FAQs: Traffic Advisor Radar

The professional grade Traffic Advisor™ is the state of the art in advanced handheld radar technology. It is the world’s smallest certified accurate speed radar. Designed for traffic professionals, engineers and many more applications, it has been independently tested and certified by the police radar test lab to be accurate to within +/- 1 mph (+/- 2 kph). Instrument grade quality and design in the palm of your hand, the Traffic Advisor™ has a ½ mile range on a car and measures from 7 mph to 325 mph (11-523 KPH). Includes calibrated tuning fork, tuning fork certificate of accuracy, test lab certificate of accuracy, factory certificate of accuracy, soft-shell belt holster case, 2 AAA alkaline batteries, manual and 2 year warranty.

The Classic model is a general purpose speed radar gun that can be used for many uses radio controlled hobbies, motorsports, neighborhood safety, industrial safety, scientific research and much more. You decide what to measure and when, using one of two modes – snapshot or repeating – to accurately monitor the speeds of vehicles, radio controlled planes/cars, runners and any other moving object from 7-375 MPH (11-600 KPH).  Includes a hardshell case, wrist strap, 2 AAA alkaline batteries, and an illustrated Quick Start Guide.

The Traffic Advisor can measure the speed of an averaged sized car from about one-half of a mile away. Some larger cars have more flat surfaces and will remain visible to the radar even further away. Cars with a smaller profile and will have less range. A large truck with a flat metal front will reflect a strong signal and remain visible even more than one-half of a mile away. You may not get a reading if you are too close to a very large moving object.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), along with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) have developed specific functionality and testing protocols and performance recommendations for speed measuring devices used for judicial law enforcement. Police Radar units that have all of the required functionality and have been tested to meet specific performance standards are included on the NHTSA / IACP Conforming Product List (CPL). CPL approval is intended to insure that a police radar model meets basic standards set by the NHTSA and IACP. Some, not all, jurisdictions and/or agencies require police radar to be CPL approved for use by law enforcement agencies.

There are many applications like traffic engineering and traffic calming programs that need a certified accurate radar gun but do not require CPL approval for law enforcement use. The Pocket Radar Traffic Advisor™ model has been independently tested and certified for accuracy by the exact same test lab that does all of the testing for the CPL list. It does not have all of the functionality recommended by the NHTSA for law enforcement use so it is not on the CPL. However it is certified by the IACP sanctioned test lab to be just as accurate as any other police radar. So it can be used for traffic studies and traffic engineering applications. If you have a law enforcement application for Pocket Radar, please let us know and we can look into how to help solve your need.

We have been working with a partner company who offers a version of a radar similar to Pocket Radar products. The Pulse Mini meets the law enforcement requirements. Use this link for more information: http://pulsemini.com/

2 Years. The Traffic Advisor radar is built to be very rugged. With proper care it will last a very long time.

The Pocket Radar™ products are all based on much newer technologies than the large radar guns. It is very stable and holds the factory calibration. It does not need any further calibration. You can verify the calibration using a special Pocket Radar Calibrated Tuning Fork. This Tuning Fork is provided with the professional traffic engineering model, the Traffic Advisor™. If you would like to purchase a Calibrated Tuning Fork for use with another model of Pocket Radar™ please contact us at info@PocketRadar.com.

Yes.  The Traffic Advisor™ model is designed for professional traffic engineering use and comes with a calibrated tuning fork for accuracy verification. It also includes all of the official certificates of accuracy needed to professional use. All of the Pocket Radar™ products have been designed to remain accurate without needing any recalibration. Pocket Radar technology stabilizes the transmit frequency with a high tech dielectric resonator, which acts a lot like the crystal in a quartz watch to deliver stable and accurate operation.

Some older technology radar guns used mechanical tuning screws that needed to be recalibrated on a regular basis a lot like on old mechanical watch.

All speed radar guns are susceptible to picking up interference that can sometimes cause unexplained or random readings that are often referred to as “ghost” readings. There are two main sources of these ghost readings, electrical interference and objects in motion. There are many sources of electrical interference including things like cell phones, computer monitors, fluorescent lights, neon signs, radios, etc. Any objects that vibrate, move or spin can also create a ghost reading. Things like motors, fans, propellers can often be unseen behind covers or other objects but still be picked up by your radar. If you are experiencing these types of random readings change your position to try and aim the radar unit away from the source of interference.

No.  The Pocket Radar™ products do not have any interface to transfer data to another device. To view the previous measurements scroll through them by tapping the black “RECALL“ button. If you are interested in extracting data from a Pocket Radar™ device, please contact us to talk more about your application so we can consider it for future versions.

The Pocket Radar™ products have a beam width of about 20 degrees. This means that it is shaped a lot like the beam of a flashlight. The beam spreads out a bit and lets you see things best in the center of where you point the radar lens (the raised plastic square on the back of a Pocket Radar unit).

The Traffic Advisor radar will measure the speed of the object that returns the largest radar reflection.