Black T/A's undetectable to radar?

[95TransAm]

My T/A is black, and I can say that I've been pulled over and was caught speeding on radar. The odd thing though, is that it read about 15 mph faster than what I was doing. I was heading eastbound on I-88 at about 2 in the morning doing 80 mph or so. When I got pulled over, his radar read that I was doing 97 , and I was the only car on the road. I don't have a front plate either.

I got off without a problem though...he was a pretty cool guy about it.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

all 4th gen firebirds are, unless you run a front tag. the front tag is impregnated with a reflective paint to reflect the radar beams.

ask my wife mary..thats how she got busted for no front tag in the Hawk. 4 times! then i mounted it on the air damn....after reviewing the va law.

i talked with the state trooper, he said he got an "er" when he shot the car from the front...which told him no front tag...

lazers are a diff story though...they can see you.

You're fooling yourself if you think a 4th gen car is invisible to radar. Anything metal will reflect radar. The question is whether it will bounce back to the receiver.

It's not the paint that is reflecting the signal back to the radar. It's the metal of the plate that is bouncing it back. The paint is made to be reflective at visual frequencies not the frequency of radar.

I deal with low observable antenna covers which we call radomes where I work. When dealing with military hardware it's highly classified but the theories apply across the microwave spectrum.

Look at the F117 stealth fighter/bomber. The saw tooth edges are to get the radar to bounce in a direction other than back to the radar. The slanted radiator support in the F-body will do the same thing. However there are other things in the front of the car that are not tipped back. But since there is less area there, there is a smaller chance that the radar will receive a signal bounced back from it. A rounded edge will always have some part of that radius that will bounce a signal back to a radar. It's better to have a flat edge and purposely direct the reflection away from the receiver. That's why the stealth has those angles and that is why the Navy ships are made with sides that are tipped back at the top. While that makes the navy ship less likely to be seen from the surface it can make it more likely to be seen from the air but you have to get the radar perpendicular to the surface to get a reflection. So they make them with large flat surfaces on no rounded ones to lower the RCS (radar cross section) and reduce the chances of a reflection back to the radar receiver.

That should be more than you wanted to know. LOL


http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/f117/
"The surfaces and edge profiles are optimised to reflect hostile radar into narrow beam signals, directed away from the enemy radar detector. All the doors and opening panels on the aircraft have saw-toothed forward and trailing edges to reflect radar. The aircraft is mainly constructed of aluminum, with titanium for areas of the engine and exhaust systems. The outer surface of the aircraft is coated with a radar-absorbent material (RAM). The radar cross-section of the F-117 has been estimated at between 10-100cm2."

[MN6WS6]

These new LIDAR guns they have are bad. They can get a signal off of a headlight, even if the headlight is on! The old ones couldn't do that for whatever reason. With laser, the key is reflectivity. No front plates, lights off, an LT1 Formula would be the hardest to detect, especially with no fog lights. I guess I need to get rid of my fog lights BTW, there is a company that makes front plate covers that diffuse lasers. I think it's K40, but can't remember.

As far as the regular radar goes, you won't really get much help there. Radar is a sound wave, so it bounces off of solid objects and reflects back to the gun. The problem with our cars is that the entire front end is plastic, which is going to alter the wave after it bounces off the metal radiator. Not to mention all that foam and fiberglass everywhere. So while they are harder to lock on, they are not impossible. If you have a good radar detector, your chance of getting a ticket decreases, as you will be forewarned well in advance and have plenty of time to reduce speed before the gun can lock on. I know that my car can't be seen by radar trailers until I'm almost up on it, even if I'm in the lane right next to where they parked the trailer. My bike cannot be targeted by a trailer. I've ridden by them at all kinds of speeds and haven't been picked up.

[Joe 1320]

You're fooling yourself if you think a 4th gen car is invisible to radar. Anything metal will reflect radar. The question is whether it will bounce back to the receiver.

Bingo. My ex father-in-law was a radar tech who spent 10 years calibrating radar units for all the law enforcement agencies on the east coast of Florida. What Jeff posted is absolutely true.

It's laser that can be confused.... especially if you have a black front bra and no brightwork to reflect a signal. If you want to see the effect, simply get one of those hand held toy lasers available for about $10. While they are a different wavelength than the tracking lasers, you can still see the same basic effect. Shine the laser at a license plate and you'll see a bright reflection. Now shine it at a piece of black fabric and the light is mostly absorbed. This is the same principle that I posted earlier about flat black absorbing a majority of the signal.

[raroZ28]

So a black crotch rocket is just about invisible to radar/laser? It's hard enough to hit them, so it's just about impossible for a cop to gun you down with it?

That would be a relief.

[brynnda]

Yeah, so you wanna buy my Iroc Cmaerio? It's pretty badd a** man.

does yours have t-tops?? mine has t-topes. god that was damn funny.



Originally Posted by wolfman
all 4th gen firebirds are, unless you run a front tag. the front tag is impregnated with a reflective paint to reflect the radar beams.



anyway, im sorry but thats got to be the stupidist thing ive ver heard. (not you personally hun, just this topic in general) not for 1 second do i buy that the factory painted it with reflective paint to reflect radar. there is no reflective paint. military jets are not stealth due to reflective paint. there is radar absorbing material they use on aircraft, that and lack of 90* angles make them stealth. black cars are not invisable, if you wax your car everyday your not invisable, you cannot wrap your car in aluminum foil either. dont u guys watch mythbusters?

[BadWS6]

I dont know it sure seems like no one else sees my black car judging by how many other drivers / idiots pull out or turn left in front of it

[Joe 1320]

I dont know it sure seems like no one else sees my black car judging by how many other drivers / idiots pull out or turn left in front of it

You have a point there. Black WS6s must be invisible.

[MN6WS6]

BRYNDDA, the point Wolfman was making is that ALL tags are painted with metallic, reflective paint, that's why they "light up" when you shine lights on them (aka the po-po). A side effect is that lasers reflect off of them also, so po-po can tag you with that too. They're kinda like the reflective sections in your taillights, they collect gather what light is there and shine it back towards the source. Perfect for LIDAR and other laser based radar guns to use.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

... Radar is a sound wave, so it bounces off of solid objects and reflects back to the gun.

Radar is radio frequency CW or pulsed energy - electromagnetic, not sound. Sonar is sound.

[95z28]

Yeah, so you wanna buy my Iroc Cmaerio? It's pretty badd a** man.

only if its got t-tops, and a chain steering wheel!

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Radar is radio frequency CW or pulsed energy - electromagnetic, not sound. Sonar is sound.

Yes and no. Sound is just a frequency band that is in the range of hearing. Radar is in the frequency of 10GHz in the case of X band. Microwave ovens are on the frequency of about 2.4 GHz. Visual is just a really high frequency.

Electromagnatics is the science of using electricity for magnatisim. The company I work for used to be called Electromagnetic Sciences Inc. Now it's just EMS Technologies for short.
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/allo...n%20table'