Basic Laser Shield questions

[Motor On]

How does it differ from a standard clear plate cover?

Does it provide an effective delay of reading on it's own or is Veil required?

Can I Veil a regular clear plate cover from the auto parts store and have a similar degree of effectiveness?

With Veil on a clear plate cover Laser Shield or otherwise does that cover remain clear to the eye?


I know I probably sound like a noob now.

[Veil Guy]

Motor On,

Welcome.

The Laser Shield works on the principle of diffusing light. It's function significantly cuts down on the reflectivity of retro-reflective license/number plates.

Veil's primary function is actual absorption of police lidar.

Their function is complimentary.

Using the laser shield (without any other countermeasure) will result in little overall protection from police laser, as the headlights are still very reflective (which is where Veil's function comes into play).

If you own a laser jammer, the laser shield will augment its performance by further reducing light reflectivity from the plate area, but your headlights might still present a challenge to the jammer in certain circumstances.

Using all three as a DiD (defense-in-depth) approach is the ultimate trifecta combination.

If photo lidar and/or red-light/speed cameras are a concern, then I would recommend you consider a Photo Blur and Veil together to provide protection from all of these threats.

Good luck.

Veil Guy

[Motor On]

I've got a black car with lamin-x film on the headlights, so unfortunately the film precludes me utilizing countermeasures there.

I'm currently exploiting a loop hole, to avoid a front plate altogether (how ever those loop holes have a way of getting closed every few years I lose one or two) so this is for rear protection.

I live where jammers are illegal, so I'm looking to avoid that route. My worries are handheld LIDAR primarily LTI 20-20 Ultralyte, TruSpeed and PLIII. I've got a keen eye, and the wait on the entrance ramp behind a bridge is a common tactic around me, so far it's been I/O Ka, so I get to pass underneath and get a few hundred yards before I'm hit, I'm banking on the fact the rear plate is the biggest target, and would like to get myself about 100-200ft more time before the gun locks, so I can spot start braking, get hit, and be near done braking by the time he gets a lock.

This comes up now because I found out my factory frame has been cutting the paint, time to change to something else.

So I'm weighing my options and educating myself....

[TSi+WRX]

How does it differ from a standard clear plate cover?

LaserShield, to my surprise, as well as that of several others here, actually attenuates IR, too.

For the longest time, we all thought that the LaserShield simply served to "diffuse/scatter" the incoming LIDAR beam:

Meaningful Laser Shield tests?

But it actually does much more than that:

http://www.radardetector.net/forums/...ield-veil.html

It actually attenuates IR, which is something that just any piece of material will not do.

Does it provide an effective delay of reading on it's own or is Veil required?

As you've seen from the first referenced thread, as well as from The VEIL Guy's post above, no, in and of itself, the LaserShield is virtually useless.

It's "point" defense - it only protects the plate, nothing more.

At-distance, the police lidar spreads - it's not pinpoint - and it will cover much more than just your front plate.

The rest of the frontal profile of your vehicle, the lighting units, trim, etc. (even the shape of your vehicle's frontal aspect) can and all will still return the police laser to its source to some extent or another, and will facilitate easy readings.

And as distances close to where the laser beam divergence covers ONLY the plate, the "power" of the ibeam increases, and can effectively 'burn through" the plate-cover.

Can I Veil a regular clear plate cover from the auto parts store and have a similar degree of effectiveness?

Yes and no.

VEIL's IR attenuation is a proven fact, and yes, applying it to the outside of a regular "clear" plastic plate cover will indeed confer to the plate, lying underneath, excellent protection.

If you're comparing just LaserShield versus just VEIL'ing an aftermarket "clear" cover, I don't think that the comparison has yet been done.

But if you're examing the "versus" situation of VEIL'ing an aftermarket "clear" cover, as opposed to VEIL'ing the LaserShield, then it's no contest - the latter should easily win-out.

Think of the latter combo as putting a trauma plate into a Kevlar vest.

You're achieving more synergy, and reinforcing the weak-point.

With Veil on a clear plate cover Laser Shield or otherwise does that cover remain clear to the eye?

Negative.

VEIL on a clear cover will optically "darken" the cover (be it a clear cover or LaserShield), just as it does so for the vehicle lighting elements that it is traditionally applied to.

Also, it should be clarified that the LaserShield is not an optically "transparent" item, in an "invisible" sense, such as would be a totally clear piece of plastic, overlaying the plate.

The LaserShield can be likened, physically, to a sheet of "sandblasted/matte" acrylic.

From anything closer than about 30 ft., its presence on-plate is easily noticeable.

[Motor On]

Ok you guys still seem to be missing me on this one.

I am talking specifically about, rear shots from less than 500ft. The most predictable place for them to hit, esp at night is the plate. I'm looking at a beam spread in the area of 1-2ft in size, from a very stable platform.

