radar gun

[anthony_marquart]

Bushnell Velocity speed radar

Seems like we've had this discussion before... but will this work on our boats? Seems like if t can catch a baseball it should be able to get a .21 rigger.

 

[Chris Wood]

kinda cheesy. seen some work. seen some that don't

if you are going to spend the money TRY to get a good one.. i realize they are expensive but in this case you really do get what you pay for.

 

[Ty Faust]

The stalker is the one to get,All of the other ones seen to give false readings.I agree with Chris that you get what you pay for.

By the way Chris the Blackbird is really starting to run good.The nova that your dad did is starting to break end.And WOW!

 

[moparbarn]

a baseball out in the open is one thing, but out boats on water create a whole new set of issues. water & it's reflectivity really screw with a radar or laser gun that isn't top quality. since the signal has to bounce back from the object being checked, the scattered signals from the water (waves actually) really create a mixed bag of returns for the radar gun to sort out. the more expensive ones do this better. the fresh water fish & game officers here in va. use laser dectectors, because they are more accurate on the water, due to a cleaner return signal. i have been told by those officers that the most accurate way to use them on water is to shoot an object coming straight at you or going straight away. they claim side to side or at an angle MAY not be as accurate. i am fortunate that my test pond is in a large recreation area/camp ground with a shooting range. some of the local law enforcement guys use the range & have lasered & radared my boats for me. the laser is way more consistent than radar, in their hands.

 

[anthony_marquart]

I'm looking at this as a possible tuning tool. I guess I don't need it to be dead on accurate as much as repeatible.

 

[Tim Strange]

I used to want a radar gun.. (still do actually)...but a stopwatch is a rather inexpensive tool to have.

 

[moparbarn]

repeatability will vary with water conditions. more waves or chop will cause issues due to randon signals coming from them bouncing off the waves/water. a small object very close to the water is what the officers i have talked to say is the hardest thing to shoot accurately. a large (read full scale) boat gives you a better target further above the water, our boats **** sure don't. the fact that the thing that causes the issues, the waves, are an animate, moving object really makes repeatibility hard. even the roostertail & the spray off the hull/sponsons can create random returns. all these things are creating signals back to the detector at different speeds & directions. boat going 1 way, roostertail another & spray in all directions. hate to say it, but for good results, you're gonna have to spend $...........the better units "average" the returning signals. average isn't really the right term, but will do for now. they look at the greatest # of similar signals & use those, disregarding the random/scattered return signals. discrimination is prolly a better word better than averaging..........more $=better discrimination=better results/repeatibility. hope this helps you understand how these work & helps you decide on what will do you the most good.

 

[Jim Allen]

The Stalker Pro is a $1,800+ radar gun that can measure the speed of objects with true accuray to 1/10th MPH, across a wide speed range, even when the objects are very far away. Typical tracking distances are as follows; semi truck-10,000 ft; automobile-6,000 ft; motorcycle-4,000 ft; boat-3,500 ft; personal watercraft-2,500 ft; model plane-1,000 ft; baseball-300 ft. Its speed rang is 1 to 300 MPH. Target acquisition time: 0.01 seconds in whole digits & 0.04 seconds in tenths. Update rate: 100 per second in whole digits & 30 per second in tenth digits. The gun has two seperate speed displays running simultaneousy, both the continously tracked speeds & the peak speeds can be shown together.

The gun should never be moved when tracking an object & it should only be used with objects comming to or going away from the gun. Readings taken without this method will always have a tangent error & moving the gun invalidates any readings. Water spray from a propeller has no effect on the guns readings no matter the direction.

The weekend of 8/20/11, I tested my Stalker Pro against a data logger system mounted in a pylon racing plane at the Julian, NC pylon race course. The maximum speed readings were consistently within 1/10 MPH between the data logger & the radar gun. Speeds measured were between 165 to 195 MPH.

Jim Allen

note: The Stalker Pro uses a polarized twin horn Ka band system. This configuration uses seperat horns for the transmit & receive functions. There will be nothing received unless the transmitted energy strikes a solid object. This system outperforms other radars by a large margin.

.

 

[Jeff Schindler]

If you have a Futaba 3PK, there is a lap timer function that can be mapped to the grip button. Set some floats to run around and squeeze the grip as you pass one. Run two or three laps and squeeze it again. It will be a consistent measure of engine, prop, turn fin etc. that you can tune with. You may find that cutting down lap times is as rewarding as SAW speed.

 

[Don Ferrette]

The Stalker Pro uses a polarized twin horn Ka band system. This configuration uses separate horns for the transmit & receive functions. There will be nothing received unless the transmitted energy strikes a solid object. This system outperforms other radars by a large margin.

And this is what separates the good guns from the rest. As others have said the Stalkers are the shiznit, I was lucky enough to get a real good deal on the Stalker Pro with dual readout, peak hold plus constant. A gun that cannot measure in tenths (and accurately) in my opinion, is a waste of good money. When testing props, acceleration, etc. it does no good if your gun can't read tenths as you'll not know if you doing say 80.1 or 80.9 at the end of the straight. A stopwatch is also an extremely valuable tool as long as you drive consistent laps in the same "groove". As Robin said accuracy = repeatability so if you really have to have a radar gun save your $$ and get a top notch gun. Also keep a keen eye on Ebay as the Stalkers do pop up on there from time to time.

