Search for: Owner’s Manuals Installation Service & Support About Us V1 Moments V1 Detectors The V1 Difference V1 Info Contact Us SHOP NOW UPGRADES Home » V1 Info » About Laser Detectors About Laser Detectors How Traffic Laser Works To measure speed, traffic laser sends out a beam of pulsed infrared light. The beam is tightly focused: at a range of 1000 feet, it’s only about four feet wide. Infrared is invisible to the naked eye — the operator can’t see it and neither can you. But it is light and it behaves accordingly. It travels in straight lines. And it’s easily reflected. Traffic laser works as a rangefinder. It sends a pulse, then waits for the reflection from the target car. From the time needed for the pulse to go out and back, and from the speed of light, it calculates distances to the car. These pulses are sent frequently, up to 500 times a second. The changing distance to the target over time is speed. Laser can’t see over hills or through opaque objects. The laser beam must hit your car directly, line-of-sight from the laser gun, to measure speed. Under ideal conditions, it can read speed in less than one second. The pencil beam means that, in operation, laser is very different from radar. Radar cannot single out one vehicle in a pack, so the speed reading is usually attributed to the leader. The narrow laser beam reads only the vehicle it strikes. How Laser Detectors Work A laser detector is an electronic sensor calibrated for the infrared wavelength used by traffic laser. It is extremely sensitive. And it responds in as little as .006 seconds. It should be mounted inside the car with the sensor facing through the glass toward the laser. When the beam, or scatter from the beam, strikes the detector, it warns instantly. Laser Detector Warning Finding Laser Traps Laser Detector Defense Techniques Laser Detector False Alarms 800.331.3030 10280 Alliance Road Cincinnati, Ohio 45242 Home V1 Detectors The V1 Difference V1 Info Shop Now Upgrades Contact Us About Us Installation Service & Support V1 Moments Signup for our Mailing List Site Map Privacy Statement © 2021, Valentine Research, Inc. All rights reserved.