-17-2007, 05:44 PM
cool, speed in the rain!
a529612
10-17-2007, 11:13 PM
On a different note, has anyone seen LEO operating under rain condition?
RW'07
10-18-2007, 12:22 AM
On a different note, has anyone seen LEO operating under rain condition?
In Ontario where RDs have been banned since WW2 :lol: and less than .00000000000001% of people use RDs cops exclusevily use C/O and they leave their radar guns on even when assisting a broken car/truck off a highway regardless of weather conditions (rain included)... lots of times I got Ka alerts for laser traps, they don't bother to turn their radar guns off while doing just laser enforcement...
KnightHawk
10-18-2007, 06:20 AM
On a different note, has anyone seen LEO operating under rain condition?
They still do and still can stop you when radar information is correct like patrol speed matches speedometer speed. Most newer units will have the VSS to compensate for it.
Experienced them(LEO) doing that a couple times. The manual also states that they have to make sure all infos are correct before making a stop.
bart99gt
10-18-2007, 07:28 AM
K band is heavily attenuated by water vapor. Some K band units may have their range significantly diminished in the rain, rendering them useless for all practical purposes. A Kustom HAWK I owned at one point worked great when it was dry outside, but in a moderate rain shower its range was cut down to just a few hundred feet.
zappy
10-21-2007, 06:48 AM
The lower the frequency (longer the wave) the more easily it penetrates obstacles, which rain is, hence why comm. with subs uses ultra low frequency (to penetrate water) requiring a very long antenna. Radar (which is high frequency) bounces off water in random directions, thus reducing range.