 

[camaroboy383]

i own a bushnell for tuning drag snowmobiles...my buddy owns a stalker,,,i have never once seen a different reading when we are side by side...always the same minus the tenths scale...with any radar gun the object must be coming staight at you or away from you...dont care who makes it or how much it costs,,if you dont shoot the target correctly you are gonna have bunk figures....the reality of it is if your not going for world records,,,tenths mean nothing.....89.8 is still 89mph in my world....

ac

 

[Jim Allen]

The Stalker Pro uses a polarized twin horn Ka band system. This configuration uses separate horns for the transmit & receive functions. There will be nothing received unless the transmitted energy strikes a solid object. This system outperforms other radars by a large margin.

And this is what separates the good guns from the rest. As others have said the Stalkers are the shiznit, I was lucky enough to get a real good deal on the Stalker Pro with dual readout, peak hold plus constant. A gun that cannot measure in tenths (and accurately) in my opinion, is a waste of good money. When testing props, acceleration, etc. it does no good if your gun can't read tenths as you'll not know if you doing say 80.1 or 80.9 at the end of the straight. A stopwatch is also an extremely valuable tool as long as you drive consistent laps in the same "groove". As Robin said accuracy = repeatability so if you really have to have a radar gun save your $$ and get a top notch gun. Also keep a keen eye on Ebay as the Stalkers do pop up on there from time to time.

Absolutely correct Don. Sometimes we have a person sitting at the end of the lake on one side of the oval, going to or away from the gun. Doing this allows readings of how a prop is accelerating after the boat comes out of the turn until it is turned again. By observing only the bottom digital readings on the Stalker gun, the speed increase of any propeller can easily be determined when running on the oval course. Most props have a speed increase of 3 to 5 MPH. A short wave radio is used to facilitate communication between the driver & the radar operator.

 

[Don Ferrette]

i own a bushnell for tuning drag snowmobiles...my buddy owns a stalker,,,i have never once seen a different reading when we are side by side...always the same minus the tenths scale...with any radar gun the object must be coming staight at you or away from you...dont care who makes it or how much it costs,,if you dont shoot the target correctly you are gonna have bunk figures....the reality of it is if your not going for world records,,,tenths mean nothing.....89.8 is still 89mph in my world....

ac

If it works for you that's fine but comparing a snowmobile to an r/c boat as far as a radar image goes is like comparing a cinder block to a fly. It all comes down to how far you are willing to go to achieve the most potential even in heat race set ups. And as for tenths, it does make a difference especially when testing acceleration profiles but again if you feel you don't need that capability then that's cool for you. B)

 

[camaroboy383]

"comparing a cylinder block to a fly"...lol...well that is fore sure true....lol...and i can see your point as far as acceleration goes with tenths...like you said,,,the bushnell works for me,,,and it does...again im a non racer or record chaser..... ive shot boats as small as the aqua sv with the bushnell..and it is tricky to catch them with the gun,,but once you get it down it works out perdy well...i have yet to try to shoot a .12 rigger,,,so i cant say if it will or not....but for what i do,,its all i need.... i was actually surprised at the accuracy of it when shooting sleds side by side with the stalker,,,my buddy was pissed cause he thought mine was cheap and couldnt be right,,,well he had a rude many 100's awakening....lol

if it works for you run it...

ac

 

[Terry Keeley]

The Stalker Pro is a $1,800+ radar gun that can measure the speed of objects with true accuray to 1/10th MPH, across a wide speed range, even when the objects are very far away. Typical tracking distances are as follows; semi truck-10,000 ft; automobile-6,000 ft; motorcycle-4,000 ft; boat-3,500 ft; personal watercraft-2,500 ft; model plane-1,000 ft; baseball-300 ft. Its speed rang is 1 to 300 MPH. Target acquisition time: 0.01 seconds in whole digits & 0.04 seconds in tenths. Update rate: 100 per second in whole digits & 30 per second in tenth digits. The gun has two seperate speed displays running simultaneousy, both the continously tracked speeds & the peak speeds can be shown together.

The gun should never be moved when tracking an object & it should only be used with objects comming to or going away from the gun. Readings taken without this method will always have a tangent error & moving the gun invalidates any readings. Water spray from a propeller has no effect on the guns readings no matter the direction.

The weekend of 8/20/11, I tested my Stalker Pro against a data logger system mounted in a pylon racing plane at the Julian, NC pylon race course. The maximum speed readings were consistently within 1/10 MPH between the data logger & the radar gun. Speeds measured were between 165 to 195 MPH.

Jim Allen

note: The Stalker Pro uses a polarized twin horn Ka band system. This configuration uses seperat horns for the transmit & receive functions. There will be nothing received unless the transmitted energy strikes a solid object. This system outperforms other radars by a large margin.

