radar-proof body kit

[b18 ls]

Originally Posted by Ricochet

I'm in the Army and learned the paint on Humvees absorbs lasers etc. They almost feel like chalk boards..

I'm in the Marine Corps (Motor Transport Operator. 3533) I've never heard anything about the paint used on HMMWV's. As far as I know, it's just carc paint. Olive drab is the color if that matters. As far as a body kit built to deflect radar..................Hmmm.

[forcefanajd]

Originally Posted by b18 ls

I'm in the Marine Corps (Motor Transport Operator. 3533) I've never heard anything about the paint used on HMMWV's. As far as I know, it's just carc paint. Olive drab is the color if that matters. As far as a body kit built to deflect radar..................Hmmm.

my brother is in the marines...hes a driver....he said something before about how the paint is radar deflectant...but you cant buy the paint without a special license.

[GritMaster]

If you could have a radar deflectent body kit they'd make it illegal for street use and then a cop could pull you over anyhow.

[b18 ls]

Originally Posted by forcefanajd

my brother is in the marines...hes a driver....he said something before about how the paint is radar deflectant...but you cant buy the paint without a special license.

I'm also a driver (Six years in the Corps) and that is news to me. They paint all the trucks in GA though, so who knows. But I know when the vehicles get a rust spot, we bust the rust away, and respray it with regular olive drab green spray paint. You can buy it at wall mart.

[Geeko]

after a little googling, from what i can tell, there are several ways to avoid radar signature.

Basically, what everyone is looking for is RAM: Radar Absorbant Material. The Blackhawk used a LOT of titanium and carbon fibre, as well as other (classified) materials that have a naturally low radar cross-section. there are also paints that are considered absorbant, but they aren't available to the general public, as far as I can tell. The paints that have been used on some older Air Force vehicles was iron-ball suspension paint, where small iron balls were suspended in the paint itself, which dispersed the radar signature.

There are also materials (or paint) that convert radar energy into heat, and then radiate it away from the plane, or object in question. Some RAM also use a dielectric material to absorb the radar engery, and re-emit it in a different wavelength- one that the radar units were "blind" to.

The upshot of all of this is that, without a few hundred thousand dollars (or much more) and a Military top-secret clearance, the odds of anyone getting RAM on their vehicles is pretty low

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread34324/pg1

[CBFryman]

now there is a man who does his research

[rabid652]

Ok, get a Valentine One radar detector.....it is by far the best one out there and if you get a ticket with one of them (unless by laser) you have to have something wrong with you. Cops do not aim their guns at specific parts of cars....the radar beam is large enough that aiming at specific points is pointless. However, a laser beam is much smaller in diameter and they usually aim that at your license plate (always a good idea to remove your front one if it is not illegal to do so). so go buy yourself a Valentine One and save a couple grand

[Geeko]

here's a novel idea- i suppose (just a guess here) we could not speed.


but where's the fun in that?


realistically, i've found that hiding in traffic, keeping my ears on my radio equipment, and watching other vehicles (especially trucks) keeps me out of more problems with police then anything else.

I guess, a few things i've seen that work-

When you are in traffic, don't be the first OR the last person in a line of traffic. if you have no other option, at least don't be the last person in a line- Police are for the most part efficient (Read: lazy) and will pull over the last person in the line of traffic rather then chasing all the way to the front to get the first guy. If you are in traffic, and you see a few vehicles tapping brakelights up ahead, slow down! It might be a speed trap, it might be an accident, but either way, you're much safer slowing down.

If you can have a scanner in your car, either legally for some reason, or illegally because the police don't care, use it. Get the most common police frequencies on it, and get familiar with the basic cop codes and locations- this will let you know where they are, and if they are running speed traps, etc. Program the CB channels into the scanner if you don't already have CB- truckers can, will, and do pass info about police speed traps and mobile units along over the airwaves; and if you know what to listen for you can avoid almost all of them.

