wtrskii3156 Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 Tomorrow I am fortunate enough to have a State Trooper join us at our lake with a radar gun. We will have a second boat in the water as the platform for the radar gun and will hopefully get some good pictures. What are some possible ways we could position the gun? Since our site always has a strong wind blowing down it we thought about measuring the speed of the skier going into the buoy from a head wind vs. a tail wind.We also want to measure the speed of different styles of gates to so see how much they vary. How much speed does a fast gate add to the rest of the course? Any other ideas we could try? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller RichardDoane Posted August 16, 2010 Baller Share Posted August 16, 2010 it would be good to have the gun on the side of the lake, then you'd know the speed of the skier heading through the middle of the course (aimed right at you) compared to the boat speed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boody Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 As your Trooper friend will tell you, you have to be as directly at them as possible for an accurate reading. If you are off to the side, or at an angle, the speed will read lower. So get on the shore or in a boat on the side and line up with their path as they cross the wakes, probably something like 45 degrees. Sounds like a fun thing to play around with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Horton Posted August 17, 2010 Administrators Share Posted August 17, 2010 BoneHead has pointed his gun at me a number of times and it did not help my skiing at all. BABE’S ★ California Ski Ranch ★ Connelly ★ Denali ★ Goode ★ KD Skis MasterCraft ★ MasterLine ★ PerfSki ★ Radar ★ Rodics Innovation Reflex ★ S Lines ★ Stokes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller DW Posted August 17, 2010 Baller Share Posted August 17, 2010 Cool. As mentioned, direction is the key. You might also check speeds for onside/offside for an interesting comparison. When checking vehicles, I have always tried to get multiple readings for the same car to ensure a consistent and accurate representation of the true speed. Don't forget to stand at the same level as the skier also, the deck of the other boat should be perfect. The gun may end up picking up spray if you try to use it going away, so watch for that. Radar waves like metal, so if you have trouble, you might try to have some tin foil with you as a target. Good luck and I am sure there will be a lot of interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Wayne Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 "Radar waves like metal, so if you have trouble, you might try to have some tin foil with you as a target."Great idea! I am aware of at least one popular way to do that, as depicted below:http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/ThomasWayne_2006/Foil-Hat--66733.jpg TW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ Jody_Seal Posted August 17, 2010 Baller_ Share Posted August 17, 2010 Hi, After years of doing Speed control / performance work with Correct Craft We found that Being on shore with the radar gun and gathering data was very inaccurate, spray from skiers and the boat creates scatter and a inaccurate signal . The gun needs to be in the boat with a solid object to shoot at, a truck or building at the end of the lake works best. I built a windshield bracket for the towboat committee to mount their stalker system to windsheld extrusions of test boats. TW thanks for the jewelry!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtrskii3156 Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 Thanks for the input guys! Our plan is to position the boat in line with 2 and 3 ball, hopefully getting the skier to ski straight at the radar gun. He should be here soon. I'll keep you guys updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Roger Posted August 17, 2010 Baller Share Posted August 17, 2010 Jody, they're going after skier speed, not boat speed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtrskii3156 Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 Well the radar gun didn't work out so well... The officer said that he has a different kind of radar that he thinks will work better for this application. Hopefully the next time he comes out I will have some more exciting news to share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Wayne Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 By any chance did he leave early and hide alongside the road, waiting for a chance to test his radar on your cars? You know, so the day wouldn't be a total loss...TW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Than_Bogan Posted August 18, 2010 Baller Share Posted August 18, 2010 I could swear I remember two tinfoil pictures. I must be imagining things... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Wayne Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Some unexpected chafing occurred.TW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller DW Posted August 18, 2010 Baller Share Posted August 18, 2010 +1 TW, much better visual than I had in mind! No wonder the radar gun didn't work, too much distraction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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