Radio Location Services
- Thread starter kc8iqz
- Start date
- Status
n5dki
Newbie
police radar for traffic enforcement.
Yeah, thats what I am finding out. But wouldn't Berkeley County also need it? Why only Martinsburg? And these frequencies are way above the normal radar, so I am guessing LIDAR, the laser radar. Oh well, that's what makes this hobby fun. Thanks for the response.
Gary KC8IQZ
Gary KC8IQZ
n5dki
Newbie
X band is 10.5 Ghz and is used today mainly for automatic door openers at you local grocery store.
K band is 24.150 Ghz and is used extensively around here, as well as Ka band 33.400 Ghz.
Lidar is laser. totally different from RF-based radar.
K band is 24.150 Ghz and is used extensively around here, as well as Ka band 33.400 Ghz.
Lidar is laser. totally different from RF-based radar.
n5dki
Newbie
seems like i recall the licensing for traffic radar has changed over the years.
someone else much better versed in licensing requirements can chime in.
someone else much better versed in licensing requirements can chime in.
nd5y
Member
Law enforcement speed radar is sort of license-by-rule. If a state or local government already has a FCC PLMR license then they don't need a separate license to operate radar. Similar to how operating mobile radios on the national interoperability channels doesn't require a separate license.
nd5y
Member
I was partially wrong on that.
In 90.20 (Public Safety Pool) it says
(4) A licensee of a radio station in this service may operate radio units for the purpose of determining distance, direction, speed, or position by means of a radiolocation device on any frequency available for radiolocation purposes without additional authorization from the Commission, provided type accepted equipment or equipment authorized pursuant to §90.203(b)(4) and (b)(5) of this part is used, and all other rule provisions are satisfied. A licensee in this service may also operate, subject to all of the foregoing conditions and on a secondary basis, radio units at fixed locations and in emergency vehicles that transmit on the frequency 24.10 GHz, both unmodulated continuous wave radio signals and modulated FM digital signals for the purpose of alerting motorists to hazardous driving conditions or the presence of an emergency vehicle. Unattended and continuous operation of such transmitters will be permitted.
A company I used to work for - Redflex Traffic Systems, Inc, did red light camera enforcement and speed enforcement, via photo radar. X band radars were pretty much dead, while K band was the standard. Ka band was used on the Stalker ATR and was more effective.
High end detectors such as Valentine, Escort, etc. failed to detect the radars that were in use by Redflex. I got curious and asked the tech engineering people who promptly refused to say what frequency they were operating on. The tuning unit looked like a large floating flashlight. A bit of digging showed that the transmitter was an East German pulse Doppler fire control radar operating on an unlicensed frequency in the US.
That suddenly stopped when the FCC paid them a visit prior to the US corporate CEO went to Federal prison for bribery in Chicago, corruption, and several other criminal and civil issues.
High end detectors such as Valentine, Escort, etc. failed to detect the radars that were in use by Redflex. I got curious and asked the tech engineering people who promptly refused to say what frequency they were operating on. The tuning unit looked like a large floating flashlight. A bit of digging showed that the transmitter was an East German pulse Doppler fire control radar operating on an unlicensed frequency in the US.
That suddenly stopped when the FCC paid them a visit prior to the US corporate CEO went to Federal prison for bribery in Chicago, corruption, and several other criminal and civil issues.
And the frequencies that are in the RR reference for Martinsburg and both in the X and K bands.
OK. I lied. Here is one more posting. I took the 34 GHz frequency and just did a web search and came across a fcc page that listed various commercial vendors using that frequency. It listed names like COBRA, and other auto radar units. So that answers that question. The other question is why Martinsburg? Obviously to use the radar, but in going through about 10 or so other counties in WV and found NONE.
nd5y
Member
It's a mobile station area of operation radius around a point. Many times locations for mobiles are like that. It's not unusual. You can't see that from the RR FCC data because RR doesn't include all the data on the license.
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2002
- Messages
- 2,128
You need to define "totally" a certain way for that to be true. Both laser (light) and RF-based radar are electromagnetic radiation (which is why I would not say "totally different"). LIDAR typically uses a wavelength of about 900 nm (nanometers) which is considered near infrared (though many say infrared, this is not the thermal infrared wavelengths which are longer). In increasing wavelength, decreasing frequencies, electromagnetic radiation is:
gamma rays, ultraviolet, visible light, near infrared, (thermal) infrared, radio frequencies
By the way, 900 nm corresponds to a frequency of 333,102,731 *MHz* or 333,102,731,000,000,000 Hz or about 333 PHz (petahertz) and if you had a "radio" and a proper "antenna" that could tune to there, you would receive them.
(Ref. )
- Status
