My DIY radar speed camera: Mullet Edition—Business in the front, party in the back.

[u/nutstobutts]

I've found a nice way to hide my radar speed camera on the street so I can start testing it. From the front, it just looks like every other slow down sign. In the back, is where the party is at.

I cut a small hole in the sign for the camera and attached it all (radar, camera, wifi, and solar panel) to the back. Of course the solar panel looks way out of place. Without it no one would ever see the radar unit, so I think I will power it with a long cable instead. Right now I'm using a second sign to hide it from the rear.

Performance wise, it's working far better than I expected. The radar has a range of about 130ft-180ft (about 40-55 meters).

Attached are 2 photos it took automatically. One is of a white SUV driving from left to right which is about 180ft away.

The second is a white sedan driving towards the camera, this car registered 14 MPH when the photo was taken.

I still need to figure out the best speed and timing for the photos to get the car much closer to the camera. A video would be nice but I think images will be easier to manage.

Of course this thing is nowhere near ready and still needs quite a bit more work. I'll open source everything in a few weeks once I fix some glaring problems. I'm also combining all the dev boards into one board, so it'll be about 3 times smaller than what you see in the photos.

[u/MattyFettuccine]

Cool idea, nice execution. Curious about the legality of it, though. I know public spaces generally have no expectation of privacy, but you can’t set up a camera on your property that points exclusively at the road/sidewalk/the park beside your house. Probably different rules per location, but I’m curious.

Edit: love the downvotes for asking a question. I never said it was illegal, I simply asked if it was. I don’t live in the US, the rules are different where I am.

[u/Deflagratio1 → u/MattyFettuccine]

If that was true, doorbell cameras would be illegal.

[u/Dan000 → u/MattyFettuccine]

You can film public spaces all you want.

[u/ezfrag2016 → u/Dan000]

Is that a blanket statement covering the entire world or are you just assuming that we all live in your little world?

[u/Dan000 → u/ezfrag2016]

The context of my reply is based on the questioning of the legality of the radar camera the original poster posted about. Which is in the US...

[u/ezfrag2016 → u/Dan000]

Not very relevant context since this is not a US sub. A whole world exists outside…

[u/ankole_watusi → u/Dan000]

In US. Openly, not under stealth.

You’re demonstrating Reddit US-centrism.

[u/Dan000 → u/ankole_watusi]

The context of my reply is based on the questioning of the legality of the radar camera the original poster posted about. Which is in the US...

[u/ankole_watusi → u/Dan000]

OP is open-sourcing his design and sharing it with the world.

Thus, others might use this in any country of the world.

The discussion is relevant, laws vary, even within the US, and anyone deploying this should carefully consider both the law that applies, and common courtesy and decency.

[u/Dan000 → u/ankole_watusi]

Fair point.

[u/Dan000 → u/ankole_watusi]

Get your shit straight. You can film anyone inconspicuously in public. 

You're thinking of wiretapping or “two-party consent” laws that make it illegal to secretly record audio without consent, and this is only in certain states. And that only applies in certain situations, not everywhere in public. A confidential communication is a conversation where any of the participants have an objectively reasonable expectation that no one else is listening or will overhear it. 

[u/ankole_watusi → u/MattyFettuccine]

Varies by country and state.

In US you can photograph OPENLY. But not under stealth. In many other countries you may not photograph openly without permission.

[u/Dan000 → u/ankole_watusi]

Stop spewing your bullshit.

You can film anyone inconspicuously in public. 

You're thinking of wiretapping or “two-party consent” laws that make it illegal to secretly record audio without consent, and this is only in certain states. And that only applies in certain situations, not everywhere in public. A confidential communication is a conversation where any of the participants have an objectively reasonable expectation that no one else is listening or will overhear it. 

[u/ankole_watusi → u/Dan000]

Try being civil.

A decent extended summary:

https://www.frankelinsurance.com/can-you-film-in-public-without-permission/

How you film matters too. You might be standing in a public spot, but if you’re zooming in with a telephoto lens or trying to film through someone’s window from across the street, that crosses a line. The courts have made it clear: the issue isn’t always where you’re standing — it’s also what you’re doing with the camera and whether the person being recorded had a reasonable expectation of not being watched in that moment.

And yes, people have gotten into legal trouble for this exact kind of thing — think of it like this: if someone is sitting quietly in their backyard, behind a fence or some trees, and you’re trying to sneak footage from a nearby sidewalk, that might technically be public ground, but you’re still invading their privacy.

It’s also worth noting that California has taken a strong stance on paparazzi-style intrusions. Laws like Civil Code 1708.8 were created to curb things like using high-powered lenses, drones, or other tech to capture people in their private moments — even if they’re technically in public spaces.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1708.8.&lawCode=CIV

Reddit US-centrism is still Reddit US-centrism though.

[u/Dan000 → u/ankole_watusi]

Ad hominem much?

edit: nice ninja edit you did there. That site says nothing about inconspicuous recording.

edit 2: The key concept you're not understanding is "reasonable expectation of privacy", you have none IN PUBLIC. Therefore can be filmed inconspicuously or conspicuously.

edit 3: "if you’re zooming in with a telephoto lens or trying to film through someone’s window from across the street" <- this person in their house is NOT in public, and has a reasonable expectation of privacy. Try again, keep editing your post.

[u/duckredbeard → u/MattyFettuccine]

Your government is doing it already.

www.deflock.me

[u/MattyFettuccine → u/duckredbeard]

Government plays by different rules.

[u/duckredbeard → u/MattyFettuccine]

Not if you call them out on it and hold them accountable...

"speeding helps him cope with it"?

[u/duckredbeard → u/duckredbeard]