Allow me...
First- there are LOTS of models from the various manufacturers in use. Some use K band, most use Ka and there are old X bands even around.
The most popular brand nationally (Stalker) uses Ka in all its radar- and is the only one utilizing a digital signal from the antenna to the processor (called the Counting Unit).
Doppler Shift- what the hell is that?
ALL radar uses Doppler Shift to determine any speed (Patrol car, target 1,2 3 or 4). Vision a pebble tossed in a pond- see the concentric waves spread out? They bounce off the shore and return- with he same frequency (distance between each wave crest) as they went out with.
Doppler Shift is the principle that when a wave encounters a moving object; the wave frequency will COMPRESS if the object is moving/closing relative to the starting point. If the object (target) is moving AWAY, the waves expand (the distance at the crests is farther apart.
Audibly- it's easy to reproduce. Stand on the side of the road and have your friend, in a parked car, hold the horn for 5 seconds. The pitch/tone is unchanged. Now have them drive a block or two away and honk it as they approach you at say 30 mph. You will notice the pitch seems to rise as they approah and fall as they pass you. But wait- the horn should sound the same the entire time right? This frequency shift you hear is the Doppler Shift/Effect.
So, what does that have to do with radar? Radar simply sends out a microwave beam (at a known frequency of around 34 gHz) and waits for it to bounce off a moving target- then measures the frequency shift and, with some quick math, converts the shift to speed in mph.
Early radar merely put up the number. More modern stuff tells the officer if the target is coming Towards or Away from him/her. The latest stuff (offered only by Stalker) can target up to FIVE vehicles (FOUR targets and the Patrol car) at the same time, moving or stationary, towards or away, and tell the officer whether each one is coming towards him or away- all at the same time. Makes ya dizzy to watch this thing in action!
(At first anyway- a 12 year old video player could figure it out in 5 minutes, us geezers might take a little longer.)
The most popular radars track a Strongest and a Fastest target at the same time- displaying each in its own window on the device. Additionaly, it tracks the Patrol car speed and displays that. The Better radars show whether the Strongest and Fastest is moving Towards or Away from the radar device.
All radar beams are about 9 to 12 degrees wide- so 1000' out, it's a huge area. This is where officer training is most important; as stated- they make a visual estimation first, then confirm it with the radar. You would utterly amazed at how good all of you can become in visually estimating speed (with just an hour or two of practice)- using the radar as a teaching aid for immediate feedback/correction.
So how do ya avoid this stuff? Uh- slow down. Modern radar is so good- you are toast. So you can only rely on a combination of things to avoid the big, bad radar tag!
- Stay small. Motorcycles are teeny targets compared to 18 wheelers. Staying low and small keeps ya down in "the noise" of other traffic, trees and such, so it may have trouble picking you out.
- (edit- added). Find some interference runers! Stay behind other vehicles- you get your buttox out there all alone in the breeze and you are making it waaay too easy to get picked off (and deserve a ticket for being so stupid).
- Find a rabbit (and follow it)! NEVER be the Fastest one- you are freaking bait out front. Let some other asswipe go first and tag along at a couple/few mph slower. When they get far enough away, slow down, let 'em go and wait all of 12 seconds for another sucker, er rabbit, to tow you for awhile.
- Get a detector. Which is best is a constant arguement (I like Valentine 1), so suffice it to say get one of the top 3 and you'll be covered pretty well. Remember though- if your ass is out fornt, the detector will only give you time to get your license out. The key is to let the OTHER guy out front get painted with the radar and the "overspray" sets off your V1- allowing you to slow before the steely-eyed officer locks on to you.
That's it for now...fire away!
