Unidentified Radar Emitting Boxes
Discussion
I live in a medium size country village with one main road passing through. On Wednesday, two grey boxes were installed at either end of the village on this main road. Each box is grey and approx 10" square by 5" deep and secured to a lampost by a black clamp at about head height. They are fairly unobtrusive and I only noticed them as they give out a very strong radar signal. They have no obvious apertures.
What are they? :confused:
What are they? :confused:
jap-car said:
I live in a medium size country village with one main road passing through. On Wednesday, two grey boxes were installed at either end of the village on this main road. Each box is grey and approx 10" square by 5" deep and secured to a lampost by a black clamp at about head height. They are fairly unobtrusive and I only noticed them as they give out a very strong radar signal. They have no obvious apertures.
What are they?
They are for traffic surveys. They can count the number of vehicles, and the speed of vehicles, store it all on a disk/whatever for later analysis. Stealthier way of doing a survey rather than two black strips across the road, which everyone brakes for because they don't want a speed camera there. Have seen a link on the web before, but can't find it now.
I've a friend who'd be interested in this. He's a bigwig in physics at a BIG university in this country. I took him out a while ago with my old BEL heap of uselessness rigged up to show him how it failed to detect Gatsos. He was genuinely aghast at the amount of other signals it did pick up, from traffic lights and so on. Apparently there are limits to the amount of these types of signals to which we are supposed to be exposed - he was concerned these levels are being breached, because of the sheer number of transmitters at work.
IanReid said:
I live in a medium size country village with one main road passing through. On Wednesday, two grey boxes were installed at either end of the village on this main road. Each box is grey and approx 10" square by 5" deep and secured to a lampost by a black clamp at about head height. They are fairly unobtrusive and I only noticed them as they give out a very strong radar signal. They have no obvious apertures.
What are they?
They are for traffic surveys. They can count the number of vehicles, and the speed of vehicles, store it all on a disk/whatever for later analysis. Stealthier way of doing a survey rather than two black strips across the road, which everyone brakes for because they don't want a speed camera there. Have seen a link on the web before, but can't find it now.
That sounds likely as I have seen these previously but then they were removed after a while.
Thanks - problem solved.
yertis said:
I've a friend who'd be interested in this. He's a bigwig in physics at a BIG university in this country. I took him out a while ago with my old BEL heap of uselessness rigged up to show him how it failed to detect Gatsos. He was genuinely aghast at the amount of other signals it did pick up, from traffic lights and so on. Apparently there are limits to the amount of these types of signals to which we are supposed to be exposed - he was concerned these levels are being breached, because of the sheer number of transmitters at work.
Indeed it's amazing how much radar there is. You just don't realise how many devices emit a signal until you have a detector. Any evidence radar does any harm though?
streaky said:
Splodge S4 said:
I think we need pics, the only thing i can think of is large tit boxes (for blue tits etc), unlikely i know, wrong time of the year... or Bats..they use radar so i hear...
Bats use sonar, not radar - Streaky
aah thankyou..take Bats off the list of possibles...
>> Edited by Splodge S4 on Saturday 29th October 08:35
Microwaves?....at HEAD height! 
That worries me. I'm a radio ham and have played around on the microwave bands using microwave diodes that emit 1:10th of a watt. Not a lot, but the one thing that you DONT do is look into the wave guide or antenna....even 1:10th watt is enough to damage your eyesight...
If these really are at Head height, I think a serious complaint is in order.....
That worries me. I'm a radio ham and have played around on the microwave bands using microwave diodes that emit 1:10th of a watt. Not a lot, but the one thing that you DONT do is look into the wave guide or antenna....even 1:10th watt is enough to damage your eyesight...
If these really are at Head height, I think a serious complaint is in order.....
tvrgit said:
Automatic traffic counters.
They count traffic. Nothing else.
Calm down dears!
They probably do size of vehicle as well.
iirc the black rubber covered ones that are sometimes attached to the road for a week or so can indicate the size of vehicle, whether it is towing something and give an indication of vehicle speeds as well - all for survey purposes.
Of course one doea have to wonder what the survey was about ...
8Pack said:
Microwaves?....at HEAD height!
That worries me. I'm a radio ham and have played around on the microwave bands using microwave diodes that emit 1:10th of a watt. Not a lot, but the one thing that you DONT do is look into the wave guide or antenna....even 1:10th watt is enough to damage your eyesight...
If these really are at Head height, I think a serious complaint is in order.....
They are at headheight but it's radar not microwaves. I'm sure the wavelength of radar is much longer than those of microwaves which are of the order of a centimeter (if I remember my physics correctly). I can't imagine radar can be particularly harmful as we seem OK and there is loads of radar about and has been for a while.
LongQ said:
Of course one doea have to wonder what the survey was about ...
Yes I am wondering that...
yes you're right, you can do classified counts (ie size of vehicle) or speed ranges, etc.
AS for what the survey is about, it could be for all sorts of reasons. Usually, surveys are to make sure that junctions are designed to the right standards and with enough capacity, or to measure traffic growth, loads of reasons.
I have done hundreds, probably thousands, of traffic surveys and ony a very very few were anything to do with speed limits. None, no, not one singe survey, resulted in a speed camera being put in - I do not accept that speed cameras are a panacea for every traffic and road safety problem.
Doesn't stop the terminally paranoid from shouting abuse though.
AS for what the survey is about, it could be for all sorts of reasons. Usually, surveys are to make sure that junctions are designed to the right standards and with enough capacity, or to measure traffic growth, loads of reasons.
I have done hundreds, probably thousands, of traffic surveys and ony a very very few were anything to do with speed limits. None, no, not one singe survey, resulted in a speed camera being put in - I do not accept that speed cameras are a panacea for every traffic and road safety problem.
Doesn't stop the terminally paranoid from shouting abuse though.
jap-car said:
8Pack said:
Microwaves?....at HEAD height!
That worries me. I'm a radio ham and have played around on the microwave bands using microwave diodes that emit 1:10th of a watt. Not a lot, but the one thing that you DONT do is look into the wave guide or antenna....even 1:10th watt is enough to damage your eyesight...
If these really are at Head height, I think a serious complaint is in order.....
They are at headheight but it's radar not microwaves. I'm sure the wavelength of radar is much longer than those of microwaves which are of the order of a centimeter (if I remember my physics correctly). I can't imagine radar can be particularly harmful as we seem OK and there is loads of radar about and has been for a while.
Well, not quite Jap-car, the transceiver that I built some years ago used a Gunn diode emitting 1:10th of a watt at 10Gz (3 Cm)(half wave only 1.5 Cm)! coupled to a reciever via a mixer diode as shown here: www.g3pho.free-online.co.uk/microw Whoops!..didn't work...scroll down to "beginners start here" in the left column....
The technology is old now but STILL used by Radio Hams as described at frequencies up to 80Gz. These Gunn diodes are tiny!...an insulating material in the centre with a gold cap at either end. Placed between the fingers, they would easily disappear underyour skin...if you dropped them, you'd never find them again, you'd need to be lucky...........I paid £15 for one! many years ago..
These are the basis for many a "RADAR" device, whether a "speed gun", "Traffic light", "Burglar alarm" etc etc....all you need is the gunn diode, a resonant cavity to place it in which clamps it in place by its terminals, a 6 volt dc supply.....and!
Don't put your eyes within 1 foot of it!...
>> Edited by 8Pack on Sunday 30th October 01:28
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