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Old 04-08-2001 | 07:39 PM
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_DRU_'s Avatar
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i am planning to hardwire my radar detector and now i have a placement Q. here goes, would the radar detector be just as effective if i put it on the very top of my winshield up in the blue tint? i thought to myself and thought it would because less light passes through, acting as a obstruction, sort of. but do radar waves (or whatever they are called) act the same way? thanks
Old 04-08-2001 | 08:15 PM
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Originally posted by _DRU_
i am planning to hardwire my radar detector and now i have a placement Q. here goes, would the radar detector be just as effective if i put it on the very top of my winshield up in the blue tint? i thought to myself and thought it would because less light passes through, acting as a obstruction, sort of. but do radar waves (or whatever they are called) act the same way? thanks
That really shouldn't be an issue since radar waves aren't on the electromagnetic spectrum( the spectrum of colors that make up white light ). The color of your tint won't affect it's operation, just make sure your tint isn't the reflective kind because the metal used in those tints will throw off your radar readings if you mount it right up there but other that that you shoud be str8
Old 04-08-2001 | 08:37 PM
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thanks, thats what i thought

Originally posted by primeevil711


That really shouldn't be an issue since radar waves aren't on the electromagnetic spectrum( the spectrum of colors that make up white light ). The color of your tint won't affect it's operation, just make sure your tint isn't the reflective kind because the metal used in those tints will throw off your radar readings if you mount it right up there but other that that you shoud be str8
Old 04-08-2001 | 08:58 PM
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this may help

From Mike Valentine:

http://www.valentine1.com/lab/MikesLabRpt2.asp

/aac
Old 04-08-2001 | 10:55 PM
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Electromagnetic Spectrum

Everything from Radio, Radar, TV, Microwave, InfraRed, Visible, Ultraviolet, X-Rays, and Gamma are ALL Electromagnetic Waves. The only difference in them are their frequency and wavelength. Of course their differences in frequency and wavelength give them all different properties, but nevertheless, they are all EM waves.

Radar just isn't part of the VISIBLE spectrum, which is just a tiny slice of the entire electromagnetic Spectrum.

The reason we can only see the visible spectrum, is because our eyes are only sensitive to those wavelengths.

A perfect filter will only allow a certain wavelength to pass through it. A "blue" filter that is 100% efficient, will ONLY allow blue light to pass through it. The tint on the top of the windshield is far from a 100% filter, but -may- have an effect on the incoming radar waves. However, I've not tested it, and cannot say for sure.

Good Luck!
Old 04-08-2001 | 11:10 PM
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Electromagnetic Spectrum

Everything from Radio, Radar, TV, Microwave, InfraRed, Visible, Ultraviolet, X-Rays, and Gamma are ALL Electromagnetic Waves. The only difference in them are their frequency and wavelength. Of course their differences in frequency and wavelength give them all different properties, but nevertheless, they are all EM waves.

Radar just isn't part of the VISIBLE spectrum, which is just a tiny slice of the entire electromagnetic Spectrum.

The reason we can only see the visible spectrum, is because our eyes are only sensitive to those wavelengths.

A perfect filter will only allow a certain wavelength to pass through it. A "blue" filter that is 100% efficient, will ONLY allow blue light to pass through it. The tint on the top of the windshield is far from a 100% filter, but -may- have an effect on the incoming radar waves. However, I've not tested it, and cannot say for sure.

Good Luck!
Old 04-08-2001 | 11:17 PM
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Re: Electromagnetic Spectrum

Originally posted by n2oMike

A perfect filter will only allow a certain wavelength to pass through it. A "blue" filter that is 100% efficient, will ONLY allow blue light to pass through it. The tint on the top of the windshield is far from a 100% filter, but -may- have an effect on the incoming radar waves. However, I've not tested it, and cannot say for sure.

Good Luck!
Ooops, sorry for the duplicate post... but being technical, fiters come in all styles, and can also be made to pass all wavelengths except certain ones. Goggles that laser technitions wear are designed to block the wavelengths that their lasers emit. Some of these lasers are powerful enough, that a super brief exposure to even a reflected ray is enough to blind a person... therefore the goggles are mandatory.

Good Luck!
Old 04-08-2001 | 11:40 PM
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Re: Re: Electromagnetic Spectrum

Originally posted by n2oMike


Ooops, sorry for the duplicate post... but being technical, fiters come in all styles, and can also be made to pass all wavelengths except certain ones. Goggles that laser technitions wear are designed to block the wavelengths that their lasers emit. Some of these lasers are powerful enough, that a super brief exposure to even a reflected ray is enough to blind a person... therefore the goggles are mandatory.

Good Luck!
sorry about my past statement and thanx for the corruption, I was just thinking of the spectrum of visible light.( I'm such a geek). But in any case that was a great explination.
Old 04-08-2001 | 11:52 PM
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Glass reflects radar too, not just metal. You should not have any problems mounting it behind the tint, even a metalic tint, enough energy will still be passing through to be picked up by your detector regardless. Good luck.
Old 04-09-2001 | 12:01 AM
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most will actually advise on putting it as low as it can posissibly go without having obstructions on the way, bottom middle to be exact
Old 04-09-2001 | 01:46 AM
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actually the tint will effect your detectors radar detection ability. If you go to the valentine website, it says that mounting behind tint will decrease its ability to detect radar. So don't mount it behind the blue strip if you want it to work to its potential
Old 04-09-2001 | 02:00 AM
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From: CT
Originally posted by _DRU_
i am planning to hardwire my radar detector and now i have a placement Q. here goes, would the radar detector be just as effective if i put it on the very top of my winshield up in the blue tint? i thought to myself and thought it would because less light passes through, acting as a obstruction, sort of. but do radar waves (or whatever they are called) act the same way? thanks
Thats what I did to mine, its hooked on to the passenger side visor. I have no promblems with it. This frees up my dashboard and plug from it.
Old 04-09-2001 | 07:01 AM
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The higher the detector is mounted, the longer its detection range.
Old 04-09-2001 | 09:14 AM
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Originally posted by maxse91
most will actually advise on putting it as low as it can posissibly go without having obstructions on the way, bottom middle to be exact
Not necessarily. Radar waves can be reflected by your car's metal hood. If the detector is mounted too low, the radar waves can be bounced right up over top of it!

The higher it is mounted, the better. It's less affected by the hood, and it has a better "line of sight" to the radar gun. The higher any antenna is, the better it's reception.

Good Luck!
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