All About Laser Jammers…

First we need to understand how the actual laser (LIDAR) gun operates in order to see how it can be jammed. A laser speed gun measures the round-trip time for light to reach a car and reflect back. Light from a laser speed gun moves a lot faster than sound -- about 984,000,000 feet per second (300,000,000 meters), or roughly 1 foot (30 cm) per nanosecond. A laser speed gun shoots a very short bursts of infrared laser light and then waits for it to reflect off the vehicle - typically front license plate or headlight. The gun counts the number of nanoseconds it takes for the round trip, and by dividing by 2 it can calculate the distance to the car. If the gun takes 1,000 samples per second, it can compare the change in distance between samples and calculate the speed of the car. The advantage of this method is that the laser beam is very narrow and there is not a realistic way of “detecting” the laser before you are hit and your speed is already taken. If you have a laser detector you are just being notified that your speed has already been taken.

In the most basic sense laser jammers work by sending confusing infared light signals and reflections from the vehicle to prevent the laser gun from accurately determining your distance or speed. The laser jammer system emits light pulses to confuse the information that the laser gun receives and prevent it from displaying your vehicle speed. There are many methods of doing this and east laser gun is a little different from pulse patterns to timings - the jamming system must have a very clear view of the officer up ahead to determine what kind of laser gun is being used then adjust and calculate accordingly to be able to fire back the correct responses in order to confuse the laser gun. The same methods do not work for all types of laser guns that’s why it is important to keep your laser jammers up to date and also make sure the heads are clean and free of dirt and road grime.

Using the laser jamming system appropriately is just as important - as you will peak suspicion if the officer is never able to get a reading from your vehicle but is from vehicles around you. When the laser gun shows this error, an officer won’t know whether a vehicle is equipped with a laser jammer, or whether they simply didn’t aim correctly at the vehicle. This gives drivers time to adjust their speed to the posted limit before a police officer can take another reading. The basic point is to slow down, disable the jammers and let the officer get a reading of your car going the posted speed limit.

Are laser jammers legal? Yes and no - laser jammers are illegal in California, Illinois, Colorado, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington D.C. Some people might opt for a very stealthy installation if you have to drive through these states and just turn off their jammers when in these states to avoid suspicion from local officers.

This image does not accurately show how this specific laser gun operates but it is a general idea of how the jamming system works.