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Firing a spud @public property
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 9:25 pm
by markieclarkie
The cops left one of those ugly "your speed " dealies on the street near my house. I was thinking of going out there and firing a spud at it from a couple of hundred feet away. (to see how fast it goes) There are some nice bushes across the street that I can hide in and I have a reliable escape rout. Has any one out there ever tried this? will I get a reading? what part of the unit should I aim (or not aim ) for?
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 9:30 pm
by JDP12
never done it, i wouldn't do it if i were you, first off from a couple hundred feet away it will be going a lot slower than when it leaves the barrel, second off, how the heck are you gonna make sure it doesn't hit the unit, i mean if it did it might not do anything, but i wouldnt.
Just for safety purposes, (could be a car coming), walkers, bikers, et cetera, for witness purposes- someone sees you doing it, and other myriad reasons, I personally wouldn't do it, but whatever i guess, i can't make up your mind for you.
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 9:32 pm
by Hailfire753
Hmmm.. My sugestion - shoot it.
Lol, seriously though, if you have nasty neighbors I wouldn't try. Spudguns are legal to shoot in the USA, and from what I understand, on certain public places too.
Not legal to shoot in heavily populated areas (city, bourough), or where excessive noise is prohibited.
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 9:34 pm
by JDP12
yea i guess it all depends where you live, if in boonies w/e, but as hailfire said, well i won't repeat it he said it already
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 9:38 pm
by frankrede
the sensor is usually ahead of the sign so you see your speed and not the persons in front of you.
just don't do it.
bad idea/
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:16 pm
by jackssmirkingrevenge
Chances are it can't read the speed of such a small object anyway and you'll manage to shatter someone's windscreen giving spudgunning a bad name - honestly, if you're that keen to know how fast you're shooting, you can
get a proper chrony from ebay for less than 30 bucks.
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:26 pm
by markieclarkie
Ahead of the sighn? Expain.

curious. WONT DO IT! Unless I think I can get away W/it. So, what you are suggesting is that the speed sensor is not located on the main unit @all. Cool! that means I don't have to leave any incriminating "splat marks". Just a nice speed reading would do it for me.
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:36 pm
by markieclarkie
I'm Kinda interested in HOWFASITZGOIN@ 200ft. Dont't worry dude I've been shootin' these 'suckers for years W/O@ casualty.I wont do anything (really )stupid.
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:44 pm
by jackssmirkingrevenge
This isn't going to work and really not worth the risk, speed cameras aren't made to detect such small objects travelling at much faster speeds than cars so the chances of it actually giving a result and practically zero.
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:02 pm
by CS
They generally pick up baseballs, and at that pretty lenient. (Once every ten or so throws it won't register) A potato being similarly sized it may work. However, I believe your problem would be velocity.
As for legality, and safety. Not sure what others on this forum are doing to try, and make the decision for you totally unaware of the circumstances. Personally I live in a sub-rural place, and one commonly placed machine is nicely placed on a long, uninterrupted stretch of road. I wouldn't in the case of close houses, intersections, or a short road, but whatever.
I'd just stand 20 or so feet off the sign, and shoot to the left ~5'. If possible it would make a good video.
:p
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:12 pm
by frankrede
markieclarkie wrote:I'm Kinda interested in HOWFASITZGOIN@ 200ft. Dont't worry dude I've been shootin' these 'suckers for years W/O@ casualty.I wont do anything (really )stupid.
yet.
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 5:55 am
by Hubb
These things have a built in radar just like the ones that are in a cop's car. It might pick up the spud, but it would have to catch it just right.
But really, just get a chronograph. It'll do the same thing; legally.
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 7:46 am
by Hotwired
I believe TopGear tested the speed at which a UK camera failed to register a car and it was 170-odd mph.
Could be that other countries waste money getting their cameras to register uber-high speed vehicles but I'd guess not.
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 10:15 am
by jackssmirkingrevenge
Hotwired wrote:I believe TopGear tested the speed at which a UK camera failed to register a car and it was 170-odd mph.
Could be that other countries waste money getting their cameras to register uber-high speed vehicles but I'd guess not.
If I'm not mistaken, the camera on top gear actually took a photo but the car was out of the frame, so it wasn't a question of the car not being detected, rather it was too fast to be visible in the photograph.
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 10:21 am
by paaiyan
Hotwired wrote:I believe TopGear tested the speed at which a UK camera failed to register a car and it was 170-odd mph.
Could be that other countries waste money getting their cameras to register uber-high speed vehicles but I'd guess not.
Well that's a speed-trap camera, not a radar thing. Here in America, or at least where i am, we have these little radar boxes just sitting around that tell you your speed, they don't do much else.