I've read most of the reads already on this topic including the ones linked. The IR photos show Veil within LS, it's more of a cutting IR veil works but doesn't show unprotected vs LS only.

A cover is perfectly legal, so I don't care if you can tell there is something over the plate, it just can not visually obscure, or be visibly tinted. Does LS by itself meet these requirements? Veil plus LS? Veil plus generic cover? There is plently of Veil on lights photos, does anyone have no IR photos of veil on plates, and covers and the LS?

I'm not looking for impunity here just enough signal deflection/absorbtion to get those handful of extra beeps before the lock tone kicks in.

[Aoshi]

If you're relying on Veil and a Laser Shield alone for your car, *AND* you can get away with a very obvious plate cover, then the choice is clear. A light coating of Veil on a Laser Shield will pretty much give you the best passive defense OF THE PLATE... but rear shots are seriously a pain in the a** to defeat even with a good jammer. Simply because at 100 - 300 ft, there isn't much passive can to avoid a PT.


I have no idea what your car looks like, but you'll have to at the very least veil the lights (Including the upper break lights usually in the top of the rear window) and any reflectors or reflective surfaces.

I would suggest that if you really want to see what is required, grab a camera with the brightest flash you can find and drive to a dark area and start taking pics of your car. If it glows or shows any kind of flash reflection, you'll need to deal with that part of your car.


And yes, I have an unprotected LS and I've taken numerous pics, as have others. The Unprotected LS appears to do an amazing job in these shots, but the veil'd shots I've seen do an even better job. I'm sure the "Meaning LS tests" thread has a few shots of both.

Why are you asking if the LS is better than store bought anyway? If you bought a tiny can of paint for $100, add another $10 and order the LS with it.

[Governator]

LaserShield, to my surprise, as well as that of several others here, actually attenuates IR, too.

For the longest time, we all thought that the LaserShield simply served to "diffuse/scatter" the incoming LIDAR beam:

Meaningful Laser Shield tests?

But it actually does much more than that:

IR Photos showing effect of Laser shield and Veil

It actually attenuates IR, which is something that just any piece of material will not do.


...

FYI that 2nd link is dead on my end...

[TSi+WRX]

I am talking specifically about, rear shots from less than 500ft. The most predictable place for them to hit, esp at night is the plate. I'm looking at a beam spread in the area of 1-2ft in size, from a very stable platform.

The "stable platform" is only as stable as the enforcer's aim - and free-hand, even when stabilized, tracking a moving vehicle at average highway speeds, even discounting roadway irregularities, etc., that "stable" is a very, very relative term.

Spill-over to adjacent lighting elements, reflector elements, as well as body-work should be expected, and cannot be ruled-out.

Furthermore, as Aoshi cited, physical "burn through" of the LaserShield and other passive measures at closer ranges, where the LaserShield actually may cover the entire area "painted," also cannot be discounted.

A cover is perfectly legal, so I don't care if you can tell there is something over the plate, it just can not visually obscure, or be visibly tinted. Does LS by itself meet these requirements? Veil plus LS? Veil plus generic cover? There is plently of Veil on lights photos, does anyone have no IR photos of veil on plates, and covers and the LS?

Search, you'll find plenty of VEIL-on-plates shots, as well as on "generic" covers. The old VEIL (G2) comparison with 3M Clear Duct Tape ("Diffuser Tape" was how the OP worded it) thread will have much of what you're looking for, if not everything.

The caveat here is that most of what exists today are in relation to G2, not G4....

Most of the pertinent G4 data, I've already cited above (second link fixed, Gov thanks for the heads-up!) .

As for whether or not a cover is legal - or tinting the cover, that's totally dependent upon your local area. Furthermore, how such laws may be enforced can be highly variable, depending highly on the beliefs and attitudes of the enforcers.

LaserShield can be said to "obscure," in some way, the visible plate. Similarly, VEIL will "tint" the cover (whatever it may be) and/or alter the normal coloration of the plate. You may or may not run into trouble, depending on, again, the extreme variability in terms of how these laws may be interpreted, and your local enforcer's attitudes (look for my discussions of this with Stealth Stalker, in this very sub-Forum). Remember, it's not just the citation or even "fix-it-ticket" that's troublesome, but you will lose time at the roadside with the traffic stop to begin with.

And don't worry, I understand that you're just trying to buy a few seconds to react - everyone here who knows me knows that I'm not a "JTFG whore," that I do believe that in the real-world, "good enough" can well suffice.

However, at the same time, in terms of rear protection, you have to maintain a certain level of detached objectivity in reviewing what truly can or cannot be done, and assess your odds in an honest manner.

In terms of rear protection, I tend to be very, very cautions about such odds.