Frequently Asked Questions
How do I setup my Bluetooth capable Traffic Engineering Radar and pair it with my computer?
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I want to clear the data memory of the Traffic Engineering Radar. Can I do that?
Yes, you can clear the data memory of the Traffic Engineering Radar. To do this, connect your PC to the Radar then start STARnext.
Select "Setup TE Radar". Then connect like you normally would. Once connected select the "Clear Data" button in the lower left corner. Once finished you will see a confirmation screen. Press ok, and your Radar's data memory has now been cleared.
I want to 'reboot' the Traffic Engineering Radar to its factory default settings. Can I do that?
Yes, you can reset the Traffic Engineering Radar to its factory default settings. To do this, open STARnext and go to the Setup TE Radar screen. Connect to your TE Radar, then select the "Reset Recorder" button in the lower left. After confirmation your unit will reset then it will reconnect and you are free to go setup a fresh Radar count.
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Are there any health issues related to exposure to the Traffic Engineering Radar?
There is no current scientific evidence that exposure to K band radar frequency, which is used by the Traffic Engineering Radar and other devices like garage door openers and infant monitors, has any effect on human health. Measurements and analysis of microwave exposures near properly operating radar units have shown that even maximal exposure levels are well below these recommended safety limits set by national and international standards.
If I setup the Traffic Engineering Radar for 1 lane what will I get in STARnext?
By selecting single lane, the Radar Recorder will only detect the lane one vehicles. In normal mode this is the near lane with vehicles approaching the face of the counter. When you download this data you will get data for a single direction. If you process to a volume study, it will have one column for the count, and then the totals column.
How do I know which lane is "Direction 1" and which is "Direction 2" in STARnext?
When the Radar Recorder is in "Normal" mode, the near lane is "Direction 1." When in "Reverse" mode the far lane is "Direction 1." An easy way to keep it straight in your head is that "Direction 1" is ALWAYS approaching the unit, never receding.
What do the lights on the front of my Radar Recorder mean?
Near Side and Far Side Lights
There are three lights: Near side, Far Side and Status. When you see the near side or far side lights come on, this indicates that the Radar "Eye" has seen something in the detection zone. This something may or may not be a vehicle. For instance, waving your hand in front of the unit will cause these lights to activate.
The Radar Recorder has programming that will measure the signal of the object in the detection zone, it checks the objects relative position, size and speed. Using all these factors the unit will decide if the object in the detection zone is a vehicle or not.
You can see evidence of this by watching LiveView. If you deploy the Radar Recorder and launch LiveView on your Tablet or Laptop you can watch vehicles pass by and you see their speed and length. If you wave your hand in front of the unit, nothing will appear in live view, but the near and/or far side lights will come on. When a vehicle passes by, you should see both the lights AND LiveView respond.
The Status Light
Under normal conditions the status light will blink slowly and steadily when the Radar Recorder is on. If you see it blinking very fast then that is indicating that the Radar is in a ready state. The most common issue for this is that the date is not set in the Radar Recorder.
The Radar Recorder does not contain an internal clock, it has a timer. So if the Radar Status light is blinking fast, then you can set the time by connecting your Tablet or Laptop and going into setup When you setup the Radar Recorder with Radar Collect, the Radar head will adopt the time and date as set on the Tablet or Laptop. Once this is done, you should see the status light return to the slow, steady blink rate.
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Known Issues & Solutions​
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I get a message that reads 'Recorder time is 2000+ days out'. What does that mean?
This indicates that the battery of the Radar Recorder has most likely drained and its internal clock has reset itself to a default date and time (usually 1/1/03). This generally should not be a problem as the time will be reset to that of the laptop when you access the Setup function on the laptop. (You may want to check to be sure the correct time and date are set in the laptop.).
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My Traffic Engineering Radar is setup and I am not seeing the cars picked up when I am in LiveView, what is wrong?
The first thing to check is if you have the radar unit positioned correctly. The biggest issue we find with the unit not picking up cars is that it is not aimed correctly. So be sure to be as close to a 45 degree angle as you can and have the head pointing at the center of the road
In the STARnext software, on the Radar Lane Setup screen you have options to input the height and the road distances. Keep in mind that these measurements are to be taken at 90 degree angle to the road, or basically directly to the road. The Radar unit itself is to be installed at a 45 degree angle to the road, but you do not want to measure the distance along that 45 degree angle.
Input the distance to the first lane, the second lane and the height of the unit from the street surface.
You want to use the crosshairs on the radar head itself to aim it at the center of the street. The head unit can be shifted to point up or down. Check in LiveView as cars drive by and see if the values for speed and length appear to be correct. If they do not, you may need to adjust the angle of the unit. If the cars are appearing slow and too long, you might want to point the unit more toward the road. If they are short and fast, you may want to angle it to be looking further down the road.
If the unit is still not picking any vehicles up then you will want to look at the path of the radar beam. It comes straight out the crosshairs on the front of the unit, so look where that is pointing and check for any obstacles. A not so obvious obstacle would be yourself! You are not standing right in front of the unit are you? If you are, step aside. Are there any cars parked in the street? Trashcans? Other physical obstacles? Also be aware that you should not put any type of metallic sticker on the front of the Radar case. This can interfere with the signal when the lid is closed.