In the famous science fiction television series Star Trek, creator Gene Rodenberry introduced a cloaking device that made Klingon spaceships “invisible” to other spaceships. Although the crew of the Enterprise knew where the Klingon spacecraft was, they couldn’t “see” it. Can you imagine if a device could be used on automobiles so a car would be “invisible” to police radar? Literally, a police officer could target your car and his/her radar detector would fail to work because it is jammed. While detestable to some, the concept of undetectable speeding is alluring to others, especially in speed traps where some feel they are used for local money collection as opposed to increasing traffic safety.
How radar guns work
Police radar guns emit bursts of electromagnetic radiation at a high frequency, typically in the 1-8 Ghz range. The signals, traveling at the speed of light, bounce off of a target vehicle, and return to the radar gun. After reception, a computer chip in the gun measures the differential between the emitted and reflected waves and calculates vehicle speed. The result is highly accurate, assuming the police officer is pointing the gun at the correct target vehicle.
Radar jamming
Radar Jamming is the process of disabling a radar detector with countermeasure technology. It has been used for decades on military aircraft and on other war machinery. Just recently, though, the technology has been adapted to jam police radar. The way it works is that the jammer, located in your car, transmits a signal that overpowers the one fired by the police officer. Typically, jammers are triggered into action when the device senses a radar signal being pointed at the car. The problem says Reedman Toll Nissan of North Bethesda, MD, a certified Nissan dealer, is that they can be illegal.
The FCC
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates the frequencies used by radar guns. By law, it is a federal offense to broadcast using an unlicensed device on all police radar frequencies. The penalty can be $50,000 and/or five years in prison. Additionally, the FCC, using their ability to regulate consumer product marketing, has made it illegal to even advertise radar jammers.
Laser Jammers
There is another way that can be used to measure speed and that is with a laser. Police laser speed measuring guns work on the same principle as radar guns, only the waves being transmitted are bursts of ultraviolet, laser light. Laser guns focus a narrow beam of light down the road and the beam is so narrow that it can target one vehicle at a time. Like a radar gun, the laser gun waits to receive a light reflection off of its target. Interestingly, the FCC doesn’t regulate the light spectrum, that’s done by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The operational goal of the laser jammer is to overwhelm the reflected light, causing the laser gun to register a faulty speed measurement, or no measurement at all. Laser jammers are triggered into action by a laser detector. Once activated, the jammer illuminates small banks of light emitting diodes or laser diodes that point back at the police laser gun.
While radar jammers are illegal in all 50 states due to federal law, laser jammers are regulated by states. Currently, these devices are legal in all states except California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington D.C.
Stealth Running
Unfortunately for speeders, the ability to have complete invisibility to police radar and laser isn’t legal.
Currently, limited invisibility is the best that speeders can hope for. This will undoubtedly change in the future as the technology continues to evolve and regulating laws change.