Police Radar Certification. What Is It And Why Is It Required
Traffic Radar Certification. What It Is And Why Is It Needed
Plainly put, a traffic radar certification is a statement of accuracy of the specific radar. Electronic component values usually change their value over time due to age and other environmental factors. For radar's, this difference in component value could vary the way it calculates vehicle speed. Todays radar do not exibit large detectable errors due to better components. But these newer components still exibit some variance necessitating the need for continued certifications.
The radar certification should be performed by a company who has no governmental affiliations. If a speeding violation reaches a courtroom, you will need to insure that the radar certification was from an independent company. Occasionally, if a speeding ticket makes it to court, the certification company has to appear also to address the accuracy of the radar. Frequently the defendant tries to get the certification agency to comment on the guilt or innocense of the offence when they really only can comment on the radar accuracy.
The elements of a thorough radar certification or radar calibration include:
Transmitter Frequency Check
The microwave transmitter emits the high frequency towards the target vehicle. This frequency must remain in the range as specified by the manufacturer. Due to high frequencies of these transmitters, highly-sophisticated equipment must be used to measure their output.
Receiver Check
The antennas receive the reflected microwave frequency and compare it to the emitted frequency to produce a frequency-difference. To imitate a reflected signal, a known frequency is emitted into the antennas. If the right speed is shown on the display, the antennas are deemed to be accurate.
Radar Functional Check
Other than these two tests, a complete test should be performed on the counter. This includes making sure all displays and indicators are working, insuring the audio is working and that it will successfully perform its own self-test. If the radar has a malfunction, the issue must be resolved prior to certification. If a repair is needed the certificaiton company may be able to perform the radar repair as well.
Judicial systems require a radar certification be performed on each radar on a regular basis. A yearly radar certification is usually sufficient for most judicial systems. In general, all electronic equipment used for testing should be tested for accuracy each year. This means that the equipment used to certify radar be checked for accuracy also. The radar test equipment should have accuracy traceability back to NIST (National Institute for Standards and Testing). Therefore, it could be said that radar certified by such test equipment is accurate to NIST standards.
About the Author
Mike Cathey owns Precision Radar and has over 20 years experience in police radar repair, radar certification and general radar troubleshooting. Precision Radar is factory trained for most radar manufacturers and performs warranty service work for them.
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