I have an Idea that I think would help the people in my profession a great deal. and not sure where to start. What type of sensor could I use to range 50-100' to set off an alarm in a different location wirelessly. something that is not on all the time in the origination location but receiver is always on and ready to receive.
I can't understand what you want to be sensing at the 50-100 ft. distance.
Paul
Ok, so I'm looking for a activator that can be turned on in a vehicle to alert other vehicles from 100' away behind them so front car would have a receiver and rear vehicle would have a activator.
I honestly have no clue where to start but plan to mess around with it till I figure it out
Hi, so you want to detect that you are too close behind vehicle and signal the vehicle ahead that YOU are close.
Sorry it should be signalling YOU that you are close.
What do you want the vehicle ahead to do?
How are you going to signal just that particular receiver if every car is expected to have one?
A big set of air horns should do the job..
I think "Truckee" is the clue. lol
Tom... 
Vehicle makers have been working on radar in the 77GHz region to do exactly that for a long time.
It isn't easy.
regards
Allan
Hi,
In 2002 I was involved with a car development that used a radar unit that sensed a car infront of it.
The radar was a commercially available unit that had throttle and brake control outputs. I gather it was used in truck fleets in Europe and with a group of trucks fitted you could run them in a line and they could automatically keep the vehicle spacing constant.
In the application I was involved with, the radar sounded an alarm if you were to close for your speed, and show using a bar type graph how far you were away from danger.
The unit also applied extra return pressure on the throttle pedal (used a vacuum actuator, but on the other side of the throttle lever, used in early cruise controls), not enough pressure to stop the pedal, but enough to let the driver know that increasing speed was not advisable. (The driver could still apply full throttle, to get out of any other danger that may be around.)
The radar unit was very expensive I do remember, needing high IP rating to last upfront of a vehicle, and research time to develop.
Tom...
Ok so this is what my Idea is
I work as a firefighter and as a Paramedic
Cars are so sound proof now days and the sirens we use do not penetrate into the vehicles well at 70 MPH. If the vehicle in front of you is doing 70 and so are we it is said that at 20' is when they may hear the siren, and that is if they do not have the radio on.
So what I want to try and come up with some type of sensor that notifies the drivers on the road that an emergency vehicle is coming up behind them.
So something that is activated when our emergency lights are on and sets an alarm off in the cars in-front of the emergency vehicle that warns them from a ways back.
Is that even possible?
Truckee05:
Is that even possible?
If it works, what stops me from having and using the same device?
Paul
Why would the emergency vehicle need to exceed 70mph?
If you can't get to me at a reasonable speed and as a result I die - that's fine with me. I won't know and it will be a lot cheaper for the taxpayer.
...R
Legally we go 15 MPH over the posted speeds when going to an emergency at least in CA. You may say that right now but what if it was you child, or grandchild that dies because of the response time. I don't know where you live but some places the closest ambulance is 30 minutes away or longer and every second counts.
Additionally it's not something that I think would be empossed on vehicles on the road now but any and all new vehicles that come out was my thought.
The part about what would keep a civilian from getting ahold of it I think would be the same way they can't get ahold of the emergency lights in order to order it it has to be through an emergency department i.e. Police, Fire, and EMS
Truckee05:
You may say that right now but what if it was you child, or grandchild that dies because of the response time.
How long is a piece of string?
Even if you go at 200mph there will be occasions when you are late. Death is an inevitable part of life. Get over it.
...R
Wow! Why do you have to come at it that way. Ok you don't like it don't reply to it. What does it hurt you?
I don't like the fact the the health industry is continually making cases for spending more and more money for less and less incremental benefit.
Have a look at the relative change in the ratio between the average industrial wage and the price of cars over the past 30 or 40 years and the equivalent movement in health industry costs.
...R
It's not my fault that our Presedent messed the medical system up. This Obama care is a joke. So is the state insurances. The fact that they have people looking for reasons why they should not pay the minimal amount they pay to the company billing them.
Truckee05:
Ok so this is what my Idea isI work as a firefighter and as a Paramedic
Cars are so sound proof now days and the sirens we use do not penetrate into the vehicles well at 70 MPH. If the vehicle in front of you is doing 70 and so are we it is said that at 20' is when they may hear the siren, and that is if they do not have the radio on.
So what I want to try and come up with some type of sensor that notifies the drivers on the road that an emergency vehicle is coming up behind them.
So something that is activated when our emergency lights are on and sets an alarm off in the cars in-front of the emergency vehicle that warns them from a ways back.
I think this is a problem worldwide, due to vehicle improvements.
As you suggest place an RF receiver in the rear of the vehicle, possibly inside the centre brake light housing.
The Emergency vehicle just has an RF transmitter running continuously, automatically or driver operated.
There are radar and sonar units suitable for vehicles already, best would be radar because of accuracy and noise involved.
If the Rx is mounted for all round reception it could also be used for highway alarms and bulletins from road side Tx units as well, or pre-warning all vehicles ahead that an Emergency Vehicle is approaching.
I have attached a local state government article on heavy duty vehicle technology.
Also this site that provides truck monitor systems.
http://preco.com/project/trucking/
Tom.....
PS. google VORAD
SafetyTechnologiesforHeavyVehiclesandCombinations.pdf (623 KB)
Thank you this will be very helpful!!