Monitoring SHEP

[AndersonMBK]

I have been listening to everything since I got a pro-96 when they were on sale the other week. I'm curious if anybody has listened to any interesting SHEP conversations? I pass by them on 85 everyday between Anderson and Greenville, and I've just noticed that they are carrying radar for speed checking. Kinda odd them having radar - it would be strange them pulling someone over. I guess they may alert SCHP if someone was going paticulary fast?

 

[Grog]

You sure they actually had radar? It's not like they would be testifying in court (or be able to) so why bother? If they see someone driving like an idiot, they can pass that on without an exact speed on the idiot.

 

[AndersonMBK]

I'm positive he had radar. I was shocked too. The first time it happened I thought there may have been an unmarked car that I didn't notice. But then it happened the next day. Since then my radar detector has picked them up everytime they pass by. It's a strong signal too, like when you pass by the mobile radar setups that show you what speed your going in a school zone. Also, I looked at the DOT website, and noticed they've changed the name to Incident Response.

 

[Grog]

It's possible they have it on full-time to slow down people with radar. A cop would be running it in instant-on mode most of the time.


On a side note, there was this small town police dept in Gaston County NC that got some new radar sets from some state program in the early-mid 80s. The police chief (who was also the only person on the dept) would take turns sitting and running radar at a highly visible spot, and then he would just park the patrol car and leave the radar on.


At first it worked, then people could tell if he was in the car, so they just sped by. He then went to a local department store and got an old mannequin they were going to throw out, dressed it in a spare uniform, and sat it in the patrol car.


So many years later, he's now my co-worker. Hearing the stories of old-time law enforcement if always good :lol:

 

[AndersonMBK]

That reminds me of how the NC highway patrol puts solar panals on the trunk of a patrol car and parks it on the side of the interstate, usually around a construction zone from what I remember, and leave the lights turned on. Sure is a nice - and relatively cheap - way to slow people down and it get's your attention.

I got the pro-96 the day before Thanksgiving. It was so much fun listening to the SCHP guy on the bridge call out what cars were speeding to the 6 or 7 waiting SCHP guys over the crest of the hill. I guess the best part was knowing exactly where they were at...

I'm looking foward to listening to the "incident response" trucks to see what they're doing with the radar

 

[Grog]

I forgot about the NCSHP cars setup with the solar, but 99% of my interstate driving is between mile 17 & 22 in Gaston County, so no use to setup the car here. I have seen them at one of the weight stations near the gaston/meck line as well, but I guess that's OT for the SC forum

 

[jeffmulter]

SHEP is not using "radar" ... atleast not in the sense you and I would think about it, with regards to speed enforcment.

The unit IS transmitting a carrier that a radar detector will respond to. But, if your detector has the feature, you will get a verbal warning from the detector that an emergency response vehicle is approaching.

The intents are to help the SHEP operators to respond quicker to calls for assistance, as well as warn motorists equipped with an appropriate detector of the response vehicle's presence in the emmediate area.

Atleast one of the SHEP trucks covering I-77 in York County has one.

There are also similar devices in use in road construction work zones and active railroad crossings.

 

[jeffmulter]

Footnote: Noted a Charlotte Fire ladder truck using one of the radar detector alerts while enroute to a call this afternoon.

With my radar detector, the sound of the alert it gives for these specialized devices is very different - and attention-grabbing - from the sound it emits for traffic radar.

 

[AndersonMBK]

Jeff, My radar dectectors give a very distinct tone for these emergency "signals" too. I've noticed them both for fire trucks and ambulances - only when they are rolling code.

The Incident Response trucks, aka SHEP, are making my radar pick up both K and Ka bands. Picking up these bands is what first sparked my curiosity.

 

[mstarn]

Maybe this will help a little about the RADAR transmissions.

Following copied from: http://gtresearchnews.gatech.edu/newsrelease/SWS.html

Since 1991, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has allowed use of unattended radar transmitters to trigger radar detectors and thereby warn drivers of hazards ranging from highway construction zones to road maintenance. Though these "drone" systems cannot broadcast specific warnings, they have been considered useful for improving highway safety.

"At least two studies have shown that drone transmitters capable of setting off the current generation of radar detectors are effective at slowing traffic in construction zones," said Janice Lee, president of RADAR. "We believe this technology has much untapped potential. Enhanced transmitters, when coupled with 'smart' radar detectors, will let the driver differentiate between various types of road hazards."

The new generation of "smart" radar detectors includes a built-in liquid crystal display capable of displaying up to 64 characters. When such a detector receives a safety message, it first sounds a special tone to alert the driver before displaying the message. A second message can also be sent and displayed with the first, so the system could both warn of a hazard and tell the driver of a reduced speed limit.

Because the transmitter also sends out microwave signals on the K band, drivers using older radar detectors would still be alerted to a traffic hazard, though they could not be told the specific nature of it.

The consortium of electronics companies, known as RADAR, has filed a patent application to protect the technology.

Transmitters would be located on police and other emergency vehicles, and on construction equipment, bridges, existing overhead sign warning systems and other fixed sites. Portable transmitters could also be moved to locations wherever needed.


"Every police car one day will have one of these," Greneker predicted. "When the police officer turns on the blue lights or siren to begin a pursuit or respond to an emergency, the transmitter would send out a message alerting motorists. At an accident site, the officer would use the transmitter to warn oncoming cars."

 

[KingdomRacing]

Not far from my house...A guy takes wrecked Police Crown Vics and turns them into Street legal versions of the cars to sell to the general public...

He has a car that looks like a SCHP unit with a mannequin in the front seat with a SCHP uniform on sitting in his front yard...You can sit at the red light and watch cars come over the hill and slam on brakes...Pretty funny...

Just thought id share!!...