In general, familiarity with thine enemy is paramount. Learn where your local opposition like to sit, get a general idea of how much they move around, how aggressive they are during certain times of the month (Cali drivers know ALL about this), and just generally learn about them. For the most part, I LIKE the police, and public safety people- they help take bad drivers off the street, keep everything moving safely, and might even save my life some day. I go to public days at police stations, visit the police booth at faires, and in general, just talk to them. Of all the times I've been pulled over or had the police called on me, twice I've known the officer. Didn't get me out of a ticket, but it DID make life easier for me during the "incident" and after.

All of the things I do while I drive are probably more effective then dropping 300-500 dollars on a radar detector, especially considering the vastly increased use of laser and infra-red speed guns in modern law enforcement. With laser, there is very little in the way of detection, there is only avoidance.

... yeah, well, that's my doctoral thesis. again.

[psychorallyfreak]

Indeed, just PAYING ATTENTION is an excellent preventative measure.
Not speeding is, too, but considering the first guy that mentioned it got flamed, I'm not even gonna bother...

[CBFryman]

lol, too bad using the CB doesnt work since cops listen to the CB and can transmit CB frequincies. you get on the CB saying "Has any one seen a pig up ahead of (insert position here)" and hte cop gets on the CB and says "no i aint seen a one, im (insert fake position here) come on up" you speed up and cop finds yo ucan pulls you over and yo uget a ticket...

[Geeko]

Originally Posted by CBFryman

lol, too bad using the CB doesnt work since cops listen to the CB and can transmit CB frequincies. you get on the CB saying "Has any one seen a pig up ahead of (insert position here)" and hte cop gets on the CB and says "no i aint seen a one, im (insert fake position here) come on up" you speed up and cop finds yo ucan pulls you over and yo uget a ticket...

didn't say YOU talk :P the truckers can't hear you mostly anyway, as they are using 50 watt+ linear amps, and have the input gain up so high they won't hear you're little bump in the road just listen to the truckers- they know the codes, and eventually you will to, and they'll TELL you where the smokies are

besides, i've never heard of a cop doing this- i knew very few police with cbs in their cars anymore, and most of them that do use it for the same thing as the truckers- talking, mostly.

[Rufe]

Radar reflects off of the radiators as well, angling the radiator back 30 degrees would probably lessen the signature here. Seems a rear mounted engine like the fiero would be ideal.

Laser - these can reflect back from your headlights, right?
Fold up lights might be good here.

Yes, you can get radar absorbing paint, but it is heavy and rough finish.

Rabbit - the best countermeasure.

[forcefanajd]

Originally Posted by Rufe

Radar reflects off of the radiators as well, angling the radiator back 30 degrees would probably lessen the signature here. Seems a rear mounted engine like the fiero would be ideal.

Laser - these can reflect back from your headlights, right?
Fold up lights might be good here.

Yes, you can get radar absorbing paint, but it is heavy and rough finish.

Rabbit - the best countermeasure.

like i said before...fieros are radar deflectant as there body panels are a composite material. the only thing you have to do is remove the front plate bracket(kinda a pain in the ass since you have to remove the whole front bumper to take it off). the radiator is angled in fieros already too.

[veilsidercng]

Even if they made a radar-proof body kit wouldn't you still get caught because I doubt the cops do/are able to aim just at the body kit?

[Geeko]

Police aim at the entire car- the radar beam is wide enough that that is all that is needed.

Look at it this way- AA rocket and missile aquisition radar systems cover a very large amount of airspace at once. They are not pointing at a jet, they are looking for anything that reflects radar waves. A "stealth" jet is one that has little on it that reflects radar, or is using technologies that do not reflect radar waves back to the AA station. The less reflected radar, the smaller the image that the AA station sees and the harder it is to lock target, for the jet to be fired on.

The idea behind radar-proofing a car is similar. The reduction of radar signature in and of itself is not significant; the goal is to get the signature below the threshold at which the radar gun can accurately measure speed, or where "lock" takes long enough that the car has passed into and out of radar range before a measurement can be made. Therefore, everything that can be done helps- some more then others.

The question is, does it help enough?