Does a median and other cars on the freeway affect my detection?

[swarga]

It seems like when there is a median and other cars on the freeway I get signifacantly shorter range when a cop is coming at me on the other side of the median. I know the cars would pretty much block the radar waves except through the windows, but what about the median?

Cars and other objects both block and reflect RADAR signals. Sometimes I'll be sitting at a red light with a strong source in front of me (RADAR speed sign) and other cars going by will cause the side and/or rear arrows to light up briefly.

[stlcardsfan]

^^^^

It is confusing... I am having a hard time typing it out.


I think what you meant to originally say is you got 2.7miles of warning before you crossed the path of the oncoming LEO, which would lead to 5.4miles of detection.


You said you got 2.7miles of detection... which would mean you only got 1.35miles of warning before you crossed the source (the LEO).


^^^^ I have a strong feeling the above is exactly what is happening here.

No I really did record 2.7 on the odometer from initial alert to passing the LEO.

[djrams80]

No I really did record 2.7 on the odometer from initial alert to passing the LEO.

I've had some crazy long 6 - 8 mile detections like this. The problem with these is that there is absolutely no way to know for sure what the LEO was doing that whole time.

[AirMoore]

^^^^

It is confusing... I am having a hard time typing it out.


I think what you meant to originally say is you got 2.7miles of warning before you crossed the path of the oncoming LEO, which would lead to 5.4miles of detection.


You said you got 2.7miles of detection... which would mean you only got 1.35miles of warning before you crossed the source (the LEO).


^^^^ I have a strong feeling the above is exactly what is happening here.

No I really did record 2.7 on the odometer from initial alert to passing the LEO.

Exactly what I just said...

[ssick92]

It seems like when there is a median and other cars on the freeway I get signifacantly shorter range when a cop is coming at me on the other side of the median. I know the cars would pretty much block the radar waves except through the windows, but what about the median?

The answer is yes. If a CHP cruiser is coming the other way, there will be lots of cars and the typical SoCal freeway concrete median between you and the CHP cruiser. The more solid objects between your 8500 and the radar antenna, the more attenuated the radar signal will be and thus harder to detect.

Also, remember this. CHP cruisers all have front and rear radar antennas, but from what I've seen thus far, only use one at a time. If the CHP cruiser is going the other way and he is using his rear radar antenna to check the speeds of the cars coming up behind him, which they do quite often, your detection range will be extremely short, but you'll probable keep the signal longer once you pass the cruiser.

That is the perfect answer to my question. Thanks.