Decatur Electronics GHD, User Manual

Page 1: ...Certified ISO 9001 Handheld Directional Radar User s Manual GHD TM SCOUT TM Decatur Electronics XURSH Inc Auratie 9 67600 Kokkola Finland Tel 358 207 528 508 Fax 358 207 528 579 www DecaturEurope com ...

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Page 3: ...tteryInstallation SCOUT 8 3 5 InsertingTheHolderIntoTheSCOUT 8 3 6 ChargingTheBatteries SCOUT 9 3 7 ChargeStatusIndicator LED SCOUT 10 3 8 Battery Run Time SCOUT 10 3 9 Replacing Batteries SCOUT 11 3 10 ConnectingThePowerCord SCOUT 11 3 11 PlugInThePowerCord GHD SCOUT 11 3 12 Control Panel Functions 11 3 13 MeasuringTargetSpeedInFasterVehicleMode 11 4 Components GHD SCOUT 12 4 1 Control Buttons 12...

Page 4: ...r Works 23 7 2 Interference Sources 23 7 3 Angular Interference Cosine Error Effect 24 7 4 Fan Interference 25 7 5 Electromagnetic Interference EMI 25 7 6 Feedback Interference 26 7 7 Multi Path Beam Cancellation 26 7 8 RadioFrequencyInterference RFI 26 7 9 Scanning 26 7 10 Vehicle Ignition Interference 27 8 Testing The Device 27 8 1 Operator Requested Self Test 27 8 2 Mini Test 28 8 3 Tuning Fork...

Page 5: ... Range Parameters 30 10 4 Power Consumption Parameters 30 11 Legal Requirements 31 11 1 FCC 31 11 2 Radar Case Law 32 12 FrequentlyAsked Questions FAQ 33 13 Warranty 34 14 Service Return Procedure 35 15 How To OrderAdditional Products 36 16 Communications Port 37 17 Maintenance and Repair Record 38 18 User Notes 39 ...

Page 6: ...DSP gives the device advanced capabilities If you are as pleased with its performance as we think you will be ask your Decatur sales representative about other Decatur products including the Genesis line of dash mount moving radar products and the OnSite product line of speed trailers and dollies Also Decatur Electronics offers the Responder in car video solutions Traffic officers told us exactly ...

Page 7: ...ir power cables In addition the SCOUT is also designed to operate at 7 2VDC from the internal batteries Over voltage to the power cables or incorrect batteries can cause damage Use only Nickel Metal Hydride batteries in the SCOUT Opening the GHD or the SCOUT automatically voids any warranty still in effect There are no user serviceable parts inside Do not expose the GHD or the SCOUT to excessive m...

Page 8: ...loading Notify the freight company immediately of any damage preferably while the driver is present Record the damage on the bill of lading and keep a record of the problems or damage The package should include the following pictured items along with this User s Manual SCOUT or GHD Radar SCOUT detachable power cable GHD SCOUT Tuning Fork SCOUT batteries battery holder ...

Page 9: ...irst receive your radar the batteries will need to be charged for the first time before using Once batteries have been charged if you do not use the SCOUT for 3 4 weeks you will want to recharge the batteries before use in order to get the full run time You can either charge the batteries prior to placing them into the holder by using an optional Nickel Metal Hydride battery charger or you can cha...

Page 10: ...ice that the negative side of each battery goes to the spring contacts of the holder 3 5 Inserting the Holder into the SCOUT The battery holder is designed so that it can only make contact with the power connections inside the gun if the holder is slid into the gun in the correct way If you look closely at the holder you will see that there is a positive and negative terminal on it These need to b...

Page 11: ...e the batteries have been properly installed into the holder and inserted into the handle plug the power cord into the power connector at the base of the handle by aligning the red dot on the power cord s plug with the red dot on the connector Failure to align the plug with the connector properly will result in damage to the pins of the jack Reference figure 3 6 for proper alignment Figure 3 6 Nex...

Page 12: ...s fast blink for 60 seconds medium blink until batteries are fully charged approximately 2 hours for fully discharged batteries and solid green once batteries are charged The gun can be left to charge indefinitely The charging circuit will automatically shut off once charging is complete The SCOUT must be OFF or the batteries will not charge You can not operate the SCOUT and charge the batteries a...

