Bushnell Velocity Radar Gun FAQs

The Bushnell Speedster speed gun and Bushnell Velocity Radar gun as well as other sport radar guns we offer can be used to accurately measure and display speeds of many of your favorite sports. It can track speeds of baseballs, softballs, tennis balls, and can be used in ice-skating, auto-racing, horse-racing, track, and other sports where speed is crucial to success.

The Bushnell Speedsterand Bushnell Velocity Radar guns contain a K-Band microwave RF (Radio Frequency) transmitter whose signal gets reflected by the target object. The reflected signal will have a "Doppler Shift" proportional to the target speed. This Doppler frequency shift is detected in the receiver, amplified, filtered, and then digitized in an Analog to Digital Converter (ADC), and passed onto the Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chip. Using complex algorithms, the DSP chip filters out false and low level return signals, to identify and display the speed of the desired target. The speed along with various statistics and averages are then displayed on the LCD display.

Radar is an acronym for "Radio Detection And Ranging".

Once the trigger is engaged, the Bushnell Speedster Radar Gun and Bushnell Velocity Radar gun transmit radio frequency energy in the form of waves. The radar transmits 24 billion RF cycles of energy per second at the speed of light, which is 186,000 miles per second. The Velocity measures the difference between transmit and receive signals and relays this information to the DSP to quickly calculate +/- one MPH speed accuracy.

Speed is the difference between the transmit frequency and receiver frequency (also known as the "Doppler" shift).

The Bushnell Velocity radar gun provides +/- one-MPH speed accuracy if used properly.

The Bushnell Velocity speed gun as all laser radar guns works best when positioned in front of or behind the moving object.

No, Doppler radar can only read the relative speed of targets moving either to or from the radar. As seen in the picture below, there is no change in RF energy. The Velocity is sending out 24 billion cycles of RF energy and receiving the same amount back.

Yes, it does!  Please note that the radar will not work properly if it is used as pictured above.  The picture shows a race car traveling at the right angle to the radar beam. Such a situation should result in a reading of either zero MPH or only a couple of miles per hour. There is little or no relative motion towards/away from the radar source, hence no change in the frequency of the reflected beam received by the gun. This is how Doppler radar guns work: Target Speed equals the difference between the Transmitted and Received frequencies. The Bushnell Velocity Speed gun as any radar gun will measure the relative speed of a target as it approaches the Velocity. If the target is in a direct line (collision course) with theBushnell radar gun the measured speed will be exact. As the angle of incidence increases, if you move either right or left of this direct line, the accuracy will decrease. The measured speed will decrease as you move off this centerline. This phenomenon is called the Cosine Effect. It is so called because the measured speed is directly related to the cosine of the angle between the Bushnell Velocity Radar Gun and the target’s direction of travel.  In Bushnell tests, a 12-degree angle did not effect performance much. The Bushnell Velocity Radar gun can achieve +/- 1-MPH speed accuracy to a baseball at 75 feet away at a 12-degree angle or less. A 20-degree angle at 60 feet away would result in +/- 3-MPH accuracy. For more information, please see Page 6 of Bushnell Velocity Radar Gun Manual that we provided for you.  We highly recommend to use a baseball radar gun when you stand directly behind or in front of the pitcher!.

0-75 feet away.

0-1300 feet away.

-5 degrees C to 70 degrees C.

Approximately ten 9-inning baseball games.

Six AA's. We recommend using good quality AA alkaline batteries. 

The Bushnell Velocity radar gun is water resistant and performs +/- one MPH accuracy in rain and snow. Weather does not effect accuracy and it is self-calibrating.

No. However, if you would like to know the speed of the vehicle you are in, point the radar gun at a stationary object, such as the ground.

No

No

The Velocity uses advanced Digital Signal Processing (DSP) software to filter out bad information, providing valid accurate information. In addition, the Velocity is capable of tracking baseball statistics.