.

Hey Jim: What data logger was he using? Eagle Tree by chance?

 

[John Knight]

Frank Orlic just posted a Stalker Pro radar gun for sale under the "For Sale" category. If you want one, now is the time to grab it at a good price.

 

[Jim Allen]

Yes Terry. Not only did the real time speed of the plane show as it went around the three pylons, but the G forces the plane was experiencing when turned & the engine RPM during the entire flight were recorded. Engine RPM dropped by 500 each time the plane was turned from a maximum of 28,500, its speed also dropped by approximately 10 MPH & the G forces reached 8+. The .40 cuin long stroke Nelson developes its peak HP at 30,000 rpm. Racing rules limit the propeller diameter at 7.4" & pitches at 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, & 7.8".

A static tached RPM of 23,500 on the ground enabled the .40 long stroke engine to reach 28,500 in the air & give a top speed of 195 MPH. The deck clearance was .0225", the fuel was 15% nitro with 20% oil & the prop used was 7.4" X 7.6".

 

[Terry Keeley]

Good to hear the GPS unit on the Eagle Tree verified with the Stalker. I get between 9 and 12 satellites most of the time which reletes to a HDOP (Horizontal Dilution of Precision) 1.0 or below which is supposedly very accurate.

I'm amazed at what the Eagle Tree can record and it's one of the best tools I've used to increase performance, you can really see what's going on with a certain setup.

 

[Doug Babcock]

The Stalker Pro is a $1,800+ radar gun that can measure the speed of objects with true accuray to 1/10th MPH, across a wide speed range, even when the objects are very far away. Typical tracking distances are as follows; semi truck-10,000 ft; automobile-6,000 ft; motorcycle-4,000 ft; boat-3,500 ft; personal watercraft-2,500 ft; model plane-1,000 ft; baseball-300 ft. Its speed rang is 1 to 300 MPH. Target acquisition time: 0.01 seconds in whole digits & 0.04 seconds in tenths. Update rate: 100 per second in whole digits & 30 per second in tenth digits. The gun has two seperate speed displays running simultaneousy, both the continously tracked speeds & the peak speeds can be shown together.

The gun should never be moved when tracking an object & it should only be used with objects comming to or going away from the gun. Readings taken without this method will always have a tangent error & moving the gun invalidates any readings. Water spray from a propeller has no effect on the guns readings no matter the direction.

The weekend of 8/20/11, I tested my Stalker Pro against a data logger system mounted in a pylon racing plane at the Julian, NC pylon race course. The maximum speed readings were consistently within 1/10 MPH between the data logger & the radar gun. Speeds measured were between 165 to 195 MPH.

Jim Allen

note: The Stalker Pro uses a polarized twin horn Ka band system. This configuration uses seperat horns for the transmit & receive functions. There will be nothing received unless the transmitted energy strikes a solid object. This system outperforms other radars by a large margin.

.

I think you'll find that the error is a cosine angle factor rather than a tangent.

I've had a Stalker ATS with STATS for years. Always accurate and reliable.

Regards,

Doug

 

[Jim Allen]

The Stalker Pro is a $1,800+ radar gun that can measure the speed of objects with true accuray to 1/10th MPH, across a wide speed range, even when the objects are very far away. Typical tracking distances are as follows; semi truck-10,000 ft; automobile-6,000 ft; motorcycle-4,000 ft; boat-3,500 ft; personal watercraft-2,500 ft; model plane-1,000 ft; baseball-300 ft. Its speed rang is 1 to 300 MPH. Target acquisition time: 0.01 seconds in whole digits & 0.04 seconds in tenths. Update rate: 100 per second in whole digits & 30 per second in tenth digits. The gun has two seperate speed displays running simultaneousy, both the continously tracked speeds & the peak speeds can be shown together.

The gun should never be moved when tracking an object & it should only be used with objects comming to or going away from the gun. Readings taken without this method will always have a tangent error & moving the gun invalidates any readings. Water spray from a propeller has no effect on the guns readings no matter the direction.

The weekend of 8/20/11, I tested my Stalker Pro against a data logger system mounted in a pylon racing plane at the Julian, NC pylon race course. The maximum speed readings were consistently within 1/10 MPH between the data logger & the radar gun. Speeds measured were between 165 to 195 MPH.

Jim Allen

note: The Stalker Pro uses a polarized twin horn Ka band system. This configuration uses seperat horns for the transmit & receive functions. There will be nothing received unless the transmitted energy strikes a solid object. This system outperforms other radars by a large margin.

.

I think you'll find that the error is a cosine angle factor rather than a tangent.

I've had a Stalker ATS with STATS for years. Always accurate and reliable.

Regards,

Doug

I was not refering to the angle error(cosine error) chart found on page 10 of the operators manual. It should be obivious that an accurate determination of the angle from 0 to 90 degrees must first be determined before any speed calculation can be obtained. I wonder how any one does that with a model plane in the air or model boat on the water?

Jim Allen