Page 13: ...teries connect the power cord to the receptacle on the bottom of the SCOUT being sure to properly align the plug on the power cord to the connector on the bottom of the SCOUT The SCOUT automati cally will switch from the internal batteries to the power cord for power when the unit is turned on 3 11 Plug In the Power Cord GHD SCOUT Plug the radar s power cord into your vehicle s cigarette lighter r...

Page 14: ...The MENU button lets you view the options you can change Repeatedly pressing the MENU button advances through the programmable features SEL The select SEL button lets you choose the settings in each of the menu options To change a menu option press the SEL button TEST When you press the TEST button the SCOUT runs a self test FAST When you press the FAST button the SCOUT enters Faster target mode P...

Page 15: ...icates that excess RFI energy is present The radar automatically inhibits all speed measurements No new speeds display in the display window or transmit via the serial port while this icon is active and if the system is displaying a locked speed the speed will remain locked When the RFI condition no longer exists the system will resume normal operation Possible causes of this condition are the pat...

Page 16: ...ns the radar is transmitting HOLD HOLD indicates the system is not transmitting ERROR ERROR shows that the SCOUT has detected an internal hardware error which can affect the operation of the radar device You should turn the gun off and back on If the problem persists contact Decatur Electronics at 358 207 528 508 for assistance MPH and KPH The radar displays speeds in miles per hour MPH without th...

Page 17: ...ears when you pull the trigger again 4 4 Mounting Configurations The radar is designed for hand held operation Optionally you can mount it to a standard camera tripod 5 Operating Modes The MENU and SEL buttons on the GHD SCOUT control panels let you review and change programmable settings The radar gun will remember the settings you last set when it is turned off and will power up with them 5 1 Me...

Page 18: ...GHDTM SCOUTTM USER S MANUAL 16 Menu Settings ...

Page 19: ...GHDTM SCOUTTM USER S MANUAL 17 1 International Version Only ...

Page 20: ...maximum range You will normally want to start with the maximum range and decrease it until you attain the desired performance level Squelch SLh The squelch determines the type of Doppler audio you want the radar gun to send out When squelch is on the sound is only the Doppler tone for the displayed target When squelch is off you will hear all Doppler tones including other vehicles interference and...

Page 21: ...erate before the batteries need to be recharged With the feature set to ON the radar will automatically power off if there has not been any trigger or key presses for 15 minutes in order to conserve battery power Prd ON is the default setting 5 2 Directional The radar lets you easily select and focus on vehicles approaching or receding from your stationary patrol position Figure 5 2a While in dire...

Page 22: ...ress the FAST button In Strongest Signal tracking mode the radar displays the speed of the vehicle with the strongest return signal which is often the closest car This speed appears in the left window 5 4 Faster Mode The advanced signal processing algorithms in the GHD SCOUT simultaneously track multiple vehicles In Faster mode the radar takes the strongest return signal and uses it as a reference...

Page 23: ... strongest target going faster than the strongest will appear in the right window The system will remain in Faster mode until you press the FAST button again or until you lock a speed which automatically switches the gun back to the Strongest Signal target In Faster Toggle mode the radar gun locks only the strongest vehicle speed 5 6 Faster Hold Mode To use Faster Hold mode make sure you have sele...

Page 24: ...n the bottom of the handle Using a custom RS232 communications cable you can connect the SCOUT and transmit data to display signs in car video and PCs for recording and analyzing speed data Figure 6 illustrates the location using the SCOUT as an example Figure 6 Port location as shown on the SCOUT If you have the international model you can attach the PORTI KT40 Miniature Printer supplied by Decat...

Page 25: ...cle speed from the difference in frequency between the reflected and transmitted signal 7 2 Interference Sources When properly installed and operated Doppler radar technology is extremely accurate and reliable However variations in the environment can cause situations and circumstances which can cause spurious erratic and unusually low or high speeds to display Signs that a speed is spurious can i...

Page 26: ...ehicle traveling on a curve or hill As the angle between the beam of the antenna and the target vehicle increases the displayed speed decreases Ideally an angle of zero 0 degrees is preferable because the displayed speed is the actual target vehicle speed However in all uses of police radar the radar device is always at a slight angle to the target vehicle to avoid collisions Velocity Vector Angle...

Page 27: ...nce Fan interference is the most common form of interference that you are likely to experience It is caused when the radar measures the speed of the vehicle blower fan Changing the fan speed causes a proportional change in the display speed To correct this relocate the radar gun so it does not display spurious speeds or turn off the fan motor 7 5 Electromagnetic Interference EMI Operating electric...

