How Pop Works; How Laser Works; How Threat-Signal Ranking Works; How Red-Light Cameras Work - Escort Passport iQ User Manual

How Pop works
Pop mode is a relatively new feature for radar gun manufacturers. It works by transmitting an extremely
short burst, within the allocated band, to identify speeding vehicles in traffic. Once the target is
identified, or "popped," the gun is then turned to its normal operating mode to provide a vehicle
tracking history (required by law).
Note: According to radar gun manufacturers, tickets should not be issued in Pop mode.
How laser works
Laser speed detection is actually Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR). LIDAR guns project a beam of
invisible infrared light. The signal is a series of very short infrared‐light energy pulses that move in a
straight line, reflecting off your car and returning to the gun. LIDAR uses these light pulses to measure
the distance to a vehicle. Speed is then calculated by measuring how quickly these pulses are reflected,
given the known speed of light.
LIDAR is a newer technology whose use is not as widespread as conventional radar; therefore, you may
not encounter it on a daily basis. And unlike radar detection, LIDAR is not prone to false alarms. Because
LIDAR transmits a much narrower beam than does radar, it is much more accurate in its ability to
distinguish between targets and is also more difficult to detect. As a result, even the briefest laser
(LIDAR) alert should be taken seriously.
There are limitations to LIDAR equipment. LIDAR is much more sensitive to weather conditions than
radar, and a LIDAR gun's range will be decreased by anything affecting visibility, such as rain, fog, or
smoke. A LIDAR gun cannot operate through glass, and it must be stationary in order to get an accurate
reading. Because LIDAR must have a clear line of sight and is subject to cosine error (an inaccuracy that
increases as the angle between the gun and the vehicle increases), police typically use LIDAR equipment
parallel to the road or from an overpass. LIDAR can be used day or night.
How threat‐signal ranking works
PASSPORT iQ includes a new boost in anti‐falsing software to eliminate excessive alerts from erroneous
X‐ and K‐band sources. One example of this is traffic‐flow monitoring systems. These systems, which are
becoming more widely used in cities across the U.S., generate K‐band signals to measure the flow of
traffic on a given road. Unfortunately, most detectors see this as a real threat and will alert you to it
unnecessarily. Our new proprietary threat‐signal ranking (TSR) software intelligently sorts, ranks, and
rejects these types of false alarms automatically. The result is ultimate protection without excessive
false alarms.
We suggest you turn TSR on if you are experiencing extreme false alerts in your area. For instructions on
how to activate TSR, see "Modifying band detection."
How red‐light cameras work
Red‐light cameras use three basic things: a camera, a device to trigger the camera, and a computer.
An intersection may have more than one camera to monitor traffic from multiple directions. The trigger
is typically a series of wires buried just beneath the surface of the road. These wires are separated by a
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