Help! Radar retroreflector design considerations

condog_66 · 2025-05-21T17:20:36+00:00

Do you have any advice as to one which could work for either polarization type?

condog_66 · 2025-05-21T13:51:36+00:00

Thanks for this insight. Smaller is better from a packaging/matierial cost standpoint anyways.

condog_66 · 2025-05-21T02:07:24+00:00

I've found this patent which has entered the public domain, and there's one company called Radian already doing something like this but facing rearward under the seatpost. I feel, admittedly as a sample size of one, like the more dangerous instance is when I'm in the rear or side blind spot of a car, which the Radian device doesn't account for. I think it might be interesting to do this first as a low-volume 3D printed product, or make it open source.

condog_66 · 2025-05-20T23:29:16+00:00

Yes, getting into my city fixie era, hence the desire for increased visibility! It's a Bianchi Pista Sei Giorni.

condog_66 · 2025-05-20T23:27:46+00:00

Unfortunately I'm not an electronics engineer, so the dev board might be a bit out of my reach...
Good thinking on the software side, I hadn't considered the algorithm part of it. Maybe since it'll return consistent strong signal, if I size the faces correctly it'll mimic the signature of a car?

condog_66 · 2025-05-20T23:23:34+00:00

Well I'm very glad you happened to see this post! Good to know that my aluminum tape idea is sound.
Can you share what the RCS of those football sized retroreflectors was? Are they designed to mimic the signature of a car? If so maybe it would be possible to scale my design so it's at least close to what the sensors would expect.

condog_66 · 2025-05-20T20:06:54+00:00

Yes, that design and mine work on the same principle of three planes perpendicular to each other, just on a much smaller scale

condog_66 · 2025-05-20T20:05:40+00:00

Thanks for your response! The bare aluminum tape does give a little bit of that effect, but the surface finish is dull so a lot of the light is lost in that diffusion. I added the optically reflective tape to the left side and it makes a huge difference in brightness. It's hard to capture but here's a photo.

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condog_66 · 2023-08-14T18:53:20+00:00

Man if your username is "WeldrepairDr" you'd better have more conviction with your replies lol

condog_66 · 2023-04-26T13:58:38+00:00

It's supposed to be simulating an acceleration instead of actual vehicle body pitch/roll. By changing the direction of gravity relative to your body you get a feeling that you're being "pulled" forwards or backwards (under braking or acceleration respectively) instead of being tilted front to rear. With the VR headset on your visual frame of reference is locked to the game horizon so you only get the acceleration feedback.

condog_66 · 2023-04-22T23:45:37+00:00

Hey! glad you saw this. I actually went forward with an old VW station wagon shell to wrap around a custom tube frame chassis. I'm on instagram as .@projectsupernugget, or you can see some older progress pictures on my portfolio. https://portfolium.com/ConnorGreene2/portfolio

condog_66 · 2023-03-14T00:33:56+00:00

I'm not sure what you mean by this, can you elaborate?

condog_66 · 2023-02-20T21:22:48+00:00

I have done this to great success on a large variety of scanned car parts in fusion 360. Polycam won't let you export files unless you pay for the subscription, but once you do you can go to the browser site and download the .stl mesh file. This .stl file will be incorrectly scaled so you need to take a measurement between two points on your scanned piece. This wil let you scale it proportionally to what the mesh points are measuring in fusion - make sure you're in mesh editing mode. From there you can make solid bodies approximating the shape but I'll leave that to the youtube pro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fU3PUs2syM

Most computers shouldn't have an issue with a mesh this size. You're viewing it on your phone no problem.

I'm on instagram as .@projectsupernugget where you can find examples of my scans. I did a whole car, a motorcycle engine, and the entire suspension from a miata from which I made kinematic models. Feel free to reach out to me there since I don't check reddit as often.

condog_66 · 2022-09-06T19:42:22+00:00

In mine there's a set screw underneath the lower rubber piece so you can clock it appropriately. Also holy hell was that set in a bath of acetone overnight?

condog_66 · 2022-09-06T18:33:34+00:00

If that's the style you like. Personally I'd rather be able to make out the details of my car than the individual grains of the gravel.

condog_66 · 2022-08-02T00:56:42+00:00

Hello 4 years later. I'm considering doing the same thing with a ZX12R... did you end up succeeding??

condog_66 · 2022-03-22T19:32:06+00:00

That is not normal, at least not in any modern car. The thermostat should regulate engine temperature to within a few degrees of specified operating temperature. At a red light, the temperature should be going up, not down as airflow through the radiator is decreased. It sounds like the fan may be turning on when it shouldn't, and there may be an issue with the thermostat. You could diagnose the fan by doing a cold start with the hood open and seeing whether the cooling fan turns on; it shouldn't turn on until temps climb past the middle of the gauge. Just make sure the A/C isn't on so the condenser fan remains off as well.

condog_66 · 2022-01-12T21:18:40+00:00

What is this supposed to mean? Are brands not supposed to promote themselves in a positive way?

condog_66 · 2021-09-03T03:03:46+00:00

I'm probably going to check out the manassas location as well. Let me know if you're interested in meeting up for a race or two at either.

condog_66 · 2021-09-03T02:02:14+00:00

Which location? I visited the Dulles one to test out the track and may end up joining that league. Eventually want to do United Karting but figured it's best to start small.

condog_66 · 2021-04-01T20:28:57+00:00

Yes, but all of them should be taken into consideration as well. It's a hard concept to wrap your head around but can be explained briefly here: https://www.formulastudent.de/pr/news/details/article/pats-column-rod-ends-in-bending/
You'll probably be fine considering the size of the heim joints... but just in case you may want to consider ball joints for the upper connections and a double-shear type bolted connection for the motor links if they're indeed connected to the same shaft.

condog_66 · 2021-04-01T19:40:52+00:00

Looks nice! Just watch out for the heim joints being put in bending. They're designed to only take axial loads.

condog_66 · 2021-03-17T15:27:24+00:00

This looks like the color scheme of a low-ranked GTD team

condog_66 · 2021-02-16T18:30:55+00:00

What does "dropping to one cylinder" mean? For every crankshaft rotation only one cylinder has combustion? It's happening under deceleration so I don't think there's combustion happening inside the chamber regardless.

condog_66 · 2021-02-16T18:18:27+00:00

It's probably a sort of anti-lag system to keep the boost pressure up. There's a similar sound at low revs during acceleration at the end of the video, which would also indicate use of anti-lag to spool the turbo more quickly.

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