Page 28: ... that from police radios airport radar microwave transmission towers CB radio transmitters and AM FM transmission towers For this type of interference to occur the radar gun must be operating very close to the radio transmitter The GHD and SCOUT radars contain an RFI detection circuit that detects excess radio frequency energy When stray radio frequency energy reaches an excessive level the system...

Page 29: ... not be a factor If you suspect your vehicle s electrical system contact Decatur Electronics Customer Service Department for more information 8 Testing the Device 8 1 Operator Requested Self Test Pressing the TEST button initiates a comprehensive system self test which checks the numeric displays and runs a target speed simulation The self test checks Display Test The display test verifies that th...

Page 30: ...ow side facing about 3 inches directly in front of the antenna Pull the trigger and compare the speed in the display window to the speed stamped on the fork If the difference is within 1 display unit the radar gun is working properly Figure 8 3 Place the vibrating tuning fork about 3 inches in front of the antenna If the device does not display the expected speed contact Decatur Electronics Custom...

Page 31: ... test 9 Care Cleaning and Storage Avoid spilling food beverages and other liquids on the radar device When you are not using or transporting the device store it in its original packaging To clean the radar device dust it with a soft clean cloth which is free of cleaning solutions 10 Specifications 10 1 Antenna Parameters K Band IACP Type III Nominal transmission frequency 24 150 GHz Nominal horizo...

Page 32: ...power cord 8 5VDC 16 5VDC Low voltage trip with antenna on with power cord 8 5VDC Battery supply voltage 7 2VDC Battery low voltage trip with antenna on 6 3VDC GHD and SCOUT when using power cord All currents measured at 13 8VDC with backlight on and speaker on volume 4 Standby antenna off 105 amperes Antenna ON 170 amperes no targets displayed Antenna ON 172 amperes 55 target displayed Antenna OF...

Page 33: ...ner NOT TRANSFERABLE EQUIPMENT AUTHORIZATION is hereby issued to the named GRANTEE and is VALID ONLY for the equipment identified hereon for use under the Commission s Rules and Regulations listed below FCC IDENTIFIER HTRCR 1KD Name of Grantee Decatur Electronics Inc Equipment Class Part 15 Field Disturbance Sensor Notes Traffic Safety Radar Frequency Output Frequency Emission Grant Notes FCC Rule...

Page 34: ... is only as good as the tuning fork used 3 Honeycutt v Commonwealth 1966 The court ruled that it is sufficient for an officer to have enough knowledge and training to properly Setup radar Test its accuracy Read the instrument to obtain the speed measurement 4 State v Hanson 1978 The court decreed that the officer must be able to testify To having had adequate training and experience in the operati...

Page 35: ...o your vehicle should be parked You need to hold the radar steady while operating it Q What if I drop my gun A The unit is extremely durable Simply power up and perform device test If the gun doesn t appear to work properly contact Decatur Electronics Q How often do I need to recertify my traffic safety radar gun A In the past the Federal Communications Commission FCC required that all devices wit...

Page 36: ... or to a Decatur authorized warranty service center The full warranty on parts and workmanship does not include normal wear and tear crushing dropping fire impact immersion over tightening of screws or damage from attempted repair or modifications by unauthorized service agents For repairs simply return the unit transportation prepaid directly to the factory or to a Decatur authorized warranty ser...

Page 37: ...07 528 579 If you need to return your radar gun to Decatur Electronics Return ALL of the radar parts in the original packaging transportation prepaid Include a note describing the problem and or the incident that resulted in the problem Failure to do so can delay the return of your radar device The Repair Services Department will issue you a return authorization RA number Write the RA number on yo...

Page 38: ... out of warranty and you would like to know the cost of repair prior to the actual repair work being performed Decatur would be happy to give you a repair estimate To obtain an estimate request it either on the paperwork you submit with the radar when you send it in for service or when you obtain a Return Authorization RA number Decatur provides estimates only upon request The initial charge for a...

Page 39: ...mit only One 1 start bit Eight 8 data bits No parity One 1 stop bit Transmission at 1200 baud The unit transmits data as ASCII symbols in the following digit sequence ASCII hundreds tens ones carriage return CR CR ASCII decimal value 13 The radar unit sends the data in this sequence when the TARGET speed display changes When you press the LOCK button the radar transmits the following digital seque...

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Page 41: ...GHDTM SCOUTTM USER S MANUAL 39 18 NOTES ...